Chardonnay

Only a 30-minute drive southeast of Napa, Solano County is home to the hidden gem of Suisun Valley. With its pastoral landscape and mutli-generational family farmers, this small but exceptional wine region reminds us of Napa Valley in the 1960s. It shares a similar maritime climate with its more famous neighbor, shaped by proximity to San Francisco Bay.

Suisun Valley—within broader Solano County—is the warmest of the four regions where we source grapes for our Sea Sun Wines (and what we call wind here is just a gentle breeze in Monterey). Harvest occurs earliest in Solano, and the grapes from this region lend a special richness to both our Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Monterey County has a singular character—one that enhances both of our Sea Sun wines. Foggy mornings give way to bright sunshine, tempered by afternoon wind blowing off of Monterey Bay. This weather pattern (with gusts that can slam a car door closed or bend the limbs of a tree) translates to vibrant natural acidity and intense layers of aromas and flavors.

We love to drive down the roads of this untamed landscape, where vineyards lie close to row crops. This county is home to one of America’s true farming communities, a place that has inspired novelists and winemakers alike.

Santa Barbara has been home to movie stars—and highly celebrated wines. The key to the region’s stellar reputation is its diverse pockets of land, a visual collage created by mountain ranges that run east to west, rather than north to south. The result is a series of hills and valleys directly shaped by the Pacific Ocean, with gradations in wind and temperature that lead to nuances of aromas and flavors in the glass. Santa Barbara County helped popularize Pinot Noir as the setting for the movie “Sideways,” and it remains a place where the real-life story is even better than on-screen.