CLINE CELLARS
2000 Pinot Gris
Sonoma County

Technical Notes
Harvest Date: September 12th - September 14th
Brix at Harvest: 24.8°
Total Acidity: 0.66g/100ml
Final pH: 3.37
Residual Sugar: 0.036 g/L
Alcohol: 14.0%
Cases Produced: 2574
Suggested Retail: $12

VINTAGE NOTES
The celebration of harvest began August 23rd for Cline Cellars and concluded on November 3rd. The 2000 growing season could be described as one of the most schizophrenic on record. Harvest 2000 ended up being longer than expected. After experiencing record high temperatures in June, followed by below normal temperatures in late August and back up to high temperatures in September and finally to cool and unexpected minor storms in October, these climatic conditions of 2000 kept our growers, vineyard managers and production team on their toes. Yields were average to slightly above average producing grapes of high quailty with forward fruit and beautiful colors.

VINEYARDS
Pinot Gris is an Alsace grape variety also known as Tokay. Cline Cellars Pinot Gris is made in similar style to its French counterpart. Our Pinot Gris vineyards are planted adjacent to the Cline Cellars winery, located in the Los Carneros district and also our newer vineyards in Petaluma. The 18-acre Carneros site is influenced by intense afternoon winds that characterize the far southern end of this region. The strong winds mitigate much of the summer heat, allowing us to harvest delicious, ripe fruit while maintaining adequate acidity. Both the Los Carneros and Petaluma vineyards are on phylloxera-resistant rootstock, in shallow clay and loam soils.

FERMENTATION AND AGING
The Pinot Gris grape is the first white grape harvested from our Los Carneros estate. A Pinot Noir mutation, the grape is blue-gray in color even when ripe. It is gently pressed to extract only the purest free-run juice. Four separate lots were used in fermentation experiments. Three inoculated with different yeast strains and one tank fermented with wild yeast. After numerous blending trials, the final blend was found to have even more character appeal. The juice was cold fermented to dryness. We chose to block malolactic fermentation to maintain it's lively acidity. Sixteen percent of the wine was barrel aged for 2-3 months in new French oak puncheons to add roundness to the wine.
WINEMAKER'S COMMENTS
Our Sonoma County Pinot Gris has ripe-peach, pear and apricot infused aromas, with a luscious mouth-feel. Though easily an everyday wine, it also pairs well with sophisticated foods like Foie Gras, grilled prawns and poached fish. This wine is exceptionally ripe and balanced, and is lovely when served as an apéritif. Cline Cellars Pinot Gris has been called grilled salmons best friend.
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Cline Cellars 24737 Hwy 121, Sonoma, CA 95476 707/935-4310
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