Joe, Stephen, and I have felt the burden as we've tasted this fall in the hopes of providing you, our loyal customers, with another top-notch wine.

With the domestic craze at an all-time high and a sea of inferior juice abounding, today's pick re-instills our hope in great New World Pinot and is proof that winemakers can both indulge the ripe fruits of the West Coast while not forgetting the lessons of Burgundy.

With top terroir, superior vines, and excellent winemaking, the Baileyana Grand Firepeak Cuvée is backed up by its serious credentials (See Sidebar)

But don't just take my word for it: Late on Wednesday while writing this email, I opened a bottle and poured a few glasses, blind, for the staff (a motley crew of Burgundy fanatics, I might add) and they thought it was fantastic.

While the intense ripe cherry fruit aromas emanating from the glass made some guess West Coast, the elegance, finesse and pinpoint balance on the palate couldn't help them from vassilating between Burgundy and California.

After eveyone had left, a glass was sitting out in the tasting room when Crush Managing Partner (and Burg aficionado) Bob Schagrin walked in. He picked it up, took a good whiff, and announced with confident swagger: "With this much spicy, sexy fruit, my guess is '03 Vosne-Romanée." (Keep in mind these wines sell for $50-150.)

When I told him it was California Pinot for under $30, he exclaimed, in trademark fashion, "Back Up the Truck!"

Tom Stephenson
General Manager
Crush Wine & Spirits

2004 Baileyana Pinot Noir "Grand Firepeak Cuvée"

Where in the World?

The Central Coast is, roughly speaking, the swatch of territory south of San Francisco all the way down to just north of Los Angeles.

If Napa is like Bordeaux (grand estates, a focus on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot), the Central Coast is closer to Burgundy, smaller estates and a talent with Pinot Noir. This a region with great wine and, importantly, great deals!

A Burgundian in California's Central Valley

Christian Roguenant is one of the Central Coast's star winemakers, lured out of Burgundy by two things: (1) The potential of CA's Central Coast (more on terroir, below), and (2) the offer by Baileyana to build a winery to his exact specifications, allowing him free reign to make the greatest expression of Central Coast Pinot Noir.

It's the terroir, though, that's always the key. Grapes for this cuvee are sourced exclusively from the Firepeak Vineyard, probably the best plot in the Edna Valley appellation. With Pinot Noir, especially Burgundian clones such as the Dijon, cool temperatures are critical for maintaining the wine's balance.

The Pacific basically functions as a massive cooling unit for the valley, which is just a few miles inland. The Firepeak Vineyard produces the prime fruit of the appellation, largely because it rests in one of the coolest parts of the region.

These grapes are the gold of the appellation, and they're treated with the appropriate delicateness. Every aspect of the process is done by hand - from the initial harvesting to the final sorting of the grapes to be included in the wine. The purity of the flavors reflects this loving care.

Why is "Value Pinot" So Hard to Find?

Everyone wants great Pinot Noir - when it's "on", it can be ethereal. But what about when you are a little less ambitious: you want a great bottle on a Thursday night but don't want to spend $30+?

Unfortunately, more often than not you're likely to be out of luck.

There are a variety of reasons why it is so difficult to find well priced Pinot. First off, the grape doesn't respond well to mass production. Chemically, it has a strong tendency to oxidize and also has an extremely low tolerance for sulfur. Its delicate transparency also exposes flaws that would go completely unnoticed in other, heartier varietals.

Winemakers aren't even safe once the wine is bottled. Notoriously fickle in the cellar, a Pinot that tastes great out of barrel can change into something much less pleasing.

In short, when we taste affordable great Pinot, we get really excited!