Stickybeak Pinot Noir 2010
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2012-
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Ever been curious enough to stick your nose over someone’s fence to see what’s going on? Or peer through a crack in their front gate, just to get a better look? Stickybeak has! Some people might say they're busybodies or nosey neighbors although they prefer the Australian term ‘stickybeak.’ And being Napa-based wine industry folk, it’s hard to not be curious about the stunning vineyards and regions that surround them. In fact, as inquisitive vintners, it seemed only natural that they'd have a bit of a stickybeak in their own backyard to see what they could find.
After setting up shop in Napa some 15 years ago and importing benchmark Australian wine estates, natural curiosity led them all over the state of California to taste, sip, spit and drink the best the state has to offer, all the while wondering how they could make their mark in the country they now call home.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.