The Santa Maria Valley in northern Santa Barbara County (a section of it falls into southern San Luis Obispo County) is also a haven for quality Pinot Noir. Look for producers like Siduri, Kosta Browne, Talbott and Lucienne. Attributes include intense, rich fruit, subtle earthy notes, spice and a silky texture. Situated on hilly benchlands south of the city of Monterey, this central coast region relies on a long growing season, night and morning fog and consistent afternoon winds to produce world class Pinot Noir.

The most highly regarded of these is the Santa Lucia Highlands. Monterey Pinot Noir is grown in coastal areas, taking optimal advantage of the cooling effect of the Pacific. Just south lies the large Monterey appellation.

Yet Pinots from the likes of David Bruce, Martin Ray, Mount Eden and Thomas Fogarty exhibit undeniable quality, along with bright red fruit, minerality, earth and herbal hints. The land is mountainous, rugged and can be foggy, the topsoil is thin and poor and yields tend to be low. In the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation, just west of Silicon Valley, producers craft excellent Pinot in spite of serious challenges. These are not the only Central Coast sources of good Pinot Noir, but they are the major ones. So we’ll break things down a bit with a brief look at each of these: Santa Cruz Mountains, Monterey and the Santa Lucia Highlands, Santa Maria Valley and Sta. This of course is because the Central Coast appellation is enormous, and it contains several stellar Pinot Noir regions within it, all of them kept cool by elevation or proximity to the ocean (or both).

Let’s start with the obvious – Central Coast Pinot Noir is an incredibly broad category.

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