~Pinot Noir~

1997 Pisoni Vineyard

Our Philosophy
At Arcadian, we strive to create wine that fully expresses the distinct characteristics of each vineyard and California's Central Coast region. To this end, whenever possible, we gain control over the vineyard by leasing the land as opposed to just purchasing the grapes. By controlling yields from these vineyards and keeping them very low (we farm our Pinot Noir to 2-2.5 tons to the acre), we increase grape quality. The resulting wine speaks more about where it came from than about who made it. This "somewhereness" vs. "someoneness" concept appeals to us because we believe the best wine is made in the vineyard and less in the winery.

The Vineyard
When Gary Pisoni was freshly graduated from San Jose State University in 1974, he decided to travel to Europe and found himself for no particular reason in the region of Burgundy, more specifically Vosne Romanée.

One evening, during dinner, he was offered a glass of local wine and had an epiphany. The wine was from the famed Domaine de la Romanée-Conti vineyards. He was instantly hooked and spent several days exploring the wines of the region. One night, after drinking several bottles with the locals, he returned to his hotel room to retrieve his pocketknife. He made his way into the vineyards and began to cut some sticks away from the vines. He wrapped them in wet towels and hid them away in his suitcase.

When Gary then returned from Burgundy and began propagating his cuttings from DRC's La Tache Vineyard. As the vines developed, he selected a 50-acre plot on his family's farm to plant the vines. He carefully laid out the vineyard planting and trellising the vines almost identically to the ones he had seen in Burgundy. Over the years, he increased the site to some twenty acres.

The Production
The wines of Burgundy have long captivated Arcadian Winery's winemaker, Joe Davis. He has studied and emulated those Burgundian artisans he most admires and for this bottling of Pisoni Pinot Noir, he employed their traditional techniques to bring forth the uniqueness of these particular rows within blocks N and T.

Only the best Pinot Noir grape clusters are sorted in the vineyard and then hand picked. After sorting the fruit again when it reaches the winery, the stems are evaluated to determine percentages of whole cluster versus whole berry for fermentation. If the stems have lignified to a brown, the grapes are fermented 100% whole cluster. (If not, all or a portion of the fruit is de-stemmed and only whole berries are fermented).

Dry ice is then added to the fermenting vats to arrest immediate fermentation. This "cold soak" (at 45°) slows fermentation saturating the juice with rich fruit flavor and true Pinot Noir color from prolonged contact with the grape skins. Concomitant with the primary fermentation is malolactic fermentation (malic acid to lactic acid) which reduces total acid and imparts softness to the wine. With frequent pigeage (foot treading) and careful monitoring, Joe Davis allows the sugar in the juice to drop to 1-2 ° Brix. The juice is then immediately pressed into 100% new French oak barrels. The wine completes fermentation in barrel fully integrating the qualities of oak in the wine. The wine is aged 13-16 months and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Further cellar aging is recommended for this wine to reach its full potential.