2016 Calera Muns Vineyard 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 Cruz Mountains AVA includes high elevation territory in the counties of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Mateo. The AVA follows the coast line from San Francisco to Monterey with elevations from 400 feet to 3,000 feet above sea level. There are 1,500 vineyard acres and the AVA was established in 1981. Despite the challenging terrain in these rugged mountains and hills, highly esteemed wineries have been located here since the early 20th century, when Paul Masson, a Frenchman by birth, started making sparkling wine in the area. By the 1970s vineyards were growing Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Numerous microclimates within the AVA offer viticulturists diverse growing conditions, and many varietals are grown successfully.

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.