Wine Notes

Gamay Noir (CERISE™)

Picking Gamay noir grapes CERISE™ is our name for a predominant Gamay noir blend with Pinot noir. Both varietals exhibit a palate of cherry flavors and aromas. "Cherry" in French, Cerise is our tribute to a high fruit, only moderately serious red wine. In Burgundy they do one too, called passetoutgrains, blended close to our normal 80% Gamay noir and 20% Pinot noir, for drinking while waiting for their highly structured Pinots to develop.

We have made Cerise since 1992 and it is a special wine for some of our longtime customers. Growing Gamay noir since 1985, we have learned a lot about the grape over the years. For one thing, as the variety that makes Beaujolais, it may seem an early ripening red able to produce predictably anywhere and anytime. Not so. Beaujolais is warmer than Burgundy, it ripens later at the same cropload than Pinot noir, carrying abundant acid that takes time to subdue. It also bears heavily if given the chance—we've consistently dropped half of the crop on the ground at veraison, yielding anywhere from 2 to 4 tons! This variety on our Ridgecrest site has shown a need for a very good vintage to make exceptional wines, or else exceptional steps from us.