Brian (not the best dresser) Loring & John Albans

“Remember, happiness doesn’t depend upon who you are or what you have, it depends solely upon what you drink!”—Brian Loring

“There are times when Brian Loring finds himself racing to make ends meet, juggling work as a software engineer with a career as an aspiring winemaker.”–Wine Spectator, 2003

That was then, when he still had a Software Engineer day job and hoped to someday make 3000 case of wine a year.  Now, 49 yr-old Brian Loring is one of the top Pinot-makers in the USA, famous for his Loring Wine Company label of single-vineyard Pinots and a consulting winemaker for boutique properties Pali, Twin Oaks, Golden’s, et al.  His production has grown to over 7000 cases—still tiny by most standards—but bigger than where he started and very big on quality and reputation.

According to Brian Loring, Siduri set the model for small production single-vineyard pinots, working with growers and buying by the acre.  Adventuresome winemakers, such as Brian Loring, followed suit, experimenting in defining distinctly California Pinot Noir.  A bigger, bolder pinot style was pioneering, but by 2004, they had all approached the upper boundary of ‘bigness’ and decided to dial it back to where each stylistically wanted to be, rather than continuing to test the limits or purely focusing on being different.

What does it mean to be a California pinot versus a French one?  Loring says, “Embrace your longer hangtime”.  Perhaps they will not have the same longevity as their French counterparts, but Loring believes that his Pinots can have complexity and simultaneously be appreciable at an early age.

For all of I’ve read about Brian Loring, he sure seems like a nice guy.  He is also extremely smart, a talented winemaker and a very bad dresser.  We present Brian Loring, in his own words:

WHY I MAKE PINOT NOIR

My name is Brian Loring and my obsession is Pinot Noir. OK, I’m also pretty crazy about Champagne, but that’s another story. While in college, I worked at a wine shop in Hollywood (Victor’s), where one of the owners was a Burgundy fanatic. So, my very first experiences with Pinot Noir were from producers like Domaine Dujac, Henri Jayer, and DRC. Needless to say, I found subsequent tasting safaris into the domestic Pinot Noir jungle less than satisfying. It wasn’t until I literally stumbled into Calera (I tripped over a case of their wine in the store room) that I found a California Pinot Noir that I could love. But it would be quite a while before I found someone else that lived up to the standard that Josh Jensen had established. I eventually came to understand and enjoy Pinots from Williams Selyem, Chalone, and Sanford, but I really got excited about California Pinot Noir when I met Norm Beko from Cottonwood Canyon at an Orange County Wine Society tasting.

I made about 3 trips around the booths at the tasting without finding a single good Pinot Noir. So, being the open minded person that I am (remember I passed him up 3 times), I stopped at the Cottonwood booth. I was BLOWN away by Norman’s 1990 Santa Maria Pinot Noir. After a few years of attending every Cottonwood event and asking Norm 10,000 questions about winemaking, he offered to let come learn the process during the ‘97 crush. I checked sugar levels, picked, crushed, punched down, pressed, filled barrels, and generally moved a bunch of stuff around with fork lifts and pallet jacks! It was the time of my life… I was totally hooked. And even though I hadn’t planned it, I ended up making two barrels of Pinot Noir. That was the start of the Loring Wine Company. What had started out as a dream 15 years earlier was now a reality – I was a winemaker!

HOW I MAKE PINOT NOIR

My philosophy on making wine is that the fruit is EVERYTHING. What happens in the vineyard determines the quality of the wine – I can’t make it better – I can only screw it up! That’s why I’m extremely picky when choosing vineyards to buy grapes from. Not only am I looking for the right soil, micro-climate, and clones, I’m also looking for a grower with the same passion and dedication to producing great wine that I have. In other words, a total Pinot Freak! My part in the vineyard equation is to throw heaping piles of money at the vineyard owners (so that they can limit yields and still make a profit) and then stay out of the way! Since most, if not all of the growers keep some fruit to make their own wine, I tell them to farm my acre(s) the same way they do theirs – since they’ll obviously be doing whatever is necessary to get the best possible fruit. One of the most important decisions made in the vineyard is when to pick. Some people go by the numbers (brix, pH, TA, etc) and some go by taste. Once again, I trust the decision to the vineyard people. The day they pick the fruit for their wine is the day I’m there with a truck to pick mine. Given this approach, the wine that I produce is as much a reflection of the vineyard owner as it is of my winemaking skills. I figure that I’m extending the concept of terroir a bit to include the vineyard owner/manager… but it seems to make sense to me. The added benefit is that I’ll be producing a wide variety of Pinots. It’d be boring if everything I made tasted the same.

ABOUT THE NAME

Sounds pretty straight forward, last name Loring, therefore Loring Wine Company. Ahhh, but what about the “Wine Company” part? That is an hommage to Josh Jensen at Calera… which is actually Calera Wine Company. Since he was the guy who showed me that great Pinot Noir could be made in California, I decided to name my winery Loring Wine Company to “honor” him. Hopefully, Josh sees it for what it is and doesn’t want to sue me for trademark infringement!

Brian goes on to thanks the folks at Cottonwood Canyon and Adam Lee of Siduri on his website, AS WELL AS recommend dozens and dozens of his favorite California Pinot-producers and Champagne houses.  What a nice guy.

The thoughtful and distinctive Loring Wine Company labels…

2005 LWC Clos Pepe Vineyard

Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills

800 Cases

This photo shows an end-post for one of our rows. The PN-667 tells you it’s a row of Pinot Noir 667 clone. 101-14 is the rootstock. And it’s row number 8. Not many vineyards list this type of detail on the end-posts.

2005 LWC Garys’ Vineyard

Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands

825 cases

Good shot showing the rocky soil showing through under the vines. Santa Lucia Highlands

2 Garys

Two Garys, One Garys’ Vineyard

In short, Gary and Gary are childhood friends.  Together, they manage Garys’ Vineyard.  Gary F. is married to Rosella and they own Rosella’s Vineyard  and makes ROAR wines.  Gary P. owns Pisoni Vineyards and makes Pisoni Estate Wines.  The fine-print to follow explains how they got into farming the unfriendly terrain of the Santa Lucia Highlands (before it was popular) and the incredible success they have enjoyed from their skill and perseverance. They make cult wines.

2 Garys Flow Chart

What makes a wine a “cult” wine?  Before all the mailing lists and allocations and press come into play, there have to be great grapes and then really good wine.  The two Garys, Gary Franscioni and Gary Pisoni, understand these fundamentals, and that has propelled them to “Cult Status” in the world of pinot noir.

Both have families that have been in the Santa Lucia Highlands farming business for generations.  Each eventually turned his focus to viticulture;  Pisoni Vineyard was planted in 1982(!),  Rosells’a in 1996, and Garys’ in 1997.   All are among the most celebrated and coveted in California.

2006 Pisoni Estate Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands

Only 687 cases made.

Have you ever been to a $250 lettuce tasting?
Winegrower Gary Pisoni comes from generations of farmers who tended row crops long before he was born. Pisoni had enjoyed drinking and collecting French wines while in college and was eager to find a way into the wine business. When he told his father he wanted to plant grapevines on the family cattle ranch in the Santa Lucia Highlands, he was met with several objections, not the least of which was the cost. Gary countered to his father, “Have you ever been to a $250 lettuce tasting?” His father relented and a legendary vineyard was born in 1982. Gary’s positive energy has made him a household name among Pinot circles.

Gary planted his own-rooted vines in virgin soil. It took ten years  and six tries of witchers and well drillers to tap into a water source and make Gary’s dream come true. The original vines are rumored to be from suitcase cuttings from a famous domaine in Vosne-Romanee, hence called the Pisoni clone.

Pisoni fruit is highly highly prized in California. Designated as one of the world’s top 10 vineyards and one of America’s 5 Grand Crus, Pisoni Vineyard put Santa Lucia Highlands on the map. Following the traditional Burgundian model, three generations of the Pisoni family grow premium grapes, selling to top artisan producers of vineyard-designated wines—Arcadian, Capiaux, Morgan, Patz & Hall, Peter Michael, Siduri, Tantara, and Testarossa among them—and retaining a small percentage to produce one single Pisoni Estate wine, which saw its first vintage in 1998.
Gary Pisoni and his family have never wavered in their belief that Pinot Noir is the greatest red varietal on the planet and that the slopes of the Santa Lucia Highlands in the cool northern climes of California’s Monterey County are the best place to grow Pinot Noir. His family’s intense obsession with growing the world’s best Pinot Noir shows in every bottle from their unique vineyard.

“A fabulous effort from the irrepressible Gary Pisoni, this deep ruby/purple-hued 2006 exhibits a sensational perfume of spring flowers, forest floor, black raspberries, even blacker berries, and hints of smoke as well as earth. A sensational texture, full-bodied mouthfeel, and no sense of heaviness suggest this well-structured, moderately tannic wine will last for at least a decade.” Robert Parker 95+.  $100 bt at currentVintage.

2007 ROAR SLH

Only 818 cs made.

In part because so many fine and dedicated producers use the grapes from Rosella’s Vineyard and in part because those grapes are especially tasty, this property owned by Gary and Rosella Franscioni has produced more great bottlings of Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot noir in the past few years than any other location in California! Roar is the Franscioni’s own label and their roots in the Santa Lucia Highlands are quite deep. The Franscionis both grew up in California’s agricultural heartland; Gary and his family before him have farmed their vineyard property for over 100 years. Gary took over the running of the 200 acre family farm business and recognized the region’s potential for premium wine grapes, planting the Rosella’s Vineyard in 1996. In 2001, the Franscionis partnered with good friends (and longtime customers) Adam & Dianna Lee of Siduri Wines agreed to collaborate on the making of ROAR WINES. Their collective goal is to make small lots of wine that are a pure reflection of the Santa Lucia Highlands. The name ROAR comes from the sound of the coastal winds that define the region and the roar of the mountain creeks that bisect the rocky, well-drained soils of our vineyards. $65 at currentVintage.

2007 Siduri Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot Noir

Only 730 cases made.

The 2007 Siduri Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot Noir ended up being a blend of 40% Clone 777, 20% Pisoni Selection, 20% Pommard, and 20% 828 Clone. Whole clusters on both the Pisoni Selection and the Pommard are used and fermented with primarily indigenous yeasts. They bled off approximately 10% of the juice from each of the fermentors in hopes of concentrating the must.  The Lees believe this is their best “Rosella’s” pinot noir to date.

“Supple and engaging, with ripe, generous plum, black cherry, mineral, spice and subtle cedary oak nuances. This full-bodied Pinot possesses depth, concentration and complexity, with excellent balance and length. Drink now through 2015.” WS 93.  $52 at currentVintage.

2005 Loring Wine Company “Rosella’s Vineyard” Pinot Noir

Only 825 cases made.

Brian Loring is obsessed with Pinot Noir.   After years of loving Burgundies, he discovered Calera (and Williams Selyem, et al) and fell in love with California pinot noir.  He then met Norm Beko from Cottonwood Canyon at an Orange County Wine Society tasting, participated in his first wine crush, and ended up making two barrels of Pinot Noir from which he started the Loring Wine Company. What had been a dream for 15 years was now a reality: he was a winemaker–and he has been a highly acclaimed one since the start!

This medium-bodied Pinot made by Loring Wine Co shows plenty of sweet and sour cherry, strawberry, plum, earth, and herb characteristics. For the Santa Lucia highlands, the 2005 vintage was one of the coolest in the past decade. Yields turned out larger than expected as the clusters kept putting on weight even late into the season – which is very unusual. These two factors combined to create a vintage of lighter style, more elegant, lower alcohol wines. Because of their higher tannins and acid content, these wines will probably be some of the longest-lived wines Loring has ever made: they may hold up for 6-7 years..

“Bright, full red. Complex nose melds raspberry, smoke, earth, cocoa powder and spices.Rich, broad and suave, with lovely brightness to its tangy raspberry and spice flavors.Here, too, one gets a sense of Burgundian spice and lift. Finishes with lovely persistence and energy. This would be a good answer to those who don’t believe that pinot noir in this area can be sufficiently ripe below 14% alcohol.” ST 91 points

“An elegant style, showing a measure of restraint and subtlety, with vivid black cherry, nutmeg and a hint of boysenberry fruit emerging on the finish. Drink now through 2010.” WS 90. $75 at currentVintage.