After a decade spent developing it, I’m frequently asked to define the Donum Pinot Noir style. First, we strive to obtain purity of expression of both site and clone or selection. We want a wine defined by its fruit, not by what is done to it in the cellar.

People have called our wines “elegant.” At first, I almost took offense, assuming that was a polite way of saying they lacked … More…

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of tasting some of our 2009 Pinot Noirs from tank and barrel with Kenneth Juhasz and John Harley. Tasting that fresh juice and new wine allowed us to experience the vintage directly and provided an unhurried moment to reflect on it together.

This year began with a relatively cool, dry spring and moderate weather that continued through the summer. It occurred to us that the … More…

Over the weekend of May 16-17 this year, we experienced a brief but significant heat spike. Our vines had begun flowering the previous week (less than five percent), and temperatures had ranged from the 70s to the low 80s throughout the week.

As the mercury approached high 90s F., the vines had moved into full bloom. Grapevines are rather vulnerable during this period and require moderate conditions for complete pollination. Extremes … More…

It’s been quite a while since I last posted here. I apologize for what has been an inadvertent hiatus. Family and business matters have taken me to geographical and emotional extremes – to Nepal for a wedding and Germany for a memorial service, and to several U.S. cities for wine tastings and meetings. I had some memorable times, but it’s good to be back home.

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A few months ago, I made a difficult decision – to leave The Donum Estate and work as vineyard manager for Larkmead Vineyards in the upper Napa Valley. Anne has invited me to discuss my reasons for this decision and report on my new job.

I did not … More…