Photos: Trombetta Family Wines
One of the questions posed to Winery owner Rickey Trombetta Stancliff, presenter at an April gathering of the fun and informative southern Sonoma County Salon du Vin group was: "What is Gap's Crown?"
Petaluma Gap Wine Grower's Alliance continues to put the fog and wind funnel "Gap" microregion on the map for premium pinot, chardonnay and other cool climate grapes, especially with recent announcements of an application to form its own AVA, so most readers are familiar with the Petaluma Gap and its terroir. "Gap's Crown" is literally positioned at the mountain top of this jewel of a growing region.
Fruit grown in west facing hillside of Sonoma Mountain's "Gap's Crown Vineyard" (planted in 2002) ripens slowly given that a pocket of fog lingers over the area at the end of the growing season, allowing for fruit to reach a unique and distinctive intensity in aroma and sugar levels.
Growing climate clears into ideal sunny and warm days and cool evenings. Light breezes keep fruit dry producing, in the Trombetta family's 2011 Gap's Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir — made from fruit that was given extra hang time into early October (just before rain fell) in a particularly cool growing season. This vintage bursts with blackberry and pomegranate and rich, earthy tones, with white pepper in the front of the nose and a hint of cocoa. Complex and rounded it leaves a lingering sensation of vanilla and fruit.
Rickey spoke of her family history, growing up in an Italian American home in Sonoma County. She and her husband Roger took courses at Santa Rosa Junior College and U.C. Davis first as hobby winemakers, before a chance meeting in 1998 with pioneering and highly celebrated U.S. winemaker Paul Hobbs.
Under Paul's extraordinary mentorship, the couple learned firsthand the intricate nuances of vineyard stewardship and fine winemaking and eventually went on to found their own label in 2010 with Paul as Consulting Winemaker now to the couple's internationally trained winemaker daughter Erica Stancliff. Erica's teenage years were spent immersed in the world of horse riding, as a member of the NCAA Equestrian Team. When she wasn't riding she was fully included in her family's passion for making fabulous wine. With Paul as a close family friend, no wonder she stepped through the doors of the Enology Department as an inquisitive student at Fresno State!
The family sources its fruit entirely from Gap's Crown and Sonoma Coast. Cost of their wines range from $45 to $65 a bottle, reflective of the high price of “The fruit that has always been killer,” according to winemaker Michael Browne of Kosta Browne, who has described it as: “the backbone of our Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.” Kosta Browne's 2009 Sonoma Coast was named as Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year in 2011.
Gap's Crown consists of 106 acres of Pinot Noir and 32 acres of Chardonnay. The vineyard was purchased in 2013 by Bill Price, a financial investor and owner of several additional high profile California vineyards and wineries.
Salon members were also invited to taste:
2012 Gap's Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir — a rich garnet-colored, soft, yet full-bodied vintage, with aromas of vanilla, clove and cooking spices, hints of ripe berry, pomegranate and toast. Tannins are balanced for a lingering finish of berry fruit mingled with pleasant acidity.
and a 2012 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir — lighter red in color with hints of raspberry, cranberry and dried fruit/herbs. The vineyard conditions in 2012 were near perfect and fruit, picked before sunrise, a chill in the air ideal for maintaining the fruit at a cool temperature for crushing in Sebastopol.
Salon members asked if the "Gap's Crown" wine is available in Petaluma. Although proving popular in the north county, we've yet to see Trombetta on the wine lists of Petaluma area restaurants. Hopefully more wines made from our microregional fruit will get a look-in on local wine lists in months to come.
In the meantime, Rickey, who ships in large quantities to the Chicago fine-wine market is happy to hand-deliver cases to customers in Sonoma County. For more information contact her at info@trombettawines.com.
Click here for Trombetta Wines Website.
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