Winemaker Notes
Each year, the goal for Southing is to create the ideal marriage of complexity and elegance. The ever-changing nose of the Southing exhibits fresh currant, slight strawberry and rose aromas with notes of dried fruit, fennel, clove and nutmeg. The fine tannins and minerality are enhanced by our estate vineyard’s characteristic cool climate acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Named for the south-facing hillsides on which Sea Smoke's estate vines are planted, this is a most aromatic red, resonant with clove-kissed rose and dried fig. Cherries steeped in more clove and cinnamon wash over the palate, contributing an earthy tone as if plucked from the soil instead of a tree. Its featherlight yet angular and savory notes sprinkled with white pepper are rounded out by the freshness of wild strawberry. Minerality has a graceful presence.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Over the years, I’ve found the Sea Smoke Pinot Noirs to be consistently compelling—they’ve long been my go-to producer in Sta. Rita Hills. The 2022 Estate Southing Pinot delivers evocative aromas of sandalwood and early summer blackberries, unfolding into a long, vibrant finish of tart strawberries. A perfect partner for duck breast with cherry reduction.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.