A Taste and Place Worthy of the GOAT
The following text and photos are contributed by Flying Goat Cellars Ambassador Faye Walker:
Pinots from the Pacific
Expressive and singular. Finessed and textural. Round and attractive. Rather than a Hollywood starlet of cinema's golden age, these descriptors are fitting for the hand-crafted wines of Flying Goat Cellars.
There's an argument to be made for making wine from distinctive places. It offers an evocative, unique foil to the homogenized global style that dominates the local Albertson's shopping aisles. A production as small as ours is based on originality and sustainability. Winemaker Norm Yost walks the vineyards to taste fruit, examine seeds and look at stems before deciding when to harvest. He sources wood from forests in the east of France for aging, paying a staggering $1k per barrel for his main coopers. Fermentation is kept under tight temperature control by glycol cooling systems. And the result is something that influences our relationship to the vineyard site and to the people who participated in the process.
You probably know our Central Coast maker, mover and shaker for his distinctive stills and sparklings under Flying Goat Cellars. But Norm's forays into winemaking began far earlier than 2000. Shortly after graduating from UC Davis back in 1981, he climbed the ladder from harvest help to assistant to winemaker--all while absorbing the varied instructions and influences in the environments of Napa, Oregon and Australia. His relocation to Santa Barbara County was the beginning of a long-term love affair with the area.
Contributions to Wine Quality
Norm's care and attention to the craft of winemaking shows at every level. This comes across strikingly from the emphasis on viticultural areas shown in every single bottle. Interactions between the local climate, soil, and location play an important role in the composition and quality of grapes. In particular, cool climate viticulture tends to provide grapevines with great growing potential and accumulation of sugars in the berries. The wine program of Flying Goat Cellars focuses on selections from the Sta. Rita Hills and the Santa Maria Valley.
Each bottling is expressive and singular to the growing location from whence it came. Beginning in 2001, Dierberg Vineyard grapes brought their ocean-exposed hit of sea and surf. The mildly cool and protected Rancho Santa Rosa followed in 2002. The Rio Vista Vineyard has been part of the portfolio since 2003. Grapes there will experience a slight touch of warmth from their eastern location in the windblown hills. Another standby since 2003, the Solomon Hills, yields fruit grown in sandy soils with full flavor development.
Silver Status for a Golden Boy
With 25 years of Flying Goat in the record books, tasting wines from Norm's catalogue is a journey through both space and time. The regional blends and single-varietal offerings run a gamut of 11 vineyards, with some original releases from 2000 still lingering in the library. The end effect is a sensory experience with intense and complex flavor profiles produced from grapes that have achieved an optimal balance of ripeness and acidity. The future is looking bright for an aromatic, emboldened tomorrow.
Sources and Further Reading
Rana, V. S. and Pawar, R. Varietal Impact on Wine Quality and Aroma. Winemaking, 1st Edition; CRC Press, 2021.
Haeger, J. W. Flying Goat Cellars. Pacific Pinot Noir: A Comprehensive Winery Guide for Consumers and Connoisseurs; University of California Press, 2008.