ROOM Pinot Noir Marin County 2017

Winemaking at ROOM Wines is about the intersection of two realms: creativity and exploration. They consider wine to be an art form worthy of imaginative discovery. We all know the opening and sharing a bottle of wine with family and friends can be the spark of inspiration needed for your next big idea. As Pablo Picasso said - "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." When it comes to wine drinkers, we pour that glass at the end of a long day and immerse ourselves in a whole new world. For the owners of ROOM, Andy Erickson & Annie Favia Erickson, this project is an opportunity to study different terroirs, varietals, and styles from their everyday. Essentially, an experiment that allows them a little "room" to explore as artists. 

The pedigree of this wine industry power couple is a laundry list of Napa's who's who for winemaking. Both worked with John Kongsgaard at Newton Vineyards before diverging to different wineries. Annie left to work alongside Cathy Corison, to whom Annie credits developing her love for the vineyard. After returning to school and earning a degree in Viticulture, Annie joined the David Abreu Vineyard Management team. There, she helped to establish many of Napa's most highly regarded vineyards over her decade-long tenure. She now focuses solely on their family business: Favia Erickson Winegrowers, where they make ROOM, Favia, and her artisan herbal tea brand, ERDA. 

While Annie was digging into vineyard work, Andy immersed himself in winemaking. Before becoming a part of the Newton team, Andy earned a degree in enology from UC Davis while at the same time interning at Spottswoode and Saintsbury. His notoriety grew over the years, working as a winemaker for some of Napa's wine titans: Staglin Family Vineyards, Harlan Estate, and Screaming Eagle. As a consulting winemaker now for brands like Dalla Valle, Arietta, and Ovid, he looks to ROOM wines as a creative outlet where he can seek inspiration. 

This 100% Pinot Noir is bright and youthful with a refreshing acidity, with fruit sourced from Marin County. The Pacific Ocean and San Pablo Bay both help to moderate temperatures in the region, keeping it cool enough during the day and warm enough at night to make delicious Pinots. The wine bursts on the nose with raspberries, dark cherries, cranberries, violets, and sweet spices. Those fruits develop on the palate into more intensely rich flavors of strawberry rhubarb pie, black cherries, and freshly ground espresso. As ROOM is an artistic conduit for the Ericksons, the wines do not necessarily get made every vintage. 2017 was the last vintage of their Marin County Pinot Noir and one to enjoy a glass of at the end of the day to brush off a bit of that everyday dust.