There is a point at the western edge of the Sta. Rita Hills where the land runs almost into the Pacific wind, the fog never fully lifts, and the hills tilt so steeply that farming becomes an act of faith. This is the coldest, hardest Pinot Noir ground in California, and Domaine de la Cote chose it on purpose.

The hard edge of the coast

Domaine de la Cote is the estate Pinot Noir project of sommelier Rajat Parr and winemaker Sashi Moorman, the same duo behind Sandhi. Where Sandhi explores Chardonnay, Domaine de la Cote is devoted entirely to Pinot Noir from a set of brutal, beautiful hillside parcels at the extreme western end of the appellation, with names like Bloom’s Field, La Cote, Memorious, and Sous le Chene. The vineyards sit on ancient sand and shale, battered by relentless ocean wind, and ripening here is never guaranteed. That risk is the point. The wines that come off these hills are perfumed, savory, structured, and intensely site-specific, and they are regularly counted among the finest Pinot Noir made in America.

The coldest, steepest, most difficult ground in the Sta. Rita Hills, chosen on purpose.

The wines

Domaine de la Cote makes Pinot Noir and very little else, in small quantities, from individual parcels farmed organically and biodynamically. The wines are made with native fermentations and whole clusters, low in alcohol and high in energy, built to age for years and to express the precise hillside they came from. They are the opposite of generous, ripe California Pinot, and that is exactly their appeal.

The estate took shape in 2007, when Sashi Moorman found raw land at the far western, coldest edge of the Sta. Rita Hills and began carving vineyards into the hills with Chris King. He and the sommelier Rajat Parr took it over as Domaine de la Cote, released a first vintage in 2011, and quickly built a reputation for some of the most distinctive Pinot Noir in California. The wines come from five vineyards barely seven miles from the Pacific, where wind and fog are so relentless that the vines struggle, yield little, and ripen slowly. Everything is farmed organically and largely by hand on those windswept slopes.

That struggle is the whole point. The Pinots are tightly wound, savory, and high in acid, closer in spirit to red Burgundy than to ripe California fruit, and they are released as single-parcel bottlings, Bloom’s Field, La Cote, and Memorious among them, each meant to taste like its own patch of ground. The wines are made and bottled at the winery in Lompoc, a few miles from the vineyards, where the tasting room is also based. It is not an easy place to grow grapes, which is exactly why the results are so hard to imitate.

What to drink it with

This is gastronomic, high-acid Pinot Noir made for the table. Pour it with seared duck, grilled salmon, roast game birds, or a mushroom dish, where the wine’s earthy, savory side meets the plate on the same note and its acidity keeps everything fresh. These are wines that sharpen food rather than overwhelm it.

Plan your visit

Domaine de la Cote is made in tiny quantities in the western Sta. Rita Hills, near Lompoc, and the wines are largely allocated to a mailing list. The winery’s own site is the best place to follow new releases and any tasting opportunities.

Frequently asked questions