Bell Wine Cellars Pinot Noir (3)

[losthighwayz]

@merbill

I can help you with that. You want 1 or 2?

Bell is known for superb Cabernet and Merlot. How and why did you get involved with Oregon Pinot Noir?

I’ll take two off your hands.

[rjquillin]

@merbill

I can help you with that. You want 1 or 2?

Bell is known for superb Cabernet and Merlot. How and why did you get involved with Oregon Pinot Noir?

either. just couldn’t justify six.
tnx

[klezman]

@anthonyabell

We work with a custom crush winery to help us source the fruit and they crush and ferment the wines for us. We then ship the fermented wine down to Yountville where we age and bottle the wine. I prefer this to trucking the grapes and risking losing fruit components or the grapes beginning to ferment on us. It has worked very well for us and I feel it has allowed us to produce the delicate style, with lovely red fruits, that we have established. It also allows us to better manage the acidity in the wines.

So how do you get to give your input for the crush and fermentation? Do you know a priori which yeast you want to pitch, fermentation temps, and such? Do you visit there during crush to oversee the process? Do you have them rush you samples to taste so you can adjust as needed? Can you do it all by the numbers?

Seems like a big challenge to manage winemaking from afar!

[anthonyabell]

@klezman

So how do you get to give your input for the crush and fermentation? Do you know a priori which yeast you want to pitch, fermentation temps, and such? Do you visit there during crush to oversee the process? Do you have them rush you samples to taste so you can adjust as needed? Can you do it all by the numbers?

Seems like a big challenge to manage winemaking from afar!

Great question. It is a very difficult process to manage, not my approach to winemaking and not something I am very keen to continue doing. Over the past few vintages we have worked collaboratively to figure out what we are doing and how we want it done. I have had to rely heavily on their winemaker and their more familiar knowledge with their local grapes and conditions. Because of physically doing the cellar work at Bell I am unable to visit during harvest so I have had to rely on trust and post harvest winemaking. Most of the work is done based on flavor profile and style and not the numbers. My experience has been that generally the numbers do not make tremendous sense unless you can taste the juice/wine at the same time. Making Napa Cabernet is much more fun and where my time and attention is spent.

[merbill]

@rjquillin

either. just couldn’t justify six.
tnx

Done

@losthighwayz

I’ll take two off your hands.

and done.

I bought two 3-packs, so we each get 2 bottles.

[losthighwayz]

@merbill

and done.

I bought two 3-packs, so we each get 2 bottles.

Nice. Thanks. I got next, enabler

[losthighwayz]

@anthonyabell

Great question. It is a very difficult process to manage, not my approach to winemaking and not something I am very keen to continue doing. Over the past few vintages we have worked collaboratively to figure out what we are doing and how we want it done. I have had to rely heavily on their winemaker and their more familiar knowledge with their local grapes and conditions. Because of physically doing the cellar work at Bell I am unable to visit during harvest so I have had to rely on trust and post harvest winemaking. Most of the work is done based on flavor profile and style and not the numbers. My experience has been that generally the numbers do not make tremendous sense unless you can taste the juice/wine at the same time. Making Napa Cabernet is much more fun and where my time and attention is spent.

Honest reply that’s appreciated though not very encouraging as to the future of PN at Bell! Sounds like the trouble of obtaining the grapes not worth the time spent on cellaring and/or marketing. Also, Does not sound like Bell has much to do with the actual winemaking on this offer! i am still in via Merbill but a bit taken aback

[sccrkeepr]

I would be in if i didnt just drop 200$ at the winery last weekend.

on a side note Bell’s port is one of the best i’ve ever had. It’s sooo smooth.

[cortot20]

Info post:
All tasting notes for this wine have been cross posted into CT under user name wine.woot_taster. User names have been removed to protect the guilty. PM me if you want your tasting note removed or user name added back.

Thanks and back to the wineing.

[wkdpanda]

I am soo sorry I missed this. I thought the wines that were being made at Bell were wonderful.

[chipgreen]

@wkdpanda

I am soo sorry I missed this. I thought the wines that were being made at Bell were wonderful.

Ditto, we were out of town for a few days and I was pretty much off the grid. Hopefully it will come around again…