In order to pamper our estate specialty, Pinot Noir, our owner/winemaker Rick Moshin (along with family and friends) designed and built one of California’s first gravity-flow wine cellars. Delicate, thin-skinned Pinot Noir grapes are sensitive to being overworked, so Moshin Vineyards’ four-level cellar uses the momentum of gravity—rather than the more aggressive power of pumps and conveyors—to gently move them between each stage of wine production.
Here’s the funny thing about Pinot Noir. A decent Cabernet is usually still enjoyable. A decent Chardonnay is usually still enjoyable. But Pinot Noir doesn’t really do “pretty good.” When conditions aren’t right, the wine can be thin, awkward, or forgettable.
When everything comes together, however, Pinot becomes one of the most expressive wines in the world. It has an extraordinary ability to reflect where it was grown, revealing subtle differences in soil, climate, and vintage that few other grapes can match. That’s why winemakers become obsessed with it.