Californian Pinot Noir

With increased vineyard plantings being matched by notable improvements in quality, the future looks bright for Pinot Noir in California. Karen MacNeil reports

93 wines tasted With increasing elegance and several stand-out regions, there’s lots here for wine lovers prepared to pay the price

UNLIKE CABERNET SAUVIGNON, which confines itself to small zones in northern California (notably Napa Valley, Santa Cruz Mountains and parts of Sonoma), Pinot Noir is grown over an 800km north-south stretch. The specific AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) that excel with the grape are strung like pearls along the Pacific coastline. Latitude, as it turns out, isn’t very important when it comes to Californian Pinot Noir. What matters more is proximity to the cold Pacific Ocean. In summer, standing in most top Pinot vineyards feels like being in a restaurant’s walk-in refrigerator.

Pinot Noir is now the fourth most-planted grape in California, right behind Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, the state’s most-planted grape. Just 20 years ago, Pinot was 10th in the line-up, far behind grapes such as Barbera and Chenin Blanc, which are increasingly absent on the contemporary scene.

Pinot’s rise can be attributed to several factors, including the introduction of new plant material in the 1990s – the Dijon clones – and the wines made from those clones. But in a uniquely Californian twist, Hollywood also played a part. Following the 2004 release of the Academy Award-winning film Sideways (about a devoted Pinot Noir fan), Pinot sales surged 18% in nine months alone. Even the glassware company Riedel reported sales increases in the US thanks to purchases of the firm’s Pinot Noir glasses.

Quality on the rise

By all accounts, the quality of California Pinot Noir has also climbed. Many (including this writer) argue that the quality increase has outshone that of any other variety. Today, most of the top Pinots are small-lot wines, based on multiple clones grown at low yields. Most producers refrain from adding yeast, and use open-top fermenters which are punched down by hand. New oak has been on the decline for several years, with top producers using well under 50%, and many averaging around 20%.

Not surprisingly, Sonoma, Monterey and Santa Barbara lead in terms of planted area, with Napa and Mendocino not far behind. Within these areas, Pinot vineyards are always clustered in ocean-exposed cool enclaves. There is very little Pinot Noir in Napa Valley outside of Carneros for example, and very little in Mendocino outside of the Anderson Valley.

Stylistically, the regions are difficult to tell apart (at least in blind tastings). General consensus says that Anderson Valley (the most northern top Pinot AVA) and Sta Rita Hills (the most southern) produce the lightest, most ethereal examples. But I can immediately think of 10 Sonoma Coast wines that would fall into this category too. As is often true in California, the producer’s philosophy and hand are impossible to ignore.