The Last Pinot Gris?

Preparing my tasting notes for tomorrow’s release of the 2013 vintage of Pinot Gris, I am tasting back through the previous five vintages. I love this wine; I love the freshness of the young wines, and the complex way they will evolve with bottle age. As Virginie Boone of the Wine Enthusiast comments, the Occasio Pinot Gris offers a mysterious “blending of crispness and richness.”

Pinot Gris has been very good to me. It was the first white wine I ever harvested, in August of 2008. This Pinot Gris won us our first gold medal, and to this day, Occasio Pinot Gris remains the highest rated of this variety in Livermore Valley. My discerning Italian mother-in-law loves this wine, although she calls it Pinot Grigio.

But, since the beginning, the Gris has always troubled me. Throughout my career, I’ve lived by the decade rule, where the first five years is spent getting into the “game,” and the next ten is spent making a novel and valuable contribution. Occasio Winery is no different. At the end of this first five years, we are definitely ‘in the game,’ having received numerous awards and 90-point scores, and, once released, our wines quickly find new homes with loyal members and fans of our hand crafted approach.

Our lasting contribution will be, as has always been our goal, to recreate the Livermore style, crafting wines of a style that has eluded the Valley for a century. Hence, my dilemma with Pinot Gris – the variety has no history in the valley, and it takes a century to develop even a basic understanding of a variety and its terroir.

So, for now, I will continue to study Pinot Gris, but will not bottle it. I leave it for my children to carry on – and so, with this 2013 vintage, Pinot Gris is adjourned, sine die.