Sanford, Pinot Noir Sanford and Benedict , 2022

Sanford & Benedict is where California Pinot Noir grew up. Richard Sanford and botanist Michael Benedict planted these vines in 1971 in a remote, fog-cooled stretch of Santa Barbara County, and the wines that followed helped prove cool-climate Pinot could thrive here — the vineyard became the backbone of what is now the Sta. Rita Hills AVA and supplied cuttings to countless neighbors. Today Sanford Winery farms the historic, now-reunited estate organically. The 2022 is a current release: a serious, site-driven Pinot Noir from one of the West Coast's most storied vineyards. History you can actually drink.