By Stedt Wines
2019 Pinot Noir

The Label
For our flagship Pinot Noir, the Stedt Wines graphic takes an aesthetic center stage in classic elegance. It reflects the character of our Pinot Noir, which is crafted in a time-honored way to show balance, longevity, and complexity.

Wine Details
AVA: Eola-Amity Hills
Region: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Grape: Pinot Noir, Pommard clone

Region
This growing region is unique for the winds from the Van Duzer Corridor. Maritime influence cools off at night to aid in acid retention. Winds help keep the vineyard canopy clean. Fruit clusters are smaller, and the skins are thicker with high levels of tannin. Soils here are marine sedimentary.

Vintage
The vintage will be remembered for the early rains in September and rapid cooldown into October, which challenged harvesting decisions. Although fall rain did arrive sooner than normal this year, the fruit still reached the desired Brix levels we were aiming to achieve.

Winemaking
Hand-sorted clusters were destemmed, with 10% left as whole bunches, and added to 1.3-ton fermentors. A three-day cold soak preceded fermentation. A combination of manual pigeage and pump-over was used for the extraction of tannin and color from the skins. After a low-pressure press cycle, the wine was allowed to settle clear before barreling down. 16 months in 228-L French oak barrels, 30% first-fill.
[Information provided by Matador Vino]