Pacific Pinot Noir

Praise for North American Pinot Noir: "Every religion needs its scripture. Now pinot noir worshipers have theirs."—Carol Emert, San Francisco Chronicle "A great resource . . . . Exciting, thought-provoking reading."—Tara Q. Thomas, Wine & Spirits magazine

Featuring more than two hundred in-depth winery profiles, this definitive guide is the best single source of information on world-renowned pinot noirs from California and Oregon. Drawing on his encyclopedic knowledge of a grape variety considered by many to produce the ultimate food wine, John Winthrop Haeger offers this expanded, updated companion volume to his award-winning North American Pinot Noir. Here, with three times the number of winery profiles, he focuses exclusively on what he calls the Pacific Pinot Zone, stretching from the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon to Santa Barbara in California and extending up to thirty miles inland. An introductory essay provides an indispensable view of pinot noir in the United States—including the dramatic effect that the movie Sideways has had on its sales and production. Pacific Pinot Noir features: * Detailed descriptive tasting notes and selected vertical tastings * At-a-glance graphics conveying information on tasting rooms, prices, and production for each winery * Regional maps showing key viticultural areas * Contact information for each winery

Featuring more than two hundred in-depth winery profiles, this definitive guide is the best single source of information on world-renowned pinot noirs from California and Oregon. Drawing on his encyclopedic knowledge of a grape variety considered by many to produce the ultimate food wine, John Winthrop Haeger offers this expanded, updated companion volume to his award-winning North American Pinot Noir. Here, with three times the number of winery profiles, he focuses exclusively on what he calls the Pacific Pinot Zone, stretching from the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon to Santa Barbara in California and extending up to thirty miles inland. An introductory essay provides an indispensable view of pinot noir in the United States—including the dramatic effect that the movie Sideways has had on its sales and production. Pacific Pinot Noir features: * Detailed descriptive tasting notes and selected vertical tastings * At-a-glance graphics conveying information on tasting rooms, prices, and production for each winery * Regional maps showing key viticultural areas * Contact information for each winery

Pinot Noir is a uniquely challenging grape with an unrivalled ability to reflect the character of the site where it grows. Winemakers all over the world have set out in search of the Holy Grail: to repeat Burgundy’s success with Pinot Noir. Benjamin Lewin travels from Burgundy through the other cool climates of Europe where Pinot Noir is grown, to the West Coast of North America, and to Australasia in search of the true Pinot Noir.In Search of Pinot Noir investigates the changing character of Burgundy, asks what happens to Pinot Noir outside of Burgundy, and examines how the wines of each region age. How far are styles of Pinot Noir inside and outside of Burgundy due to terroir and how far are they influenced by winemaking? Extensive tasting notes address these issues and complement discussion of the regions where Pinot Noir is grown.

Pinot noir, the famously elegant, sexy, and capricious red grape of Burgundy, is finally producing impressive wines in North America. Credit talented winemakers, enthusiastic restaurateurs, and consumers in search of alternatives to cabernet and zinfandel. Considered perhaps the ultimate food wine, pinot noir has an allure based on its special combination of aromas, flavors, and mouthfeel; on its legendary capacity to reflect the terroir where it is grown; and on its reputation for being hard to grow and make. This is the definitive work on pinot noir in North America. A comprehensive reference for winemakers and aficionados as well as a sourcebook for casual enthusiasts, it includes extensive historical and viticultural background on pinot noir in the New World and profiles of six dozen prominent producers in California, Oregon, British Columbia, and New York. John Winthrop Haeger, known for his perceptive wine writing for more than fifteen years, gives contextual and comparative information about pinot noir in Burgundy and then tells the story of wine producers' early failures, frustrations, and breakthroughs in North America. He discusses plant genetics and clones, identifies the essential conditions for really good pinot, tells where the best wines are grown and made, and analyzes the factors that determine wine styles and signatures. In the second part of the book, he presents detailed producer profiles with accessibly written tasting notes on recent and mature vintages. A final section covers glassware, vintages, wine and food pairings, and other matters of interest to consumers. Maps prepared especially for this book cover all the major pinot-producing regions in North America.

A portrait of the most fashionable grape in the wine world, pairing vivid narrative and stunning photography to showcase top Pinot producers in California and Oregon.

“So You Think You Know Pacific Coast Wines” is designed to simplify your understanding by identifying growing trends, grape descriptions, the histories and future direction of the California, Washington and Oregon wine industry. This book concisely profiles each state’s leading growing regions, rainfall statistics and prominent grapes based on the most recent available harvest data. The 2018-19 edition is ideal for wine collectors, winemakers and anyone who appreciates a world class Pacific Coast grown vintage. The following facts are just ten from hundreds of little known essentials included in the book: 1. California is the top producing state, Washington second and Oregon fourth (behind New York) in American wine grape production. California harvested just over 4 million tons and Washington 227 thousand tons during the 2017 harvest. Oregon harvested 79.8 thousand tons during the 2016 harvest. Washington’s harvest is only 5.6% and Oregon’s 2% of California’s overall production. 2. Cabernet Sauvignon is California’s second most popular and second highest priced red wine grape. It is Washington’s most popular and sixth highest priced. The average Napa Valley grown grape is priced between two and seventeen times more than competing states and regions within California. Napa grown Cabernet Sauvignon traditionally sells out before picking even commences. 3. California decreased wine grape production by less than 1% and Washington by 16% during 2017. The decline followed new state records from the year previous. 4. California has 3,670+, Washington 940+, and Oregon 725+ wineries. California has seventeen designated growing regions. Washington has fourteen and Oregon five. 5. With Washington’s red grape varietals at 130.5 thousand tons, the closest California equivalent is the Monterey and San Benito Counties growing region (140.9 thousand tons). 6. Pinot Noir is Oregon’s largest harvested grape accounting for 57.5% of the state’s wine grape production and is the second highest priced. It is California’s fifth most popular and Washington’s fourteenth most popular red wine grape. 7. Oregon’s wine grape production (79,782 tons in 2016) most closely compares with the Mendocino County growing region of California (70,488 tons in 2017). 8. Chardonnay is California’s largest harvested grape accounting for 34% of the white wine grapes and 15.3% of the state’s overall yield. It is the twenty-fifth highest priced white wine grape. It is Washington’s second largest wine grape, most popular white wine grape, and the fifteenth highest priced overall. It is Oregon’s third largest produced, second highest white wine grape and sixth highest priced. 9. California’s wines were considered the equal to European’s elite vintages in 1890. Following the phylloxera pest and Prohibition, the state would not regain their global reputation until the mid-1970s. Washington’s international reputation began during the 1990s and Oregon’s during the 1980s. 10. Real Estate valuation remains the most important financial consideration influencing the value of varietal grapes. Top-tiered Washington vineyards have commanded pricing between $75,000-$80,000 per acre. Large established vineyards have been documented to sell for $25,000-$30,000 and bare unplanted terrain often averages $10,000-$15,000 per acre. In Napa County, secondary vineyard lands begin at $90,000-$165,000 an acre. Prime vineyards range between $225,000-$300,000 and upwards per acre.

“So You Think You Know Pacific Coast Wines” is designed to simplify your understanding by identifying growing trends, grape descriptions, the histories and future direction of the California, Washington and Oregon wine industry. This book concisely profiles each state’s leading growing regions, rainfall statistics and prominent grapes based on the most recent available harvest data. The 2020-2021 edition is ideal for wine collectors, winemakers and anyone who appreciates a world class Pacific Coast grown vintage. The following facts are just ten from hundreds of little known essentials included in the book: 1. California is the top producing state, Washington second and Oregon fourth (behind New York) in American wine grape production. California harvested over 3.9 million tons and Washington 201 thousand tons during the 2019 harvest. Oregon harvested 101 thousand tons during the 2018 harvest. Washington’s harvest is only 5.2% and Oregon’s 2.6% of California’s overall production. Oregon’s production is 50% of Washington’s. 2. Cabernet Sauvignon is California’s second most popular and highest priced red wine grape. It is Washington’s most popular and fifth highest priced and Oregon’s fifth most popular grape. The average Napa Valley grown grape is priced between two and sixteen times more than competing states and regions within California. 3. California harvested 3.9 million tons of wine grapes during the 2019 harvest, a 9.4% reduction from the 2018 largest historic harvest. 4. California has 4,610+, Washington 1000+, and Oregon 790+ wineries.. California has seventeen designated growing regions. Washington has fourteen and Oregon five. 5. Washington’s red grape varietals harvested 121 thousand tons in 2019. The closest California equivalent was the Monterey and San Benito Counties growing region (122.3 thousand tons). 6. Pinot Noir is Oregon’s largest harvested grape accounting for 58.8% of the state’s wine grape production and fifth highest priced. It is California’s fifth most popular. 7. Oregon’s production most closely compares with the Napa Valley growing region of California (159.7 thousand tons in 2019). 8. Chardonnay is California’s largest harvested grape accounting for 36% of the white wine grapes and 16.3% of the state’s overall yield. It is Washington’s second largest wine grape, most popular white wine grape. It is Oregon’s third largest produced. 9. California’s wines were considered the equal to European’s elite vintages in 1890. Following the phylloxera pest and Prohibition, the state would not regain their global reputation until the mid-1970s. Washington’s international reputation began during the 1990s and Oregon’s during the 1980s. 10. Real Estate valuation remains the most important financial consideration influencing the value of varietal grapes. Top-tiered Washington vineyards have commanded pricing between $75,000-$80,000 per acre. Large established vineyards have been documented to sell for $25,000-$30,000 and bare unplanted terrain often averages $10,000-$15,000 per acre. In Napa County, secondary vineyard lands begin at $90,000-$165,000 an acre. Prime vineyards range between $225,000-$300,000 and upwards per acre.