Alma Rosa 2007 Pinot Noir

We don't see this wine in Connecticut and were surprised to see it in a wine shop called Tamura's Fine Wines and Liquors in Hawaii. Alma Rosa is the winery founded by Richard Sanford. We often wondered what happened to Sanford Winery, with the quirky little tasting room in Santa Barbara County near Buellton. In 2006, we heard him give a talk on organic farming when we went to the International Pinot noir Celebration in McMinnville, Oregon. Richard Sanford was one of the early proponents of organic viticulture on the West Coast. After that, silence. Then we began hearing about a new winery called Alma Rosa owned by Richard and Thekla Sanford. We knew that 2007 was a great year in California and we were surprised and delighted to find it in Hawaii. The wine was dark garnet in color, it was well balanced and the overall taste was spicy but the aroma was rather nonexistent. The wine could stand to be cellared for a while. We purchased this entry level pinot for around $20.00 so it was a good value.