Wine of the week: Dutton Goldfield, 2022 Shop Block Dutton Ranch, Green Valley of Russian River Valley, Pinot Blanc

Patience is a prerequisite in making pinot blanc.

This is how Dan Goldfield sees it and the winemaker has apparently mastered it; he won our wine of the week tasting with his Dutton Goldfield, 2022 Shop Block Dutton Ranch, Green Valley of Russian River Valley, Pinot Blanc, 13.3%, $33. It’s a beautiful pinot blanc with tasty stone fruit of peach, buoyed by crisp acidity. It also has great minerality and a honeysuckle finish. It’s impressive.

“As harvest is unfolding with other varieties being picked and fermented, there is that one lovely pinot blanc in a stainless steel tank in the back corner of the winery. As we taste daily, we know how it’s progressing each day and consider next steps. But invariably the answer always seems to be patience.”

What the uninitiated don’t know about pinot blanc is that it’s a white mutation of pinot noir so it has great structure and phenolic input for a white wine.

Goldfield said he’s a good fit to make pinot blanc because for 25 years he’s been crafting pinot noir and chardonnay from coastal vineyards.

“As pinot noir is a bit of a genetic shape shifter, mutations such as pinot blanc are common,” Goldfield said. “Benefitting from a cool maritime climate, pinot noir and pinot blanc become hugely distinct when treated with classic winemaking techniques. Nuance, subtlety, and sometimes restraint are hallmarks in Dutton Goldfield winemaking and the care that is given to pinot noir translates quite nicely when making pinot blanc as well.”

The house style that Goldfield is shooting for is a pinot blanc that rides on crisp acid.

“I love bone dry, low alcohol white wines with super fresh acidity and aging potential,” Goldfield said. “I’m a big fan of Austrian bright whites.”

Launched on a handshake between Goldfield and grape grower Steve Dutton, Dutton-Goldfield became a reality in1998. They teamed up to produce site-driven wines from the Dutton family’s 80 sustainably farmed vineyards and other cold coastal properties in Northern California. While the winery specializes in pinot noir and chardonnay, Goldfield and Dutton also craft small quantities of syrah, zinfandel, pinot blanc, riesling and gewürztraminer. They produce approximately 12,000 cases a year.

Now 66, Goldfield graduated in 1986 with a Masters in Enology at UC Davis.

“I took a lot of time along the way to backpack, climb and ski in the Rockies, Sierras, Canadian Rockies and various amazing place in Alaska,” he said.

What people would find most surprising about his winemaking, Goldfield said, is how much he enjoys mentoring others.

“My greatest pleasure in my work is sharing what we do with young winemakers, learning from them, and hopefully giving them some things to think about as well,” he said. “For me, it’s the attention to detail and effort of learning to impart, not style or specific techniques.”

At the end of the day, Goldfield marvels over the group sport of crafting a wine.

“I love the collaboration and massive group effort of our craft,” Goldfield said. “I’m always struck by then number of people who have contributed to every great bottle of wine.”

You can reach Wine Writer Peg Melnik at 707-521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pegmelnik.