In 1983 we produced half our Pinot Noir by pumping-over and the other half we "punched-down" the old fashioned Burgundian way called
Méthode à l'Ancienne. A Burgundian barrel whiz, who sells various French barrels in the States, visited Navarro’s cellar in summer 1984. Monsieur tasted these two versions of the same wine while we remained mum. He first tasted the "pumped-over" version and described the fruit as strawberry, cherry and cinnamon but with a polite grimace, he added that it tasted manipulated. We were puzzled. Then he tasted the "punched-down" version and smiled "Ah, now I can taste the vineyard." We were flabbergasted as he proceeded to tell us exactly how we had made each wine, simply by tasting what was in the barrels nine months later. By then the gentleman had our attention. We listened when he suggested we should change coopers; we should age our Pinot Noir in barrels produced from Allier oak, coopered by Remond with staves bent over medium heat for a medium toast. We took his suggestion and ordered just such barrels.
In 1983 we began experimenting with "punching down." 
The juice and skins are mixed more gently by hand. Pinot Noir seeds are the most bitter of all the red grapes so by avoiding pumps we reduce bitter tannins and minimize aeration resulting in softer fruit in the finished wine. Charlie’s Dad has been the mechanic at Navarro since Charlie was a baby. Charlie’s punches leave no doubt; he’s not a baby anymore.
