Food & Wine Pairing

Soft and unassuming, this Pinot Noir exhibits a quiet luxury. Texturally it is smooth and soft and almost belies, the vibrant fruit notes of blackberry, black and Bing cherry, steeped black tea leaf and fresh/cut garden herbs. The tannins and acidity are modest making for an enjoyable and haptic drinking experience. Comprised of 14 different Pinot Noir clones from the Quail Hill Vineyard, this is truly a wine that exceeds the sum of its parts.

This harkens back to more traditional, Italian Nebiolo, rather than a California iteration. Of course, that was their goal in planting their northern Sonoma property to begin with. The fruit is rather muted, the tannins fairly tight, and the acidity is noticeable. These are all traits of good European wine and it’s nice to see California making something that represents Nebbiolo’s true style. Though the tannins are a little tight decanting is not necessary, although an hour or so would do some good.

You probably have never heard of Carricante, the Italian grape that grows on Mount Etna. Centennial Mountain specifically pursued their exact location in Sonoma to bring the Italian Carricante to California, the first of its kind.

Rich and bold, this Cabernet is in the vein of “new school” Napa Cabernet; which is to say unashamedly rich, forward fruit, potent oak, and a no holds barred take on a formidable Napa cab. That’s not to say it isn’t well structured, because this certainly is, and Turnbull is well-known for making structured Cabernets. In point of fact they have been doing so for a long time, and I have reviewed many of their wines over the years. This offers very ripe blackberry and blueberry fruit, plum, noticeable oak notes, including vanilla, sandalwood, and slightly sweet charred oak.

Sea Smoke has long produced very good and unique Pinot Noir coming from a scant few miles from the Pacific Ocean in the Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County. The ubiquitous fog that covers the mountains helps to grow Pinot in its naturally desired cool environment. What results out of this for Santa Barbara Pinot Noir is that Sea Smoke is more on the darker fruit side and carries an earthy quality that an abundance of Santa Barbara Pinot Noir does not.