The Ewald Vineyard, along with the Sonatera
Vineyard, is one of our rising stars, garnering consistently high praise since we first produced
the wine in 2004. This should come as no great surprise given the vineyard’s superb location between
Kistler and Dehlinger wineries on Vine Hill Road.
Still, the 2006 vintage presented itself as a challenge for this location as this area can be particularly
foggy and 2006 was a year where botrytis ran rampant in some Russian River Vineyards.
Thanks to remarkably diligent work by David & Sally Ewald and vineyard manager Jim Pratt, our
fruit came in clean—but, just in case, we slowed down the sorting table and spent a good bit of extra
time making sure all of the clusters were rot-free.
That is not to say that harvest went off without a hitch. We have been fortunate thus far (knock on
wood) and have had very few accidents in either the vineyard or the winery. However, while loading
the Ewald fruit on our flatbed truck I managed to spill a half ton bin of fruit onto the back of
the truck and on the ground. We were able to salvage most of the fruit but, in addition to sorting
for rot, we were also carefully sorting out rocks!
In spite of these challenges, the Ewald Pinot Noir turned out to, once again, be one of our favorite
Pinots. We liked it so much, in fact, that we selected it to hold over vintage in barrel with the wine
being bottled in January of 2008. Interestingly, we have discovered that the Ewald Vineyard does
not do very well with new oak. The final blend on the 2006 wine is only 16% new oak.
Connoiseurs’ Guide to California Wine loved this wine (as do we) and rated it 93 points. In describing
the wine they said, “...It is full on the palate and supple with a suggestion of fleshiness that
is nicely held in check by the wine’s vital acidity….” Fortunately, no mention of any leftover
stones in their sample bottle!
PRODUCTION: 291 cases
RELEASE DATE: August 2008
 92 points
 93 Points ~ Medium ruby color; rich, earthy cherry aromas; ripe, complex red cherry fruit, earthy notes; good structure and balance; long finish. Silky and complex, this Pinot cries out for a roasted chicken.
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