In the wine industry there has been a massive movement towards greater cooperation between growers and the companies that actually make the wine.
Part of this has been helped by the advancement of technology, some wineries take daily x rays or roots, many test acidity levels in the fruit multiple times per day.
In addition many winemakers have taken up the French model which calls for single vinyard wines which are suppose to help show the unique characteristics of the terroir, or the vineyard from which they came.
Some of these unique characteristics include the soil composition, the sunlight, amount of rain, age of vines, elevation and many, many more.
All of these factors have come together to produce one of the truly outstanding winemakers in Napa, California: Pisoni.
The Pisoni family has been farming grapes in the valley since the 1940's although the vines they currently use for their own label have been planted since the 1980's.
Pisoni currently sells fruit to a virtal who's who of Napa Valley winemakers, but when looking for a wine it is definitely a good idea to look for the Pisoni name itself.
Think about it, would you sell your best fruit to your competitors? I certainly wouldn't.
Pisoni has approximately 45 acres currently planted, mostly Pinot Noir and all of it is grown sustainably.
Their location is about twenty minutes drive north of Monterrey California, where some of the lowest temperatures in the state typically reside.
Combine these lower temperatures with a high elevation of 1,300 feet (at least for Pinot Noir) and the coastal fog which exists virtually year around, Pisoni has a challenging farming environment.
This challenging environment though produces some truly great wine as the family often says: Wine in made in the vineyard.
Pisoni has an interesting wine making philosophy which has come from their decades of farming the best fruit in the valley.
Next time you are looking for a cold weather Pinot Noir, I can definitely suggest a Pisoni instead of the more typical choices from Oregon.