JL Wood Wines (Monterey County) with Proprietor Paul Morrison Part 2
SoCal Restaurant Show · Andrew Harris and Andrew Gruel
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Show Notes
“Not unlike the European wine model where it is common practice to concentrate on and produce wine from one varietal, JL Wood (Arroyo Seco in Monterey County) has mandated that it make only Chardonnay. It has done so since 2020, producing less than 3,000 cases a year, when it began making its own Chardonnay. Its 125-acre JL Wood Ranch Vineyard in the Chardonnay-centric AVA of Arroyo Seco in Monterey County, has for almost 25 years, been selling its grapes to other producers.”
“So, why only Chardonnay? The reasons, explained by owner Paul Morrison, are numerous. “There are few specialists in Chardonay in California,” he offers. “Secondly, we have great clones: 4 and 17. It’s ideal for our soils. Third, to jump into Pinot Noir, for instance, and do it very well, would be difficult. Plus, there were already a lot of folks doing it in the adjacent Santa Lucia AVA. Of course, when we took over the ranch, it was already planted in Chard. Chardonnay has the benefit of being popular and large wineries have historically bought rather than grown Chardonnay for their own programs. Ed Filice is the chief winemaker.”
All of their reasonably priced, limited production boutique wines are available direct from the Winery via their Website.
Paul Morisson continues with us pulling the cork on all that is JL Wood wines.