Byron Winery, The Grand Pinot Noir Experiment
Byron Winery, ground zero for the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir revolution that transformed Santa Maria Valley, is focused on the future. Their Pinot Noir, in all its glory, is expressed through the lens of single vineyard bottlings, from rising star and iconic vineyard plots throughout Santa Barbara County. Looking to define and discover the very best sites for Pinot, Jackson Family Wines, who owns Byron, is committed to excellence. They follow in the footsteps of the visionary vintners that preceded them, Ken Brown, who started the winery, and Robert Mondavi, whose experimental vineyard plantings laid the groundwork for the newly burnished Byron brand. But it’s winemaker Jonathan Nagy who’s leading the charge, to make world-class wines that reflect the distinctive signature styles of Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley.
Nagy, literally born and raised among the vines of Santa Barbara County, never saw winemaking in his future. While pursuing a degree in Chemistry at UC Davis, he took an elective course in wine, and became hooked. He returned home, working his way up from Lab Director at Cambria Winery to Enologist, landing a life-changing job as Assistant Winemaker at Byron, working with Santa Barbara winemaking pioneer Ken Brown. Sharing a fascination with Pinot Noir and its different vineyard incarnations, Nagy learned from his mentor, and evolved his palate and winemaking instincts. Head winemaker since 2003, Nagy knows the vineyards well, and today, he’s fulfilling the original promise, of crafting site-specific wines with distinctive Pinot personalities, in one way, like France’s Burgundy region, with its Grand Cru vineyards in communes such as Gevrey-Chambertin.
At it’s core, Byron’s heart is the historic Nielson Vineyard, Santa Barbara’s first commercial vineyard. Planted in 1964 by Uriel Nielson, a visionary who bucked the conventional wisdom of the time, that this area was too cold to grow wine grapes, Nielson planted several varietals, of which Chardonnay was the most successful. Fourteen acres of Wente Clone Chardonnay inspired visions of the other Burgundian grape, Pinot Noir. In 1984, Ken Brown, who had begun to focus on Burgundian varieties in the late 1970’s, founded Byron Winery on this site. Five years later, the vineyards were bought by a joint venture of Robert Mondavi and Jess Jackson, who pooled their assets, yet split the properties based on their different interests, the Mondavis more focused on Cabernet Franc, Jackson on Chardonnay. They did agree on one thing, asking Ken Brown to stay, and grow the Byron brand, doing whatever necessary to make world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines.
When Jonathan Nagy came onboard in 2001 as Brown’s assistant winemaker, the painstaking efforts to unlock the key to achieving world-class status were in full swing. Nagy notes, “The first thing they did, they grabbed every clone and rootstock of Pinot Noir they could find, and they planted an experimental vineyard. Every 4 rows they changed the combination of clone and rootstock, just to try to figure out which clone and which rootstock, they even changed spacings, to see what did best in Santa Maria Valley.” But the experiment didn’t stop in the vineyard, it extended into the cellar, with 198 different barrel lots, they kept track of what made the best wine. Based on these results, the vineyard was replanted with those clones and rootstocks, and a state of the art winery was built in 1996, one of the first gravity flow facilities in the region.
But shortly after, there was lots of upheaval at the winery. Ken Brown left to pursue his own label, and the vineyard was sold to Legacy Estate Group, who lost it in a bankruptcy not long after. Jess Jackson, though, hadn’t forgotten about the property, purchasing the vineyards in 2006. Nagy says, “Jess recognized that Pinot Noir and Chardonnay land, coastal regions in California, are at a premium, and at a certain point, there will be no more premium wine grape growing land available.” Jackson Family Wines, focused on quality, gave Nagy a blank check. Nagy remembers, “They asked, ‘What do you need to make world-class wine?’ They kind of threw down the gauntlet, we’re tasking you to try to make the best wine in the world”, and proceeded to make significant investments in the vineyards.
Nagy said that Jess Jackson was very hands-on while he was alive, tasting the barrel samples and running the numbers before any wine could be bottled. During this transition period, Byron also had the Nielson brand under its umbrella, generic appellation wines, such as Santa Maria Valley and Santa Barbara County. Separating Nielson from Byron in 2009, it was all about getting back to Byron’s roots, single vineyard designate wines that had distinct personalities. Today, Byron produces ten Pinot Noir and two Chardonnay wines from renowned vineyards in the region, with plans to add more vineyards as their fruit becomes available. Nagy says this is an exciting time, given carte blanche to work with any Santa Barbara County vineyards he wishes, looking to add to an already long list, Bien Nacido, Solomon Hills, Julia’s Vineyard, Sierra Madre, La Encantada, Rita’s Crown, John Sebastiano, and Radian Vineyard.
To showcase the different Pinot personalities, Nagy uses detail and care in the winemaking process. Gentle handling of the fruit, temperature-controlled fermentation, and aging in French oak barrels spotlights the individual site’s aromas, flavors, and textures, all done in an impressive state of the art facility at the vineyard. Details matter, basket pressing the red fruit, small lot fermentation, four different temperature-controlled rooms (from 45 to 80 degrees) for the various stages of winemaking, the type of French oak barrels, and even the corks. Years ago, Jess Jackson bought a cooperage in France to guarantee the quality of the barrels for his wines. Nagy notes, “For the Byron wines, we’re really trying to match the oak to the vineyard, for example, using Francois Frere, which tends to be smokier, we think it matches the texture of our La Encantada Pinot.” Another Nagy observation about the different Pinot vineyards is that Santa Maria Valley fruit needs to be de-stemmed whereas Sta. Rita Hills lends itself to whole cluster.
Within this cast of Pinot Noir characters, Nagy finds that Santa Maria Valley wines are more Burgundian in style, savory, silky, and complex, mirroring a traditional Gevrey-Chambertin, while the Sta. Rita Hills wines directly correlate to the soil differences. Overall, the Santa Maria Valley Pinots channel a dark fruit, floral and Chinese 5 spice profile, coming from Nielson, Sierra Madre, and Julia’s vineyards, with Julia’’s old vine Pinot more smoky and spicy. The Sta. Rita Hills Pinots have a wet stone mineral character, with more structure, reflected in the Rita’s Crown, La Encantada, and John Sebastiano vineyards.
Chardonnay is not forgotten, just not a major player in the current Byron lineup. The Nielson Vineyard Chardonnay, made from the original Wente clone cuttings, is lightly floral, ripe and mineral whereas the Bien Nacido Chardonnay is powerful and structured, well balanced in its acidity and rich flavors.
And what about those general appellation wines that have been spun off from the Byron label? Nielson Chardonnay and Pinot Noir will continue in a different vein, under its own label. Nagy says, “With the Nielson brand, I get to make fun wines, I make a Rosé, a Viognier, a Chardonnay, a GSM. For the Pinot that we make, a blend of the Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley, that’s more just fun and winemaker driven, which kind of fits with the appellation, Byron is all vineyard designated. It definitely fits the two aspects of the wine industry, you can get really serious and geeky about site or you can just have fun, things that fly out of the tasting room, like rosé in 3 months.”
As fabulous as all these wines are, Byron currently produces only 8000 cases. The new releases of the 2014 vintage aren’t yet available, but will be sold by an allocation list, which you can sign up for on the Byron website. Those who are interested are invited to taste the wines before release, and then sign up for those wines they wish to purchase, similar to Burgundy futures. It’s a first come, first served situation, with a staggered release of wines when they are ready, expected in 2017.
If, by now, you’re salivating at the sheer deliciousness of this bevy of Pinot beauties, you can taste Byron wines at their Los Olivos tasting room, where the 2013 wines are still available. In the meantime, Jonathan Nagy is living every winemaker’s dream, with visions of American Grand Cru wines dancing in his head. Nagy is forging Byron’s next chapter by returning to its roots, looking to make history once again.
Byron Winery, ground zero for the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir revolution that transformed Santa Maria Valley, is focused on the future. Their Pinot Noir, in all its glory, is expressed through the lens of single vineyard bottlings, from rising star and iconic vineyard plots throughout Santa Barbara County. Looking to define and discover the very best sites for Pinot, Jackson Family Wines, who owns Byron, is committed to excellence. They follow in the footsteps of the visionary vintners that preceded them, Ken Brown, who started the winery, and Robert Mondavi, whose experimental vineyard plantings laid the groundwork for the newly burnished Byron brand. But it’s winemaker Jonathan Nagy who’s leading the charge, to make world-class wines that reflect the distinctive signature styles of Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley.
Nagy, literally born and raised among the vines of Santa Barbara County, never saw winemaking in his future. While pursuing a degree in Chemistry at UC Davis, he took an elective course in wine, and became hooked. He returned home, working his way up from Lab Director at Cambria Winery to Enologist, landing a life-changing job as Assistant Winemaker at Byron, working with Santa Barbara winemaking pioneer Ken Brown. Sharing a fascination with Pinot Noir and its different vineyard incarnations, Nagy learned from his mentor, and evolved his palate and winemaking instincts. Head winemaker since 2003, Nagy knows the vineyards well, and today, he’s fulfilling the original promise, of crafting site-specific wines with distinctive Pinot personalities, in one way, like France’s Burgundy region, with its Grand Cru vineyards in communes such as Gevrey-Chambertin.
At it’s core, Byron’s heart is the historic Nielson Vineyard, Santa Barbara’s first commercial vineyard. Planted in 1964 by Uriel Nielson, a visionary who bucked the conventional wisdom of the time, that this area was too cold to grow wine grapes, Nielson planted several varietals, of which Chardonnay was the most successful. Fourteen acres of Wente Clone Chardonnay inspired visions of the other Burgundian grape, Pinot Noir. In 1984, Ken Brown, who had begun to focus on Burgundian varieties in the late 1970’s, founded Byron Winery on this site. Five years later, the vineyards were bought by a joint venture of Robert Mondavi and Jess Jackson, who pooled their assets, yet split the properties based on their different interests, the Mondavis more focused on Cabernet Franc, Jackson on Chardonnay. They did agree on one thing, asking Ken Brown to stay, and grow the Byron brand, doing whatever necessary to make world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines.
When Jonathan Nagy came onboard in 2001 as Brown’s assistant winemaker, the painstaking efforts to unlock the key to achieving world-class status were in full swing. Nagy notes, “The first thing they did, they grabbed every clone and rootstock of Pinot Noir they could find, and they planted an experimental vineyard. Every 4 rows they changed the combination of clone and rootstock, just to try to figure out which clone and which rootstock, they even changed spacings, to see what did best in Santa Maria Valley.” But the experiment didn’t stop in the vineyard, it extended into the cellar, with 198 different barrel lots, they kept track of what made the best wine. Based on these results, the vineyard was replanted with those clones and rootstocks, and a state of the art winery was built in 1996, one of the first gravity flow facilities in the region.
But shortly after, there was lots of upheaval at the winery. Ken Brown left to pursue his own label, and the vineyard was sold to Legacy Estate Group, who lost it in a bankruptcy not long after. Jess Jackson, though, hadn’t forgotten about the property, purchasing the vineyards in 2006. Nagy says, “Jess recognized that Pinot Noir and Chardonnay land, coastal regions in California, are at a premium, and at a certain point, there will be no more premium wine grape growing land available.” Jackson Family Wines, focused on quality, gave Nagy a blank check. Nagy remembers, “They asked, ‘What do you need to make world-class wine?’ They kind of threw down the gauntlet, we’re tasking you to try to make the best wine in the world”, and proceeded to make significant investments in the vineyards.
Nagy said that Jess Jackson was very hands-on while he was alive, tasting the barrel samples and running the numbers before any wine could be bottled. During this transition period, Byron also had the Nielson brand under its umbrella, generic appellation wines, such as Santa Maria Valley and Santa Barbara County. Separating Nielson from Byron in 2009, it was all about getting back to Byron’s roots, single vineyard designate wines that had distinct personalities. Today, Byron produces ten Pinot Noir and two Chardonnay wines from renowned vineyards in the region, with plans to add more vineyards as their fruit becomes available. Nagy says this is an exciting time, given carte blanche to work with any Santa Barbara County vineyards he wishes, looking to add to an already long list, Bien Nacido, Solomon Hills, Julia’s Vineyard, Sierra Madre, La Encantada, Rita’s Crown, John Sebastiano, and Radian Vineyard.
To showcase the different Pinot personalities, Nagy uses detail and care in the winemaking process. Gentle handling of the fruit, temperature-controlled fermentation, and aging in French oak barrels spotlights the individual site’s aromas, flavors, and textures, all done in an impressive state of the art facility at the vineyard. Details matter, basket pressing the red fruit, small lot fermentation, four different temperature-controlled rooms (from 45 to 80 degrees) for the various stages of winemaking, the type of French oak barrels, and even the corks. Years ago, Jess Jackson bought a cooperage in France to guarantee the quality of the barrels for his wines. Nagy notes, “For the Byron wines, we’re really trying to match the oak to the vineyard, for example, using Francois Frere, which tends to be smokier, we think it matches the texture of our La Encantada Pinot.” Another Nagy observation about the different Pinot vineyards is that Santa Maria Valley fruit needs to be de-stemmed whereas Sta. Rita Hills lends itself to whole cluster.
Within this cast of Pinot Noir characters, Nagy finds that Santa Maria Valley wines are more Burgundian in style, savory, silky, and complex, mirroring a traditional Gevrey-Chambertin, while the Sta. Rita Hills wines directly correlate to the soil differences. Overall, the Santa Maria Valley Pinots channel a dark fruit, floral and Chinese 5 spice profile, coming from Nielson, Sierra Madre, and Julia’s vineyards, with Julia’’s old vine Pinot more smoky and spicy. The Sta. Rita Hills Pinots have a wet stone mineral character, with more structure, reflected in the Rita’s Crown, La Encantada, and John Sebastiano vineyards.
Chardonnay is not forgotten, just not a major player in the current Byron lineup. The Nielson Vineyard Chardonnay, made from the original Wente clone cuttings, is lightly floral, ripe and mineral whereas the Bien Nacido Chardonnay is powerful and structured, well balanced in its acidity and rich flavors.
And what about those general appellation wines that have been spun off from the Byron label? Nielson Chardonnay and Pinot Noir will continue in a different vein, under its own label. Nagy says, “With the Nielson brand, I get to make fun wines, I make a Rosé, a Viognier, a Chardonnay, a GSM. For the Pinot that we make, a blend of the Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley, that’s more just fun and winemaker driven, which kind of fits with the appellation, Byron is all vineyard designated. It definitely fits the two aspects of the wine industry, you can get really serious and geeky about site or you can just have fun, things that fly out of the tasting room, like rosé in 3 months.”
As fabulous as all these wines are, Byron currently produces only 8000 cases. The new releases of the 2014 vintage aren’t yet available, but will be sold by an allocation list, which you can sign up for on the Byron website. Those who are interested are invited to taste the wines before release, and then sign up for those wines they wish to purchase, similar to Burgundy futures. It’s a first come, first served situation, with a staggered release of wines when they are ready, expected in 2017.
If, by now, you’re salivating at the sheer deliciousness of this bevy of Pinot beauties, you can taste Byron wines at their Los Olivos tasting room, where the 2013 wines are still available. In the meantime, Jonathan Nagy is living every winemaker’s dream, with visions of American Grand Cru wines dancing in his head. Nagy is forging Byron’s next chapter by returning to its roots, looking to make history once again.