Luna Vineyards Napa Valley Pinot Grigio 2008

The 2008 Pinot Grigio is a pale golden color. The nose is scented with grapefruit and pear, and on the palate citrus come to the forefront. Mango and orange zest are accented by notes of guava and a pronounced minerality. The wonderful acidity and full-bodied texture carry through to a delicious lemony finish with hints of apricot.

The 2008 growing season was greeted with a very cold and frosty April. We saw some damaged Pinot Grigio vines, but most of our vineyards were untouched. The cool spring weather extended through the summer with a warmer September mirroring the 2007 vintage. Our Pinot Grigio tends to ripen early in the harvest year; we began picking on August 22nd and were done by September 20th.

Our white wine grapes are pressed the same day that they are picked. Eighty percent of the wine is whole-cluster pressed to ensure great acidity, and the other twenty percent is de-stemmed and crushed, which results in a richer mouth-feel. The majority of the juice is fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks, while six percent was fermented in neutral French oak barrels. The barrel aged wine completed malolactic fermentation for added complexity and texture. The Chardonnay was added to the final blend for its contribution to the wine’s balance. This wine was filtered, blended, and bottled in January, 2010.