I am rolling out a new “what to drink” theme today, with hopes to make your life a little bit easier. We are all overly busy, overly booked, and definitely over-worked. The last thing you need to worry about as you grab your evening meal is what to pair. Enter your wine of the day. A few days a week I’ll bring you a wine to enjoy, fancy or not, but always available whether you live in Texas, Hawaii, or Timbuktu….well, maybe not Timbuktu, but you get the drift. Sure, I’ll continue with longer format overviews of various regions and varieties, but here will also be a quick tidbit or two on what you should be drinking tonight, starting with the SLH Pinot Noir from Hahn Family Wines. And here’s why.

I recently spent a few days in Monterey County with the Hahn team toasting the beautiful Santa Lucia Highlands region (SLH) running north to south throughout the county. Pacific Ocean influenced, especially in the northern part of the county, with nutrient-poor, well-draining soils, forcing finicky Pinot Noir roots deep into the earth to find their nutrients, adding structure and concentration to bright berry, floral, and spice-filled wine.

Director of Winemaking Paul Clifton has spent the past 16-years with the Hahn’s, finding the best representation of the Borgoune variety in California, ensuring their estate vineyards deliver fruit, acid, tannin, and texture, all with an elegant touch. And he’s just cool.
Paul is the kind of guy you would go surfing with in the morning before heading to work. He is focused, funny, talented, and smart enough to know that attending your youngest daughter’s gymnastics meet is the priority for the day, even in the middle of harvest. A master of his craft, his tenure and relationship with each of the vines in the Hahn’s three SLH estates allows him to blind taste a barrel sample of Pinot Noir and accurately identify clone, vineyard, and the block it came from.

 

I highly recommend picking up a bottle of their SLH Pinot Noir ($30) to enjoy tonight with grilled salmon, fresh pasta with mushrooms and thyme, prosciutto-wrapped pork tenderloin, or a simple dinner of cheese, bread, and charcuterie. Cheers, we’ll see you tomorrow!