Folk Machine Central Coast Pinot Noir 2024
We have 10 in stock (Inventory is live and accurate)
The Land
Most of the fruit in this cool-climate Pinot grows somewhere that gets about 9.5 inches of rain a year. Arroyo Seco is a triangle of Monterey County where Arroyo Seco Creek runs out to the Salinas River near Soledad. Every afternoon, wind off Monterey Bay pushes up the Salinas Valley and keeps the vineyards cool through a growing season of about 245 days, which puts the area in Region II. The soils are gravelly sandy loams weathered from granite and spread across a fast-draining alluvial fan. Vines here irrigate from the creek. The long, cool, windy season gives Pinot Noir from the Central Coast its tart red fruit and firm acidity. Mission Ranch and Cedar Lane anchor the blend, with a small amount from Vecino Vineyard in Potter Valley.
The Wine
Folk Machine Central Coast Pinot Noir 2024 is built mostly on the Pommard and 2A (Wädenswil) clones, with a little Dijon material for riper, more forward fruit. Blocks were picked in September at 21 to 22.5 Brix. Every lot was fully destemmed but left uncrushed, so whole berries went into uninoculated fermentations. Extraction was minimal, with one pulse-air pump-over a day. Malolactic happened on its own. The wine was never racked. It stayed on its lees with occasional bâtonnage until bottling, aging in 2- to 6-year-old French oak. Expect a pale, translucent ruby with cranberry, Bing cherry, and sweet spice. The texture is lean, and the finish is lifted and soft. The low picking sugars keep the alcohol moderate.
The People
Kenny Likitprakong learned the trade in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He took his first winemaking job there in 1999, and Hobo's earliest grapes were crushed at Hallcrest Vineyards near Felton. He finished his viticulture and enology degree at UC Davis in 2001, and in 2005 he became winemaker at Moshin Vineyards. A year later he launched Folk Machine as a home for his Pinot Noirs. The Central Coast bottling came with a new Folk Machine series in 2008 and became one of the label's best sellers. Hobo now calls it the backbone of a Pinot program that goes back more than 20 years. The wine stays consistent year to year because the sites and the light-handed method stay the same.
Food Pairing
Light tannin and bright acidity let this Pinot go with dishes that would swamp a heavier red. Pan-roast salmon with a soy and brown-sugar glaze. The wine's acidity balances the sweetness, and its red fruit stands up to the fish. Sear pork tenderloin and finish it with a cherry-balsamic pan sauce that matches the fruit. Toss roasted beets and farro with orange segments and pistachios, where the wine's earthiness meets the beets. Or simmer turkey meatballs in a tomato-fennel sauce. It is a Tuesday Pinot at a Tuesday price, with more going on than most weekend bottles.
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Sonoma County, located west of Napa Valley and stretching to the Pacific Ocean, is a large and diverse wine region in California. With a history of winemaking dating back to the 19th century, Sonoma's varied terroir allows it to grow grapes in multiple places throughout the region. Bordered by the Mayacamas Mountains on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west, the county encompasses a range of climates and soils. The Russian River Valley, known for its cool climate influenced by fog, is acclaimed for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Alexander Valley, further inland and warmer, excels with Cabernet Sauvignon. The Sonoma Coast, a region directly influenced by the Pacific's cool breezes and fog, is gaining recognition for elegant, cool-climate wines, particularly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. This diverse landscape provides the fruit for an array of styles.
California - Sonoma County
Pinot Noir is a thin-skinned, notoriously difficult-to-grow, low-yielding grape that finds its ancestral home in Burgundy, France, where it produces some of the world's most elegant and nuanced wines. While Burgundy remains its spiritual heartland, Pinot Noir has since traveled the globe, finding success in other cooler climates, notably in California, Oregon, New Zealand, and Germany. This grape is a challenge for any grower, as it requires specific conditions to show its best, and yet the wines it produces are capable of such a captivating and singular character.
