In talking with Christian Pillsbury, the owner of Eden Rift Vineyards, you get the impression of someone meticulous enough in his winemaking vision to concentrate on details as small as the materials used in the ties that bind his grapevines to their trellises while also being relaxed enough to follow the course the vineyard sets from year to year in his stride.
“We just take what we’re given because that’s the palette that Eden Rift gets to paint with once the grapes go into the winery,” he said. “We are still in the enviable position that we get better at what we do every year than we were the year before. We’re better at farming this vineyard as we get to know it better. We’re better at making these wines as we get to know vintage upon vintage. We get closer to understanding who we really are.”
Vineyards are notoriously fickle regarding environmental factors like temperature and water supply. Last year’s lack of rain presented a problem for every farmer, but for a winery like Eden Rift, the growing season’s impact is only fully apparent once the grapes are harvested, crushed, barreled, and left to age for a few months.
“Every year is a little different,” Pillsbury said. “Every year presents its opportunities and challenges. This was a dry and very cold year, but the interesting thing is we ended up with a relatively early harvest, but an extremely high-quality harvest and there was very little conversation around how to amplify yields.”
A serious storm would create problems for the winery, as some of the terraced vineyards could see landslips and washouts, but Pillsbury said he would be happy to see 50 inches of rain if it were spread out significantly.
“I challenge you to find a farmer in Hollister who doesn’t say they love a wet winter,” he said. “We’ve had two dry ones, and I don’t know what’s going to happen one way or the other. But as we replant or redevelop our vineyards, what we do is basically dictated by being conservative around water, and our well management is conservative. We’re ambitious about our future but thoughtful about potential restrictions.”
Pillsbury said the vineyard’s goal is to express the nature of the vintage and the nature of the site before any other consideration.
“The vineyard keeps getting healthier, so even though the winemaking protocol remains pretty much the same, the wines can’t help but be exciting and alive and new and fresh,” he said. “This is what it is to make wine without a recipe. We are really just trying to manifest or be a prism for the vintage and the site. That is our whole role. And if we are going to go through this whole process, I want to present you with wines that are perfect.”
2019 Terraces Pinot Gris ($32) – “This comes from a very small terraced vineyard that is low yielding but very intense,” Pillsbury said. “I didn’t know if our Pinot Gris vines would be able to produce the wines that Eden Rift was ambitious about, but I thought there was no harm in trying. It’s wildly expensive for us to make, but we love making it, and it helps us to understand who we are a little more.” The wine has a citrusy grapefruit and jasmine aroma, a taste of tart pears and sweet peaches, and a crisp minerality. It’s a perfect goat-cheese-and-cracker wine for a sunny day or the highlight of a casual lunch with fresh croissants and some turkey leftovers. (This wine was rated 93 points by Wine Enthusiast Magazine.)
2018 Estate Chardonnay ($42) – “This vintage has now been on the market for a year and it is starting to get that sense of development,” Pillsbury said. “Coming into the holidays, you might be looking for something with a little bit of age to it, and this has been perfectly cellared and is a perfect complement to food. We will have this through the end of the year, but we are trying to hold onto this one because it has just started to open up.” The aroma of the wine is very delicate and reflects the 20% new oak used in the barrel fermenting. The grapes are picked at night when the vines have pulled back some of the sugars, giving the wine a higher acidity. The taste is of very ephemeral flower notes framed by oak. It flows beautifully over the taste buds and has a lingering finish that is so smooth you may not even notice you’ve finished drinking it. (This wine was rated 95 points by wine critic James Suckling.)
2018 Reserve Chardonnay ($65) – “This wine is taken from the most opulent barrels and we are looking for different levels of intensity,” Pillsbury said. “This is the ultimate in hands-on winemaking as opposed to our Terraces Chardonnay, which is 100% driven by a single site. This is a perfect expression of what we do and what Eden Rift represents.” Aged in 25% new oak, this wine is elegantly layered, a delicately textured minuet of floral, fruit, and oak. Notes of butterscotch and citrus blend with white peach and mock orange blossoms. It could be served with anything, but it seems more respectful of its remarkable craftsmanship to enjoy it with something very simple, like shortbread or a mellow cheese, or just on its own. (This wine was rated 94 points by wine critic James Suckling and 90 points by Wine Enthusiast Magazine.)
2018 Estate Pinot Noir ($48) – Pinot Noir is Eden Rift’s signature wine, making up roughly 70% of the plantings in the vineyard. “We do a lot of hand-picking at night,” Pillsbury said. “We put it directly into open-top fermenters, 30% whole cluster and the rest de-stemmed. There’s no additional yeast, enzymes, or tricks of the trade. Nothing. It makes itself. The only thing that we do that’s younger than 200 years old is use stainless steel tanks.” Pillsbury describes this as the perfect Christmas wine, with spice notes, blackberry and dark cherry, and a note of dried rose petals. This pinot is amazingly smooth with a wonderful texture and a long finish. (This wine was rated 95 points by wine critic James Suckling.)
2018 Reserve Pinot Noir ($72) – “The Reserve has a little bit more richness, a little bit more power, and a little bit more flavor density than the Estate,” Pillsbury said. “They’re the same song, but we just turn up the volume a little bit with the Reserve. It’s the same flavor profile, it’s just expanded and more intense and richer. In fact, it would be prudent to take a magnum of the Reserve with you if you were a guest at a holiday dinner.” There is an aroma of dark honey and blackberries and the taste of plums with a hint of dark cherry and dried cranberry. Again, the finish is magnificent as the wine seems to be more absorbed by your mouth than simply sipped. This is a wine you could bring to any event without asking what is being served—it would be the standout wine at any dinner. It would easily insinuate itself into any menu and lift up any food you serve it with. (This wine was rated 93 points by Wine Advocate Magazine.)
BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market for helping to expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and give our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
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