Garnet Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2012
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Garnet Vineyards Alison Crowe is a UC Davis enology graduate who grew up on the Santa Barbara Coast. She spent her first harvest at Chalone Vineyard where she discovered and developed a passion for Pinot Noir. Following stints at Byington and Bonny Doon, Alison worked alongside Michel Rolland at Bodegas Salentein in Argentina. At Garnet Vineyards, Alison puts this significant experience to work with a minimalist winemaking philosophy. "Give your wine a gentle nudge only when necessary. Sometimes all you need to do is get out of the way."
The Sonoma Coast AVA is large in area but, not counting overlapping regions like Russian River Valley, only has a few thousand acres of grapevines—and it’s no wonder. Much of the region is rugged and not easily accessible. Its proximity to the Pacific Ocean’s fog and cool breezes limits the varieties that can be cultivated, but it proves to be an ideal environment for high quality Pinot Noir.
Since fog is a frequent fact of life here, as are heavy marine layers that sometimes bring rain, the best vineyards are wisely planted above the fog line, on picturesque ridges that capture enough sun to provide even ripening. That, with the overnight drop in temperature that reliably preserves acidity, results in fine expressions of Pinot Noir that often receive tremendous critic and consumer praise alike, and are often in high demand.