26 Mar Summit Series Pinot Noir
WildAire is proud to announce our newest creation and wine club exclusive: “McAfee” our 2016 Summit Series Pinot Noir is a single barrel bottling in new French oak consisting of every clone from the 2016 vintage. Only 24 cases of this delicious wine were produced. The Summit Series was created to honor legendary peaks that our family has climbed for generations. The wine is a blend of the following clones: Pommard from Yates Conwill Vineyard, Dijon Clone 777 from Yates Conwill Vineyard, Wadenswil from Fairsing Vineyard, Dijon clone 777 from Fairsing Vineyard, and Dijon Clone 115 from Fairsing Vineyard.
We always perform our blending trials after the wines have had time to settle down in barrel in the Springtime. For this project, I wanted to create a special wine that would be spontaneously blended while filling the barrels right after primary fermentation was complete in the fall. It’s like “pre-blending” a wine ahead of time. This single barrel bottling is so unique in its intensity and lushness and it’s only available to our wine club members. This wine is not available in our online shopping cart due to it’s extremely limited production.
Summit Series 2016 Pinot Noir “McAfee”
McAfee Knob holds a special place in our hearts for the Driscoll family. At it’s peak is a series of cliffs and boulders where you can find the most photographed spot on the Appalachian Trail. My father would take us on the mountain on almost every Thanksgiving weekend before the winter snows would be upon us.
The Peak of McAfee Knob
Not only is it our favorite hike on the Appalachian Trail, but near the craggy peak lies the namesake of our winery: WildAire. The remains of an old lodge can still be seen through the oaks and rhododendrons as you make your way up the trail. It was a summer retreat for weary hikers and rangers in the 1920’s and 30’s and held many gatherings for trail clubs, weddings, etc. Over the years it fell in disrepair until it was burned to the ground due to a lightning strike in the 1980’s. All that remains is the chimney where you can still find the carved mantelpiece “WildAire”
WildAire
Our mother liked the name so much that she began calling her 8 acre estate in Roanoke, VA that very name. Each year when we would return to visit for the holidays I would always say that “we were coming back to WildAire”. My mother was also blessed with the gift of music and she could play the piano by ear. Any song. All she had to do was hear it and she could play it. I have fond memories of her playing Christmas music on her piano with me on my guitar, Amy on her Cello, Patricia on her Viola, all while the snow would gently fall outside.
I know this wine captures some of those moments in time for our family, and I hope it does for yours as well. We’ll see you on the trail……
cheers,
Matt Driscoll