Day Wines Pinot Noir 2021, Johan Vineyards, Van Duzer Corridor, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Brianne Day is the woman behind this masterpiece. From the famed Johan vineyard, it’s a fantastic aromatic expression of cranberries, rosemary and hibiscus flowers. It is vibrant and intense while staying fresh on the palate with stewed red fruit and dried herbs. The grapes are sourced from a plot at Johan Vineyards near Salem, which is a large vineyard with a ton of variation in terms of soil, slope and drainage. Here – unlike the more famous regions of McMinnville, Dundee and Yamhill-Carlton – the vineyards are cooled by a breeze that rolls in off the Pacific Ocean through the Van Duzer Corridor, a wide cut in the Coast Mountains to the west. Cooling air suspends the ripening in the late afternoon and evening, which helps preserve acidity within the individual berries, especially in summer.