We’ve always been somewhat familiar of White Pinot Noirs, although they’re not too easy to find domestically. Then, we read an article about a producer in Oregon who’s making a great one. We ordered a few bottles and it peeked our interest. So, in July 2023, we sent out a wine club member survey asking if folks would be interested in us making a White Pinot Noir. Most responses were “do it!” and a few were along the lines of, “White Pinot Noir? Never heard of it!” While not too common, a handful of producers in the U.S. make them, and you’ll also find it out of the Champagne region of France, where it’s known as Blanc de Noirs.
White Pinot Noir is made by gently pressing Pinot Noir grapes and separating the juice from the skins before fermentation. Without skin contact, the wine stays white instead of turning red.
With our wine club members supportive, we tasted a bunch of different bottles of White Pinot Noir (for research, of course!)—and the range of colors and flavors were all over the board. Seriously, the range went from very bright and acidic, to very nutty. Typical behavior from a Pinot Noir!! It’s such a versatile grape, it’ll really express a range of flavors and aromas depending on how its vinified. That’s what got us excited for this new project….we thought, What would a White Pinot taste like from our vineyard? And just like that, we had to try it for ourselves….
It all starts in the Vineyard
We harvested the Pinot Noir grapes for this inaugural White Pinot Noir on August 19, 2024, at night when the fruit was cool to the touch. The fruit came from two different blocks in our estate vineyard, and were mixed to create a field blend of the Pommard Clone and Dijon Clone. At harvest, the grapes looked perfect and measured 20 brix (a measure of sugar levels)—right at our target!
By comparison, for our traditional Pinot Noir, we typically pick at 24 brix, when the fruit is sweeter and the skins are soft. At 20 brix, the skins are firmer, the fruit is less sweet, and the acidity is brighter—ideal for a crisp, refreshing white wine. (Right: Elise post-harvest with the Pinot Noir destined for White Pinot Noir.)
From Vineyard to Press
The fruit arrived at the winery the morning of August 20th, and we immediately began pressing using the Champagne cycle—the gentlest press setting. We stopped the press when we reached 160 gallons, and were left with a light pink grape juice. In the White Pinot Noir world, releasing a White Pinot Noir with even the faintest hue of pink is a cardinal sin. Every wine geek online insisted: If it’s pink, it’s a rosé.
The Color Challenge: Avoiding Pink
A true White Pinot Noir should look like a classic white wine. So, how did we remove that pink hue? The answer: charcoal. It might sound odd, but charcoal is a natural filtration agent that binds to color pigments and helps remove them. It’s quite common in organic white winemaking. We stirred one pound of charcoal into the 160 gallons of juice. At first, the wine turned grey—much to Elise’s horror! But by the next morning, the charcoal had settled at the bottom of the tank, taking the pink hue with in and leaving behind a beautifully clear, white juice. Success!
Barrel Fermentation & Experimenting with Malolactic Fermentation
Next step: start fermentation. We chose to barrel ferment this wine because barrel fermenting enhances complexity, adds texture, and helps integrate flavors in a way that stainless steel fermentation cannot. The slow oxygen exchange in barrels can round out acidity, while subtle oak influences bring depth and nuance to the final wine. So we divided up the juice we had evenly into a few neutral French oak barrels. We inoculated with a yeast strain that advertised itself as a catalyst that “allows for the production of very clean wines with a highly elegant aromatic profile. Ideal for ultra premium and elegant white wines” – this description sounded delicious and sold us!
Then came the big experiment: Should we allow malolactic fermentation (MLF) or not? Pushing a wine through MLF is standard practice in red wine production, but a stylistic choice for white winemakers. For example, our Rosé usually does not go through MLF to preserve the crisp, refreshing and acidic profile we like. Whereas MLF softens acidity and adds a creamy texture to wine.
We weren’t sure which style would work best for a White Pinot Noir, so we decided to try both styles: one barrel underwent MLF, while another did not. The result? The non-MLF barrel was so acidic it was almost undrinkable! Like sucking on a lemon. Meanwhile, the MLF barrel had elegant citrus flavors with a smooth, refined mouthfeel. The difference between the two barrels was incredible. Ultimately, we decided to push all of the White Pinot Noir through MLF. So, our 2024 vintage has undergone 100% MLF.
Patience is a Virtue
The wine then aged in barrel as we monitored its development. At the 12 month mark, we were loving it so we decided it was a great time to filter, bottle and age just a little bit longer. Now, as we approach spring 2026, it’s time to release this wine. Because of our modest production (just 40 cases), this will be a wine club exclusive offering and part of the spring 2026 wine club shipment.
This project has been an exciting experiment, and it’s a magnificent, complex wine. As Pinot Noir enthusiasts, we think you’ll be particularly interested in this release. If it’s a hit, we’d love to make it a staple in our portfolio of estate-grown Pinot Noirs.
