Winemaker Notes
The primary source of fruit for Land's Edge Pinot Noir is our estate's Annapolis Vineyard, located along the windswept northern part of the Sonoma Coast Mountain Range overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
There is only one cascading ridge between the ocean, Annapolis Vineyard and the other vineyards, including Seascape Vineyard, from which Land's Edge is also sourced. The resulting cold climate reduces the Pinot Noir crop to minuscule levels - often picked as late as November. However, this cool, and frequently foggy, coastal climate preserves natural acidity in the berries, helping to delineate the purity of the fruit flavors. Balanced acidity, layers of complexity and firm tannins will allow for long and graceful aging of this highly expressive, inaugural vintage of Land's Edge Vineyards Pinot Noir
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.