The WineThis is Lichen's entry-level Pinot, but it's still made from estate fruit. Made using the mature portions of the vineyard, it boasts the cherry notes that are a distinctive marker for Pinot.
Instead of a paper label, each of Lichen's wines has a screen-print image featuring a different variety of the local Lichen. Visitors to the tasting room are given a clip board with the tasting sheet and a piece of lichen as adornment.
The Winery
Doug Stewart is a serial entrepreneur. So by definition he's unafraid of pushing boundaries. Leveraging the sale of his frozen desert company (it featured obscure fruits from the rainforest, providing local communities a sustainable alternative to deforestation!), he moved on to wine, starting Breggo Cellars in the early 2000s, where he pioneered high-density Pinot Noir vineyards tended by a tractor custom-designed for the tight rows.
Breggo quickly became one of Anderson Valley's most-awarded wineries. Their Pinot Gris was described by Robert Parker as "the finest ever in the world".
But one year, sacrificing cash flow so he could hold a certain vintage until it was fully ready for release, he ended up running afoul of his banker, who called his bank loan in the middle of the Great Recession (lesson learned - never rely on a handshake agreement from a banker). I remember the sad day Breggo was forced to sell their brand and lease their facilities and vineyard.
Don't shed too many tears for the Stewarts though. From the sale proceeds, he managed to pay off his loan and launch Lichen Estates. And when the five-year lease was up on his vinryard and tasting/production facility, those too became part of Lichen.
He and his wife, Ana, strive "to leave our children and grandchildren land that is healthier than when we arrived". A sustainable vineyard is just a small part of their large property in Anderson Valley, and the whole affair is managed to maximize bio diversity. Not suprising, really, for a guy who started out producing ice cream from rainforest fruit!
