Noble Wines

David Lattin, WinemakerWhile finishing his degree in Microbiology at Oregon State University in 1981, David was working with a German graduate student isolating cold-tolerant malo-lactic bacteria from Oregon Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It was this graduate student who suggested that he become a winemaker after graduation. It was one of those “aha!” moments when everything foggy becomes clear. He had already spent several years abroad while growing up and seen where wine was grown around the world, so he knew he’d end up in a beautiful place. He was studying yeast and bacteria, so he realized that 4 years of college would not go to waste. He was minoring in German and had studied French and Italian, so he might get a chance to use some language skills. And most importantly, he already loved to cook and drink wine! After weighing several options for further study, David applied to and was accepted into the Masters of Enology program at UC Davis. While at Davis, he met Larry Brooks of Acacia Winery who was auditing the Wine Microbiology class and for which he was the Teaching Assistant. Larry convinced him to take 6 months off to intern at Acacia for the harvest of 1984. That was it. The winemaking bug had sunk its fangs deep and there was no turning back. Six months of living and making vineyard-designated Pinot Noir and Chardonnay gave him his first appreciation of site specificity in winemaking, and what he learned with that first harvest has stuck with him to this day. After completing his studies, he turned in his thesis and headed off to France for the harvest of 1985. He picked grapes and eventually landed a job in the cellar of Troplong-Mondot in Saint-Emilion. After returning to the States, he worked as Enologist at Robert Pecota Winery in Calistoga, spent a short time as Enologist at Storybook Mountain Winery, and was eventually hired back as Enologist at Acacia Winery in 1987. In 1992, he was promoted to Winemaker, and in 1997