2020 Beringer Carneros Pinot Noir

Beringer Vineyards is one of the oldest wine estates in California, having been founded in 1876 by German immigrant brothers, Jacob and Frederick Beringer. The brothers wanted to create a wine estate like the kind they admired in the Rhine Valley, and the Victorian mansion they built on their new property remains one of the most picturesque mansions in the Napa Valley. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a California Historical Landmark. 1971 the Jacobs family sold the estate to the Nestle food group, and in 1996 the estate was purchased by Foster’s Group, an Australian conglomerate specializing in beer and soft drinks. In 2011 Foster's spun off the winemaking division, which is today called Treasury Wine Estates. Beringer owns 3,000 acres in Napa Valley and nearby areas, and produces nearly 500,000 cases annually. Beringer’s signatures wines are its Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignons and Chardonnays. For many years the highly regarded Ed Sbragia was Beringer’s winemaker. The chief winemaker is Mark Beringer, great-great-grandson of Jacob Beringer.

Carneros AVA, also known as Los Carneros, is at the southern end of the Napa and Sonoma Valleys at the top of the San Francisco Bay. The 8,000 vineyard acres are mostly planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, both of which thrive in the district’s cool, marine climate. Carneros became an AVA in 1983 and it has attracted foreign wine companies along with local producers. It has been especially appealing to European producers of sparkling wines including the giant Spanish cava producers Codorniu and Frexinet, and the French Champagne house Taittinger. Codorniu in Carneros is called Artesa, and Frexinet’s Carneros brand is Gloria Ferrer. Taittinger calls its Carneros winery Domaine Carneros. The European producers also make still wines in Carneros.

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.