A Passion for Pinot from California: Anderson Valley and Sta. Rita Hills

What’s your favorite Pinot Noir? And where’s it from? I was at a retirement party a year or two ago, and my friends broke out their favorite Pinot, one of the most popular more pricey wines at your local grocery store. A big pour of that sweet, syrupy vanilla fruit bomb later, I went for a walk into their backyard… where I quickly dumped my glass into the daisies. When offered more, I said I was more in the mood for Sauvignon Blanc. Recently, they joined us for a BBQ at the beach, and my friends laughed about that wine, saying now they’re retired and have time, they’ve moved on to more interesting and sophisticated wines. They’ve been going to wine tastings in Santa Barbara and realized that there’s much more to Pinot Noir than their previously favorite pour.

As people develop a passion for pinot, they come to know their way around the most popular of its 1000 clones as well as regions in the world where it grows best. They learn that picky Pinot Noir is thin skinned, and requires cooler weather to perform well. While it may be most famous from France’s Burgundy region, pockets of Pinot Noir grow well in wine regions from Italy’s Franciacorta and Alto Aldige to Australia’s Mornington and Yarra Valley to California’s Anderson Valley and Sta. Rita Hills (which we feature below). In particular, Pinot Noir has flourished in New Zealand which celebrates the grape each year on August 18. New Zealanders planted Pinot in the 1880s, but it took 100 years for the wine to really take off and find international recognition. Today New Zealand exports 1.5 million cases of Pinot Noir annually.

When people ask me my favorite wine, surprisingly, I never say Pinot Noir. Instead, I ask what I’m eating with the wine, and I go with what I’m in the mood for at that moment. But Pinot Noir is one wine that I probably open the most because it goes so well with the food we often prepare like roast chicken, seared ahi tuna, pork chops, and on special occasions, duck breasts.

I was reminded how much I love California Pinot Noir recently when Sue and I met to compare found wines, two from each of our favorite regions. For me, that region is Sta. Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County, located only an hour’s drive away from my home in Ventura. For Sue, her favorite region is Anderson Valley in Northern California. So how do these two regions stack up?

Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, CA

Tucked between inland ridges and the Pacific Ocean, the Anderson Valley experiences heavy morning marine fog and 50-degree daily temperature shifts ideal for picky Pinot. Read more about the Anderson Valley.

Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County, CA

In 2001, Santa Rita Hills, located at the western end of the Santa Ynez Valley was recognized as a separate and distinct viticultural area.

Sta. Rita Hills is blustery with cool temperatures, and constant fog at night — laden with minerals from the sea located just a few miles away. The region is so cold many questioned whether grapes could ripen there at all. Read more about Sta. Rita Hills.

The reason for this is its rare configuration. Most mountain ranges parallel their coasts, and fog seeps in to cool through famous gaps. But Santa Barbara and Ventura County are part of the Transverse Range which means the Purisima Hills and the Santa Rosa Hills are aligned east-west not north south.

 

A Passion for Pinot from California: Anderson Valley and Sta. Rita Hills

Four California Pinot Noir

• 2023 Lloyd by Robert Lloyd Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills
• 2020 LaFond Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills
• 2020 Calstar Cellars, Pinot Noir, Nelson Hill Vineyard, Anderson Valley
• 2018 Terragena Pinot Noir, Wiley Vineyard, Anderson Valley

Summer Menu for California Pinot Noir

• Mushroom brie and sourdough bread
•  Blueberry and raspberry salad with burrata cheese and a minty dressing
• Roasted squash
• Pork loin with herbed elderberry and blueberry port sauce

2023 Lloyd by Robert Lloyd Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills

2023 Lloyd by Robert Lloyd Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills

ABV: 14.5%
SRP: $50
Grapes: Pinot Noir
800 cases
Sample for my review

Lloyd Cellars 2023 Pinot Noir comes from two Sta. Rita Hills vineyards – La Viña and Rio Vista, and “reflects the appellation’s cool-climate character. La Viña, on the western edge, contributes structure, spice, and earthy depth from its fog-cooled slopes. Rio Vista, to the east, brings ripe cherry, plum, and floral lift from a slightly warmer microclimate.”

Appearance:  Very pretty, raspberry, Santa Rosa plum, pink rim, medium density,

Aroma: Raspberry vines, cherry, cedar, warm, alcohol is present, blueberry, sage, loamy earth, talc, candied, with food on the palate dried roses become apparent,

Palate: Tart raspberry, tart cherry, fruit up front, on the back side, husky, musky, earth, and mint, interesting texture, claylike, salinity, youthful brightness, nice acidity, very nicely crafted, enjoyable as a wine by the glass

Pairing: The wine and the cheese together are just yum, each of them enhance each other, the cheese has a roast nut quality and in the wine a bit of caramel becomes apparent. This wine loves the seasoning on the pork, the herbs and salt bring out lovely fruit in the wine. The wine worked well with every pairing, and was Sue’s favorite even though her go to AVA is Anderson Valley!

2020 LaFond Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills

2020 LaFond Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills

ABV: 14.4
SRP: $35
Grapes: Pinot Noir
Sample for my review

Over 60 years ago, Pierre Lafond founded the first post-prohibition commercial winery in Santa Barbara County in 1962. Originally a retailer, Lafond’s wine and cheese shop serves Santa Barbara’s wine aficionados even today with delicious food and drinks. In 1971 Lafond Vineyards planted 65 acres in the Santa Rita Hills at the western tip of the Santa Ynez Valley, and in 1981 Bruce McGuire became Winemaker.

Appearance:  Ruby, garnet rim, light in density

Aroma: Raspberry, cranberry, mint, woodsy, musky, mushroom, loamy earth, barnyard, mossy, toast

Palate: Tart raspberry, mountain strawberry, oxcalis, raspberry phosphate, salinity, dry, chalky texture, very bright

Pairing: The mushroom brie completely changes this wine by bringing out fruit and a bit of salinity as the wine washes clean the richness in the cheese. Simply beautiful with the pork loin; pork loin is not a fatty meat but the wine brings out a beautiful richness in the meat. The wine brings out the baking spices and the kick and the richness in the roast squash. Just a wow moment with the salad: so perfect together were the mint the berries the fresh salad dressing and the wine. This salad was so fabulous with this wine that it was our favorite with the salad, a perfect pairing, this wine brings out the creamy sweetness in the squash. Overall, a more simple wine than the others, but shows up with the food or on its own, and for $35 is a great value.

2020 Calstar Cellars, Pinot Noir, Nelson Hill Vineyard, Anderson Valley

2020 Calstar Cellars, Pinot Noir, Nelson Hill Vineyard, Anderson Valley

ABV: 14.2%
SRP: $50
Grapes: Pinot Noir
Sample for my review

Proprietor and Winemaker, Rick Davis went into the wine industry because he loves food and wine. He studied soil sciences as a graduate student, working wine wine in New York, and then moved to Sonoma County to focus on Pinot Noir working 20 years at Flowers Winery under Winemaker, Greg LaFollette, and as Consulting Winemaker with Londer Vineyards (2005-2011), and more. At Calstar, he specializes in cool Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from top producers on the Sonoma Coast “to produce high quality, food-friendly wines that can be shared at every table knowing the bounty of the vine.”

Appearance:  Raspberry, cranberry, garnet rim, medium density, pretty in the glass

Aroma: Raspberry, raspberry vines, bing cherry, ponderosa pine, vanilla, roses, potpourri, cracked pepper, as the wine opens up more complex perfume elements start to shine,

Palate: Tart raspberry, tart cherry, bright acidity, cherry phosphate, watermelon, watermelon rind, silt, salinity, slick texture, eucalyptus,

Pairing: The mushroom brie enhances the fruit in the wine, it tames the tart fruit, and brings out herbal elements in the wine that were not perhaps evident without this particular pairing, the pork and the wine were so perfect together, it was intense v intense, the wine is intense and marries well with the intense flavors in the dish, in particular this wine showcases the herbs in the dish, the squash becomes candied and creamy. it also enhances a bit of heat in the dish. The wine also works so nicely with the salad loving the fresh fruit the arugula and the mint in the salad.

2018 Terragena Pinot Noir, Wiley Vineyard, Anderson Valley