During my recent Santa Lucia Highlands Sommelier Trip I attended in July, I had many firsts. One of which was visiting the incredibly respected, well-known Pisoni Vineyards with the legendary Gary Pisoni. For those of you who have met Gary, you know that he’s not only a fabulous grape grower, but also a very talented winemaker and one of the most gregarious, passionate, fun loving men in the industry. See all of the fun the sommeliers and I had during this Vineyard tasting with Gary, his son Mark, his wife, and his grandchildren, who all hosted us during this afternoon at Pisoni Vineyards.

Arriving to Pisoni Vineyards with a welcome from this little guy and some lovely Rose.

Clearly, if you’re a Pisoni you know how to handle wine from a young age. I loved this cutie pie, Davis Pisoni. Not only was he great at pouring wine, but he knew a ton of fun facts about the vineyard, the family history, and while his grandfather, Gary, was welcoming us and sharing information, we had another junior Pisoni expert passionately chiming in. It was one of the cutest examples of how a true family business and farm operates. I can’t wait to visit Pisoni again in 15-20 years and be hosted by the young ones!

Gary arriving to our picnic table in style. He literally pulled in on this vintage Jeep as we were sipping on Rose. What an arrival!

Heading into the Pisoni Vineyards cave for our tasting and more fun!

More views of the Pisoni Vineyards as we headed into the caves for our tasting.

Enjoying some delicious sausage paired with some wines with the Pisoni’s.

Gary and the incredible Sommeliers from Las Vegas hanging out during our visit.

Davis and Gary leading us into the cave for our wine tasting.

The line up of Pisoni wines we tasted…

With grapes as fabulous as they are at Pisoni Vineyards, it’s natural that many other well known wineries make a Pisoni Vineyards Pinot Noir. I was thrilled when I saw that we’d be enjoying a Kosta Browne 2012, 2013, and 2014 Pisoni Vineyards vertical. Not only because I love Kosta Browne Pinot Noir, but I love doing verticals side by side and comparing each vintage, the different characteristics of the weather each year, and talking through it with other wine nerds (like myself).

Cheers to an afternoon in Santa Lucia Highlands with this incredible man. He has so much energy, passion, love, and really is a joy to be around. A huge thank you to Gary, Mark, Davis, and the entire team and family for your time and for sharing this incredible cave tasting with me and the other lucky sommelier guests.