I just harvested and made wine from about 60 vines of what the nursery told
me was "the Davis clone of pinot noir". The bundles of rooted cuttings
were marked "Gamay Beaujelais". The first wine I made from these vines in
2002 (vines were in the third year) was really watery and tasteless. Not at
all like the pinot noir I desired. I added some concentrate to beef it up,
and made a passable red wine, but not pinot noir. I thought maybe it was
due to not removing some of the juice (seigneur?) so this year i removed
20% of the juice and let it set for about 30 days on the skins, (under argon
last 15 days). Same story. Really low flavor intensity, dissapointing color.
(I used Rapidase EX) So now I am wondering about this clone. I also notice
that pinot noir is not made commercially in this area. We had 22 days over
100 degrees this summer with very low humidity, but the nights are always
70 or below, and 50 or less during ripening. TA was .9, brix 22.5. Any
thoughts on this subject would be appreciated!

Sounds like you're on the right track. Here's what I do for Pinot:
Remove 10% of the juice to make a rose
Cold soak prior to fermentation for 4 days at 50 F (extracts more color,
flavor)
Ferment hot, making sure to reach at least 90 degrees in the cap.
Press at dryness. (Extended maceration can DECREASE color)
I've successfully made good dark Pinot with the UCD18 clone, but of course
it all depends on the local conditions and condition at harvest. Sounds
like you picked a little early, and your vines are still young so don't give
up yet.

Regards,

John
"Darwin Vander Stelt" > wrote in message
...
> I just harvested and made wine from about 60 vines of what the nursery
told
> me was "the Davis clone of pinot noir". The bundles of rooted cuttings
> were marked "Gamay Beaujelais". The first wine I made from these vines in
> 2002 (vines were in the third year) was really watery and tasteless. Not
at
> all like the pinot noir I desired. I added some concentrate to beef it up,
> and made a passable red wine, but not pinot noir. I thought maybe it was
> due to not removing some of the juice (seigneur?) so this year i removed
> 20% of the juice and let it set for about 30 days on the skins, (under
argon
> last 15 days). Same story. Really low flavor intensity, dissapointing
color.
> (I used Rapidase EX) So now I am wondering about this clone. I also notice
> that pinot noir is not made commercially in this area. We had 22 days over
> 100 degrees this summer with very low humidity, but the nights are always
> 70 or below, and 50 or less during ripening. TA was .9, brix 22.5. Any
> thoughts on this subject would be appreciated!
>
>

I was looking at gamay clones and found some literature that said the early
cuttings brought to California were thought to be pinot noir but were in
fact Gamay Beaujolais (a gamay noir clone).
Gamay sets crop like crazy but if thinned can make a nice wine (nouveau or
big red style with lots of oak) but it won't be like pinot noir.

Joe

"Darwin Vander Stelt" > wrote in message
...
> I just harvested and made wine from about 60 vines of what the nursery
told
> me was "the Davis clone of pinot noir". The bundles of rooted cuttings
> were marked "Gamay Beaujelais". The first wine I made from these vines in
> 2002 (vines were in the third year) was really watery and tasteless. Not
at
> all like the pinot noir I desired. I added some concentrate to beef it up,
> and made a passable red wine, but not pinot noir. I thought maybe it was
> due to not removing some of the juice (seigneur?) so this year i removed
> 20% of the juice and let it set for about 30 days on the skins, (under
argon
> last 15 days). Same story. Really low flavor intensity, dissapointing
color.
> (I used Rapidase EX) So now I am wondering about this clone. I also notice
> that pinot noir is not made commercially in this area. We had 22 days over
> 100 degrees this summer with very low humidity, but the nights are always
> 70 or below, and 50 or less during ripening. TA was .9, brix 22.5. Any
> thoughts on this subject would be appreciated!
>
>