Congress Springs Pinot Noir

One of best California Pinot Noirs I ever had, which really woke me up to what the potential of California Pinot could be, was the 1978 Congress Springs Pinot Noir. Congress Springs was a very small operation in the early 1980’s. Daniel Gehrs was the wine maker, and he lived on upper floor above the winery. His wife poured the wine in the tasting room, while their kids were running around playing. The first times I visited they only had two bottle of the 1978 Pinot Noir left, and it was not available for tasting, but I decided to buy one to try it out. It was incredible. Nothing like any other California Pinot Noir I had ever tried. I believe this Pinot Noir was made from the old Novitiate vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I bought many latter vintages of Pinot Noir from Congress Springs, but they were never the same. Congress Springs became famous for their Chardonnay, and they greatly expanded their production facilities to make more Chardonnay. Daniel Gehrs left around 1990, the winery changed hands several times and then changed names a few times. Around 1996 it became Savannah-Chanel. Savannah-Chanel specializes in Pinot Noirs, and has made wines from Garys’ Vineyard too. Somehow I have never found the time to get up there and try their wine. I clearly need to correct that.