Autumnal Pinots Rule

I love fall. Growing up back east, you knew big changes lay ahead when the leaves fell like clothing at a nude beach. On the Central Coast, you really know it’s fall when the vineyards go gold and rust. Have you noticed how some vineyards are beautifully green and gold, others are filled with red leaves, while others are rusted dead brown? Although beautiful, red can signal a nutrient deficiency. Chocolate brown is a sure sign of stressed out vines that shut down early. All along the Santa Lucia Highlands, the patchwork quilt has turned to lovely shades of yellow, gold and copper. Go check it out before the winter rains we are all praying for strip the last of the leaves away.

Fall is also a time for remembering, for being thankful and for sharing one’s bounty. A well known wine writer friend, Rusty Gaffney, aka Prince of Pinot, just paid a visit to the Santa Cruz area and we rounded up some of the “local talent” to share their pinots and harvest stories. Two things: be extremely thankful if your vineyard isn’t on a steep hill (erosion from the last storm was fierce), and don’t save those older pinots from the 80s and 90s for a rainy day. Drink them now while you can still enjoy them. We got lost in a 1996 Reed Vineyard Pinot from Calera that was gorgeous in its amber hues, astounding in its autumnal earthiness, expressive of autumn leaves, roasted chestnuts and baked apples and yams. Drink seasonally!