7 California PINOT NOIR red WINES to try!!!

[@KPA78]

I would say my 'favorite' CA regions for Pinot Noir are 1) Russian River Valley and 2) Santa Maria Valley as I find them to be consistent in their presentations (raspberry, strawberry, touch of oak, herbal, kirsch, well-balanced). Prices have gone up but if one is diligent and patient, you can still find a quality CA Pinot for less than $25.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Agreed that you can find solid ones in that price point but it does take some work!

[@dantheman8279]

Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County produces some very elegant Pinot Noir.

[@maguro008]

If you like the alcohol at 14+

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Agreed!

[@larsio72]

High end Austrian pinot noir can be outstanding as well. Thank you for your passionate and informative videos, alwats a joy to watch.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

It can be! I love Austrian wine too :)

[@solomonmengeu1003]

Ahhh, Californian PN a very interesting and unfortunately a pretty expensive option and question nowadays. I remember back when I did my WSET L2 course here in Taiwan back in '13/14 our instructor was giving us a class on PN and she said something rather interesting. I don't remember word for word what she said, but something along the line of "in California the elegant and dainty princess of Pinot Noir becomes a Transformer Robot Barbie". That was obviously a blanket statement and an overgeneralization of the Cali PN scene, and I am sure it's changed a lot over the past 10 years. I do remember that I wasn't very impressed with the Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs in class at the time, I did like the Aussie and Kiwis ones more. My palate has evolved since then and I have had a Cali PN or two and enjoyed them. The big problem is the price, as whatever it's selling for over there, here it's going to be double, if not triple the price. So I generally stick to South African or Kiwi PN, if I want something decent that isn't going to break the bank. German Spatburgunder is becoming more available and affordable now. I think my palate goes more towards the cooler regions of Santa Barbara County and the Sonoma Coast.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

In Asia you are totally right, it would be better to go for a NZD or Aussie option as the selection and price points are much better. California does make some phenomenal stuff but a lot is sold locally and at prices that are not appetizing to those around the world. You hit the nail on the head!

[@gooseman480]

Love Small Vines! Had an amazing visit last year. Cheers !

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ahhh lucky you!

[@smallvineswines]

Thankyou for sharing...Yes, you do need to come out for a visit! When?

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Hopefully soon!

[@AlejandroPDX]

I’m a big Oregon pinot fan…but I guuuuuuuessss i’ll just have to try CA pinot now 😆

[@drmatthewhorkey]

😂🤣

[@numanuma20]

I think Anderson Valley makes great Pinot Noir. Walt’s Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley is so good. Very elegant.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Good call!

[@noahcap]

Thanks for the video. I first fell in love with wine on a trip to Sonoma, staying in a little house at the mouth of the Russian River. My tastes have branched out to all sorts of styles from all over the world, but I'll always have a soft spot for the wines that turned me into a full on wine lover: Pinot and Chardonnay from Sonoma Coast and RRV. It's great to see them coming out on to of your tasting.. So many great producers out there, but as you point out, not cheap! The best ones are worth it though, I think.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

The best producers there do truly make special wines. Thanks for sharing your wine origin story :)

[@LadyAceRoxy]

Russian River Valley. Ancient Oak especially. Got me interested in Pinot in the first place it was so sublime!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

😮

[@rodjacobs3396]

I always appreciate the hard work you put into your videos and your honesty. And I also have to say often times my tastes tend to align a lot with yours. I don't 'hate' PN, but it's just not a varietal I drink a lot. Over all it's just not quite my style. I can appreciate it's a hard wine to make and that some people really love it. When I do drink it, one of my go to PN is the Sandhi from the Santa Rita Hills.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ahhh Sandhi is a GREAT choice indeed

[@cosmonaut9942]

I'm a Pinot Noir fanatic. By far, my favorites come from the Sonoma County coast and the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County. So, I guess that I agree with your #1 and #2 picks.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

:o

[@marknelson8724]

Glad to see Bouchaine doing well. Years ago, I met the wine maker who brought two labels that he made the wines for both. One was his personal label, might have been the Bochaine or maybe it was the other one that I don't recall. The Bouchaine Pinot was very good but the Reisling was dry and excellent.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ahhh nicee!

[@mikaelplaysguitar]

I had some CA Pinot Noir early in my drinking career. Can't remember the producers but I know I had some from Russian River Valley that I liked. On another note, are you travelling to/in Germany now? Can we expect some long awaited Riesling content soon??

[@drmatthewhorkey]

There is a big Riesling video soon. I was only there for two days to judge Mundus Vini

[@GoFishingOrGoHome]

Hey Dr, can you please do a video on Northern us and ontario hybrid reds? There are some super steller ones!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Maybe in the future.

[@isabelab6851]

Green valley of Russian River, the Fort Ross. That said, Petaluma Gap and Marin are excellent newcomers. Santa Lucia Hiils. I live in Sonoma (moved here recently) because of my love of Pinot Noir. Some really amazing ones. More wineries to go on my list!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Niceee, you are in the thick of it!

[@kseniasocheykina3822]

I have tried two Pinot Noirs from California, one from Napa Valley and the other from Sonoma.They were very good and different, both were really enjoyable.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Hey good to see you on here!

[@laurencestewart3828]

Nice tasting! I always start with Carneros (Etude, Saintsbury to name a couple) and then move a bit north to Russian River Valley and Sanoma Coast. These can get a bit pricey, so always on the lookout for good value.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ahhh good choice, Saintsbury has shown up on the channel before!

[@adg7ten]

Sta Rita Hills. Melville is making stunning PN. Ojai Vineyard is also up there for me! Thanks for the video!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

I LOVE both of those producers… Ojai has shown up in several previous videos

[@vegasrenie]

Monterey County, Mt. Harlan AVA, where Calera Winery is the ONLY winery and specializes in Pinot Noir, and Pinots from the tiny areas around Carmel by the Sea.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Calera is stellar indeed

[@crrizello5157]

I’m most familiar with Sonoma Pinot Noir as I’m in Northern California and now looking to try out more near Santa Barbara.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Enjoy them!

[@gustavomgomes]

Russian River and Sonoma Coast are favorite PN regions in California . And I know that’s expensive . But KB makes some of the best Pinots and Chardonnays . Cheers !

[@drmatthewhorkey]

KB! Big time name!

[@mfeeney21]

Two very good, pretty consistent producers in the Santa Cruz Mountains - Mt. Eden and Thomas Fogarty - make some really nice pinots.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Fantastic producers!

[@zugom.178]

Oregon and italy

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Alto Adige does make good stuff

[@Alps-e3h]

I’ve had no luck with oregon wine lol

[@diegogodinhorocha9448]

You said "armanians" and LA and immediatly Barry's theme song started in my head. Nice tasting.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

🤣😂

[@Blair338RUM]

The best Pinots I’ve had from California were from Russian River Valley and Santa Maria.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Two very good areas

[@CrescentRollCarl]

Nice tasting. Unfortunately, I'm drinking a highly disappointing Santa Maria Valley pinot right now. I had high hopes. You win some you lose some.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ahhh shoot! Which wine?

[@alexlarsen6413]

Totally get being disappointed with Pinot Noir but when you do come across that one special bottle, it's mind-blowing! When I drink it, being from Europe I tend to go with Burgundy or Germany. Have tried a couple of Californian Pinot Noirs several years ago. Liked the one from the Russian River Valley a lot. The other one...not so much. This year I'm actually making my own 40 - 50L of Pinot Noir from 100kg of German grapes I paid 200 euros for. So far so good. The grapes were great, I know what I like so if it succeeds, this will be THE best investment in Pinot Noir ever! 😅😅

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ohhh wow, I hope that batch goes well for you

[@alexlarsen6413]

@@drmatthewhorkey Thanks! Me too. So far, so good. The primary fermentation lasted a week, had it in cold maceration for 3 days before and 4 days after, so 2 weeks on skins, I literally just racked and pressed it yesterday onto a minimum (actually below recommended minimum) of lightly toasted French oak. Never done this with Pinot Noir tho, so we'll see, but the grapes was just so perfect and so cheap I couldn't pass it up.

[@limesinfinity6864]

Use all words you want 😊 Hope you find your way to Serbia again

[@drmatthewhorkey]

In Nov…

[@prccap]

yes, those words most definitely should be used

[@drmatthewhorkey]

I like them too

[@juanito2109]

Sojourn make amazing wines! Russian River Valley is the gold spot. Some great Cali Pinots. The problem are those dark, super oaked wines that you cant tell if is Pinot Noir or a Cote du Rhone, or a bad vinified Cornas....

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Agreed but producers are moving aeay from that!

[@tssc1095]

Is meomi good?

[@drmatthewhorkey]

For me, not my favorite

[@barryalanlevine]

Sojourn vs. Auteur? If only time for one tasting room in Sonoma Square.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Haven't tasted the later

[@barryalanlevine]

@@drmatthewhorkey Auteur looks real good too

[@sanjaypatelmd4669]

Mathew, Are you on tweeter?

[@drmatthewhorkey]

yes but not so active... same username as the KZbin channel

[@sanjaypatelmd4669]

What do you think about Abreau wines?

[@marcgabor9690]

Have had some great California Pinot and some not so great. While I like a delicate "feminine" pinot, I don't like when CA producers try too hard to create a lighter wine (I'm looking at you Santa Barbara). As for the use of feminine adjectives, I'm not totally against it but I do think it is overused, becomes a crutch, and doesn't tell me a whole lot about what a wine tastes and smells like.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Ahhh thanks for adding your two cents

[@DonHrvato]

Never tried Californian Pinot Noir 😮

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Time to jump in!

[@Frank51203]

Try Occidental, Black Kite, Littori, Hirsch, Fort Ross. Green Valley, Freestone and Seaview AVA, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast. Costa Browne and William Selyem are both nice but now over valued and overrated.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Have had them all!

[@nikolajkrarup-os9gn]

In my experiences California Pinot noir is always sweet. Burgundy never is. Oregon pinot noirs is more like Burgundy

[@drmatthewhorkey]

I do think that is the old style. I don’t think it applies to those in this video

[@joe-zp7ge]

i put kosta browne against any oregon pinot!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

😮😮😮😮

[@andrewkarl5174]

Why not use feminine, we also use masculine, to describe things.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

I am ok with the descriptor too

[@Blair338RUM]

So am I. I remember when “ elegant “ was supposed to be inappropriate or inaccurate.

[@VektrumSimulacrum]

🤔 Feminine to describe a wine? I don't think that makes sense. I can see pretty being a descriptor but a highly subjective one. I'm not sure how helpful it would be to say a wine is "pretty". I've had some red blends that I could say were "pretty" but that could mean something completely different to me than it does to you.

[@drmatthewhorkey]

Of couse, like taste, descriptors and vocab is personal.

[@marknelson8724]

Hats off to anyone who even tries to describe what they are tasting to the rest of us. The vocabulary seems so limited. When I was growing up, I think I had two taste descriptors. I'm hungry. I'm full. I'm more evolved now.

[@shardadongre1069]

I don't like the way you present your videos Instead what can you do is You're already an expert you already know what wine it is , how it tastes, how much it worth etc etc You can just pre rank them and make certain video stams with the name of each wine so what we can do is just watch the part we really wanna watch instead of watching the whole video probably skipping or watching in 2x You're a great guy, and it's just my suggestion I mean no hate Please forgive me if you don't like this comment But I would really appreciate it aif you change it Thank you

[@drmatthewhorkey]

🙏

[@dr7246]

Freestone-occidental! LOVE littorai. You’ve mentioned that you don’t like them, which surprises me. Not that everyone should love their wines… I just usually find myself agreeing with you, so am puzzled by what you don’t like about them (nb, I have zero affiliation with Littorai aside from being a customer)

[@drmatthewhorkey]

I will retaste again in the future!