2015 Pinot Noir

In 2002 owner, local boy and Cal Poly graduate (and former chairman and CEO of Raytheon, by the way) Bill Swanson acquired this property, which was a pioneer in the Edna Valley when it was first planted in 1978. The first estate-bottled wines were made in 2008, and over the years Swanson has built up holdings to over 100 acres of vines. In recent vintages these wines have been steadily creeping up in quality. I now place Center of Effort solidly in the upper tier of the region’s producers, especially for their Pinot Noirs and, increasingly, for their Chardonnays as well. I had the chance to drink their 2011 Estate Chardonnay recently and, while fully mature, it is sailing along quite nicely, which is no mean feat for a nine-year-old wine of that variety from any region of California.