Doug’s Picks: Six Local Wines for Summertime Sipping
As summer approaches and the temperatures start to rise, you may need to trust your gut and break out of your old routines. My selections for this season tend to push the envelope for trying simple yet bold new wines paired with no-frills dishes and fun outdoor activities. Live it up and put the cherry on top of your summer with these wines!
Lo-Fi Wines 2024 Chenin Blanc ($26)
Lo-Fi Wines is a collaboration between friends Mike Roth and Craig Winchester. They have a shared love of music, so their bottle designs are created like the center label of a vinyl record. Lo-Fi makes wine for everyone, with minimal intervention. It’s not so much for aging in the cellar but for drinking tonight. The grapes here are sourced from two vineyards: Jurassic Vineyard in the Happy Canyon AVA and lesser-known Honeybear Orchard Vineyard in the Los Olivos District AVA.
It goes great with roast chicken or fish; just keep it easy-going. One of the simplest and best summertime pairings I can think of for this: a porch and some sunshine.
Jennifer Gray Wine 2025 Rosé of Pinot Noir ($28)
Jennifer Gray is the assistant winemaker for Story of Soil Wine and this is her own small-lot label. It’s made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes, but doesn’t have the typical California fruit-forward character. It’s more European in style, and completely local. Her grapes come from the Wild King Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley AVA, which is known more for its Lumen Wines. Gray is the only one making rosé from this vineyard. There’s a great story about Wild King being left abandoned and then brought back to life to make great wine from Will Henry at Lumen, which makes the “wild” part of Wild King Vineyard. This rosé is fantastic, with a super long finish, so you can really savor it. While many rosés tend to be lighter fare, this one has more complexity with compelling flavors.
The acidity is high, so pair it with dishes that have a cream sauce and let it cleanse the palate. Or try it with a fish dish with some spice to it!
Coquelicot 2023 Carbonic Sangiovese ($31)
Coquelicot Estate in the Los Olivos District AVA is a fantastic local vineyard that has invested the time (five years minimum) and effort to earn organic certification, which they obtained in 2015. Carbonic production puts whole clusters of grapes into fermentation a bit like a pressure cooker. Once it’s sealed, the grapes ferment inside their skins. The result is a fruitier, fresher style. This is a great summer afternoon sipper, like an aperitivo. It’s a red wine, but pair it with anything you would eat with a white wine. Because there are scarcely any tannins on the finish, it goes with everything—or even with nothing: It doesn’t need food.
Piro 2020 Sangiovese ($36)
The winemaker is Marc Piro, and he makes wine at Au Bon Climat, which is famous for its classic Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. He loves to make Pinot Noir, but he also has Italian roots. So when he started making his own varietals, he went the route of Sangiovese. His style for this wine follows an Old World slant, making it similar to a reserve Chianti. It drinks like a classic and isn’t expensive. It’s a good one to grab for midweek pasta in summer.
Acolytes 2020 Pinot Noir ($33)
This Pinot Noir is made by David Phinney, who also founded Orin Swift Cellars and created The Prisoner wine brand. The grapes come from Our Lady of Guadalupe vineyard (aka OLG), in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, and expresses all the qualities this cool-weather AVA is known for. Phinney’s estate and reserve wines run $83 and $119, respectively, so this one comes in more approachable and easy to try. Similar to other Pinot Noirs, this pairs well with grilled salmon or lighter fare like a seafood cioppino or pork dishes that aren’t too spicy.
LaBarge 2020 Syrah ($77)
The winemaker is Pierre LaBarge, whose background includes two years of training under Manfred Krankl of Sine Qua Non (from Ventura County). He’s as meticulous as Manfred and produces a range of wines including Albariño, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Grenache, most of which comes from his vineyard on the western edge of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, not far from Our Lady of Guadalupe vineyard. This Syrah comes from his secondary vineyard more inland in central Sta. Rita Hills. It pairs well with bolder dishes, like a grilled steak or roasted meat. And pizza! Think unfussy, satisfying summer fare.
