2008 Pinot Grigio Napa Valley

Jim McMahon (not the ex-Bears quarterback) is now the fourth winemaker here in less than ten years, having learned "high-end" winemaking during his four years as assistant to Mike Drash. McMahon described the winery's 2007s as "more intense across the board than 2008, as the acids and pHs remained constant thanks to a lot of foggy mornings at the winery in August and September." In comparison, he told me, 2008 was warm and early: Luna started picking in late August and finished during the second week of September. McMahon noted that Luna has not made a pinot grigio reserve bottling since 2004 and that there's no 2008 Freakout: the pinot grigio portion of that wine went into the winery's varietal pinot grigio bottling.