Pisoni cultivates Old World flavors with own-rooted vines

Wines & Vines, March, 2005 by Tina Caputo

Like Lee, Pisoni says he's happy with the by-the-acre arrangement. "All the wineries I've been working with, I'm great buddies with them all," he says. "They're all great guys. We don't have any contracts; we get by well on those handshakes."

If that's not Old World, I don't know what is.

RELATED ARTICLE: Gary Pisoni's Viticultural Techniques

* Committed to investing a great deal of personal attention and hand labor to produce the best grapes possible

* Different viticultural practices for different producers; selling fruit by the acre allows farming to individual specifications

* Same 15-person crew works the vineyards all year

* All hand labor and numerous passes through the vineyards

* Drip irrigation with small amounts of water

T.C.

RELATED ARTICLE: Pisoni Vineyard Facts

* 45 planted acres, mostly Pinot Noir

* The vineyard includes nine blocks varying in size from one-half acre to 16.8 acres. Harvest can vary more than two weeks between blocks located less than a mile apart.

* Spacing: 5-by-10 feet on plantings before 1992 and 5-by-8 feet on post-1992 plantings

* Trellis design: Nearly all blocks are vertically shoot positioned, unilaterally trained and cordon pruned with 8-12 positions per cordon; the Tina's block Lyre system is the one exception.

* Soil: Well-drained, decomposed granite and sandy loam (soils vary within individual blocks)

* Row direction: Varies, with the majority of blocks facing southeast

* Rootstock: 5C with Pisoni clone

* Elias, Camper and Mommy's blocks are own-rooted to the Pisoni clone.

* Yields: 2-2.5 tons per acre

T.C.

RELATED ARTICLE: Pisoni Tasting Notes

In addition to selling grapes to high-end Pinot Noir producers, Pisoni makes a small amount of wine under the Pisoni Vineyards & Winery label. Gary Pisoni runs the operation with his sons, Mark and Jeff. Mark shares vineyard managing responsibilities with Gary, while brother Jeff, who earned a B.S. in enology at California State, Fresno, is the family winemaker.

Pisoni 2002 Estate Pinot Noir ($60) -- Made from the fruit of Pisoni's own-rooted vines, this lush Pinot has a deep garnet color, along with rich blackberry and raspberry aromas, accented with a touch of spice. There's lots of ripe black fruit on the palate, with good acidity and firm, balanced tannins. A bold and impressive Pinot. Case production: 382.

Siduri 2003 Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir ($52) -- This wine is produced by Adam and Dianna Lee of Siduri, and contains Pisoni Vineyard fruit from three blocks: Big Block, Hermanos and Tina's. It has enticing aromas of black fruit, eucalyptus and spice, along with ripe blueberry and blackberry flavors. It has a touch of vanilla at the finish, and enough acidity to balance the concentrated fruit.

T.C.