Wine Color: Red

Vintage: 2004

Varietals: 96% Pinot Noir 4% Barbera

Appellation: 96% Arroyo Seco, Monterey 4% Livermore, San Francisco Bay

Winemaker: Karl D. Wente

Alcohol: 14.5%

PH: 3.69

Acid: 0.57g/100ml

Residual Sugar: Dry

Vineyard:

Wente Vineyards has been growing Pinot Noir in the Arroyo
Seco region of Monterey since the 1960s. It is the ideal region to grow this
Burgundian varietal because of the long, cool growing season, which allows
the grapes to fully ripen and develop deep fruit flavors.  The gravelly-loam
soils found here, rich with shale and limestone deposits, impart desirable
earthy and mineral qualities to the wine. There are several blocks dating
back to 1963, which are planted with the old Pommard and Martini clones. 
Neighboring these are much more recent, high-density plantings that
include a variety of new clones.  All of the fruit is hand picked and sorted. 
The selected clusters are placed in ½ ton bins and transported in a
refrigerated truck to the winery in the Livermore Valley.

Fermentation:

The fermentation took place in small, upright, stainless
steel fermenters.  The fermenting must was gently pumped-over twice daily. 

Aging:

After fermentation, the Pinot Noir was racked into a mix of new and
used oak barrels for a total aging period of 10 months and then blended with
the Barbera prior to bottling, which intensifies the fruit components of this wine.