1998 Littorai Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir

Littorai was founded in 1993 by Heidi and Ted Lemon in western Sonoma County. Ted Lemon earned an enology degree from the Universite de Dijon and worked at prestigious wineries in Burgundy in the early 1980s. In California he was founding winemaker at Chateau Woltner on Howell Mountain. Littorai makes Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley, the Sonoma Coast and the Russian River. It also makes Chardonnays.

South Coast AVA is an appellation that includes vineyards in five counties in Southern California. Those counties are Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego. The designation was established in 1985. There are about 3,000 vineyard acres within the appellation.

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.