MyWinePal: Two Certified Sustainable California Coastal Pinot Noir Wines

California is a leader in sustainable wine growing. According to California Certified Sustainable, 38% of California winegrape acres that they monitor are sustainable, and 188 Certified Wineries produce 202 million cases of wine (80% of California wine). That is remarkable and commendable. I have two bottles of Certified Sustainable Pinot Noir wines from California to review for you: Cambria Estate Winery Julia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 and La Crema Monterey Pinot Noir 2022.

My Wine Tasting Notes

La Crema Monterey Pinot Noir 2022 (BC $32.99)

Winemaker’s notes, “Fruit is cold soaked at 48ºF for 3-5 days. Fermented in open top tanks, punched down 3 times per day during active fermentation. Post-fermentation, free run was transferred to tank for one night of settling before racking to new and used French oak barrels.”

Appearance: A medium-intensity, consistent translucent garnet colour from the rim to the core.
Nose: Quite aromatic. Medium-plus intensity aromas of smoky toasty raspberries, red plums, plus red fruit and sweet spices. No changes to the aromas after decanting, other than being slightly lighter in intensity.
Palate: This wine is dry, but has a fruity sweetness. Red fruit, raspberries, and red cherries flavours along with light integrated smoky toastiness. It is smooth, soft and round. Almost mouth-filling. Medium acidity and light tannins. There is also a hint of violets and some candied red cherries with air. Same fruit flavours after decanting but are a bit tarter toward the finish.
Finish: Medium-plus length finishing with light tannins. Smoky, tasty red fruit, a touch of candied cherries and some pepperiness on the finish. A tarter red fruit finish after decanting.

A tasty, easy to enjoy wine with lots of fruit flavours and a nice, soft texture. No need to decant.

Rating: – This wine has a medium-intensity, consistent translucent garnet colour. Aromas of smoky toasty raspberries, red plums, plus red fruit and sweet spices. It is dry but has fruity sweetness. Red fruit, raspberries, and red cherries flavours along with light integrated smoky toastiness. Smooth on the palate. A medium-plus length.

La Crema Monterey Pinot Noir 2022 and Cambria Estate Winery Julia's Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 with wines in glasses — La Crema Monterey Pinot Noir 2022 and Cambria Estate Winery Julia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 with wines in glasses

Cambria Estate Winery Julia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 (BC $46.99 on sale till June 1/24)

This is Cambria’s flagship red wine sourced from a single vineyard. From the winery, “Julia’s Vineyard, named for Julia Jackson in 1986, consists of ancient soils with fossilized seashells, shale, limestone and sand, with fog swept vines that have endured since the 1970s.” Winemaker’s notes, “100% destemmed; 100% stainless steel fermented in open top tanks, 5-day cold soak. 100% barrel aged for 8-1/2 months in French Oak (22% new).” The winery uses 56% Clone 4, 20% Clone 667, 13% Clone 23, 7% Clone 2A, and 4% Clone 115 for this wine.

Appearance: A clear, slightly deeper translucent garnet colour, compared to the La Crema Pinot Noir.
Nose: Medium intensity, darker aromas of ripe red fruit, red cherries, dried herbs, light oak toastiness, and sweet spices. The aromas were lighter after decanting, mainly red fruit, toast and sweet spices. Maybe an extra long decant will bring back the aroma strength.
Palate: Like the La Crema, this wine is dry but has fruity sweetness. You get sweet cherries and darker, riper red fruit flavours, plus sweet spices. This wine has a medium-plus body and smooth on the palate, but does have a medium tannic backbone for some structure. I also pick up dried herbs and a touch of oak on the palate. This wine has some nice acidic tension. With decanting, you get the same flavours, the wine continues to be smooth, but the tannins become lighter and softer in strength.
Finish: The flavour fades quickly but then lingers for a while. It finishes with flavours of red fruit, sweet cherries, and toast, plus a touch of pepperiness. Medium tannins on the finish. The wine length does not fade as quickly after decanting and you get a drier finish. Mainly red fruit and cherry flavours on the finish.

I preferred the undecanted version as it had stronger aromas and more tannic structure.

Rating: This wine has a clear, slightly deeper translucent garnet colour. It is dry but has fruity sweetness. Sweet cherries and darker, riper red fruit flavours along with dried herbs. Medium tannins and nice acidic tension. Flavours fade quickly on the finish but then lingers for a longer time.

If you like havarti cheese embedded with jalapeno peppers, it goes very well with both wines. The creaminess of the cheese, plus the hint of spice and herbaceousness meshes with the red fruit flavours and acidity of the wines.

Sustainability

In case you are not familiar with sustainability concerning grape growing and wine making, here is some information from each of the wineries.

La Crema

From the winery: “60% of our estate vineyard properties are left unplanted. This allows the natural habitats to thrive and helps our vines become part of the land’s biodiversity system. Together they create a harmony that helps the ecosystem flourish…

…Harnessing biodiversity helps us reduce our use of chemicals. We undertake regenerative farming. Regenerative farming does not use pesticides or other synthetic solutions. Compost keeps the soil healthy by increasing organic matter, keeping the soil fertile, increasing water holding, and regulating soil density…

…Once a grape has been crushed, what remains is a pulpy substance that isn’t used in the wine called pomace. Instead of throwing out our pomace (where it would waste away in a landfill and create greenhouse gases), we use that pomace in our compost where it provides nutrients for our soil…

…We divert as much as 99% of our organic waste from landfills…

…Cover crops can help limit weed growth, prevent soil erosion, maintain moisture, and attract pollinators like honeybees and butterflies…

…Sheep and chickens can enjoy a little romantic snack while overlooking the views of our gorgeous estate. These friends of the farm graze on our unwanted weeds, nibble on our excess cover crops, and provide a natural, straight from the source, fertilizer. The chickens also help aid in insect population control…

…Since California is in a drought most years, we’ve installed a rainwater capture system. That way we can collect and save rainwater for a later use. This year alone we’ve collected over 80,000 gallons of rainwater...” Plus much more.

Cambria Estate Winery

A few examples of the sustainability efforts by the winery:

“Reduced Carbon Emissions — This is a biggie for us. By 2050, we aim to reduce emissions and actually sequester more carbon than we put out. We’re making big changes through our Carbon Farming model; by using compost and cover crops, and little to no tilling of the soil, we’re already seeing our output go way down.

Water Conservation — We’re taking a look at all our practices, such as sanitizing tanks and steam-cleaning barrels, and thinking about how we can reduce our water usage. We now recycle water from the winery and give it a second use in the vineyards.

Reduce Waste — See ya, trash! We’re proud to say that for the past several years, we’ve only sent about 1% of waste to the landfill. The rest is either recycled, reused, or turned into compost. We’re well on our way to reaching our goal of becoming a Zero Waste winery.

Renewable Energy — Our winery is stylishly outfitted with 1,836 solar panels, which now power 54% of our operations.

Employee Garden — Every year we plant a vegetable garden for our team members. Together we cultivate all the produce and use it for our annual BBQs and parties. Our team can also bring some of the bounty home to their families.

Team Member Retention — Sing it out loud: R-E-S-P-E-C-T. We value each other and we’re proud to say our vineyard and winery family members have been with us for an average of 18 years.”