04 Sep Jewell Box: September 2018 – Journey to Humboldt County
Jewell Box: September 2018
Journey to Humboldt
Joseph Jewell’s home may be in the esteemed Sonoma County, but its roots extend beyond the region to the north, to the lesser known, but equally as beautiful Humboldt County. Lauded as what may be “the next frontier for great California Pinot Noir,” Humboldt County offers a winegrowing region similar to Sonoma, producing cool-climate wines that rival those of its southern neighbor.
Relatively overshadowed in the winemaking world by its California siblings, Humboldt County is a new region to many wine devotees with old region clout. Enjoying the shorter days and cooler temperatures of October, the flavor development in the grapes sourced from this area are on par with wines made in the most prestigious pinot noir growing areas of the world for a fraction of the cost. As Master Sommelier, Ian Cauble, noted of our Alderpoint Pinot Noir from the region, “If this wine had a different appellation on its label, it would likely cost twice as much. And, based on this wine and several others I’ve tried, I’d say Humboldt County is a wine zone to watch”.
With only 150 acres of wine grapes, Humboldt County wines may not just be the next wine zone to watch, but also the next area to treasure as these small production wines are hard to come by. We only made 3 barrels of our 2015 Elk Prairie Pinot Noir, yet still decided to include it in our September Jewell Box, as well as its predecessor the 2008 Elk Prairie, as we feel they best represent the range in ageability and complexity of wines coming from the Humboldt region. Also included in the September Jewell box is our newly released 2016 Eel River Pinot Noir which was just awarded 95 points from Wine Enthusiast.
Join us in our Tasting Room to savor the quality of our mesmerizing pinots produced from Humboldt County for the entire month of September.
Cheers,
Adrian & Micah