With new planting of Pinot Noir in our vineyards coming to bearing in the next few years we wanted to get some experience working with this often elusive but great grape variety. The grapes used to produce this wine were sourced from both coasts, 75% from New York's Finger Lakes and 25% from Oregon's Willamette Valley, and both are trucked fresh to our winery. The grapes were lightly crushed and given a 5 day "cold soak" prior to fermentation. Fermentation on the skins lasted 10 days and the wines were then transferred to small barrels for a one year maturation. The finished wine exhibits a wonderful aroma of ripe red and bing cherries with hints of spice. On the palate it is medium bodied but packed with ripe cherry and berry flavors accented with the light smokey, toasted nut character derived from barrel maturation. The finish is long, soft and ripe. This wine pairs well with a wide variety of dished from hearty meats and pasta dishes to poultry and salmon.