The other night I was tasting a glass of pinot from Peay Vineyards and I began to wonder where is the chosen spot for pinot?

The Peay 2007 Pomarium, Sonoma Coast is both intense and elegant. It’s earthy and ripe, and yet it has refreshing acidity.

Wine critic Robert Parker Jr. had predicted that the Sonoma Coast would be the up and coming pinot trading post. It was a good call. Producers on the coast certainly pamper their pinot.

Helen Turley, who produces the Marcassin label, initially had 40 backhoes unearth a 10-acre spread of vineyard to test the soil and determine exactly where to plant pinot noir. During harvest, she sent pickers through the rows of vines up to seven times to make sure the grapes were picked when they were ripe.

Of course Turley has good company when it comes to grooming cult pinots. Other great pinot outposts in California include: the Russian River, Carneros, Anderson Valley, the Santa Lucia Highlands in the Monterey Bay area and the Santa Rita Hills.

But what do you think?

Where is the best place to rear pinot and transform this finicky, thin-skinned grape into silk in a glass?

What’s the greatest glass of pinot you’ve ever had?

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