Lazy Creek Vineyards/ Christy Ackerman/Anderson Valley

Recently I stopped by Lazy Creek vineyards and I'm very excited about this winery!Christy Ackerman is incredible and the wines are very special.Let's check out a little history and the tasting notes on these three wines. Graduating in 2001 with an enology degree from California State University Fresno, Christy Ackerman was drawn to winemaking inspired by its hands-on nature and its mixture of chemistry and art. She began her winemaking career as a harvest intern at Murphy Goode for one season, and then moved on to Jordan Winery in 2001 as assistant winemaker. In 2006, Christy joined the winemaking team at Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery as associate winemaker, working on Ferrari-Carano’s Russian River Valley and Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Project. This experience led Christy to Lazy Creek Vineyards, where she has headed up the winemaking team since 2008, shortly after Don and Rhonda Carano, owners of Ferrari-Carano, purchased the property. In the summer of 2008, Don and Rhonda Carano discovered Lazy Creek and immediately fell for its considerable charms, as it recalled their first foray as grape growers on a small Alexander Valley ranch they purchased in 1979. Don and Rhonda also grew a few acres of Gewürztraminer that they sold to Grand Cru winery. Owning and operating Lazy Creek Vineyards since 2008 has truly been a personal labor of love for them, an inspiring daily reminder of why they remain in the wine business today. It’s about the beauty and respect for the land; as Mark Twain said, “buy land, they are not making it anymore.” We have three wines today. Between two ridges in the hills above Boonville, Mendocino County, sits Lazy Creek’s newest ranch, Middleridge, in Anderson Valley. It’s quiet and peaceful, with warm, western winds sweeping across the vineyards in the afternoon, so the flavors of the grapes tend to be very fruit driven, but still possess the spice and minerality. The Pinot Noir grapes are hand harvested and hand sorted in the field. The grapes are cold soaked for two to three days and fermented in small bins and stainless steel open-top fermentors. Various yeast strains are introduced to add complexity. Fermentors are punched down one to three times per day. Wines are pressed when dry and then racked to barrels to complete malolactic fermentation. The wines are aged for 10 months in new and neutral French oak barrels. Located just off the coastal region of Mendocino County, peaceful and bucolic Anderson Valley has warm, sunny days and cool, foggy mornings and nights that create the ideal microclimate for producing our Lazy Creek Vineyards Pinot Noir. This delicious, sustainably-farmed wine has aromas of wild blackberry, violets and a touch of baking spice. In the flavors, dark fruits unfold of acai, black cherry and perfumed black plum. Rich in weight and complexity, our 2013 Lazy Creek Vineyards Pinot Noir has complex mineral notes and a full lingering finish. The hand-harvested grapes for this Pinot Noir are fermented in macrobins and small, open-top tanks. Lots are cold soaked for two to three days to optimize fruit aromas and flavors, and various yeast strains are used for complexity. Fermentors are punched down one to three times per day. Wines are pressed when dry and then placed in barrels to complete malolactic fermentation. Mendocino Ridge/Anderson Valley Peaceful, bucolic and oozing charm around every turn Located just off the coastal region of Mendocino County and only 15 miles long, Anderson Valley and adjacent Mendocino Ridge is only two hours north of San Francisco, but a world away. Sparsely populated and anchored by the town of Boonville (population 700), Anderson Valley was created by the Navarro River watershed and is surrounded by steep, forested slopes as well as rolling hills dotted with picturesque vineyards, farms and orchards. It is here that Ferrari-Carano purchased a unique, vineyard property planted to Pinot Noir grapes - Sky High Ranch - on Mendocino Ridge high above Anderson Valley. The vineyard, surrounded by towering redwoods and lush forest, sits high above the fog line at over 1,500-foot elevation on the cool, steep slopes of Mendocino Ridge. Two of our Pinot Noir wines come from this area - Sky High Ranch Pinot Noir from Mendocino Ridge and the Ferrari-Carano Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley. Anderson Valley is known as an up-and-coming appellation ideal for growing Pinot Noir grapes, where warm sunny days and cool, foggy mornings and nights create the ideal microclimate for this varietal. We have thre world class Pinot noirs on the table,and I'm ready for a few courses to go with these special wines.Please join me! Cheers! Click here and join me as we enjoy talking with Christy Ackerman.