Holiday Pinot 4-Pack

All is merry and bright when there’s a 4-pack of bangin’ pinots up for grabs! Man, do we LOVE the holiday season – t’is the season for excellent insta-collections of fantastically covetable wines!

This superb holiday pinot pack is the bee’s knees and then some. All California pinots doing their thing – making the holidays great again! And that also means four separate vintages, from 2018-2021 to give you a delicious taste of each year. First up is the Kochana pinot noir from Edna Valley from the 2021 vintage. Kochana in Polish literally means “dearest,” a term of endearment to ascribe to beloved members of family or friends. This wine pays tribute to those dearly beloved folks and the trailblazers who came before us. It’s full of cherries, cranberries, raspberries, and pomegranates that overflow with black tea and tobacco that add overall complexity. From San Luis Obispo, it’s got so much character that we can’t wait to drink another bottle!

The Spanish house, Codorniu, was established in the mid-1500s as a Cava-producing house in the north of Spain. But in 1991, they decided to invest in Napa Valley, to establish Artesa Winery. In this 2019 Artesa Carneros pinot noir, there’s about 40% whole cluster fermentation that went into the vinification of this wine, and some of the vessels were open-top while others were puncheons. Native yeasts were used to ferment and 40% new French oak for 12 months for the elevage. Wild strawberries and maraschino cherries burst onto the tongue with reckless abandon and show no sign of abating. The nose can sometimes be even more intense, with Christmas spices and tobacco notes at the helm, with a little bit of vanilla bean. It’s balanced with silky tannins and textural roundness that makes it delightful.

Here’s another Napa Valley pinot that just slaps. It’s the 2018 Spelletich Pinot Noir Reserve Elkhorn Peak. The Spelletich family has deep roots in both Napa and the wine industry – with cellarmaster Tim Spelletich heading up the revered wine list at Napa legend Tra Vigne Restaurant for years. His wife, Barb, is the winemaker – though in a prior career, she built Zephyr Imports – a fine wine importer based in Seattle. The Elkhorn vineyard is one of the coolest sites in Napa Valley, and collects ocean breezes that flow from the Pacific over Carneros. This wine is loaded with sweet cherries and strawberries, whispers of vanilla and pie crust, with accents of cinnamon and clove – all winding up into a warm, smooth, and silky finish. 

Last, but certainly not least, is the Jules Harrison Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County 2020. It’s a very off-the-radar project (seriously, try to Google it) from distributor Katherine Strange and restaurateur and master sommelier Caroline Styne. Caroline’s top-notch L.A.-based restaurants, Lucques and A.O.C., are legends of the area’s dining culture, helping her earn a James Beard Award back in 2018. This Santa Barbara pinot is made by Joe Davis and has elegant aromatics of dried cherries, rose petals, lavender, and Darjeeling tea lead to ripe strawberries, crushed raspberries, cloves, and hibiscus agua fresca flavors on the palate.

This is going to be your favorite gift of the season – maybe even ever!