Two Sub-$30 California Pinot Noirs to Buy Now

Friday, December 27, 2013

Remember that article I wrote a month ago about Good $30 Domestic Pinot Noirs for gifting? I checked in with my friend who posed the question and he said he was having a hard time finding the wines. That he called around to a couple nearby wine shops and they didn't have any of them.

This is a very common scenario. It can be time consuming and frustrating to track down recommendations for specific wines. It's not like trying to find a commodity item on Amazon - buying wine online is still more complicated than it should be. Wine-Searcher can help find retailers who carry specific wines, but it's not always clear whether you're dealing with a reputable retailer and whether they'll quickly fulfill your order.

I want to make it as easy as possible to try my wine recommendations at really good prices from reputable retailers. So when Liquid Discount gave me an opportunity to choose a couple of wines and write a guest column on their site I jumped at the opportunity.

If you're on the Liquid Discount mailing list you got this already but if not here's a link to the offer.

The two wines I chose were the 2012 Zepaltas Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and the 2010 Alta Maria Pinot Noir.

I've continued to enjoy Ryan Zepaltas' wines since naming his 2006 Zepaltas Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir my Wine of the Year in 2009. He graciously responded to my request for an interview and I enjoyed meeting him in person for a tasting a couple years ago. His 2012 released early and based on his track record and description I'm looking forward to tasting the 2012.

The Alta Maria is a wine I've tried before and one I'd recommend having a stash of on hand. It's so balanced and solid - it looks and drinks more like a $40 wine. Pinot Report rated it 93 points. I said 90. It's really quite an achievement for around $20.

You can buy these wines with the $20 off $200+ coupon code I mentioned a couple weeks ago: WWP

If you're looking to round out a 12 bottle case (for the favorable $15 east coast shipping rate) have a look at these 11 recommendations. If you can land around $200 this can be a really nice deal.

Head on over to Liquid Discount to read the offer and shop online. I was even able to work in a comparison between the 1983 NFL Draft and the crop of talented California Pinot Noir producers who surfaced in 2007.

Question of the Day: What other wines do you see at Liquid Discount that would be useful in rounding out a case?

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