If you want to impress your holiday guests, serve them 2019 Gratitude from Iron Horse, Sebastopol’s most sparkling gem. This slightly amber-hued sparkling is 60% pinot noir and 30% chardonnay. The fragrance of cran-apple and a burnished note of candied ginger and dried apricot make this wine the perfect accompaniment for the rich flavors of fall; make sure to save some to accompany apple pie for dessert.
The 2020 Iron Horse Classic Brut garners added depth from the dosage of 1985 sparkling, lending a hint of caramel and pecans. Anybody can make sparkling these days, but not everyone has a cellar deep enough to be able to pull something like this off.
Joy Sterling, daughter of Iron Horse founders Audrey and Ben Sterling, is the face of the 18,000-case brand. She insists that you celebrate life with bubbles, because every day deserves to be joyful. Give someone a gift pack of their four seasonal sparklers, and they’ll be very grateful for at least a year.
I attended a seminar at Big Sur Food and Wine, held Oct. 31-Nov. 2, featuring the newly established SLO Coast AVA. Essentially a strip of ocean-influenced land from north of San Simeon to Arroyo Grande, SLO Coast rocks with its otherworldly pinot noirs, salty albarinos and sublime chardonnays. Talented young vignerons like Mikey Giugni of Scar of the Sea and Aaron Jackson of Aequorea Cellars are staking their livelihoods on these perilous plots of grapes that routinely don’t produce enough fruit to justify the farming costs but are oh, so lovely.
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From likely the most inhospitable place to grow pinot noir—a steep, wind-buffeted ridge north of Cambria—comes the stunning 2021 Aequorea Derbyshire Vineyard Pinot Noir, SLO Coast.
The fruit set here is so poor that most of the berries do not have seeds, giving the wine—what precious little there is of it—an ethereal texture that compels Jackson to return, even though it’s barely worth the effort.
Locally, don’t miss Kathryn Kennedy’s mixed red case, with four bottles each of 2021 Lateral and 2022 Small Lot Cabernet, two of 2016 Lateral and one bottle each of 2006 Estate Cab and 2014 Estate Cab, for $707, a savings of $202 at https://kathryn-kennedy-winery.obtainwine.com.
Dan Martin from Martin Ranch Winery has a great selection of his award-winning J. D. Hurley wines, available for $199 a case, which is hard to beat. Choose from 2021 Arroyo Seco Chardonnay, 2020 Santa Clara Valley Merlot, 2020 Central Coast Pinot Noir, 2019 Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon and 2019 Santa Clara Valley Zinfandel. https://martinranchwinery.orderport.net/wines/JD-Hurley-Offer
