2018 Bouchaine Pinot Noir Carneros
Napa Valley
Napa Green Certified Land
Fish Friendly Farming Certified
Tasting Notes
A tangy fresh cherry nose opens to cocoa, cola, and notes of nutmeg. The juicy lip smacking entry shows lovely cherry and wild strawberry flavors with gorgeous rose petal and baking spices in the background. Smooth tannin and vibrant acidity make this a perfect wine for food pairings.
Vinification
All fruit is hand harvested at night, preserving berry integrity. After a 5–7day cold soak, fruit is fermented with native yeast in both open and closed top tanks. The wine is then drawn off and the must placed into a basket press for gentle pressing. All wines complete malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels. The vineyard blocks are kept separate for evaluation and the best blocks are racked together in late Spring to assemble the finest expression of Carneros. The wine is returned to barrel to allow the blend to marry before the August bottling.
Vineyards
Bouchaine’s 100-acre estate vineyard lies on the southern border of Napa Valley’s Carneros district, overlooking the San Francisco bay with the financial district in the distance. Fog, wind, and the cold night time temperatures of this unique geographical area lend a distinctive regional identity to our Pinot Noir.
About Bouchaine Vineyards
Bouchaine is the oldest continuously operating winery in Carneros, a region located on the southern tip of Napa Valley. In the late 1880s, a Missouri-born settler named Boon Fly planted grapes and fruit trees on the property. An Italian winemaker named Johnny Garetto bought the land in 1927 and farmed it until 1961, when he sold to Beringer.
After 20 years as a storage facility, the dilapidated winery buildings were purchased by Gerret and Tatiana Copeland, along with 30 acres of the surrounding land.
They set to work revitalizing the property with new vineyards, winery improvements, and a renewed sense of purpose. Redwood from early storage tanks was recycled and repurposed into the new facade for the winery and tasting room buildings.
THEN
Over the years, the Copelands continued to update the property, expanding the vineyards to 100 acres, and invested their time and passion into building a sustainable, family-owned estate.
NOW
Under the Copelands’ leadership, Bouchaine has grown from a pair of ramshackle buildings into a thriving vineyard estate. With imagination and passion, Gerret and Tatiana have fashioned wines and a wine country experience for visitors that is a distillation of their remarkable lives, at home in Delaware and in Napa Valley.
Bouchaine was the first Fish Friendly Certified vineyard in Napa Valley, and we also hold Napa Green Certification.
Our Sustainable Farming Method Examples
Cover Crops such as bell beans, clover, oats, barley, peas, vetch and rye are used to prevent soil erosion and to add organic matter that sustains the healthy balance of microbes and improves friability and moisture retention. They also encourage beneficial insects to thrive in the vineyard and outcompete other pests.
Composting is an integral part of our farm plan, as it offers a rich and diverse set of nutrients for the soil.
Integrated Pest Management consists of bird boxes stationed throughout the vineyards, attracting bluebirds and owls which feed on pest populations. We also have raptor perches to encourage hawks which mitigate gopher damage.
Natural Waterways have been established to maximize conservation by improving natural water flow. In the lowest lying areas of the property, natural drainage has been restored by replacing grapevines with native grasses.
Deficit Irrigation is used to minimize water use and restrict vine growth in order to produce low-yielding, intensely flavored fruit. In years where we see sufficient winter rains, we are even able to dry farm.
Napa Valley
Napa Green Certified Land
Fish Friendly Farming Certified
Tasting Notes
A tangy fresh cherry nose opens to cocoa, cola, and notes of nutmeg. The juicy lip smacking entry shows lovely cherry and wild strawberry flavors with gorgeous rose petal and baking spices in the background. Smooth tannin and vibrant acidity make this a perfect wine for food pairings.
Vinification
All fruit is hand harvested at night, preserving berry integrity. After a 5–7day cold soak, fruit is fermented with native yeast in both open and closed top tanks. The wine is then drawn off and the must placed into a basket press for gentle pressing. All wines complete malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels. The vineyard blocks are kept separate for evaluation and the best blocks are racked together in late Spring to assemble the finest expression of Carneros. The wine is returned to barrel to allow the blend to marry before the August bottling.
Vineyards
Bouchaine’s 100-acre estate vineyard lies on the southern border of Napa Valley’s Carneros district, overlooking the San Francisco bay with the financial district in the distance. Fog, wind, and the cold night time temperatures of this unique geographical area lend a distinctive regional identity to our Pinot Noir.
About Bouchaine Vineyards
Bouchaine is the oldest continuously operating winery in Carneros, a region located on the southern tip of Napa Valley. In the late 1880s, a Missouri-born settler named Boon Fly planted grapes and fruit trees on the property. An Italian winemaker named Johnny Garetto bought the land in 1927 and farmed it until 1961, when he sold to Beringer.
After 20 years as a storage facility, the dilapidated winery buildings were purchased by Gerret and Tatiana Copeland, along with 30 acres of the surrounding land.
They set to work revitalizing the property with new vineyards, winery improvements, and a renewed sense of purpose. Redwood from early storage tanks was recycled and repurposed into the new facade for the winery and tasting room buildings.
THEN
Over the years, the Copelands continued to update the property, expanding the vineyards to 100 acres, and invested their time and passion into building a sustainable, family-owned estate.
NOW
Under the Copelands’ leadership, Bouchaine has grown from a pair of ramshackle buildings into a thriving vineyard estate. With imagination and passion, Gerret and Tatiana have fashioned wines and a wine country experience for visitors that is a distillation of their remarkable lives, at home in Delaware and in Napa Valley.