2024 “Bramble Noir” Sparkling Pinot Noir & Blackberry Wine

HISTORY
We have been farming Poseidon Vineyard at the southern tip of Napa Valley for over 50 years. Here we grow Pinot Noir along the tributaries of the Napa River. Along the banks of the creek that abuts the eastern edge of our vineyard, blackberry brambles make their home, reaching for the grapevines in the late summer with thorny arms weighed down by their bounty of sweet fruit. Many a times have we stopped along the banks and gorged ourselves with plump, warmed-by-the-sun berries. Stop for a quick taste and you find yourself further and further into the bramble ten minutes later, still searching for another, and another. Hands stained black, scratches on our forearms and legs. The best. After one of these exact moments, when we were supposed to be taking samples of the Pinot Noir to test for ripeness, we had an epiphany. Why not pick some of these amazing, ripe, scrumptious blackberries and ferment them. What would that taste like? I bet it would be delicious. And what if we combined that with the Pinot Noir that grows right next to them, which already leans itself towards black and red fruit aromas? Let’s do it. 

WINEMAKING
In the late summer of 2024, we got our team out to Poseidon Vineyard and picked all the blackberries we could reach. About 2/3rds of them landed in our picking buckets. The other third in our bellies. It took us half of the day to pick 56 pounds of blackberries. We brought them to the cellar and fermented a measly twelve gallons of pure blackberry wine. Fast-forward a month and half, the cellar is alive with fermentations of Pinot Noir for our traditional wines. We made a small batch of light, low-alcohol pinot noir to complement the blackberry wine, blended them together, and carbonated it. Bramble Noir: Summer in a bottle. 

TASTING NOTES
Upon opening, with a gentle “sigh” as it’s got a nice sparkle to it, you are rewarded with a pure blackberry jam aroma. Almost to a boysenberry concentration. With some really lovely yeasty notes mixed back there. Brioche even. Then you take a sip, with that nose, you expect  sweetness. But it’s bone dry. And the acid from the Pinot Noir and the soft tannin from the blackberry fill our palate. Refreshing and intriguing, it’s hard to put down. Good thing it’s only 6% alcohol. We like it just the way it is, but don’t be afraid to throw some ice cubes in there. We don’t judge. If you’ve ever found yourself waist deep in a blackberry bramble, reaching for one  more, one more, one more, then you’re gonna love this. And we only made 14 cases of it. You better get some before we drink it all.

Casey Graybehl, Winemaker