2020 J. Brix Pinot Gris "Nomine Amoris", Riverbench Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley

Product information

ABOUT THIS WINE

The Pinot Gris vines are planted on the Santa Maria Bench, an ancient riverbed made up of alluvial soils containing clay, silt, sand, gravel, sandstone, and river cobble. The fruit was picked on September 10, 2020 and was hand-picked at night, vineyard-sorted. The fruit was destemmed, skin-fermented for native primary fermentation (13 days). Pressed to neutral French oak barrels after primary fermentation. The wine spent 3.5 months in barrel before bottling; full malolactic. Unfined & unfiltered. No cold-stabilization; natural sediment will form upon extended refrigeration. 

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

After tasting a bottle of Pinot noir grown and made in the Santa Maria Valley, San Diegans Jody and wife Emily got their winemaking start as volunteer harvest interns there, and found they simply couldn't get enough of the dirty work. One dream led to another; J. Brix Wines is the unexpectedly felicitous result.

Jody's college and career background in horticulture translates to time and study in the vineyards; there's nowhere he'd rather be. A keen understanding of plant physiology provides insight into the way each individual growing season affects the vines, the fruit, and the wine. A keen intuition built on many years working with plants helps guide winemaking decisions, which vary from harvest to harvest based on the sum of the season.