California Wine, Sonoma Coast

About Hirsch Vineyards

Hirsch Vineyards was established in 1980, perched on a ridge overlooking the Pacific at Fort Ross, Sonoma County, Hirsch Vineyards is the birth ground of great pinot noir on the Sonoma coast. David Hirsch founded the vineyard on the extreme Sonoma Coast to grow fruit and make site-specific wine. The pinot noir and chardonnay wines from Hirsch Winery give the passionate drinker an experience of the clash of opposites meeting in Nature and Life: the edge of the continent washed by the sea; the eviternal grinding of the North American and Pacific plates along the San Andreas Fault; the wet winters and dry summers caused by the ocean and desert climates; the dripping rainforest and parched pastures; the contact and intermingling of cultures: Native American, Mexican, Russian, European; the change in rural economy from logging and ranching to winegrowing.

In the grapes and wines of Hirsch Vineyards and Winery you find a natural balance and consistency in the harmonious resolution of these opposites.

Bought property in 1978; planted Old Vineyard to pinot noir and Riesling in 1980. Quit day job 1987 to develop vineyards: 44 acres planted 1990-1996; 25 acres planted 2002-03. Responsible for reminding everyone ad nauseam our goal always to focus on the site; that important developments are fruits of mistakes made with a serious attitude; and to never forget that we don’t know what we don’t know.

Deep ruby. Exotic spice top note, with layers of leather, cedar, earth, loganberry and raspberry. Rich flavors of plum and ripe berry evolve to a mouth-filling, silken mid-palate showing great finesse textually as the acid structure refreshes the palate and carries the flavors to a sustained, layered finish and the loamy earth notes return.

Straw colored with a green tinge. Fresh hay/biscuit top note followed by floral and toasty oak aromas. Bright and lively on the palate, in turn showing white stone fruit and an elegant minerality typical of the site. While quite rich in structure, the acid balance keeps this wine where it belongs: on the table with a wide variety of foods from fresh-shucked oysters to richer seafood to pork loin and veal. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.