Whitcraft Winery 2022 Pinot Noir, Sta Rita Hills, Santa Barbara

Drake Whitcraft doesn’t make Pinot to impress—it’s Pinot to express. His 2022 Sta. Rita Hills bottling comes from organically farmed, wind-brushed vineyards where Pacific fog lingers late into the morning, sharpening the fruit and preserving its natural verve.

In the glass, it’s lifted and transparent—red cherry, wild strawberry, and cranberry edged with dusty rose and fresh thyme. A flicker of flint and wet stone carries through, giving it an earthy hum beneath the brightness. At just over 12% alcohol, the wine is as much about texture as flavor—silky but taut, with tannins that whisper rather than shout.

Nothing here is rushed. Fermentation is native, the wine is unfiltered, and oak is used like punctuation, not decoration. Every choice is about letting vineyard and vintage speak without interruption.

This is Sta. Rita Hills Pinot in its purest form—light on its feet, honest in its detail, and all the more compelling for what it leaves unsaid.