2009 Callaway Reserve Pinot Noir

Callaway Vineyard & Winery is in Temecula in Southern California, northeast of San Diego. The 70-acre estate grows a wide variety of grapes for red and white wines. The winery was founded in the early 1970s by Ely Reeves Callaway Jr., a Georgia-born entrepreneur who turned his experience with his family’s textile mills into a contract to supply US Army with uniforms. He also developed an early love of golf, and is the man behind the “Big Bertha” Callaway golf club. But in the 1970s he concentrated on winemaking. He sold the estate to Hiram Walker in 1981 and today it is privately owned by the Lin family. The estate makes a large portfolio of red, white and dessert wines under the direction of winemaker Craig Larson.

Sonoma Coast AVA runs from San Pablo Bay in the south to Mendocino County in the north. It includes 7,000 vineyard acres and earned AVA status in 1987. Its proximity to the Pacific Ocean means it gets double the rainfall of nearby inland appellations and the ocean gives the appellation a relatively cool climate. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir can thrive in these conditions, and there are numerous producers making critically acclaimed Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

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.