2011 Pinot Noir Fog Eater

Molly and Jason Drew made their last "southern north coast" wine, a pinot noir from Mcdougall Ranch, in the Sonoma Coast in 2011 and are now fully focused on their own vineyard and others nearby in the Anderson Valley and greater Mendocino. Their roomy winery, on their property in the remote town of Elk, just over three miles from the Pacific Ocean, affords Jason "all the room needed to work efficiently and without space constraints." It also puts him right in the middle of his own seven-acre, organically and dry-farmed vineyard, which he says "gives you an entirely different perspective than when you just buy grapes or go through the vineyards every so often." Jason thinks that 2011 "was a great year to work with whole clusters because the stems had no green to them at all by the time harvest came around. In spite of this being a cool, even cold region, getting fruit intensity isn't a concern for him, "nor should it be for anybody almost anywhere in California. The real danger is getting too much fruit, which is why people are exploring areas that can balance things toward elegance."