A Passion for Pinot: Furthermore

June 10, 2022 – Getting out of town once in a while is a mind-expanding exercise. When I found out that Furthermore Wine Company, based in Graton (near Sebastopol) had won Best of Monterey at the 2022 Monterey Wine Competition for its 2018 Sierra Mar Pinot Noir, plus a Platinum medal for its 2018 Rosella’s Pinot Noir, I decided I needed to pay them a visit.

Turns out I was in luck. There are now two places to check out their extensive portfolio, which drills deep into many excellent vineyard designate Pinot Noirs from the Santa Lucia Highlands to the northern Sonoma Coast: their original tasting room in Graton on Highway 116 near Dutton Ranch and a brand new one in downtown Healdsburg, on Healdsburg Ave, across the street and a half block down from Willi’s Seafood & Raw Bar. 

I met my friend Ellen—a Pinot Noir lover who used to work for Handley Cellars and is now at De Loach—at the very cool Healdsburg location. The place was a former hardware store and prior to that for many years a bowling alley. You can tell the narrow hardwood floorboards were top quality, having stood up stoically to all that abuse. The high tin ceilings are nicely trimmed with triple moldings over the tasting bar area, and natural light, thanks to skylights, streams in from above. 

In the front, a chaise is situated next to a large window, making for ideal people-watching as you taste. Little alcoves offer private seating on velvet couches of various hues, and all around you, the walls are adorned with dreamy vineyard photographs. Above these are dozens of mirrors of every size and shape, reflecting the light and offering a different dimension to the place with every glance.

Such décor is perfect for tasting multifaceted Pinot Noir.  And Pinot Noir is what Furthermore owners Bob Zeches and Chad Richard are all about. They’ve been friends and business partners since the early 1990s, when they began to further their love of wine, in particular, Pinot Noir.  They especially loved Pinot Noir from Oregon and California. By 2006, they began making their own wine from the Bohemian Vineyard in Freestone. Just five years later, they purchased the Nevina’s Vineyard in Occidental, which became their estate site in 2011. But they didn’t settle for the Russian River or the Sonoma Coast. Instead, they explored the maritime climes from Sta. Rita Hills to the Yorkville Highlands of Mendocino. Along the way they discovered the Santa Lucia Highlands and fell hard for Rosella’s, then later Sierra Mar. 

They make between 3 and 4,000 cases annually from over a dozen different Pinot Noir vineyards and sometimes more. Each one has a distinct personality. 

How about we get to know a few of them? You definitely want to start with the 2019 Blanc de Noirs, sourced from two coastal vineyards, Tanuda Ridge and Eden. Ellen and I marveled over the wildflower perfume that exuded from our glasses: this wasn’t your average Sonoma sparkler. A tinge of tangerine and Meyer lemon added top notes to the solid core of golden apple pie. The finish was long and creamy and soon, I was dreaming of my Mother’s apple turnovers from the neighbor’s old orchard where I grew up. 

If you know anything about Sebastopol, then you know it is the land of orchards, mostly apple, and mostly Gravensteins. It’s a sunny tranquil hamlet, kissed by morning fog and blessed by soils perfect for apples and grapes. Such a landscape translates nicely into sparkling wine.

Next up was the 2020 Graton Ridge Russian River Chardonnay, a coup, considering the disaster that was the 2020 growing season. Done in 20% stainless and the balance in neutral oak, it reflects the winemaking style of their relatively new winemaker Ross Cobb, who took over in 2019 from winemaker Erica Stanfill. This Chardonnay had pleasing apple notes, with delicate nutmeg and ginger, so very pretty. 

Furthermore made no reds in 2020: only a rosé, which was made from fruit picked from the Graton Ridge Vineyard and Nevina’s. Done in half stainless and half neutral barrels, this was the first time they’d made rosé. It reminded me of a glass of pink lemonade and a vase filled with pink peonies. 

As we started with the reds, we began with the riveting Starbridge Pinot Noir from what used to be the Summa Vineyard of Roccioli, Littorai and Willams-Seylem fame. It grabbed our undivided attention. This vineyard is owned by Scott Zeller, well known in the region for planting and farming some of the literally coolest vineyards in the region. The farthest north of the vineyards in the Furthermore sphere, Starbridge is in Occidental at an elevation of 1,000 feet and just 6 miles from the ocean.

This is a polarizing, almost bizarre wine, in that it is wildly weedy, almost medicinal, with aromas of a windswept coastal hillside, dotted with Queen Anne’s lace, fennel and dill. On the palate, there’s macerated cherry and huckleberry, with vermouthish herbs and a touch of bitters. Utterly fascinating, and only 12.9% alcohol, this wine is a sleeper, as it changes amazingly in the glass. It’s young, with lots of surprises in store.

Next up was the 2018 Nevina’s Vineyard Pinot Noir, a 2-acre plot at 1,300 feet elevation, planted by Scott Zeller to 667 and 777. Owned by Richard since 2011, it was the original source of Thomas Brown’s Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir from 2016 to 2010, when it was known as the Willow Creek Vineyard. This is a Dijon happy place wine, with lots of appealing blackberry and dark cherry fruit, and yet there’s that unmistakable coastal weediness and salinity that expresses itself as Australian licorice, along with a touch of mint and tarragon. It’s only 12.8%.

Swinging south to the Petaluma Gap, we delighted in the 2018 Gap’s Crown Pinot Noir, definitely riper and richer at 14.6%. Made of clone 828 and 667, this had a smoky note from the oak, along with dark chocolate and a chewy saltiness.

The 2019 Russian River Pinot Noir (13.5%) reflects several small vineyards in the Russian River Valley, and the first time this blend was entered in the Sonoma Harvest Fair it won the Sweepstakes round. It has a lovely tonal range, with fruit leather and soppressata, all wrapped around a sleekly polished palate.

We then enjoyed two of the Santa Lucia Highlands gems for which Zeches and Richard are most known outside their Sonoma County roots. The 2018 Rosella’s Pinot Noir (14.4%, clones 115 and 828), is a riot of red roses and sandalwood: so utterly pretty in the nose and no less appealing on the palate, where cherry pie, cracked pepper and cardamom make merry forever across the texture of chenille. What a wine! 

My heart, though, belongs squarely to the 2018 Sierra Mar Pinot Noir (14%), with its soft aromas of red clay and hyacinth, and its beautiful mid-palate flood of ripe wild blackberry, cassis, cinnamon and clove. No wonder it fires on all cylinders: it’s made from Pommard and Pisoni clones. 

We couldn’t leave without tasting the 2018 La Encantada Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Sta. Rita Hills, from which Furthermore has sourced since 2008. The clones here are 115, 667 and 777. The wine displays the characteristic tomato leaf, mint and eucalyptus aromas of the Santa Rita Hills, coupled with red raspberry, pepper and chiles. On the palate, it is darkly fruited and sinewy, with a chewy finish. 

This is truly an amazing lineup of wines from some of the most vaunted vineyards on the edge of the continent. Their cool marine influence is undeniable. And furthermore, they each strike a unique pose, their diverse personalities eluding a simple attempt to pin them down.