Lady of the Sunshine, Pinot Noir Chêne Vineyard 2021

100% Pinot Noir

San Luis Obispo, California, United States

The Chene Vineyard is the ‘home’ vineyard for this project, located on the Southwest side of the Edna Valley AVA, four miles from the Pacific. The valley is south of the coastal town of San Luis Obispo, low hills allow it to collect moisture-laden air from the Pacific. Cool, even temperatures and fog cover result in a very long growing season. The 6.5 acre Biodynamic certified vineyard was established in 2010 with 5.5 acres planted at high density (2,000 vines per acre) to four different Pinot Noir clones. This Pinot Noir is a 50/50 split of Clone 115 and 667 which is planted on the steepest slope of the vineyard, which has just a foot of topsoil on top of bedrock at the ridge. This de-vigored site gives small clusters that start to lignify in late summer. 

The grapes were fermented with 100% whole cluster with light extraction during fermentation. The wine was pressed in our wooden basket press at dryness and aged for 10 months in neutral French oak barrels before being racked for the first time to bottle, unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur used. VEGAN

Gina Giugni grew up on her family’s eighty-six acre Biodynamic certified farm, Narrow Gate Vineyards, in the Sierra Foothills of Northern California. After obtaining her degree in Wine and Viticulture, she spent several years working with different winemakers who focused on responsible farming in France, New Zealand, Oregon, and the Napa Valley. Gina returned to her home state of California, and established Lady of the Sunshine in 2017. Her wines are a playful expression on California sites that are serious about farming, and are made with wild yeast, neutral oak, and are not fined or filtered. Gina and her husband, Mikey, run Scar of the Sea and Lady of the Sunshine together out of their winery in San Luis Obispo, CA.