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Feature Article
Dan Berger’s panel of Los Carneros winemakers struggle to put their finger on what exactly makes the region's Pinot Noirs distinctive.
Los Carneros Pinot Noir: a regional signature becomes illegible as winemakers seek a new identity
Over time, wine makers in Carneros began to sense that they had to work diligently to get higher scores through elimination of the distinctive terroir components that had marked their wines of the past.
by
Dan Berger
February 12, 2006
Investigating a grape variety’s ability to display its unique regional character is, in one way, an exercise in pure faith. We make the assumption that such a character really does exist. After all, we muse, the concept of terroir has been around for a long time, a virtual icon in French vinoculture with translated versions from other languages (Spanish, Italian, German), and the formal recognition of the U.S. government, the American Viticultural Appellation.
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