🍷 An EPIC Pinot Noir Deal from Sojourn! 🍷
09.18.2026
2023 Sojourn Riddle Vineyard Pinot Noir
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Sojourn Pinot Noir 'Riddle Vineyard'
Riddle sits in the same stretch of West Sonoma Coast that put Hirsch Vineyard and Littorai on the map for California Pinot — this is grand cru neighborhood, even if Riddle itself is a quieter name. It's a ridge above Occidental, 750 feet up, gentle north-facing slopes where the fog barely burns off some afternoons.
Release Price: $69.00
SALE Price: $49.99 (net)
SAVE 28%
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Chablis for win!
Yes it is delicious Pinot Noir on SALE for $9.99
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TGIF!
Ok, so on this Friday, let me tell you about a ridge.
In 1892, an Italian immigrant named Giuseppe "Joe" Morelli, born on the shore of Lake Como, who fled to Switzerland to dodge the draft, crossed to New York, made charcoal for miners in Nevada, and cut redwoods along the Russian River as a lumberjack, finally saved up $3,100. He spent it on 80 acres of oak and redwood forest on the second ridge inland from the Pacific, just north of Occidental.
He and his sons cleared it by hand. Planted vines. Built two houses entirely of redwood, a three-story winery, and a cellar under the main house. In 1910 the three Morelli boys divided the property by drawing straws.
One of those straws is now Riddle Vineyard.
Riddle sits at 750 feet on Stoetz Lane, at the top of the Harrison Grade, six miles from the ocean. From the top of it you can look out over some of the most iconic Pinot Noir ground in America. Mornings are fogged in. Then the fog burns off and the vines sit in warm sun the rest of the day, which is exactly the recipe Pinot Noir wants.
Look at the neighbors. Aubert's UV-SL is here. CIRQ's Treehouse. Chenoweth. Dutton Ranch (not Kevin Costner's place 😂) farms the original Morelli vineyard next door. And Bill Price, the man who owns Durell and Gap's Crown (you know both names by now), planted a brand new vineyard at the very top of the lane. When Bill Price buys the lot next to yours, you're in the right neighborhood.
James Riddle planted his 17.5 acres in 2008, at high density on well drained Goldridge and Franciscan shale soils, and he farms it like a garden: clipping shoots to the wires by hand, making pass after pass through the rows to orient clusters and drop anything that isn't perfect.
Two more receipts on how coveted this fruit is. Rivers-Marie, the cult label from Thomas Rivers Brown, buys from Riddle. And an up and coming offering is also connected: Jason Driscoll got his first Sonoma fruit by knocking on Jim Riddle's farmhouse door with a picnic basket of homemade pâté and a bottle of Champagne. Riddle is the vineyard people bring gifts to get into.
Sojourn has been making a Riddle Pinot since the vineyard's first fruit, and Erich Bradley's approach hasn't changed. Each clone is picked and fermented separately. Mt. Eden clone (dark, robust berry fruit) is the backbone, layered with clone 115 and Pommard for complexity and structure. Native yeast, open top fermentation, 50% new French oak, bottled unfined and unfiltered. That is all winespeak for this is serious wine made by serious people 😂
Quick refresher on how we got it: Sojourn is a 10,000 case winery in downtown Sonoma that sells almost everything through its own allocation list. New ownership as of last year is trimming the lineup from 37 wines to about 20, and when a portfolio gets streamlined, wine gets closed out. That is where we step in.
450 cases made. Release price $69. We bought 25% of the entire production.
I know what I'm drinking tonight!!