Having recently attended the World Of Pinot Noir Event 2017 in March at Santa Barbara’s Bacarat Resort, it’s hard to express what an incredible weekend I experienced. For starters, there were more than 200 Pinot Noir producers from all over the world. Talk about a wine lovers’ heaven! As you can imagine, with over 200 producers, I did not get the chance to try everything, so this is an assortment of my favorites from the 75-100 wines I did try over the three-day festival.

There were too many incredible wines to narrow it down to JUST 10 (which is what I typically do after an event like this). Instead, I created a Top 10 List for Sonoma County, Santa Barbara/Central Coast, and Oregon. Here is my Top 10 Sonoma Pinot Noir list from the World of Pinot Noir. I hope you enjoyed it and, as always, let me know if you have any questions or think I missed someone.

Top 10 Sonoma Pinot Noirs (World of Pinot Noir Event 2017)

1. Kosta Browne & Cirq Wines – Any Pinot Noir lovers, or wine lovers for that matter know of Kosta Browne. I was thrilled to taste it again at The World of Pinot Noir, having recently visited Kosta Browne’s Sebastopol Winery & Tasting room, which was incredible. See my behind the scenes tour of Kosta Browne here.  The highlight of experiencing Kosta Brown & Cirq Wines at the event was meeting Michael Browne for the first time, as well as trying the Cirq Wines, his newest label which was, of course, incredible, as well.

Me and Michael Browne having a blast at the World of Pinot Noir Event 2017. What a treat to meet him as I’ve been to his spectacular Winery in The Barlow and adore his wines. I recently joined the Wine Club and am so excited for my first allocation!

Kosta Browne Winemaker, Nico.

2. MacRostie Winery – MacRostie is one of the coolest new Wineries in Healdsburg. Steve MacRostie has been making wine for 30+ years, yet this winery just opened in the last year or so and I adore it. Their wines are delicious at not over the top prices. I highly recommend visiting on your next trip to Healdsburg. Read more about MacRostie Winery here.

3. Three Sticks – Three Sticks Wines is another Sonoma winery making spectacular wines. Located in an adobe just blocks off Sonoma’s main square, Three Sticks Wines create high-quality Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays, and Cabernet Sauvignons. I heard about Three Sticks from many raving wine lovers and then learned the Principal was Bill Price (who makes various wines from one of my favorite Sonoma Vineyards, Durrel), so I knew they would be incredible. Regardless, Three Sticks was for sure one of the Top 10 Sonoma Wines at the World of Pinot Noir Event 2017!

Associate Winemaker, Ryan Prichard, & Director of Winemaking, Bob Cabral.

4. DeLoach Vineyards – These are incredible Russian River wines made from the Biodynamic DeLoach Vineyards. These wines are delicious, very full-bodied, and fruit-forward with a nice balance. I loved experiencing these fabulous wines at the World of Pinot Noir Event 2017!

The DeLoach Winemaking team. I love the fact that there is a female winemaker, Katie, who is fabulous. We’ve met at a few events and she’s very talented. So happy to see her again at the World of Pinot Noir Event 2017!

5. Failla Wines – Another Sonoma favorite who I first tasted at the Wine & Spirits Top 100 is Failla Wines.  Their wines are sourced with Sonoma grapes, yet their tasting room is in Napa. Such a fun differentiating fact I learned and always remember about them. I have visited their Winery and it’s unlike most typical Napa Wineries as it’s very low key; it has an intimate homey feeling which I adore.  Their wines and their team are fabulous so check it out!

7. Hyde Vineyards & Patz & Hall – Hyde is a vineyard that I’ve known about for years as I’ve experienced various wines with grapes sourced from them. In fact, that includes some of my favorite Chardonnay & Pinots from Patz & Hall (read more here) & Ram’s Gate (read more here). This was my first time trying Hyde Vineyard Wines, but I knew I would love them. It was also extremely special putting a face or two (it’s a father and son team) behind the incredible grapes I enjoyed over the years.

Chris and Larry Hyde.

Me and my new pal, Chris Hyde.

Chris Hyde and James Hall of Patz & Hall, a Sonoma Winery I adore. Read more about Patz + Hall here.

8. Ten Acre Winery – It’s always great running into winemaker Mike of Ten Acre, an incredible Russian River winery I adore. We first met because I adore his Chardonnays, and after visiting the Winery and tasting his Pinot Noirs at the festival, I can confirm his Pinot Noirs as just as tasty. Read about the Bella Winery here (their sister brand).

9. MacPhail Family Wines – It was a treat to finally meet Winemaker James of MacPhail Family Wines. I love their charming tasting room in Sebastapol’s Barlow and their wines are fabulous, as well. Read more about the MacPhail Tasting room here.

James and his wife, Kerry.

10. Saxon Brown Wines – This was my first time tasting Saxon Brown Wines and I loved them. I also learned that Jeff is a consulting winemaker for a lot of wineries I adore, including Ram’s Gate Winery (read more Ram’s Gate Winery here), and Black Kite Cellars. So, not only did I fall in love with The Saxon Brown Wines, I already experienced Jeff’s magic in various other wines I’ve enjoyed.

Me and friend and fellow blogger Hana-Lee of Wander & Wine blog.

The incredible food assortment during the event.

Lastly, a huge thank you to the World of Pinot Noir for hosting me at this incredible Wine Festival. I will be attending this spectacular event yearly going forward! Also, thanks again Damon and The WOPN team.