Wedell Cellars Hillside Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007
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Knowing that they would need expert guidance in their quest to create such a wine they sought out a local winemaker and grape farmer to assist in the management of the vineyard and to make their wine. The first vintage in 1994 consisted of one barrel of wine, twenty-eight cases of Chardonnay were produced from their own grapes and from purchased grapes. Encouraged by the results in 1994, Maurice and Susan decided to expand production gradually over the next few years by purchasing grapes from selected vineyards in Edna Valley while planting and maturing their own vineyard capable of producing enough grapes for their wine.
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.”
California’s coolest wine growing area, Edna Valley excels in the production of high quality Central Coast wines like Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Rhône Blends and aromatic white wines. It has a cool Mediterranean climate and an incredibly long growing season, giving late-ripening varieties plenty of opportunity to develop great phenolic complexity.
Its northwest to southeast orientation creates a direct path for cool Pacific air and fog to penetrate the valley from the Los Osos and Morro Bay area inwards. Low hillsides of both calcareous and volcanic soils are home to much of the vineyard acreage of the Edna Valley.