SUNDAY,
OCTOBER 23 - Downtown Healdsburg Square - Healdsburg, CA
9:00 AM:
The Santa Cruz Mountains
Pinot Noir Technical Group
10 Leading Santa Cruz Mountains Vintners to Showcase Their
Distinctive Regional Pinot Noirs at Pinot on the River Seminar October 23,
2011
Santa Cruz Mountains Vintners Expand the Flavor Profile of
California Pinot Noir
Santa Cruz, Calif., October 14,
2011
– Santa Cruz Mountains vintners are taking Pinot on the River by storm to
showcase their distinctive mountain Pinot Noirs in a regional seminar prior
to the grand tasting on October 23 in Healdsburg, California.
Ten leading vintners from the Santa Cruz Mountains representing
the length and breadth of this large appellation will bring a taste of their
terroir to Healdsburg. The Santa Cruz Mountains regional seminar is 9:00 to
10:45 a.m. Sunday, October 23 in the VIP tent in the Healdsburg town plaza,
at Pinot on the River; and is followed by the Grand Tasting from 11:00-4:00.
“This is an unprecedented opportunity for Pinot Noir lovers to immerse
themselves in the distinct terroir of the Santa Cruz Mountains and to
discover our mountain Pinots,” said Mary Lindsay, president of the
Viticulture Association of the Santa Cruz Mountains. “Those attending the
seminar will better understand our somewhat complicated region and the
awesome flavor profiles of our Pinot Noirs.”
“It is unusual to see such a large contingent of Santa Cruz Mountains
winemakers outside of their own region. The Santa Cruz Mountains has been
considered somewhat of a ‘secret’, yet it has a long and illustrious history
of legendary Pinot Noirs from producers like Martin Ray, David Bruce, Mount
Eden, and Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard. We will have several of these
producers at the seminar and grand tasting, as well as newer faces. This
region should be better known for its Pinot Noirs, and this is a terrific
opportunity for Pinot on the River attendees,” said Gregory Walter,
organizer of the event, and editor and publisher of The PinotReport
newsletter.
About Santa Cruz
Mountains Pinot Noir. The Santa Cruz Mountains is a vast
appellation covering approximately 322,000 acres across three counties (San
Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz) from Woodside in the north to Watsonville
in the south, or about 100 miles to drive from one end to the other. Within
this area there are now some 80 wineries and over 200 small vineyards
totaling only approximately 1500 acres of winegrapes. This is divided fairly
evenly among Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and ‘other’
varietals (including Zinfandel and Syrah). With so little acreage, Santa
Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir is considered rather rare.
Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noirs are known for their minerality and acidity,
as well as their complexity, intensity, and ability to age. The region is
bordered and the climate moderated by two bodies of water: Monterey Bay and
the Pacific Ocean in the west, and San Francisco Bay in the east. The
geography and soil composition is also impacted by two major tectonic
plates: the North American and the Pacific, with the San Andreas fault
serving as the boundary between the two along the backbone of the mountain
range. The mountain terrain creates myriad microclimates, and the small
vineyards are surrounded by native vegetation of chaparral, oak, redwood and
more. All this contributes to a distinctive flavor profile for Pinot Noirs
from the Santa Cruz Mountains.
About the Pinot on
the River seminar and speakers. The seminar will address the
geographic diversity of the Santa Cruz Mountains and how it defines the
Pinot Noir grown there, as well as the overall similarities that
characterize the winegrapes from this appellation.
The panel of winemakers represent the length and breadth of the Santa Cruz
Mts., from the coast (Corralitos in the south) to the highest elevations
(the Summit, and Ben Lomond Mountain), from the south to the north
(Skyline), and everything in between (Los Ranchos and Saratoga). Attendees
will taste and compare the wines from this broad spectrum, and explore the
similarities despite all the differences. They will have an opportunity to
taste older vintages, wines from well-established as well as newer wineries,
and hear about the challenges of the current 2011 growing season.
The speakers include: Jim Schultze, winemaker,
proprietor and grower, Windy Oaks Estate Vineyards and Winery; Richard
Alfaro, winemaker, proprietor and grower, Alfaro Family Vineyards & Winery;
Bradley Brown, winemaker, proprietor, grower, Big Basin Vineyards; Sal
Godinez, winemaker, Vine Hill Winery; Jeff Emery, winemaker and proprietor,
Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard; Ed Muns, grower and owner, Muns Vineyard; Dave
Moulton, winemaker, proprietor, grower, Burrell School Vineyards & Winery;
Nathan Kandler, winemaker, Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards; Rhys
Vineyards; Ryan Beauregard, winemaker, proprietor, Beauregard Vineyards;
Jeffrey Patterson, winemaker, proprietor, grower, Mount Eden Vineyards.
See the addendum that follows for more information on these speakers and
wineries.
In addition, Prudy Foxx of Foxx Viticulture and Mary Lindsay, president of
the Viticulture Association of the Santa Cruz Mountains will provide an
introduction to the appellation.
The seminar is a project of the recently formed Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot
Noir Technical Group. Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noirs are showcased
annually at the region’s Pinot Paradise event, with Grand Cruz tasting,
technical seminar and winery tours. Pinot Paradise next year is March
31-April 1, 2012, with over 40 Santa Cruz Mountains wineries anticipated
(more information at www.scmwa.com).
For more information about Pinot Noir in the Santa Cruz Mountains, see the
website of the Viticulture Association of the Santa Cruz Mountains at
www.vascm.org.
For more information about Pinot on the River, see www.pinotfestival.com.
The Santa Cruz Mountains
Pinot Noir Technical Group
The
Speakers:
-Jim
Schultze, winemaker, proprietor and grower, Windy Oaks Estate Vineyards and
Winery. Judy and Jim Schultze are
dedicated to making the finest wine possible combining the best of
Burgundian tradition with recent advances in winemaking knowledge. Windy
Oaks produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grown in their estate vineyards in
the Corralitos area. (Representing Corralitos).
-Richard
Alfaro, winemaker, proprietor and grower, Alfaro Family Vineyards & Winery.
Artisanal bread-baker and founder of Alfaro’s Micro Bakery, Richard Alfaro
started his vineyard and winery in 1997 and now farms 38 acres of Pinot
Noir, Syrah and Chardonnay in the Corralitos area, including 8 acres that
are certified organic. Richard specializes in Pinot Noir from his and other
local vineyards. (Representing Corralitos).
-Bradley
Brown, winemaker, proprietor, grower, Big Basin.
Known for the Syrah he makes from his estate vineyard in Boulder Creek,
Bradley is also producing some stellar Pinots from vineyards in Corralitos.
(Representing Corralitos).
-Sal
Godinez, winemaker, Vine Hill Winery. Sal brings a
valuable perspective on the Santa Cruz Mountains from his experience making
Pinot Noir in Napa. He started his winemaking career at Freemark Abbey, then
apprenticed making Pinot Noir under Byron Kasuge at Saintsbury from 1996 to
2005, when he became the winemaker at Vine Hill. Vine Hill specializes in
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grown in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Vine Hill’s
estate vineyard was originally planted to Pinot Noir by David Bruce, then
was purchased by Ken Burnap and became the Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard
until Vine Hill bought and replanted the property in 2006. (Representing
the Los Ranchos sub-region)
-Jeff
Emery, winemaker and proprietor, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard.
Jeff brings a long familiarity and perspective on the region from making
Pinot Noir in the Santa Cruz Mountains for over 30 years. Jeff apprenticed
with Ken Burnap, retained the Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard label, and now
operates his winery in Santa Cruz. Jeff will demonstrate the aging potential
of Santa Cruz Mountains Pinots by pouring an older vintage from the old
Santa Cruz Mountain estate vineyard. ((Representing
the Los Ranchos sub-region)
-Ed Muns,
grower and proprietor, Muns Vineyard. At
2600’ elevation on the Loma Prieta ridge top overlooking Monterey Bay, Muns
Vineyard is the highest Pinot Noir vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Ed
will talk about the challenges of growing Pinot Noir at this elevation and
taste the Pinots from his vineyard. (Representing
The Summit sub-region)
-Dave
Moulton, winemaker, proprietor, grower, Burrell School Vineyards & Winery. Dave and Anne Moulton
started development of their estate vineyard along Summit Road in 1973, and
planted Pinot Noir in 2002. At 1600’ elevation above Monterey Bay, the
Moultons continue the historic homestead of Lyman Burrell and the old
schoolhouse he built in 1890. (Representing
The Summit sub-region)
-Nathan
Kandler, winemaker, Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards.
Founded in 1978 by Stanford cardiovascular surgeon and inventor Thomas
Fogarty, his namesake winery has lead the development of the cool Skyline
area as a premiere Pinot Noir region. Thomas Fogarty specializes in Pinot
Noir and Chardonnay from its 25 acre estate vineyards at 2000’ elevation
above Palo Alto and San Francisco Bay.
(Representing Skyline)
-Rhys
Vineyards. Rhys farms several different vineyard properties along Skyline
from Portola Valley southward to the hills above Mountain View. Rhys’ Pinot
Noir is provided for this session. (Representing
Skyline)
-Ryan
Beauregard, winemaker, proprietor, Beauregard Vineyards.
Four generations of Beauregards have been growing winegrapes in this area,
known as Bonny Doon, since 1949. At 83 acres of vineyard, the Beauregards
farm among the largest vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains, dedicated to
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, at elevations of 2000’ plus overlooking the
Pacific Ocean north of Santa Cruz. Ben Lomond Mountain is a sub-AVA of the
Santa Cruz Mountains appellation. (Representing Ben Lomond Mountain)
-Jeffrey
Patterson, winemaker, proprietor, grower, Mount Eden Vineyards. Originally founded by Martin Ray in 1945, Mount Eden Vineyards’
historic wine estate is located on a 2000 foot peak above Saratoga. Its
low-yielding vineyards have consistently produced world class wines for over
a half century; and Jeffrey has been making them since 1981. (Representing
Saratoga)
11
a.m. to 12 noon - Artisanal Pinot Noir Grand Tasting VIP
only access.
12
noon to 4 p.m. - Artisanal Pinot Noir Grand Tasting
Taste current releases, special bottlings and library wines from over 100
top Pinot producers from up and down the West Coast at this "full immersion" walkaround tasting.
