Market Watch, Summer 2020

56 MARKET WATCH MARKETWATCHMAG COM SUMMER 2020 PHOTO BY BOTTOM ALEXANDER RUBIN PHOTOGRAPHY owner John Balletto notes that the Russian River Valley is an ideal home for the grape and that the winery has benefited from a longtime legacy in the region having kicked off operations in 1977 We source our grapes from 850 acres of vineyards across 24 different vineyard sites in three distinct areas referred to in the Russian River Valley as neighborhoods he says This allows the Balletto winemaking team the ability and flexibility to access the grapes they want for the expression they want to achieve Were not restricted by grape contracts This year the winery which produces around 25000 cases a year has a few new vineyards coming online and is eagerly eyeing the release of the second vintage of single vineyard Pinot Noir from Pelleti Vineyard which joins other vineyard designate offerings including Emerson Block Pinot Noir 48 and Sexton Hill Pinot Noir 46 Ballettos primary Pinot Noir volume driver remains its Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 29 Established in 1997 Russian River Pinot Noir specialist Merry Edwards Winery remains top of mind at the upper end of the category today The winery was acquired by the Louis Roederer Champagne house last year but co founder Merry Edwards has stayed on temporarily as a consultant during the transition In looking back at her legacy Edwards points to the importance of the region where the winery is based The Russian River Valley has this sandy loam no rocks just sand and it drains beautifully and goes on forever in the ground making for such lovely wines she says Its part of the reason why I think the Russian River is the most important place in the country if not the world for Pinot Noir More so than any other place the wines made up here in Sonoma County have always had more fruit and seemed richer in flavor The Merry Edwards portfolio contains such structured single vineyard Pinot Noirs as Klopp Ranch Pinot Noir 66 a 750 ml Meredith Estate Pinot Noir 68 and Warrens Hill Pinot Noir 63 Across all wines the brand hovers at around 28000 cases Riding Out The Storm While California Pinot Noir declined 26 in IRI channels to 51 million cases in the 52 weeks ending December 29 2019 those losses have reversed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic In the 26 weeks ending April 19 2020 California Pinot Noir jumped by 62 in the same IRI channels reaching 3 million cases The varietals familiarity has certainly helped this rally at retail as consumers looked to stock up in the midst of the pandemic Theres also been positive developments for tasting rooms After more than two months of closures wineries in several regions including Sonoma County are now reopening with social distancing restrictions in place that affect the number of visitors allowed in at once To combat this many vintners are planning on keeping the virtual outreach they instituted at the start of stay at home orders in place as a means of connecting with as many consumers as possible And for those that have relied heavily on restaurant partnerships theres strong camaraderie at work While we have to figure out the business part of the conversation which is How do we make up for lost on premise sales were really looking at ways we can help out our friends and partners in the restaurant community until they get back on their feet says Phinney mw California Pinot Noir thrives because of such upcale wineries as Merry Edwards retired winemaker Merry Edwards with Champagne Louis Roederer CEO Frédéric Rouzaud above as well as affordable offerings from the likes of Hess Family Wines Mt Veeder vineyards top