Meet our Sonoma Pinot Noir

Meet our 2020 Russian River Valley, Sonoma Pinot Noir. The Russian River Valley, one of the United States' top-ranked wine regions, is located in Sonoma County and characterized by the Russian River that winds its way through the region. Here, a cool climate and coastal influences like thick fog work together to create distinct flavor profiles in the wines. 

We love Pinot Noir for its pops of bright red fruit, which you’ll find in this wine, including raspberry, strawberry, cherry and Santa Rosa plum. The fruit notes are balanced by hints of baking spice and pepper. This Pinot Noir is flavorful with a silky, smooth texture and energizing acidity providing mouth-watering structure. It is balanced and medium bodied, and we think you’ll find this is a perfect red wine for warm summer evenings (or days!) and pairing with lighter foods than you’d pair our other red wines with. 

Winemaking Notes

Pinot Noir is a grape with many variants, called clones, that are slightly different from each other and originate primarily from Burgundy, France and now grow in the United States. For this wine we chose a mix of clones including Pommard, which brings a softer profile with earthy elements, 777 which brings great color and finesse, and 115 which provides more complex fruit-forward aromatics and structure.

We chose whole berry fermentation rather than crushing the grapes before fermentation, but 100% destemming, to amplify the red fruit notes in the finished wine. We fermented the wine cold to preserve those fresh aromatics, and gently punched down the fermenting wine by hand daily. After fermentation we gently pressed the wine to barrel to age, avoiding the more astringent tannic profile that a harder press can create.

Food Pairing

Goat cheese, brie. Grilled or roasted salmon or seared tuna. Roast duck or chicken with berry and wine sauce. Pork chops or pork loin. Mushroom risotto with roasted vegetables. Butternut squash soup. This is the perfect wine for Thanksgiving.