1984 Chalone Vineyard Pinot Noir

Chalone Vineyard is in Soledad, above the Salinas Valley in Monterey County. The estate’s roots date to 1919, when a French immigrant planted grapes on the property. Its more recent history started in 1966, when Dick Graff purchased the property and made his first commercial Chardonnay. Today the 200-acre estate is owned by the Chalone Wine Group. Since the 1970s Chalone’s Chardonnays and Pinot Blancs have been highly regarded. Chalone also makes well reviewed Pinot Noir, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Central Coast AVA is a huge wine producing area that extends from Santa Barbara County in the south to San Francisco in the north. With more than 100,000 vineyard acres, it includes parts of six counties near the Pacific Ocean. Nearly 20 smaller AVAs lie within the Central Coast AVA. Central Coast earned appellation status in 1985. Included in the appellation are parts of the counties of Contra Costa, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz. Nearly every grape varietal grown in California is grown somewhere in the Central Coast AVA, though Chardonnay accounts for nearly 50% of the entire wine grape crop.

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.