We moved our blog over to our new website.  You can find all the entries from 2009 to current on the new blog. 

Thank you for continuing to follow our story.

– Alan & Serena

We’ve moved our blog! is a post from: The Cartograph blog. Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved.

We were delighted to hear that the our Floodgate Pinot Noir was being featured in the fourth course of the Chef’s tasting menu at Dry Creek Kitchen.  The pairing created by Chef de Cuisine, Dustin Valett, and Sommelier, Drew Munro,  is delicious.

Crispy pork belly with a saffron roasted pepper piperade, parsley relish, black garlic with the 2010 Floodgate Vineyard Pinot Noir

Alas, it was eaten before a photo was taken so when we are there next, we’ll get a photo for you.  Or, if you’re in town, stop by Dry Creek Kitchen and let us know what you think of the pairing.

http://www.charliepalmer.com/Properties/DryCreekKitchen/Menu/

– Serena

The tasting menu at Dry Creek Kitchen is a post from: The Cartograph blog. Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved.

We are delighted to announce that the three Pinot Noirs submitted to the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition all won awards. The 2009 Floodgate Vineyard Pinot Noir received a double gold and both of our 2010 vineyard designate wines (2010 Floodgate Vineyard Pinot Noir and the 2010 Perli Vineyard Pinot Noir) won silvers.  Congratulations Alan!   – Serena

San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition 2013 is a post from: The Cartograph blog. Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved.

This is a two part interview that Maria Ross of Red Slice did with Alan.  Part one starts at the very beginning of the Cellar Rat Cellars days.

http://red-slice.com/2012/12/follow-your-dream-four-entrepreneurial-lessons-from-a-radio-engineer-turned-winemaker/

It’s really neat to be able to look back and see how the actions and decisions Alan made in 2005 have landed us where we are today with Cartograph. I can’t emphasize it enough about how important it is to follow your dreams.  – Serena

Follow your dream: Four entrepreneurial lessons from a radio engineer turned winemaker is a post from: The Cartograph blog. Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved.

We had a great discussion with USA Today reporter Laura Petrecca, about how winemakers are using technology to deliver information to their consumers.  It’s neat to see which technologies wineries are embracing and how they are using them to reach people.  For us, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are great platforms to quickly share information about what’s happening with Cartograph, as well as, to see and hear how people are enjoying with the wines.  I am always humbled when I see a mention of someone bringing our wine to a dinner with friends or enjoying it with a meal they cooked at home.  I love that people post photos of the bottles of wine they enjoy, it helps me connect to them beyond what happens in the tasting room.  Using social media tools, people get their questions about the wines or the harvest season answered directly by us which is a great way to share information and ensure it is accurate.  Laura’s article is out in today’s edition of USA Today.  Read the article  – Serena

Winemakers Blend Technology and Tradition is a post from: The Cartograph blog. Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved.

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is coming together with friends and family and sharing a meal.  Everybody slows down a bit for a  couple of days and we appreciate the time spent together and the delicious smells and tastes of the meal.   Beyond the beautiful colors and flavors of the meal, I love how the wines Alan makes dance with a Thanksgiving dinner.  Here are our Thanksgiving menus based on the Floodgate Vineyard and Perli Vineyard Pinot Noirs:

Floodgate Vineyard Thanksgiving

Start with the 2010 Floodgate Pinot Noir then open the 2009 Floodgate Pinot Noir

• Mushroom and leek soup
• Spinach & persimmon salad
• Green beans with ginger and cashews
• Spiced tea cranberry sauce
• Traditional herbed turkey with gravy (vegetarian option: Wild mushroom and butternut squash bread pudding)
• Sourdough, wild mushroom, and bacon stuffing
• Soft herb rolls
• Pear-cherry pie with an almond crust
• Spiced pumpkin layer cake with cream cheese frosting

Perli Vineyard Thanksgiving

Start with the 2010 Perli Pinot Noir then open a 2009 Perli Pinot Noir

• Spiced pumpkin soup
• Harvest salad with butternut squash, pomegranate, and pecans
• Juniper and herb roasted turkey (vegetarian option: Sweet potato gnocchi with mushrooms and spinach)
• Fig and sausage stuffing
• Cranberry, fig chutney
• Roasted beets with a hint of cinnamon
• Squash dinner rolls
• Pumpkin pie
• Pecan pie

We also always have Gewürztraminer on the table. It’s a great way to start things off but also is dynamic enough to sip on throughout these meals. This year it’ll be the 2011 Floodgate Vineyard Gewürztraminer.  The beautiful honeysuckle, citrus nose and dry finish will compliment the spices used across all the Thanksgiving dishes and tastes delicious with turkey.

As for the leftovers the day after, make turkey sliders and open a bottle of the 2010 Russian River Pinot Noir.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Serena

What are you having for Thanksgiving? is a post from: The Cartograph blog. Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved.

We had a great time pouring for the third year in a row at Pinot on the River which was right on the main plaza in Healdsburg.  The weather was gorgeous, the crowd was interesting and inquisitive, and the wines showed beautifully.

Alan and I decided to pour the newly released 2010 Floodgate Vineyard Pinot noir and the 2009 Floodgate Vineyard Pinot noir side by side.  The 2010 vineyard designate has three Pinot clones – 667, Pommard, and 828.  Given the unusually cool spring and summer, we picked the fruit two weeks later than the 2009 Floodgate Vineyard Pinot noir.  Given that we picked the 2010  at lower sugar levels and higher acidity than 2009, this wine is racy and vibrant and has a delicateness that is very different than the opulent lushness of the 2009.  The 2009 Floodgate Pinot had a much warmer growing season and is four clones of Pinot – 777, 667, 828, and Pommard.  Also, given that it is a year older, the 2009 is showing more of the earthy soul that defines Floodgate Vineyard.  It was really fun to see people’s reactions to both wines and to talk through how the wines are different and simultaneously similar.

It’s an amazing event to  be able to taste such a variety of Pinot from limited production west coast Pinot noir winemakers.  Mark your calendars for next year,  it’s a Sonoma County wine weekend you won’t want to miss.  – Serena

Pinot on the River 2012 is a post from: The Cartograph blog. Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved.

We spend a lot of time looking at weather forecasts and some years it gives peace of mind and some years it puts a knot in your stomach. Most years you get a little of both. Whether it is February or September, the year’s weather conditions are going to directly influence the wines we produce. We are big believers in celebrating these slight variations that the weather brings us each year. The vineyard is still king when it comes to defining the characteristics of a wine but vintage variation is often times subtle but sometimes major influence on the final wines we produce.

The past four years have been a study in contrasts. 2009 was as close to picture perfect as we might hope for with a dry winter, mild spring, warm but not-too-hot summer, and a nice cool fall with no rains or frost to force picking decisions. This year, 2012, we returned to that scenario. 2010 and 2011, however, were both years farmers are glad to have behind them. Late spring rains got things off to a late start and persistent fog kept things moving at a snails pace which had growers in the vineyard often managing canopy (leaf cover) and crop load to try and pull the grapes towards the finish line in good shape. Early rains in each of these seasons had wine makers working with late-ripening varieties biting their nails. We’re extremely lucky to work with growers who know how to react quickly and who will spend the effort to stay ahead of potential threats. We are also fortunate that Pinot noir and Gewürztraminer both ripen early in the fall harvest season which, nine times out of ten, helps us dodge those early rains.

So how does this actually influence our wines? Because we’re complete nerds at heart, our back labels list many of these weather related variables. The data is all about the wine but you can see the affect the weather has by simply comparing one wine’s info to another, thus giving you a snapshot of what our growing season was all about.

The two back labels below compare the 2009 and 2011 Perli Vineyard Pinot noir. Perli sits high in the coastal range between Anderson Valley and the Pacific Ocean. The appellation is Mendocino Ridge. Because Perli sits above the fog line is was spared some of the cold conditions we saw on the valley floor in the Russian River which had harvest a full 20 days later in 2011 compared to 2009. You can see by looking at the budbreak dates shown below that the grapes got off to a late start in 2011 and the cool conditions lengthened the hang time for the fruit. We picked Perli over a week later than the warm 2009 vintage.

These slight shifts in start and harvest dates aren’t drastic but the rest of the data on the label shows how warm and cool years affect the wine composition. Warm years tend to give us grapes that reach physiological ripeness at slightly higher sugar levels and slightly lower acid levels, which you can see by comparing TA (total acid in the wine) and alcohol levels. Higher sugar content in the grapes translates directly to higher alcohol levels. BUT, how does the wine actually taste?

It’s been a lot of fun to have 2009 and 2010 Pinot open in the tasting room to compare wines from the same vineyard side by side from such dramatically different growing seasons. With the 2010 wines grown in a very cool season they reached ripeness with lower sugar levels and higher acidity. This gave us wines that are bright and lively on the palate showing cranberry and strawberry aromas and flavors. These are elegant wines with a clarity that impresses with nuance rather than brawn. The 2009 wines, seeing a lot more sun, gained a depth that comes off on the palate as more robust and rich. They are just now starting to take on some secondary characteristics from their bottle aging that, especially in our Russian River Valley wines, is showing deep earthy aromas to compliment the riper dark cherry flavors. 2009 was truly a benchmark year for California Pinot noir lovers who revel in the multi-layered velvety wines a warm season brings. And for those of you who yearn for clarity, brightness and a lighter style, 2010/2011 should bring you many great wines that should age extremely well. Find the wines you like and stock up.

I hope you get a chance to compare these vintages with our wines, or your favorite winery’s wines, to experience for yourself how seasons influence what ends up in the bottle.

Cheers,

Alan

Celebrating Vintage Variations – Nerd Alert! is a post from: The Cartograph blog. Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved.

Given the lack of sleep during harvest, I was wondering if anyone else sees the heart shape in the grape must?

This is the stage after the grapes have gone through the sorting & destemming table.  The grapes are now considered “must”.  Must comes from the Latin words “vinum mustum” which means young wine.  The must is the grapes, juice, seeds, and occasional stems or whole clusters.  For Pinot noir we let the must cold soak which means we chill the fermentation tank/bin to encourage color extraction from the grape skin into the juice.  Cold soak is an important step because once the fermentation kicks off, there is very little color that is extracted from the skins.  Next post, I’ll tell you about yeast & fermentation. – Serena

Heart shaped must is a post from: The Cartograph blog. Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved.