Romanini Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016

Sonoma Coast

THE VINEYARD:
Italian immigrant Antonio Romanini planted this vineyard, his first in Sonoma Valley, in 1954. Since then, the alluvial soils have yielded grapes for perfect Pinot Noir: vines with compact clusters and smaller yields. The vineyard comprises mostly Pommard and Calera Clones on 101-14 rootstock. The fruit intensity from this site is influenced by the nearby Carneros climate and the growing season’s cool nights and warm days. Adding to the provenance is the fact that this vineyard is farmed by the "grandfather" of organic and biodynamic vineyard farming in California, Phil Coturri, and his team at Enterprise Vineyards.

http://blog.ernestvineyards.com/2018/03/the-engineer-and-best-laid-plans.html

LABEL STORY:
Todd’s maternal grandfather, Ray, joined the U.S. Navy during World War II. Inside the family, they called him The Engineer. After returning to the U.S., Ray joined the team that built the Saturn V rocket that took us to the moon. He always had the big picture in mind.

TASTING NOTE:
The signature rose petal aroma of this organically-farmed site is married with summer cherries and earth in this vintage.   On the palate, bright acidity is balanced with light tannins and a very low alcohol. Sour cherries, Chinese plums, and herbal notes satisfy with delicate flavor.

Aging: 40% New French Oak, 14 months
Cases Produced: 142
Alc. BY Vol: 12.3

Single Vineyard

Ernest Vineyards specializes in site-specific wines. Each of our wines comprises grapes from one vineyard and one vineyard only. For our Ernest labels, we use grapes from seven sites in all. Some sites are well-draining, some are on hillsides. Some face west, some are considered cold-climate. We work closely with growers and vineyard managers at each site to dial-in the farming to adhere to a style that maximizes flavor ripeness while keeping sugars down and acidity high. The result: Wines that are pure expressions of the sites from which they came.

Current Releases

The Aviator Henry David Vineyard Aligoté 2018 Bennett Valley

The Jester Fallenleaf Vineyard Chardonnay 2017 Sonoma Coast

The Farmer Cleary Ranch Chardonnay 2017 Sonoma Coast

The Engineer Romanini Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017 Sonoma Coast

The Settler Cleary Ranch Pinot Noir 2017 Sonoma Coast

The Wrangler Grand Vent Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017 Petaluma Gap

The Grandfather Rayhill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017 Sonoma Coast

Past Vintages

Rosé

We produce rosé under the Eugenia label; our current release, from the 2019 vintage, include two different wines. One—The Country Wife—is a rosé of cinsault, and is just like all of our other single-vineyard wines, made with grapes from one vineyard and one vineyard only. Another—The Motley—is a rosé of pinot noir, and is a blend from our very coldest pinot noir sites.

Current Releases

The Country Wife San Lucas Vineyard Rosé of Cinsault 2019 Central Coast

The Motley Rosé of Pinot Noir 2019 Sonoma Coast

The Country Wife & The Motley 2019 Eugenia Rosé 6 PACK Central Coast / Sonoma Coast

Country wife and Motley 2019 Eugenia & Motley Rosé MIX CASE Central Coast / Sonoma Coast

Past Vintages

Edaphos

In addition to Ernest and Eugenia, we own and operate a third label: Edaphos (pronounced ee-dah-fos). It means “base,” “ground,” and “soil” in Greek; we felt it was a good expression of our attitude behind this winemaking. We consider this part of our business to be our “laboratory,” the place where we make small-lot wines that incorporate new and exciting approaches to winemaking with different styles and off-beat grape varietals. Sometimes we also call it our “sandbox.” The Edaphos strategy enables us to explore, experiment, and apply some of the lessons we learn to wines we make under our other labels. It also allows us to produce different wines whenever we feel like making them.

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Visit Us

Our Tasting Room is open daily, 10am-4pm in Windsor. We offer varying wine tasting selections that span releases and varietals. View current tasting selections and pricing below.

Wine Club

Our Ernest Family wine clubs offer our customers convenient twice yearly delivery of our special, limited-production wines. Each shipment during our Fall and Spring releases is curated with a mix of wines expressing the best of the vintage.