2008 Pinot Noir MK Vineyard

Kathryn and Paul Sloan's vineyard management company, called Small Vines Viticulture, oversees a number of sites throughout the RussianRiverValley and SonomaCoast. The Sloans began making small quantities of their own pinot noir with the 2006 vintage. They plant their vineyards in a tight 4 by 4 foot spacing or even 4 by 3 fashion after a traditional Burgundy model (as opposed to the more common 8 by 12 foot spacing of many California vineyards) and the vines are cropped for minimal fruit load, which is compensated for by the higher number of vines planted per acre-about double to triple the standard number. This planting regimen requires a serious investment in manpower as most vineyard machinery is designed to work with wider vine spacing. Paul Sloan told me that in the 2008 season, for example, a ton of grapes from vines that they manage cost around $9,000 to farm, which means that anybody willing to make such a substantial investment in their grapes is clearly shooting for the top of the market.