Pinot Noir is the red wine I could drink daily because everyone is different. Though commonalities occur with the fruit, the finicky, difficult-to-grow variety with thin skin takes on the terroir’s character, revealing the region’s unique flavors. Pinot Noir wines also tend to be approachable while delivering delicious complexity. Here are five you should be drinking this week.

From Green Valley within Russian River Valley, Barnett Family Vineyards Tina Marie Pinot Noir is elegance in a glass. Produced from a mix of clones, including 777 and 115, creating an aromatic, fragrant wine with character. Floral aromas of rose and violet open in the wine, leading to layers of cranberry and pomegranate, followed by warm spice and crushed stone minerality. This is the wine to drink with roasted salmon or Thanksgiving turkey, or solo, as the layers of tannin and acid are perfectly integrated, making it exceptional on its own.

In Santa Barbara County, Presqu’ile Winery is crafting luscious cool-climate expressions of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah from fruit grown in Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley. Nestled right by the California coast just up from Los Angeles, Presqu’ile’s wines have energy and vibrancy, especially the luscious estate Pinot Noir. The wine opens with juicy red berries and cherries intertwined with herbal notes of fresh mint, thyme, and sage, and aromatic wildflowers. The wine has a nice complexity, matching bold flavors like grilled burgers with sauteed mushrooms or roasted quail with lentils.

Drinking the expertly made wines from Gary Farrell in the Russian River Valley is always a pleasure. The Russian River Selection Pinot Noir highlights the best of the region, blending fruit from various blocks and vineyards to showcase the beauty of fruit grown within the valley. It has the perfect balance of fruit, leaning into blackberry, and cherry liqueur flavors, with soft herbal notes, earthy forest floor, and dried tobacco. A toasted spice on the finish keeps you returning to revisit the wine, enjoying its flavors repeatedly.

From vineyards sitting at elevations of 2200 feet above sea level, just outside of Monterey County, Calera Jensen Vineyard Pinot Noir displays authenticity and purity with bold fruit flavors.
The wine is aged for 18 months in new and neutral French oak, allowing the tannins to soften, creating rich flavors of wild berry and black cherry that mix with notes of cocoa nib, nutmeg, and allspice from the oak’s influence. This is the type of wine you can easily enjoy with a steak dinner, with the wine’s palate easily standing up to the bold flavor of the meat.

From the Santa Lucia Highland region within Monterey County, just miles from the Pacific Ocean, Rombauer offers its inaugural vintage of its Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir. Though best known for their Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines from Napa Valley, the Rombauers looked to the Central Coast to create their Pinot. Like other Central Coastal regions, the influence of the Pacific ensures freshness in the fruit, producing layers of juicy red fruit with the unctuous texture that we have come to love in Rombauer wines. We are thrilled for the addition to their portfolio as this is a special wine with hints of forest floor, spice, and a touch of dark chocolate.