This week we’ll be trying Willamette Valley Vineyards Whole Cluster Pinot Noir, the term "whole cluster" or sometimes "whole bunch" refers to a winemaking practice that is used around the world and deserves a bit more examination this week!

Typically, when making red wine the grapes themselves are taken off the cluster, a process called destemming, however some winemakers choose to skip this step, instead leaving the grapes on the bunches and making wine in a rather unique way. Now, not all grapes will take to this method, it tends to be used with lighter red wines, most famously Gamay, but occasionally with Pinot Noir. Leaving the grapes on the stem allows for a process called carbonic maceration to start, the grapes are cut off from oxygen and fermentation actually begins within the individual berries. This creates wines that have bright fruit characters that make for a very fun, pleasant drinking experience, once this process if finished the winemaker can choose to remove the berries from the stem, or like Willamette Valley Vineyards, they can leave the stems in with the fermentation. These stems can then add complexity to the wine with green, somewhat vegetal notes, and a bit more tannin.

With many wine regions becoming warmer more and more winemakers are experimenting with whole cluster fermentations because they can add green notes that were more common in wines 50 years ago, and many winemakers believe this process may even help wines age well into the future. At the end of the day, like most winemaking concepts, we think the best thing to do is to stop in and try the wine and see if this is a process that taste good to you!