Winemaker Notes
A dark edge with dark fruit, black cherry, and black plum with hints of the salty sea-spray and misty fog rolling into the Sonoma Coast from the Pacific Ocean. The full-bodied palate beams with flavors or wild blueberries and licorice, white pepper and cloves that lead to an undercurrent of violet. Seductive, with a velvety texture and seamless freshness, finishing long.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
This is the most layered, the richest expression of the Summer Dreams Pinot Noirs. Twilight is the most powerful time in life, the point between light and darkness, between day and night, when we are at our most productive, and this wine, according to proprietory Jayson Woodbridge, embodies all that. 'It has incredible staying power, showcasing Pinot Noir at its most muscular—like a warrior Pinot. It will carry you through the darkest times,' he says, and indeed, it does carry the light and dark as it unfurls with black cherry and spiced plum fruits, dark chocolate, and saline minerals. Its rich, creamy, and powerful character is underscored by fabulous minerality and brisk acidity. This wine makes a compelling argument for the power of Pinot—never underestimate it. Jayson doesn’t care if you accept the style; he makes it boldly and unapologetically. 'It’s like the Darth Vader of Pinot—dark, intense, yet undeniably good,' he says. Fabulous umami notes of long-roasted beef and intense charred mineral character, seaweed, and everything the ocean can deliver in your glass are also present. All this from 100% Pinot Noir from the West Sonoma Coast, Annapolis, and Fort Ross-Seaview AVAs. Whole berries are fermented in open-top tanks and puncheons with a mix of Demptos and Taransaud barrels from blonde, tight-grained Vosges forest wood. The wine is bottled unfined. In 2019, Jayson Woodbridge of Hundred Acre began producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir under the Summer Dreams label, using fruit from cool-climate vineyards on the extreme Sonoma Coast.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, the 2022 Pinot Noir Twilight is one of the riper, more marine influenced wines in the lineup. Ripe red and black fruits, autumn leaves, sea breeze, and subtle baking spice notes all define the aromatics, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a round, layered mouthfeel, and velvety tannins.
The Sonoma Coast AVA is large in area but, not counting overlapping regions like Russian River Valley, only has a few thousand acres of grapevines—and it’s no wonder. Much of the region is rugged and not easily accessible. Its proximity to the Pacific Ocean’s fog and cool breezes limits the varieties that can be cultivated, but it proves to be an ideal environment for high quality Pinot Noir.
Since fog is a frequent fact of life here, as are heavy marine layers that sometimes bring rain, the best vineyards are wisely planted above the fog line, on picturesque ridges that capture enough sun to provide even ripening. That, with the overnight drop in temperature that reliably preserves acidity, results in fine expressions of Pinot Noir that often receive tremendous critic and consumer praise alike, and are often in high demand.