Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/172581
WINEMAKING My father thought the climate and soils on the uplifted marine terraces directly in from Bodega Bay and Jenner would be ideal for elegant Pinots. He found and planted the land for our Coastlands Vineyard in 1988 and 1989. It's at 1,200 feet and just 3.5 miles from the ocean. Over the past 15 years of Cobb Wines, we have acquired long-term contracts on three other Freestone/Occidental vineyards near Coastlands. Because of the lack of fog at these sites in September and October, I have a lot of leeway as a winemaker to choose when I want to pick. Some winemakers pick later by choice unless rain is coming. I like to pick earlier in October. If you were to pick at four different times, you could make four completely different wines—from underripe to overripe. Beyond what I do in the vineyards, 90% of winemaking is the picking decision. W&V: Have you identified what you think is a sweet spot for the alcohol ranges in your wines? Cobb: The alcohol level between 12.5% and 14.5% seems to be suitable for most varieties of wine. Pinot does especially well within these ranges. Personally, I don't really enjoy any wines over 14.5% (alcohol). W&V: How do your vineyard practices help you achieve the style you're looking for? Cobb: The yields on the far west Sonoma Coast and at our vineyards are typically 1.5 (tons) to a maximum of 3 tons per acre. We pay very careful attention to canopy management including leafing, shoot thinning, green dropping and véraison fruit thinning. The level of detail achieved in the vineyard determines your ability to pick the fruit at moderate ripeness profiles. Especially the green and véraison fruit dropping, which can be done two to three times between July/August and pre-harvest. The use of sustainable viticulture and being as organic as possible (without losing crop) allows for minimal intervention during fermentation. Whereas some wineries may include additions of yeast food, enzymes and fining agents, I have found that if the work is done meticulously in the vineyard through canopy management and green dropping, then I'm able to pick the vineyard at beautiful maturity and full flavor at 22º to 24º Brix. Cobb sources from four vineyards to produce a total of 1,200-1,500 cases per year. W&V: How do you decide when to pick? Cobb: The picking decision for Oak exposure offers complexity to Pinot Noir W inemaker Ross Cobb ages his Pinot Noirs longer than most of his California colleagues do—typically 20 months or more in barrel and an additional one to two years in bottle. He uses about 30% new oak and prefers tight-grained wood that's been air-dried for three years. Barrels receive a light to medium toast. He deals with six to seven coopers and several forests, all French. He declined to identify the coopers. After bottling, Cobb says, "I have also found that one to two years in bottle before release is best. I age my wines for at least one year in bottle before releasing them to my mailing list, and two years before releasing to restaurant and retail customers. Since many restaurants immediately put the wines on their list, I think it is very important that restaurants are showing the wines when they are at the beginning of their most optimum time." He adds, "I definitely make wines that can be very beautiful within six months of bottling, but when given at least two years to rest, they show most elegantly and expressively." L.D. 56 W IN E S & VINE S O CTOB ER 2013