Davis Bynum/The Golden Age/California Pinot Noir

The history of the wine industry is actually short compared to the long history land of Burgundian wines.Today we have the privilege to learn a little about the beginning of Pinot Noir in California. We will join Greg Morthole shortly and open a couple different vintages of "Jane's vineyard Pinot Noir from the fabled winery of Sonoma County...Davis Bynum Winery.First things first, let's check out the tasting notes and points of interest from their great website.Davis Bynum is distinguished as the first winery to produce a single vineyard Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley. The vintage was 1973 and the grapes were from Joe Rochioli’s now prized vineyard. Today, our heritage of wine making lives on through hand-crafted single vineyard wines grown exclusively in Russian River Valley Vineyard. The vines at Jane’s Vineyard generally show moderated vigor in their growth habit, mainly due to relatively nutrient poor soil and fairly good drainage from the gravelly loam. The Huichica soil is shallow, with a hardpan at a low depth, so we planted on 101-14 rootstock which has a shallower rooting angle to match the soil profile. Correspondingly, the vines get water stressed, which we watch closely during the warmer months of the summer. The HarvestThe winter was very mild, followed by a relatively dry spring. In 2013, bud break was early and the spring weather was warm overall. Summer was up and down with an odd rainstorm in late June followed by a searing 5-day heat wave entering July. Finally cooler weather prevailed in late July with a heavy marine layer causing a lot of misty mornings. August and September were filled with 80–90°F days accelerating the ripening. The degree days showed the vintage to be among the warmest in many years. We started picking at Jane’s Vineyard by the end of August, and finished by mid-September. Style Winemaking is light handed, with timely and deliberate choices made to craft a wine that genuinely reflects the vineyard and vintage. We like our Pinot Noir delicate and graceful, with all elements in balance. We strive for complexity and interest, and above all deliciousness. All of the blocks at Jane’s Vineyard are hand-picked in the early morning hours, de-stemmed to stainless steel tanks for cold soaking, followed by fermentation with native yeasts for extra complexity. The 2013 Jane’s Vineyard Pinot Noir was aged in 100% French oak barrels from the finest coopers, 33% of which were new. Malolactic fermentation ensued in the barrels and was finished by mid-December. Taste Profile The 2013 Jane’s Vineyard Pinot Noir has a beautiful ruby red hue with aromas of cherry, cranberry, tea leaves, dusty oak and baking spices. On the palate, the dark cherries, red plums and vanilla characteristics shine through with balance, acidity and a nice lingering finish. Warm, bright and full of flavor, the Jane’s Pinot Noir is a wonderful amalgam of fruit, spice and earth. Enjoy this wine with a variety of dishes including truffle mushroom risotto, roasted beetroot vegetables, or roasted pork with herbs and fennel. After several years making wine for family and friends, Bynum left the newspaper business for good to strike out formally in winemaking. He transformed a warehouse in Albany, California into a small winery, where he made wine with knowledge gained from the extensive library at the University of California, Berkeley. Then, Bynum’s wine went mostly to university personnel -- professors, graduate students, teaching assistants -- who were charmed by the high quality and affordable price -- then, $4.00 a gallon -- of Bynum’s wine. In 1971 Bynum purchased a 26-acre vineyard in Napa Valley with the intention to build a winery. Restrictions on construction in the area led him away from that venture and into Sonoma County in 1973, where he found an 84-acre piece of land that quickly became Davis Bynum Winery. Davis established a quality reputation for the winery, in large part due to his relationships with the local community of growers. Grapes from great vineyards with contracts that were often simple handshake agreements, along with “intuitive winemaking,” as he refers to it, led the winery to become synonymous with distinctive Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. Eventually, acclaim for Bynum wines, along with other area producers, won Russian River Valley recognition as one of the worlds’ very best. We have two glasswes of wine in front of us,and chef has prepared a feast.Without further delay...Please join us,as we saved you a seat! Click here and join us as we enjoy Jane's Vineyard Pinot Noir..Cheers!