Winemaker Notes

Our Pinot Noir vineyards for Garnet are situated on the Salinas River benchlands. Blocks near the Western Santa Lucia AVA, especially, yield intense color and flavor while those on north towards the mouth of the Monterey Bay give us bright red fruit and good acid balance. We harvest the grapes at night to preserve freshness then start with a cold soak. 100% stainless steel fermentation allows maximum temperature control so the fermentation doesn’t get too hot. We press gently at dryness to minimize seed extraction then follow up with lees stirring, oak aging and careful blending to finalize our minimalist winemaking technique. The result is a Pinot Noir with elegance and extract but with a complex, rich suite of aromas and a plush mouthfeel.

Food Pairing Suggestions

Pinot Noir and duck are a classic French-inspired food and wine pairing but I like to hue a little closer to my own experience growing up near Santa Barbara on “California’s Riviera”. My family used to raise lamb and that, combined with a natural abundance of citrus and herbs in our garden, meant that roast and grilled lamb was a staple on the table. My mother and grandmother taught me to use rosemary, garlic and lemon to highlight the natural earthiness of butterflied leg of lamb and now I grill it for my friends and family, using my wines to make it my own.

Vineyard Notes

Planted on benchlands and sandy, well-drained sites in Monterey County, our vineyards dip in and out of the fog line during the ripening season. Because we control the winemaking process from vineyard block to bottle, we are able to showcase the Monterey AVA in this bottle.