Littorai

California, USA


http://www.littorai.com
At a Glance
  • Proprietor Ted Lemon has been crafting some of the most singular and age worthy Pinot Noir’s and Chardonnay’s from single vineyard parcels on the true Sonoma Coast
  • Founded in 1993 with his wife Heidi, Ted was already a veteran winemaker having spents years in France where he was the first American winemaker in Burgundy at Domaine Guy Roulot.  Ted also did work at Domaine Dujac, Roumier and Bruno Clair
  • Ted’s vision of California Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is no differnet than what he experienced in Burgundy.  To make wines that have clarity, focus and transparency to allow the terroir of each site to shine through
  • Littorai is committed to farming all of their vineyards using organic and biodynamic practices, and grows and prepares all of the biodynamic preps used in the vineyards
  • in 2003 Ted and Hiedi were able to realize their dream of purchasing their own estate where they planted vines and constructed a winery, along with a farm to raise animals and grow produce
  • Ted Lemon has been, and is, one of the most influential winemakers and mentors in the California wine industry today

"There's nothing natural about winemaking. You can't go find a glass of Chablis in the wild. It's also important to understand that when we're talking about "traditional practices" you're talking about the practices of a specific region. There is no tradition outside of a specific place." - Winemaker Ted Lemon on "natural wine-making"

Littorai Wines was founded in 1993 by Heidi and Ted Lemon. With the exception of Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, all Littorai wines are single-vineyard designated from the northern coasts of California, western Sonoma and western Mendocino Counties. In fact, "Littorai" comes from the Latin word for "coasts".

Littorai's philosophy of winemaking is inspired by Ted's years in France and is based upon the concept of terroir. All of the sites in the Littorai vineyard portfolio have been carefully selected by Ted. Many of these are steep hillsides where yields and ripening conditions are marginal.

Fruit sorting happens at the harvest and again in the cellar. All Pinots are cold soaked. Chardonnays are pressed whole cluster. They all undergo native yeast fermentation and complete malolactic fermentation (as long as nature cooperates). They also are bottled unfined and unfiltered and are bottled directly off their original lees.

Wine & Spirits Magazine named Ted Lemon to its "50 Most Influential Winemakers" list in the fall of 2004. The editors wrote, "Lemon was among the first -- and certainly the youngest -- Americans to serve as a vineyard manager and winemaker for a Burgundy vigneron, at Domaine Guy Roulot in Meursault, after having apprenticed with Dujac, Roumier, de Villaine, and Bruno Clair. Since then he's brought Burgundian sensibilities to bear on everything from mountain chardonnay (at Chateau Woltner) to wines made from the cool, fogbound sites of the Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley."

Robert Parker raves, "All of the Littorai offerings, made by Ted Lemon, are nuanced, restrained, elegant efforts that are no doubt the result of his Burgundian winemaking experience at Domaine Roulot."