Over the last few months we have been waiting impatiently for our latest wine, 2010 Solindo Pinot Noir, to mature.  Pacing back and forth in the winery, drumming our fingers on the barrels and asking childish questions to no one in particular (Are we there yet?) has not helped. The wine is going to do what it does on a schedule we cannot control.

Happily, the waiting is nearly over and soon 2010 Solindo Pinot Noir will be available for those with a taste for authentic, small production, hand-made wines.

The grapes for Solindo come from the Carneros region just North of San Francisco Bay. The vineyard is owned by the Robledo family. They have grown grapes here for over thirty years (they make fabulous wines too).

For Solindo we intentionally pick the grapes early to maintain a leaner focus, with less ripeness and alcohol in the finished wine as a result. Our winemaker, Kenny Likitprakong (he also makes his own wines under the Hobo, Banyan and Folk Machine labels) uses a mix of whole cluster as well as destemmed fruit, incorporating a small addition (3%) of Chardonnay at the outset.  Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts completes the transformation of grapes into wine. The young wine ages in 1st and 2nd year used French oak barrels for 10 months prior to bottling.

We have just 300 cases of 2010 Solindo Pinot Noir in bottles and, to satisfy a growing need, we will also be filling a limited number of 5-gallon kegs for our wine-on-tap customers.