1997 Sterling Vineyards Winery Lake Vineyard Pinot Noir

Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga was founded in 1964 by Peter Newton, an English businessman and journalist. The first commercial vintage was the 1969 Merlot. Ric Forman was the winemaker for the early vintages, which were made in a Bordeaux style. In 1977 the estate was sold to Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and in 1983 it was purchased by Seagram. Today the estate owns more than 700 acres and makes a large portfolio of wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Riesling and Pinot Grigio.

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.