Farm Cottage - 'Trout Gulch Vineyard' - Pinot Noir - Santa Cruz Mountains, CA - 2022

The vineyard: Planted in 1980, this 16 acre dry-farmed vineyard sits at 750 feet above sea level and has well-draining sandy loam soil. The vineyard is planted to Mt Eden Pinot Noir. Its proximity to the sea (less than 4 miles inland) assures the grapes receive the cooling influence of the Monterey Bay. The winemaking: Harvested on 9/14/22, Trout Gulch Pinot Noir was fermented 100% whole cluster in an open top stainless steel tank. The tank was pitched with a natural pied de cuve on day 2. Gravity rack and returns were preformed twice a day to keep the clusters wet and fermentation temperatures cycling through the tank. The tank was pressed after 10 days and aged in neutral french oak. Trout Gulch Pinot Noir was bottled on 7/28/23.

Alc- 13.3%
pH- 3.33
Bottling date- 7/28/23
Aging- 11 months
AVA: Santa Cruz Mountains

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Winemaker Ryan Alfaro grew up on his parents' vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Being immersed in the family business his entire life, it was no surprise he developed a passion for wine.

Ryan enrolled at UCLA to study Environmental Studies and Geography. In the midst of his undergrad education, he was able to study abroad in Dijon, France through UC Davis' Viticulture and Enology program. Upon finishing his undergrad studies at UCLA, Ryan decided to further his education at University of Auckland, New Zealand, completing a Post-Grad in Wine Science.

He was privileged to work under renowned winemaker Adam Tolmach for a vintage before returning home to become head-winemaker at Alfaro Family Vineyards.

While honing his skills at Alfaro Family Vineyards, Ryan decided to create his own label, Farm Cottage Wines. The 2019 vintage marked the inaugural year of Farm Cottage Wines.