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April 2018 WINES&VINES 47 WINEMAKING ing on top during the entire ex- tended maceration period." Total time on skins averages between 21-40 days, with the exception of Schug (12 days) and Small Vines (17-18 days). Only Gary Farrell inoculates for malo- lactic fermentation, treating with Enoferm Alpha after drain and press and before going to barrel. In addition, Anne Amie, Gary Farrell and Schug do acid addi- tions. At pressing Anne Amie adds .8 g/L tartaric acid, while Gary Farrell adds 2 g/L at the grape stage during cold soak and Schug introduces 1.25 g/L post cold soak at inoculation. Post-production Oregon's Anne Amie features the most elaborate oaking protocols, favoring 100% French oak com- prised of 25% new, 25% one- year and 50% neutral. All wines are racked to neutral oak after nine months for an additional seven months aging. In Califor- nia, Gary Farrell uses 40% new French oak with light toast, Schug 25% new French oak and S m a l l Vi n e s 3 0 % a n d 4 0 % respectively. "My use of oak varies vintage to vintage," said Sloan with Small Vines. "Every vintage wears oak slightly differently. Great oak brings a brightness and tension to the wine. I'm looking for barrels that change the wine the least." After fermentation and aging, final alcohol levels range from 13.0% at Brooks in Oregon to 13.9% at Schug in California. Final pH levels range from 3.43 at Brooks in Oregon to 3.68 at Small Vines in Sonoma. Conclusions While all of these producers aspire to a classic style of Pinot Noir, none follows a dogmatic approach either in the vineyard or the cellar. Ore- gon's Chapter 24 may be consid- ered an outlier in its emphasis on soils analysis as the blueprint for building their vineyards, while Cali- fornia's Small Vines hews its own path with its commitment to old- world best practices such as spac- ing, trellising, canopy management and judicious use of whole clusters during fermentation. While production methods may vary, the motivation of these six winemakers for working with Pinot Noir does not—a shared quest for purity, precision and perfection. "What I like about Pinot Noir is its transparency," says House- man. "As a red grape it yields a finished wine when made well that has many white wine quali- ties. Like a white wine, there is less to hide behind. This means for me, and, the Cube Project demonstrated this very well, that tiny nuances in site, clone, vin- tage, viticulture and of course winemaking intent can result in Winemaker Theresa Heredia at Gary Farrell Vineyards in the Russian River Valley. GARY FERRELL VINEYARDS