August 2024 – see websites for availability of wine

Pinot Noir is a popular red wine grape for a reason: it’s elegant, nuanced, smoky, earthy, fruity and pairs well with a wide variety of dishes. In our cool-climate, coastal wine region of San Luis Obispo, you’ll find a large range of Pinot Noirs from these 14 wineries that specialize in the esoteric variety.

1. Baileyana Winery

Named for the Acacia Baileyana tree abundant throughout the Central Coast, Baileyana Winery was founded over 35 years ago and is one of the original shapers of Edna Valley winemaking.

Situated in California’s coolest growing region, nearest the Pacific Ocean, Baileyana exudes a graceful yet vivid elegance. Our array of distinctly exceptional wines – highlighted by cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – are the epitome of the excellence, charm and potential of Edna Valley. This stunning region remains a breathtaking getaway, hidden in plain sight.

• 2022 Baileyana Edna Valley Pinot Noir – Exemplifying the vivid excellence of the Edna Valley region, this Pinot Noir exudes expressive dark fruit notes, currants and blueberries, along with a hint of vanilla and cherry cola. The wine has a brilliant acidity that is balanced by fleshy notes of ripe cherry and brown sugar, along with soft, supple tannins that lead to a long, memorable finish.
• 2022 Baileyana “El Pico” Pinot Noir – This vintage of El Pico is balanced and beautifully extracted with aromas of strawberry jam, cherry and vanilla. There is a hint of cotton candy along with traces of cinnamon throughout the wine. The crisp, clean fruit matches well with silky sweet oak tannins. The oak provides a nice backbone, but does not over power the balanced acidity. This medium bodied Pinot finishes with delightful strawberry notes.
• 2022 Baileyana “Halcon Rojo” Pinot Noir – This Pinot Noir has aromas of cherry and raspberry with a hint of root beer. It showcases flavors of ripe red fruit, plum and molasses along with silky tannins and a very smooth mouthfeel. The light acidity is balanced with a nice oak influence that rounds out this full-bodied Pinot Noir. The finish is long and smooth with lingering flavors of supple fruit.
• 2022 Baileyana “La Entrada” Pinot Noir – This Pinot Noir has aromas of black and red cherry, anise and a hint of cedar. Characteristics of cherry cola, vanilla, and cinnamon are entwined with bright red fruit for a beautiful balance. Silky tannins with a medium body are prevalent along with great acidity, complemented by delectable fruit flavors.
• 2022 Baileyana “The Architects” Pinot Noir  – Named in honor of our incredible Winemaking team, led by Rob Takigawa, this blend consists of hand-selected barrels (each from a specific block or clone) to develop this complex and delicious wine. Notes of strawberries and cherries burst from the glass and are framed by notes of baking spice, a tad of cola, and vanilla.
• 2021 Baileyana “S-BAR” Pinot Noir  – Vine- and barrel-select, very limited production, this is arguably the best Pinot we make! Aged for 9 months in 30% new French oak, this bottling represents around 1% of our total Pinot Noir production – you won’t find this wine in stores.

2. Biddle Ranch

Not that long ago, friends with deep roots in California’s Central Coast planted the seeds to start making wine. What you see now is the labor of love that took us and our families on a journey into winemaking.

For us, Biddle Ranch has always been about the simple indulgence of drinking a great wine in a beautiful place with the people we love. It’s this feeling that we strive to create in our tasting room every single day. With our experienced winemaker, Ryan Deovlet, guiding us from grape to glass and the next generation running the show, we couldn’t be more proud of what we have to share.

• 2021 Pinot Noir SLO County – Beautifully approachable bouquet of red and black fruit tones; mulberry, olallieberry, and pomegranate layer naturally within the floral lift of hibiscus and sassafras. The wine offers a solid, savory core of exotic spice and black tea framed by the subtle yet marked tannin profile and seamless structure of bright fruit acidity from the coastal influence of the Pacific.
• 2021 Pinot Noir Spanish Springs Vineyard – Wine Club Exclusive
• 2021 Pinot Noir Rincon Vineyard – Wine Club Exclusive

3. Center of Effort

The powerful forces of skillful cultivation, artistic winemaking and a passion for unparalleled excellence are blended together to capture what COE refers to as the “magic” in the bottle, focusing solely on estate-grown Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Center of Effort estate is blessed with a remarkable growing environment for classic Burgundian varietals.

There is nothing expedient in the winemaking approach. They embrace the detailed, labor-intensive methods that are required to produce the finest wines. Even then, only a handful of elite lots from each vintage are ultimately deemed worthy for designation under the ‘Center of Effort’ label.

• 2018 & 2019 Pinot Noir, Center of Effort – This is the flagship bottling of Pinot Noir from our Estate Vineyards in the Edna Valley – just 4.5 miles from the cold Pacific Ocean. Our vines, planted on varied exposures in complex soils provide exceptional raw materials from which we craft wines that are true to our terroir.
• 2020 Pinot Noir, EFFORT – Our EFFORT Pinot Noir is selected from quality vineyard blocks within our Estate and aged for one year in French oak barrels before assemblage for finishing and bottling. EFFORT displays a fruit-forward and youthful character that is a straightforward and welcoming introduction to our Estate wines.
• 2021 Pinot Noir, Rosso Corsa – Rosso Corsa is the most singular Pinot Noir produced on the Center of Effort Estate, showing intense savory aromas and a velvety palate feel. After hand-harvest, intact Pinot Noir clusters are layered into the fermentor without destemming.

4. Chamisal

Chamisal is devoted to understanding this magical piece of ground and applying the knowledge and experience of several decades to produce quintessential Central Coast Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs using sustainable practices. The vineyard is located in a tranquil setting just 10 minutes from downtown San Luis Obispo in the beautiful Edna Valley.

Chamisal specializes in sustainably produced Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Central Coast vineyards located between Monterey and Santa Barbara. The wines are known for their intense flavor, mouthwatering texture, and impeccable balance.

• 2021 Califa Pinot Noir – Our 2021 Califa Pinot Noir exudes a captivating allure. Its lifted nose is dominated by bright cranberry and raspberry, mingled with pomegranate, and rose petal. Subtle notes of vanilla and toasted hazelnut elevate its elegance. A soft palate reveals chewy tannins, hinting at depth and balance.
• 2023 San Luis Obispo Pinot Noir – A symphony of flavors unfolds in the 2022 Pinot Noir, where succulent strawberry, tangy rhubarb, and the nostalgia of candy apple unite in harmonious balance. Juiciness is the heart of this wine’s character, upheld by a backbone of vibrant acidity and delicate tannins that contribute to its refined structure. A pure expression of coastal Pinot Noir.
• 2020 Morrito Pinot Noir – This rich crimson wine opens with expressive aromas of petrichor, rose petals and rich red fruits that entice the senses.
• 2022 San Luis Obispo Coast Pinot Noir – Hailing from our estate vineyard five miles from the ocean, our newest vintage displays notes of violets, ripe red fruits and hints of strawberry rhubarb. Hints of white pepper and subtle savory spices offer up an added layer of complexity accompanied by a firm tannin and lush texture creating an elegant finish.

5. Couch Family Wines

Couch Family Wines is a boutique, family-owned winery initially planted in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is a tribute to their Italian heritage. They produce wines from our estate fruit as well as sourced from Arroyo Grande Valley, and they planted Italian varieties on the backside of Madonna Mountain in SLO.

• 2021 & 2022 Pieces of Jewel Pinot Noir – This Pinot Noir is a special tribute to singer-songwriter, musician, author, and our friend, Jewel. Dark red hue. Scents of vanilla bean, jasmine, cherry jam, pomegranate and roasted strawberry. Upon taste, these qualities persist and are beautifully matched with silky and seductive tannins.

6. Cutruzzola Vineyards

Nestled among towering pines and breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean is the quaint village of Cambria, California. There, Cutruzzola Vineyards specializes in Pinot Noir and Riesling, both grown right in Cambria near Santa Rosa Creek Road. We produce just 500-600 cases a year so quality over quantity as we can monitor closely every stage of the process!

Our estate vineyard is in a coastal valley just outside the town center only a few miles from the water’s edge, just over the coastal mountains and rolling hills of the Westside Paso Robles wine region. It’s a picturesque sprinkling of small, family-owned farms and artist studios that unfold along scenic Highway 1. On most days you’ll be warmed by sunlight and cooled by ocean breezes as you stand in the vineyard, where we grow Riesling and Pinot Noir on steep hillsides in a cool climate that is ideal for these varietals. At the moment, we offer three Pinot Noirs.

• 2021 Pinot Noir, Gloria Estate – This is from the Riven Rock Vineyard in Cambria.
• 2018 Pinot Noir, Giacomino Reserve – This is from the Riven Rock Vineyard in Cambria.

7. Derby Wine Estates

Derby Wine Estates is a boutique, family-owned winery with three Estate vineyards across the Central Coast and a Tasting Room & production facility on the outskirts of downtown Paso Robles. Derby Wine Estates has 3 vineyards (Laura’s Vineyard, Derby Vineyard, Derbyshire Vineyard) where over 440 acres are planted with more than 20 unique varieties. They also supply many local winemakers with high quality fruit, and produce a number of award-winning wines under their own Estate label, including Pinot Noir.

• 2022 Pinot Noir, from Coastal Derbyshire Vineyard
• 2007 Sparkling Brut Rosé of Pinot Noir

8. Kynsi Winery

Kynsi Winery is a family run operation focused on producing distinguished wines from renowned Central Coast vineyard properties.

The blessed coastal climate, along with unique soil profiles and innovative farming techniques is why this region is considered to be one of the finest of the world. Our mission is to produce wines of the highest caliber while reflecting the unique terroir of nature’s most expressive sites.

Kynsi Winery resides on a historic ranch in a charming and renovated old dairy in the heart of the Edna Valley. Visitors are welcome to experience their acclaimed wines in one of the most idyllic settings in the region. Depending on the vintage, we bottle eight different pinots, with four available now.

• 2021 Pinot Noir, Edna Valley – As an overall expression of the Edna Valley AVA, this appellation bottling shows red cherry, sweet earth and warm cumin spice on the nose with notes of pomegranate, vanilla cream and mocha that come in waves.
• 2021 Pinot Noir, Solomon Hills Vineyard – Solomon Hills is the sister property of Bien Nacido Vineyard, and has emerged as the jewel of the region. Similar to the old vines and clones we worked with at Bien Nacido, it opens with classic old world style and complex, heritage Pommard clone characteristics of black cherry, peppery nasturtium, beetroot and blood orange. Thick and rich on the palate with notes of juicy red fruit, bay leaf and hallmark Santa Maria spice on the satin-textured finish.
• 2021 Pinot Noir, Stone Corral Vineyard – Grown on the Estate less than five miles from the Pacific Ocean, it shows beautiful, feminine attributes of strawberry, allspice and clementine blossoms with hints of rhubarb, dried sage and juicy, fresh picked raspberries on the finish.
• 2021 Pinot Noir, Precious Stone – This reserve level Estate bottling is a blend of a few precious, standout barrels of the vintage that stood out in blind tasting trials. Boasting a core of black raspberry, forest floor and California Sagebrush with showy notes of currant, root beer, purple lilacs and Pecan Sandie cookies that wash over the palate in a plush cloak of velvet.

9. Laetitia Vineyard & Winery

Since 1982, Laetitia Vineyard & Winery has been crafting elegant wines that celebrate the distinctive character and diversity of the Arroyo Grande Valley AVA. Originally established by a renowned French Champagne house, the Laetitia estate continues to honor the time-honored winemaking traditions of Burgundy and Champagne, with a particular focus on small-lot Pinot Noir and sparkling wines. Guided by a commitment to legacy, balance, innovation, and sustainability, the Laetitia team approaches each vintage with care and precision—ensuring every bottle reflects the unique coastal terroir from which it comes.

Laetitia currently offers 5 Pinot Noirs:

• 2022 Estate Pinot Noir
• 2021 Reserve du Domaine Pinot Noir
• 2022 Whole Cluster Pinot Noir
• 2022 La Coupelle Pinot Noir
• 2021 Black Label Pinot Noir Block Y Clone 2A

10. Sinor-LaVallee Wines

Sinor-LaVallee was founded in 1997 by Mike Sinor and Cheri LaVallee-Sinor. Our wines are all from our Estate vineyard in Avila Beach with an Ocean View. There we have 8 clones of Pinot Noir along with Syrah, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Albariño.

Our journey began almost 23 years ago, when we met at college in San Luis Obispo and started working at local wineries. The wine bug bit us hard, and the Pinot Noir bug bit us even harder. We worked one harvest after another, consuming the craft of winemaking, and studying the art of Pinot Noir. We got married in Burgundy. We had two beautiful children. Experience led to opportunity, and opportunity led to more experience, and both led to fanaticism. And from fanaticism our little winery was born. We currently have four Pinot Noirs, with more on the way.

The SLO Estate wines come exclusively from Bassi Vineyard. Because the vineyard falls outside of any recognized AVA, these wines are designated with a San Luis Obispo County appellation. But make no mistake—these are limited-production estate bottlings that speak vividly of a single vineyard. The White Label is reserved for ultra-limited wines that exhibit a leaner expression of Bassi Vineyard. We select clones, blocks, yeasts and barrels that cultivate structure, yielding wines with lower alcohol and higher acidity. These wines are all about litheness and clean site expression. The Black Label is reserved for ultra-limited wines that offer a fuller expression of Bassi Vineyard. We select clones, blocks, yeasts and ultimately barrels that foster weight and roundness, yielding wines with higher alcohol and lower acidity. These wines are all about power and richness.

• 2023 Carbonic Pinot Noir
• 2018 Estate Pinot Noir
• 2018 White Label Pinot Noir
• 2022 Black Label Pinot Noir

11. Stephen Ross Wine Cellars

Stephen Ross Wine Cellars was founded on the principle of working with quality vineyards and hand-crafting the best wines possible from the grapes they yield. The winery started small, grew as financial resources allowed, and we stuck to our principles in winemaking and business – great, small production wines, solid business practices, and a nice, engaging place to work for our crew.

We planted our estate vineyard, Stone Corral Vineyard, entirely to Pinot Noir in 2001 in partnership with two other wineries in the area. In addition to our estate vineyard, we have continued to contract grapes from some of the best vineyards on the Central Coast.

Our wines reflect our commitment to consistently produce elegant, mind-blowing wines that demonstrate both terroir and Stephen’s winemaking skill from ultra-high premium grapes, estate and contracted. Small production for over 20 years, Stephen Ross wines have won acclaim throughout the industry. We offer 5 Pinot Noirs at the moment.

• 2019 Pinot Noir Edna Valley Estate, 93 points, Wine Enthusiast. 92 points, Vinous. 90 points, Wine & Spirits – Beautiful deep ruby red color, transparent and dense. Bright notes of fresh rose blossom, some cedar forest and dried cherry aromas. Youthful, with a good balance of acidity and moderate alcohol, ripe blue fruit notes on the palate, lingering fine tannins on the finish.
• 2022 Pinot Noir, San Luis Obispo Coast, 91 points, Wine Enthusiast. – Brilliant clarity, ruby violet hue. This is a very pretty wine with an aroma of small red berries, dried savory herbs and subtle hints of nutmeg from the French oak barrels. Elegant with a refined balance of acidity and fine tannins. Lingering ripe Pinot Noir flavors and polished smooth textures offering a long, delicious finish.
• 2020 Pinot Noir Stone Corral Vineyard. 92 points, Wine Enthusiast. 91 points, Wine & Spirits. 91 points, Jeb Dunnuck. – There are aromas of small red berry fruits, cherry, and a hint of botanical and wet forest notes, and nutmeg spiciness from the french oak. Nicely balanced, good acidity and energy on the palate, fine tannins and lingering rose petal and dried mushroom flavors.
• 2021 Pinot Noir Greengate, 95 points, Wine Enthusiast – The wine has a transparent deep ruby, garnet hue, and brilliant clarity. It has uplifting and enticing aromas of rose petal, Amarena cherry and Earl Grey tea. This is a medium body Pinot Noir with very fine tannins, juicy acidity, silky textures, subtle nutmeg spice from the French oak barrels, and lingering red berry fruit flavors.
• 2021 Pinot Noir Arête, 94 points, Wine Enthusiast – Intense deep ruby color. The aromas are quite complex and a mix of Montmorency cherry, espresso bean, green peppercorn, Earl Grey tea and orange peel. This is our biggest Pinot Noir, full rich mid-palate, fine tannin structure, with a strong red berry fruit impression with just a hint of nutmeg spiciness from the French oak barrels.

12. Talley Vineyards

Talley Vineyards is a family owned and operated winery that specializes in estate grown chardonnay and pinot noir ideally suited for the climate and soils of the Arroyo Grande and Edna Valleys. The Talley’s farming history in the area dates to 1948 when Oliver Talley began growing vegetables in the Arroyo Grande Valley.

Guided by this legacy and a commitment to long term sustainability, Talley Vineyards focuses on attention to detail in all aspects of farming and winemaking operations. The goal is to produce distinctive wines of consistently high quality that best express the unique character of each of the Talley family’s six vineyard sites in the two valleys. We currently offer 5 Pinot Noirs.

• 2022 Talley Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir – Our Estate Pinot Noir is the quintessential expression of Talley vineyards, representing the cool climate and hillside topography of our home on the San Luis Obispo Coast’s Arroyo Grande Valley.
• 2021 Rosemary’s Vineyard Pinot Noir – Rosemary’s Pinot Noir is the most elegant expression of Talley Vineyards. Planted in 1987, Rosemary’s Vineyard is climatically our coolest estate vineyard and produces a nuanced Pinot Noir with refreshing energy and approachable minerality.
• 2021 Rincon Vineyard Pinot Noir – Don Talley planted his first vines in the Rincon Vineyard in 1982. The warm winds that often blow across the sloping hills of Rincon, provide just enough struggle for the vines to produce Pinot Noir of a supple character. 
• 2022 Stone Corral Vineyard Pinot Noir – Translated from Corral de Piedra, the name of the land grant that underlay this vineyard and much of the Edna Valley, our Stone Corral Vineyard consistently produces a crowd-pleasing, delicious Pinot Noir.
  
• The Adobe of 2020 – The Adobe is a complete expression of Talley Vineyards, blending the very best Pinot Noir grapes of our estate. Cultivated and crafted by hand, this wine leans further into the time-honored winemaking traditions of Burgundy that inspired Don and Brian Talley to begin making wine over thirty-five years ago. This reserve Pinot Noir was named in homage to the historic El Rincón Adobe, a home built in the 1860s on land that would become Talley Vineyards, made with surrounding soil and elements of the earth.

13. Timbre Winery

Timbre (pronounced TAM·ber or TIM·ber) is the “color” of music. It is what makes two voices sound different, even when singing the same song. It is why two winemakers, working with the same vineyards, make unique wine. As a terroir-driven winery, we make wines expressive of the places and times from which they came. As winemakers, we channel those sites through our experience, adding our own mark- our TIMBRE- to the resulting wines.

Founded by Joshua Klapper and Alex Katz, Timbre Winery is the culmination of years of hard work, and dedication to our craft. It is winemaking expressed through the universal language of musical sound.” Currently, we have eight Pinot Noirs.

• 2021 Supergroup Pinot Noir – This wine comes from 4 classic vineyard sites which include Gold Coast, Pali, Mission Ranch, Riverbench, Spanish Springs Vineyards. Deep red, spices and red fruit on the nose with a smoky finish.
• 2018, 2019 & 2021 Lead Vocals Pinot Noir – Dark red, the aromas immediately pop, with chai tea, evergreen, rose petal, and baking spices. Silky tannins frame the super long finish that goes and goes.
• 2018 The Icon Pinot Noir – A deep ruby red the wines glistens like a jewel and is perfumed with rose petal, raspberry, and baking spices. This structured and meduim plus weight pinot coats the palate with strawberry, spiced berry pie filling, plum, and sour cherry leading to a very long finish.

14. Tolosa Winery

At Tolosa Winery, we are true believers in the special terroir that is Edna Valley, nestled amongst the northwest to southeast running volcanic hills of San Luis Obispo County and the frontier for the most complex cool-climate varietals in California.

Our Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays reflect the cold northwest wind that sweeps down the coast and funnels into the valley, as well as the remarkable diversity of soil types: ingredients for nuanced and balanced wines of distinctive character. Now, we have ten current-release Pinot Noirs and ten library Pinot Noirs.

• 1772 Pinot Noir 2020 – This Pinot Noir is a medley of Tolosa’s estate vineyard Edna Ranch. The estate vineyard is spread throughout the Edna Valley, producing six unique vineyard sections with 60 soil types and a myriad of microclimates.
• Stone Lion Pinot Noir 2020 – The 2019 vintage was a classic expression of a cool climate Pinot Noir. Stone Lion is a Pinot that is on the bolder side of all the Pinot Noirs we make from Edna Ranch. It will have more weight and more structure than our other offerings. We always use a little bit more new oak to age our Stone Lion Pinot Noir.
• Cuvée Pinot Noir 2020 – The Cuvée Pinot Noir is tied to different terroir throughout California. The climate, topography and soils all play a vital role in creating the environment the grapes experience on the vine. The concept of Cuvée, a precise blend, lends me the liberty to highlight specific nuances from a collection of California appellations. The result is an exemplary wine that represents everything we love about California Pinot Noir.
• Primera Pinot Noir 2022 – Our flagship Primera demonstrates the full potential that makes Pinot Noir one of the most coveted grapes in the world. Primera is a small-lot selection of the best of our estate vineyard, Edna Ranch, located in the coolest appellation in California, Edna Valley.  Only the finest choice of French oak barrels is used to age our highest echelon wine. This is a statement Pinot Noir for the enophile ready for prestige.

Tolosa offers 4-5 more Pinot Noirs from cool climate areas throughout California!