Wait Cellars, Pinot Noir 2016, Devoto Garden Vineyard, Green Valley of Russian River, Sonoma County, CA

This aged Russian River Valley Pinot has aromas of dark berry fruit, mushrooms, and some spice. It’s is rich and smooth, with a long finish.

COUNTRY: USA

STATE: California

APPELLATION (AVA): Green Valley

REGION: Sonoma County

SUBREGION: Russian River

VINEYARD: Devoto Garden Vineyard

VINTAGE: 2016

GRAPES: 100% Pinot Noir (Dijon 828 and 115)

SOIL: Goldridge sandy loam

PRACTICE: Sustainable

VINIFICATION: 15% stems; 6 day cold maceration. Warm, closed top, native “wild” ferment, natural MLF. 16 months in French oak; battonage through the winter. Unfined and unfiltered.

STYLE: Still

COLOR: Light garnet-ruby

BODY: Medium bodied

TASTE: Dry

TANNINS: Light and silky

PRIMARY AROMAS: Dark cherry, mushroom, clove

FLAVOR: Firm minerality with a touch of richness

FORMAT: 750 ml

ALCOHOL: 14%

SERVICE AND FOOD PAIRING SUGGESTION:

ABOUT THE PRODUCER: Wait Cellars

“Wait Cellars was founded in 2005 by Bob Wait, a local to San Francisco’s Lower Haight neighborhood and owner of The Page on Divisadero Street in San Francisco. Dumbfounded by the physical beauty of California’s north coast upon arrival from Michigan in 1988, Wait Cellars in some ways represents a way to connect with and consummate an understanding of this unique and gorgeous land.

“Wait Cellars’ goal is to produce limited amounts of balanced, serious wine from carefully chosen fruit. We seek cool, gently farmed, low-yield vineyards within a local radius. Much of our fruit currently comes from Devoto Gardens, in Sebastopol, and we are slowly developing our own vineyard in the Roblar Valley area of the Sebastopol Hills.

“We follow a non-interventionist, old-world sensibility in the winery: a percentage of whole cluster fruit as the vintage allows, native fermentations, elevage sur lie, a modest oak program, no enzymes, fining or filtration. The result being a profound, transparent expression of the varietal and vineyard on our label: a genuineness and an elegance through simplicity.” (waitcellars.com)

ABOUT THE WINEMAKER: Bob Wait

“Bob hails from Michigan and holds a BSE from the University of Michigan. He has taken wine and grape-growing courses over the years through UC Berkeley and Davis, and is in the winemakers program at UC Davis. Wait Cellars is a fully bonded California winery, currently leasing equipment and space at the Bluxome Street Winery in San Francisco’s SOMA district. It was conceived as a small, family-managed endeavor from the beginning, to channel a passion for wines made simply, on a human scale. David Wait, Bob’s brother, designs and carves the woodcuts featured on all Wait Cellars labels.” (waitcellars.com)

ABOUT THE VINEYARD: Devoto Garden Vineyard

“Devoto Garden sits on a windy ridge west of Sebastopol in the Green Valley AVA of Sonoma County, California: a sub-appellation of the Russian River Valley AVA, renowned for its cool temperatures and fog, and sought after for its sandy, well-drained Goldridge soil. (waitcellars.com)