Pinot Clone Education Trail

Stops

1. 1
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   Domaine Carneros: Beat the Clock Clone Challenge

   Four unmarked glasses. Eight minutes. One correct answer. Domaine Carneros produces single-clone Pinot Noirs from Dijon 115, 667, 777, and Pommard - same vineyard, same vintage, same winemaking. Your mission: identify the 777 blind. It's the spiciest clone, with black tea and cola notes that set it apart. Correct identification = bragging rights forever. Wrong guess = you buy a bottle of the one you missed. This is clone education as competitive sport.

   education $$
2. 2
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   Dijon University: Pilgrimage to Clone Zero

   Every Pinot Noir clone number - 115, 667, 777, 828 - traces back to one place: the University of Burgundy in Dijon. In the 1950s-70s, French enologists identified the healthiest, most expressive Pinot strains and assigned them catalog numbers. Clone 777 was literally the 777th vine certified. This pilgrimage takes you to where modern clone science began - and then rewards you with the wines in the covered market where Burgundy's growers still shop.

   cultural $
3. 3
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   Knudsen Vineyards: The Suitcase Clone Mystery

   In the 1970s, American Pinot obsessives allegedly smuggled vine cuttings from Burgundy's greatest vineyards in their personal luggage. Joseph Swan's famous selection - now called the Swan Clone - may have come from Romanée-Conti itself. At Knudsen Vineyards, one of Oregon's original 1971 plantings, the hunt for these legendary 'suitcase clones' becomes detective work. Can you taste the difference between legally imported clones and the mysterious contraband?

   education $$
4. 4
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   Kramer Vineyards: The 6-Clone Marathon

   Kramer Vineyards maintains Oregon's most comprehensive clone library - separate vineyard blocks of Pommard, Wädenswil, Dijon 115, 667, 777, and 828, each vinified individually. Your challenge: taste all six, create a flavor map ranking them from most elegant to most powerful, and identify which clones you'd use for your imaginary winery. This isn't a passive tasting - it's a working session that will permanently change how you understand Pinot Noir.

   education $$
5. 5
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   Wayfarer Vineyard: The Clone Orchestra Masterclass

   Nine clones. Thirty blocks. One 30-acre vineyard at 1,100 feet elevation in the fog belt. Wayfarer is where clone science becomes art. They've mapped exactly which clone thrives in which micro-site - Dijon 777 on the ridgetop, Pommard in the valley, 115 as the glue. The 2023 Estate was just ranked #8 in Wine Spectator's Top 100. Your mission: understand how a world-class winemaker orchestrates genetic diversity into a single transcendent wine.

   winery $$$