2003 Loring Wine Company The Llama Pinot Noir

Loring Wine Company was started by Brian Loring, who has written that “my obsession is Pinot Noir.” Located in Lompoc, on the Central Coast, Loring produced its first commercial vintage in 1999. Loring sources its grapes from Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, the Santa Lucia Highlands, the Sonoma Coast, the Russian River Valley and Willamette Valley in Oregon. He makes only about 3,000 cases annually and is best known for his Pinot Noir, though he also makes Chardonnay. Robert M. Parker Jr. has called Loring’s wines “intensely fruity, soft, consumer-friendly Pinots…”

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.