SONOMA WINES
Pinot Noir
Sonoma County
Pinot Noir
Sonoma County
What Sonoma County Does for Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is a grape that tells you exactly how it feels. Thin-skinned and temperamental, it bruises easily under heat, loses its nerve in drought, and goes flat without enough cool air to keep it honest. Most places in the world simply can’t accommodate it. Sonoma County can.
The Russian River Valley and Bennett Valley sit in the path of two converging marine forces: cool air off the Pacific and cold currents funneling in through San Pablo Bay. By summer evenings, temperatures in these valleys have dropped 30 to 40 degrees from their afternoon highs. That daily swing is not incidental. It’s the mechanism. Warm days push the grapes toward ripeness and richness. Cold nights slam the brakes, locking in acidity and preserving the aromatic compounds that give Pinot Noir its particular kind of beauty. Crushed red berries, Rainier cherry, a hint of cinnamon. Juicy raspberry and pomegranate cut through with dried orange peel and tea leaf. A finish that builds and then releases cleanly, with none of the heaviness that warmer climates leave behind.
This wine doesn’t taste like Sonoma County by accident. It tastes like Sonoma County because nothing else could have made it.
Vineyard Sourcing
Sauvignon Blanc thrives in Sonoma County, where it is carefully cultivated in our Sonoma Valley Wild Oak Vineyard and the Russian River Valley Lagomarsino Vineyard. We also source premium grapes from other renowned Sonoma County regions, including Alexander Valley and Bennett Valley. The warmer microclimates in these areas contribute rich, full flavors and aromatic intensity, while the cooler regions bring refreshing crispness to the wine. This harmonious blend creates a wine that is vibrant, balanced, and lively.
In the Cellar
"Each vineyard lot tells its own story," says winemaker Katie Madigan. "We ferment them separately so we can really understand what each site is saying before we ever think about blending."
French Oak Aging
The wine rests eight months in French oak. Eighty percent of those barrels are neutral, preserving the fruit's natural character. The remaining 20% are new oak, adding just enough structure and warmth to round the edges without taking over.
From the Ground Up
Slow by Design
Great Pinot Noir can’t be rushed. Ours begins with fruit sourced from the cooler corners of Sonoma County: Russian River Valley, Bennett Valley, the Petaluma Gap, and Sonoma Coast. Each of these areas experiences the kind of sustained marine influence that Pinot Noir demands, and our grower partnerships in these regions connect us to some of the most esteemed vineyards in the county. Among those sites is our own estate-grown fruit, farmed by our team with the same commitment to sustainable practices that guides everything we do. Estate fruit means we control the story from vine to bottle, and that continuity shows in the wine.