Winemaker Notes
Looking for a zero sugar, low calorie wine that is flat-out delicious? The Sunny Pinot Noir is a riveting red wine full of juicy berry flavors and pure joy. Sweet black cherry kicks off the palate, followed by luscious pomegranate and a hint of toasted oak. The silky-smooth texture of our Sunny Pinot Noir pairs perfectly with rotisserie chicken, tomato basil pasta and grilled burgers, best enjoyed outdoors on the patio at sunset.
Professional Ratings
-
Tasting Panel
Red-floral and cherry aromatics are bright and sassy. Vibrant acidity keeps the freshness level high, enhancing ripe cherry and tart cranberry, as an underlying earthiness adds complexity.
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 geographic and climatic paradise for grape vines, Monterey is a part of the greater Central Coast AVA and contains within it five smaller sub-appellations, including Arroyo Seco, San Lucas, San Bernabe, Hames Valley and the famous Santa Lucia Highlands. The climate is relatively warm but tempered by cool, coastal winds, allowing the regions in Monterey County an exceptionally long growing season. Bud break often happens two weeks sooner and harvest tends to be two weeks later compared to other surrounding regions.
Monterey’s coastal side, where the cooling ocean fog allows grapes to develop a perfect sugar-acid balance, excels in the production of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Warmer, inland subzones are home to fleshy, concentrated and full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel.
Chardonnay, covering about 40% of vineyard acreage, is the most widely planted grape in all of Monterey County.