Navarro's vines for the
Hammer Olsen Pinot Noir blocks, which we planted twenty three years ago, were based upon experimental results from a University of California Davis trial at Carneros Creek Vineyard. One of the top scoring experimental wines was produced from a field selection sourced from Chalone Vineyards in the Gavilan Mountain Range near Soledad. Subsequently two
Hammer Olsen blocks were planted to field selections sourced from Chalone; one from their original block and a second from their “new” block, which Chalone had planted, in turn, from a mixture gleaned from their old block. We were careful to take our selections from the largest range of vines possible since the fields were a mixture of several distinct Pinot Noir clones. We weren't surprised when the vines initially produced delicious red wine, but we were surprised when, after a number of years, some of the vines started to express mild grape leafroll. Leafroll turns the leaves bright red in the autumn, which is adored by photographers, but strikes fear in a grape grower. It is a complex viral disease that slows ripening of the crop, reduces color and decreases crop yields. While the grapes may be shy of color and ripeness for a red wine in cool vintages, we had a hunch that we could produce an excellent pink wine from these vines.
A Pinot vineyard in the fall. ![[above]](/images/buttons/arrow_up.gif)
This vineyard has been suckered and weeded by sheep all summer, leaving no tall weeds to inhibit grape maturation.
