Littorai: Sustainability on California’s north coast

The first American to work as a winemaker in Burgundy, Littorai’s founder Ted Lemon wanted to pursue old-world restraint and elegance in California when he returned to the USA, and so he and his wife Heidi identified the cool Sonoma and Mendocino Counties as the perfect locations to source grapes for their new project.

Littorai’s first vintage, back in 1993, was made from these purchased grapes at facilities in Napa: ‘We had no money to buy land, so we purchased grapes from cool vineyards in Sonoma and in Anderson Valley.’In 2003 they purchased 12ha of land, which from the beginning was designed to be self-sustaining. It has over 3ha of woodland and streams, and 5.6ha of open pasture to feed and house a herd of cows which provide natural compost for the vines as well as legumes, grains and grass.

See also: The Decanter interview: Ted Lemon

It wasn’t until 2008 that they were able to build their own winery, a gravity-flow setup in a thermally insulating straw bale structure located in Sebastopol, but the couple had begun to buy and lease vineyards in the 1990s.

In the late 1990s they also turned to biodynamic farming, not out of dogma but because it seemed to work. Today, almost all the vineyards, including those which are leased and fruit which is purchased, is biodynamic, while the remainder is farmed organically. Ted and Heidi prefer not to pursue certification, as they feel that the association with self-promotion is at odds with the real reasons behind sustainable farming. The common factor of all the sites they use is the cool conditions considered perfect for the Burgundian varieties Littorai produces.

The Littorai style

Ted aims to produce terroir-focussed wines with moderate alcohols, modest oak influence and a structure that will ensure longevity.

‘From the start I wanted to make a restrained style of wine, so I was never in the Pinot Noir mainstream in California. But I didn’t want to replicate Burgundy. I took my European experience and then set it aside.’

Ted also joined a tasting group of kindred spirits such as Steve Kistler, Helen Turley and Burt Williams. ‘This taught me a great deal and helped define what I was looking for.’

Just as Jacques Seysses proved a mentor to generations of aspiring winemakers, including Ted, so his vision, modesty, skill, and deeply held convictions have become a model to young winemakers from California, New Zealand and many other viticultural areas where he today acts as a consultant.

The following wines were presented by Ted Lemon at the River Café, focussing on three vintages: 2009 (a warm summer giving lush wines of good quality), 2012 (a mild summer allowing long hang-times and giving a generous crop), and the classic 2016 with its moderate summer.

Tasting the Littorai range:

A brief history

Ted Lemon was born in 1958, but did not grow up in a wine-steeped environment. However, in 1981 he went to Dijon to study Enology and afterwards decided to stay in Burgundy and find a job as a cellar rat.

A phone call to Roz Seysses at Domaine Dujac proved timely, as her husband Jacques was flat on his back with sciatica. Ted spent that harvest taking tank samples to Seysses and then following his instructions. He followed this with spells of work at some of Burgundy’s other top domaines, including Georges Roumier and Bruno Clair.

A year later Ted returned to Burgundy to act as winemaker at Domaine Roulot, in Meursault, while Jean-Marc Roulot followed an acting career. Ted became the first American winemaker in Burgundy and stayed at Roulot for three years before returning home to the USA, where he spent time working in Napa Valley before founding Littorai in 1992.

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