Producing both Bordeaux and Burgundy styled wines

[M_Dildine]

How about Scherrer? Cab, Pinot, Syrah PLUS Zinfandel. A hat trick + 1!

[Ethan_Abraham]

Arnot Roberts makes pretty much everything too…Cabernet Pinot, chard, syrah, Gamay, Riesling/sylvaner, zin, trousseau, ribolla gailla. I guess no white bordeaux or Rhone grape!

[dave_kammerer]

Dehlinger and Scherrer both make outstanding pinot noir and cabernet bottlings and have for a long time.

[Howard_Cooper]

Otto,

Do you just read the headlines in the newspapers?

No. I also get irritated if the headlines are inaccurate.

You know people who cringe when people talk about Champagne when they mean any kind of sparkling wine? I’m one of those people

Or Cheddar, or Brie…

The title could have been clearer, I’ve edited it. Now back to the topic…

Richard, everything you wrote was clear. No need to apologize

[GregT]

I’ve changed the headline to clarify.

I don’t know California, my question is rooted in a trip to the Okanagan last fall, and then recently placing some orders from there. Many wineries offering Cabs, Syrah, and Pinot. So I’m looking forward to see how they develop.

So I was wondering about the ‘artistic / creative’ dimension of winemaking versus the basics of the fruit, driven by soil and climate. Hard to tell from a visit if one or other wine being more convincing than the others is due to vintage or fruit versus the winemaker. I thought California might offer insight and hence my interest in Berserkers’ views.

But if you look at the better producers there, they set their vines at different levels up the mountains. That makes very good sense. The ones who don’t are the ones I wonder about, but you get different cooling and different UVs as you climb up those hills.

I don’t think it’s strange at all. When you have a lot to work with, why not use it? And I don’t think you need a different aesthetic do do different wines. People have been doing whites and reds for a long time, and some rosés as well.

[Eric_Ifune]

The greatest Pinot Noir in Californian history is said to be the 1946 Beaulieu grown at BV vineyard #1 in the heart of the Napa Valley. Unfortunately I’ve never had it. Vineyard was ripped out a few years later as demand for Cabernet increased.
I think the main obstacle is that they have very different cellaring techniques. A winemaker would have to be good at both.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

I dispute the notion of “Bordeaux style” and “Burgundy style.” They are regions, and there are wines are various styles produced in both.

As for a winemaker trying her/his hand at making wines from different varieties: well, that’s done all the time, often times with success. I don’t perceive the cognitive dissonance, generally.

[Scott_Spears]

I would second Rivers-Marie and Mount Eden, and I would add Sojourn. All three make lovely, silky pinot noir and powerful, complex cabernet sauvignon.

Cheers,
Scott

[Ethan_Abraham]

So besides California and British Columbia, are there any regions where, say, Cabernet and pinot grow within 10-20 miles of each other (and not just as a curiosity)? I guess in the US you have some of this in the finger lakes. Anywhere in Europe?

[John_Davis]

Morlet. They do everything very well. They aren’t cheap but I find them to be of consistently high quality and they are also good people.