Byron Nielson Vineyard Pinot Noir

A good share of Byron winemaking takes place in the vineyard, where winemaker Jonathan Nagy selects individual rows and blocks for their potential to express both variety and site—focusing particularly on clones that best exemplify Byron’s balanced, textural and siteexpressive style.

Byron’s site-specific Pinot Noirs are deeply rooted in the vineyards of Santa Barbara County’s two defining appellations: Santa Maria Valley and Sta. Rita Hills. The wines explore each vineyard’s block and row distinctions defined by soil, microclimate, fog cover, wind, exposure, elevation, clonal selection and farming techniques.

Originally planted in 1964, Nielson is the site of Santa Barbara’s first commercial vineyard, and has been Byron’s estate vineyard for over 30 years. The historic, cool-climate, benchland vineyard serves as a model for Santa Barbara’s viticultural experimentation and sustainable farming methods. The Nielson Vineyard’s location at the warmer, eastern end of the Santa Maria Valley accounts for the wine’s dark color and ripe flavor profile. Prior to fermentation, the Pinot Noir clusters were 100% de-stemmed to accentuate the naturally rich and smooth texture of our estate grown fruit. The wine shows aromas of blackberries, rose petals, dried herbs, and earth. Flavors are driven by a dark fruit core, complemented by sandalwood, black pepper, and crushed stone.