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Wine Notes: Winemaker's pinot has a personal touch
By Janis Switzer
Special to The Tribune
Tribune photo by Jayson Mellom
Next weekend, winemaker Mike Sinor is attending the seventh annual World of Pinot Noir, an event that he helped found. But this year will be special because it is the first time he will be there with his own label, Sinor-LaVallee.
As head winemaker for Edna Valley’s Domaine Alfred Winery for the past six years, Sinor, 36, has received wide acclaim for his signature pinot noir wines. In fact, his 2004 Domaine Alfred Chamisal Vineyard Pinot Noir was just ranked No. 51 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2006.
"Yes, I was the winemaker for that, and it was awesome," the humble Sinor explains, "but I certainly don’t take all the credit." He gives much of the credit to owner Terry Speizer. Sinor says he loved working with Speizer: "We were a great team."
Accidental winemaker
On his own since May, Sinor is making his wines and enjoying his life in his own individualistic style.
Ending up in the world of winemaking was an accident for Sinor. Paying his own way through Cal Poly, Sinor’s first job in wine was as a tasting room attendant at Corbett Canyon in 1991.
"People ask me how I got into the wine business, and it was just financial," Sinor recalls. "It was just a job —if it paid well, I was in."
That job led to positions at five other local wineries — many of which he worked concurrently to earn money for tuition and rent. He says he worked any job he could find, from pouring in the tasting rooms to racking barrels, cleaning floors and mowing lawns.
That was when Sinor got hooked.
"At that point I had already dedicated myself to growing grapes and making wines," he says now. "I felt at that point — even at 20 years old — that I was going to do it for the rest of my life."
After finishing at Cal Poly in 1994, Sinor took a temporary harvest position with Byron Vineyards and Winery in Santa Maria. That temporary position led to a permanent cellar position. After that, he became an enologist and, ultimately, assistant to winemaker Ken Brown. When he started, the winery was producing about 15,000 cases a year. By the time he left six years later, they were up to 80,000 cases.
"It was Ken Brown who introduced me to pinot noir," Sinor remembers. "I knew in this business you had to have a great mentor, and for me it was him."
Two others he says he’s learned much from are Ken Volk and Brian Talley, also founding members of the World of Pinot Noir.
Pursuing a dream
Sinor left Byron in 2000 to become the winemaker for Domaine Alfred. The new winery offered him the opportunity to be part of an exciting new brand, as well as practice a new philosophy of growing grapes that he was exposed to in France: biodynamics.
"Biodynamics is all about observation," Sinor explains. While the practice involves specific planting and growing techniques, Sinor simplifies it by explaining that it’s all about being "instinctive." Given the remarkable track record he has, the practice seems to be working.
Sinor worked at Domaine Alfred from 2000 to last May, when he finally decided to make a go of it on his own. He had started making his own wine in 1997, while still at Byron, but only a barrel or two a year for family and friends. He continued that once he moved to Domaine Alfred, and he credits Speizer for giving him the freedom to do that.
"He saw that I was a man of my word, and that I was not there to compete with him," Sinor says.
But his dream had always been to have his own winery. "I always knew I was going to live on the Central Coast," he says, "I knew I was going to own a winery, and I knew that I was going to specialize in pinot noir." So finally, he says, "I quit my day job."
Small family enterprise
Wife Cheri LaVallee Sinor is president of the winery, and "CEO of the growing Sinor-LaVallee household." The couple’s 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter are learning the concept of hard work in the wine business.
In a tribute to the family, the label is a compilation of fingerprints — one each from the parents and the two kids. "The brand is us," Sinor says.
Sinor is currently sourcing his grapes from two vineyards: Talley-Rincon in Edna Valley and Bob McHolland’s Aubaine Vineyard in Arroyo Grande. His acreage is small — less than four acres combined — and his production is only about 400 cases a year, but that’s the way he prefers it.
"My plan is to grow a little bit, but not much," he says. "We’re not a brand that’s trying to get to the next level; we’re just doing it because we like it."
Sinor’s winery is an old barn at the bottom of the Cuesta Grade. He has no tasting room, no wine club and no retail distribution, and so far he has been able to sell all of his wine through his customer mailing list and annual newsletter.
His business philosophy reflects his personal philosophy. "Keep it small, keep it quiet, keep it truly what we want it to be," he explains. "That’s the way I’ve always looked at wine."
And always driving him is the concept he learned early in life "that if you find something you really love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life."
Sinor-Lavallee Wine
Owners: Mike and Cheri Sinor
Cases produced: 400
Phone: 473-8313
Web site: www.SinorLaVallee.com
For more information on the World of Pinot Noir, visit http://www.worldofpinotnoir.com/. Many of the events are sold out, so check online for ticket availability.
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