These vines have the same DNA
Pinot Noir clones are genetically identical vines propagated asexually from a "mother vine." In other words, they are vine cuttings taken from a single, original vine and grown to produce new vines. These new vines are identical to the mother vine and to one another, which allows winemakers to plant vineyards with consistent grape quality and characteristics. Pinot Noir clones can vary in their susceptibility to disease, tolerance of climatic conditions, and flavor profiles. Understanding the different features of each clone is crucial for me, as I am always looking to produce wines of the highest quality that reflect the unique terroir of our vineyard.
Pinot Noir clones can arise through spontaneous mutations in the grapevine's DNA. These mutations create genetic variations that can change the vine's physical characteristics, such as the size or shape of its leaves or clusters of grapes. Winemakers often select and propagate clones that exhibit desirable traits, such as resistance to disease, tolerance of climatic conditions, or unique flavor profiles.
Pinot Noir has been cultivated for thousands of years, which has allowed numerous mutations to occur and be identified. While most clones originate from France, unique clones have also been identified in Switzerland, California, Oregon, and other regions. The mapping of the Pinot Noir genome in 2007 has further expanded our understanding of the genetic makeup of this grape variety and the potential for discovering new clones in the future.
Pinot Noir clones are continually evolving, and new clones may arise from spontaneous mutations. There is a possibility that the Kramer Vineyards may have a unique clone of Pinot Noir that has yet to be identified. This potential for discovery is part of what makes working with Pinot Noir clones so exciting for us.
Jumping genes are present in almost all living cells. 50% of the human genome are jumping genes; up to 90% of the maize genome are jumping genes!
You don't have to be a wine expert to appreciate the impact of clones on the flavor and aroma of Pinot Noir. Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are also clones of Pinot Noir, created through mutations that affect the skin color of the grape. These mutations are so distinctive that they're often considered distinct grape varieties. We'll dive deeper into these varietals in another post. But for now, consider this: if you can tell the difference between white and red wine, your palate is expert enough to explore the nuances of Pinot Noir clones. By understanding the various clones, you can better appreciate the unique qualities of different Pinot Noir wines. For more on this topic, see Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir Blanc: What's the Difference?
The answer for winegrowers and winemakers is simple: it allows us to choose the best clones for our specific growing conditions and wine style. For wine drinkers, knowing about clones can enhance your appreciation and understanding of the wine you're enjoying. At Kramer Vineyards, we grow nine clones of Pinot Noir and make single-clone wines from several different clones of Pinot Noir. Let's take a closer look at the characteristics of the main clones in our vineyard.
The Pommard clone, originating from Pommard, a village in the Burgundy region of France, has made a new home in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, where our Kramer Estate vineyard is located. It has been an essential part of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir's history and reputation, as it was one of the first clones available in the US. It is planted in many of the region's oldest vineyards, including at Kramer Estate. This clone produces medium-sized clusters, often with shoulders, and is well-suited to the cool, moist climate of the Willamette Valley.
At Kramer Vineyards, the Pommard clone was the first clone of Pinot Noir planted in 1984 and remains a significant component in many of our Pinot Noir wines, including our Estate, Cardiac Hill, Rebecca's Reserve, and Heritage Pinot Noir wines. The grapes of the Pommard clone produce balanced and elegant wines suitable for aging, which is why it is still an essential part of our vineyard. When people think of what Oregon Pinot Noir tastes like, the Pommard clone is often a big part of that reputation.
Dijon 115 is a natural mutation of Pinot Noir, part of a group of so-called Dijon clones identified at the University in Dijon, Burgundy. It is an early ripening clone with small berries packed with intense flavors. Wines made from Dijon 115 grapes are known for their finesse and balance. It was one of the earliest Dijon clones available to us, and we first planted it in 1992 along with Pommard in the Rebecca's Reserve block. Depending on the vintage, Dijon 115 is also a component in our Cardiac Hill and Estate Pinot Noirs.
One of the reasons we selected this clone was based on the advice given to us by a winemaker from Burgundy who claimed it was rising in popularity there. We have found that Dijon 115 stands alone as a complete wine, unlike other clones that are great for specific attributes such as spiciness, tannin, or color. We find Dijon 115 to be incredibly balanced and elegant.
In conclusion, while clonal selection is essential in producing exceptional Pinot Noir, it is just one piece of the puzzle. The terroir and microclimate of a vineyard site can significantly impact how a particular clone expresses itself in the resulting wine. At Kramer Vineyards, we have seen this firsthand in our 22-acre vineyard. If you're interested in exploring the unique characteristics of each clone, we invite you to visit the single clone Pinot Noir section of our online store. Here you can experience each clone's distinct personality and flavors and gain a deeper appreciation for the complex interplay of factors that create truly exceptional wines.
Noble varieties make up the majority of the vineyard acreage in the Willamette Valley, but new and emerging grapes are also part of our story.
The Willamette Valley is world famous for Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay, but this region is more rich, diverse, and complex than any one variety. Pinot Noir is righfully our signature grape, but there's much left to explore.
When we started our vineyard in 1984, we planted Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Riesling. As we matured as winegrowers, we wondered about the potential of other cool climate varieties. Our curiosity is what led us to plant the relatively unknown Müller-Thurgau. That endeavor has been wildly successful, inspiring us to grow our collection of esoteric grapes to include Carmine, Grüner Veltliner, Marquette, and Pinot Meunier.
In the early 1980s, owner Keith Kramer took a vineyard management class with a fellow who was especially excited about Müller-Thurgau for Oregon. "He wouldn't shut up about it, so we bought some when we had the opportunity in the mid-80s," he says. The wine was a hit, so vines at our estate soon followed. We've found it to be very productive at our site, yielding flavorful fruit even in the most challenging vintages. We’ve made wines in a range of styles from dry to off-dry, semi-sweet to dessert, even sparkling. Both the sparkling and still wines have become quite popular and are usually the top sellers in the tasting room. In 2018, Wine Enthusiast recognized us as a Notable Müller-Thurgau Producer in the US.
Flavor profile: Peach, starfruit, lychee, passionfruit, mango, lime, gooseberry, and sweet basil.
We planted Grüner Veltliner with the intention of making a crisp, dry, and expressive white wine. The signature white grape of Austria, Grüner is famous for its peach and white pepper notes, and great versatility for pairing with food. Early harvests yielded fruit with high acidity that made more sense for our sparkling program. Starting in 2017, we began to divide the harvests between the cooler east side for sparkling, and the warmer west side for a still wine. Fun fact: Grüner Veltliner produces clusters that are ten times the size of Pinot Noir!
Flavor profile: Lemon, lime, cucumber, peach, white flowers, freshly cut grass, green apple, and pear.
Carmine was created in 1946 at UC Davis by Dr. Harold Olmo. This cross of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, and Merlot was developed to grow in the cooler, coastal regions of California. Olmo's vision never caught on as intended, and in the 1970s, these vines traveled north to Courting Hill Vineyard in Banks, Oregon. The vineyard owner, and Oregon wine legend Jim Leyden, introduced Keith Kramer to this grape variety, gifting him our first Carmine vines in 1989. We've learned much about this late ripening, thick-skinned grape, both in the vineyard and the winery. Our Carmine wines are dark red in color, and typically have herbaceous aromas and peppery notes. It has inherited a lot of flavors from its Cabernet Sauvignon grandparent, principally dark fruit, dark chocolate and the occasional hint of mint.
Flavor profile: Dried cranberries, maraschino cherries, cinnamon, anise, bell pepper, and cracked peppercorns.
Developed by the University of Minnesota in 2006 for extremely cold climates, Marquette is a complex hybrid. What caught our attention is that Pinot Noir is on the family tree. It took seven years for any wine to come from this effort, as the cool Willamette Valley is too warm for Marquette. The plants are several weeks ahead of everything else in our vineyard, resulting in some unique challenges, from inclement weather during critical growth periods, to early ripening (for more on this subject, see 27 Blocks: Harvest in a Bottle). To balance out Marquette's big personality, we coferment it with grapes sourced throughout our estate vineyard.
Flavor profile: Cherries, blackcurrants and blackberries, tobacco, leather
Barrel tasting the Marquette & More
The label is a patchwork quilt, representing the blocks of grapevines in our vineyard.
Piquette is a refreshing vinous drink with lower alcohol; fizzy and tart, with pure effervescence and natural fruit flavors, it’s the perfect alternative for a balanced lifestyle.
This spring, Kramer Vineyards launches Piquette, a nearly forgotten old-world beverage made from grape pressings and water. Known for its innovative sparkling wine program with offerings including sparkling Grüner Veltliner, Kramer saw an opportunity to offer something different.
Piquette might be as old as wine itself. The earliest stories are of Iora, an ancient Greek or Roman drink made from wine grape pressings that were rehydrated, pressed, fermented, and diluted further. Another story is that French vineyard workers were served a version of Piquette at lunch, so as not to interfere with their afternoon productivity.
“I saw a creative challenge in capturing so many trends with Piquette. It is the intersection of rosé, sparkling, low sugar, lower alcohol, single serving packaging—and it’s adjacent to the cider, craft beer, and hard seltzer categories.” said second generation winemaker, Kim Kramer.
Kramer was inspired to revive this beverage of the farm hand during the harvest of 2019. To make the Piquette, Kramer upcycled the pressings of their Müller-Thurgau grapes. The skins and pulp were reserved and rehydrated with well water, allowing the release of sugars and flavors. After steeping for four days, the grapes were pressed again, along with marc from a red ferment, giving the liquid a rosy glow. The must fermented in stainless, and was bottled November 2019, finishing fermentation under a crown cap to create the gentle sparkle. Fermented dry with just 7.5% alcohol, this crisp, easy-to-drink refresher pairs well with just about every sunny occasion.
Kramer Vineyards Piquette will be released on March 19, 2020.
Kramer Vineyards is a family owned and operated winery, now in its second generation. For 36 years, they have been growing grapes at their sustainably farmed vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Kramer specializes in producing cool climate white, red, and sparkling wines at their property in Gaston, 30 miles west of Portland.
We’ve been growing the German-Swiss cross Müller-Thurgau since 1986. Over the years, we’ve made wines in a range of styles from dry to off-dry, semi-sweet to dessert, even sparkling. Both the sparkling and still wines have become quite popular and are usually the top sellers in the tasting room.
While Müller-Thurgau is widely planted in Germany, it also does quite well in the Alto Adige of northern Italy. These vineyards are planted at high elevations, with close spacing. In reading the online winemaking notes, we noticed a couple of key production differences. First, the wines are fermented and aged in concrete or old oak casks. Concrete is an area of interest, but not an investment we're ready to make quite yet. Second, the grapes are crushed before pressing.
Foot crushing the Müller-Thurgau
We found the idea of crushing Müller-Thurgau very intriguing. As a rule, we whole cluster press our white wine grapes. Whole cluster pressing reduces the extraction of harsh tannins. These compounds may impart bitterness or astringency on the palate. However, Müller-Thurgau is a grape that is naturally low in tannins. Further, we wondered if crushing the grapes might result in a wine with more varietal expression. However, we don't own a machine that crushes grapes, so how would we experiment with crushing the fruit? Taking another cue from the old world, we decided to adopt a low-tech solution: feet.
During the harvest of 2018, we invited folks up to the vineyard on the day of the Müller-Thurgau pick to help us with this very important task! The harvest started at dawn, finishing around noon. We lined up the bins of grapes on the crush pad, and after a foot sanitizing dip and rinse, people climbed into the boxes one by one and went to work. It only took about 15 minutes, but squashing grapes with your feet is a quite a workout!
We noticed a difference between whole cluster pressing and crushing immediately; the press yield was 14% higher in the crushed fruit. During primary fermentation, the tanks produced a cornucopia of tropical aromas. After fermentation, we noticed the wine was quite flavorful, which is unusual for Müller-Thurgau at that stage. We continued to observe amplified flavor through the spring, finding the variety’s trademark peach and starfruit profile, but also lychee, passionfruit, mango, lime, gooseberry, and sweet basil.
Based on the flavor profile of the 2018 Müller-Thurgau, we decided to crush in 2019 as well. Now that we have another vintage for comparison, we're convinced that crushing is the best protocol for this variety. The 2018 Müller-Thurgau Estate will be released February 6.
What is Whole Cluster Fermentation? This refers to the practice of fermenting entire bunches of grapes, stems and all. Typically, our grapes go through a destemmer, a machine that knocks the berries off the stems. In the process, many of the berries split and begin to release juice immediately. When we bypass that step, the fruit stays intact longer, releasing the sugar available to the yeast more slowly. This results in fermentations that take longer to complete, at much lower temperatures. The shift in fermentation kinetics, along with the presence of the stem has an impact on aroma, flavor, and structure of the wine. Are these features beneficial to the overall quality? How much whole cluster is the ideal amount, if any? Will our ideas about this change as the wine ages? With the vintage? These are all questions we hope to answer through our whole cluster series.
In 2014, we harvested five tons of Pinot Noir from the same part of the vineyard, and separated the fruit into five fermenters. We added a whole cluster layer in four of these vats, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. The fifth bin was all destemmed. We proceeded with our typical fermentation management protocols, with pumpovers and punch downs twice daily, and pressing at dryness. The wines were aged in older French oak barrels and bottled the winter of 2016.
We observed differences in the fermentation kinetics almost immediately. The vats with higher percentages of whole cluster fermented at lower temperatures:
This also correlates with fermentation rate, as indicated by the rate of sugar depletion.
It seems that utilizing whole cluster fermentation as a technique results in a slower fermentation with lower temperatures. Cool, right?
We found that the chemistry of the finished wines was varied, although this could be due to differences in ripeness levels in the field, and/or clonal differences throughout the block. It is important to note that each vintage is unique, so for us to learn anything meaningful from this exercise, we will need to repeat the experiment over multiple vintages in varying conditions.
Our 2014 whole cluster Pinot Noir set includes one bottle each of the experimental wines, and the 2014 Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton, for a total of six bottles. This collection is a lovely gift, and fun to share at a dinner party or with a group of friends.
Update--the 2014s are sold out, but the experiment was replicated in 2015. You can find those wines here >>