2010 Evening Land Vineyards The Tempest Vineyard Pinot Noir

Evening Land Vineyards is a family of three estates in Oregon, California and France that was started in 2005 by film producer Mark Tarlov. Based in Santa Rosa, California, the enterprise is now under new ownership, but it continues to produce about 32,000 cases of wine a year. At the moment the estate’s Burgundy venture sources grapes in the Cote d’Or. In Oregon Evening Land has vineyards in the Eola-Amity Hills. In California the estate has a vineyard on the Sonoma Coast and on the state’s Central Coast. Evening Land produces red and white Burgundies, Oregon Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Santa Rita Hills AVA in northern Santa Barbara County was granted appellation status in 2001. Located between the towns of Lompoc and Buellton, it has a total area of 30,720 acres with 2,700 vineyard acres. The area is considered a cool climate for vineyards, so vineyards are most often planted with the cool-weather grapes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The hills in the western part of this appellation are directly exposed to the Pacific Ocean, meaning that maritime winds and fog make the western edge of the Santa Rita Hills AVA particularly cool. The Sanford & Benedict Vineyard planted in 1971 was the first vineyard in the district and is still considered one of the best.

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.