Talisman Overview
Talisman Wine Overview
Owners: Scott and Marta Rich
Appellations: Los Carneros, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, Green Valley of Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain, Napa Valley, Yorkville Highlands, Bennett Valley
History/Story: All Pinot all the time! We still focus exclusively on Pinot Noir; tiny production, lovingly crafted wines of tremendous richness, depth, structure, texture and soul. Thirty years since our founding we‘ve grown from 200 cases in 1993 to just 3,600 cases today, and enjoy crafting super tiny bottlings of special wines in addition to our consistent offerings; these tiny lots might be a single block, single clone or 100% whole cluster. Our current offerings include 17 wines from 11 unique vineyard sites which make for fascinating comparative tasting opportunities.
Talisman’s goal is very simple: the creation of exquisite Pinot Noirs that are true to their roots and accurately reflect their places of origin. Each of Talisman’s vineyards have been selected for their unique site characteristics and potential to convey distinctive and singular terroirs. Emphasis is placed on achieving perfection in the vineyard and preserving the essence of place. Each individual vineyard dictates wine style. Each bottling is typically a diminutive 200 to 300 cases.
About the name Talisman: Scott’s American Indian mother once gave him a special charm or talisman; that had been made and blessed by a medicine man. A Talisman is: “an object imbued with the power to protect the bearer from harm.” One of the elements of this talisman is the circle of life. Its special power was not innate, but came from being blessed by the man who made it. In a similar fashion, the transformation of grapes into wine comes about due to the hand of the winemaker, after gently ripened by the rays of the sun.
