2019 Calera Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir

Calera is located in the Mt. Harlan AVA, which is east of Monterey and Salinas on the northern tip of Central California. The Mt. Harlan AVA isn’t well known since the only commercial vineyards in the AVA belong to Calera. Calera was founded in 1975 by Josh Jensen, who was much impressed by the wines of Burgundy when he lived in France after college. Determined to make Burgundian style wines in California, Jensen spent several years looking for land with a high limestone content. He finally found acreage 90 miles south of San Francisco on Mt. Harlan. He named his winery “calera” after the Spanish word for limekiln. Today the winery is comprised of 47 acres of vineyards. Calera is known for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. About 30,000 bottles are produced annually. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that "Calera is one of the most compelling Pinot Noir specialists of not only the New World, but of Planet Earth. Credit must be extended to its visionary founder, proprietor Josh Jensen."

Santa Lucia Highlands AVA is a 12-mile long, narrow strip of an appellation wedged along the eastern hillsides of the Santa Lucia mountain range. Given its proximity to Big Sur and the Gabilan Mountain Range to the northeast, Santa Lucia a cool-climate wine growing district. Morning sun is often followed by maritime winds and fog in the afternoon, a weather pattern that prolongs the growing season and means long, gentle ripening of the grapes. Spanish missionaries planted vineyards in the district in the 18th century, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that modern winemakers planted vineyards and began making high quality wine. The district received AVA status in 1991 and today there are 6,000 vineyard acres in the Santa Lucia Highlands. Pinot Noir is the dominant grape planted, followed by Chardonnay and Riesling.

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.