Similar Sips: Sea Smoke

Only poured at one public tasting a year, The World of Pinot Noir. No tasting room. Almost no presence in restaurants. Sea Smoke is elusive, mysterious and sexy.

The 105 acre winery is located along the Santa Ynez River in Santa Barbara County, California. The wines are grown biodynamically, and only estate fruit goes into the bottling. Sea Smoke produces four labels, totaling 13,000 cases for global supply. They produce a sparkling wine called Sea Spray, as well as two Pinot Noir (Southing and Ten) bottling and a Chardonnay. Southing is more delicate while the Ten is heavier and more brooding.

Sea Smoke produces four labels, amounting to a total of 13,000 cases for the global market. However, only a fraction of these cases reach retailers and restaurants, as their primary focus is on their mailing list. ‘The List’ is free to join and doesn’t require any purchases. Moreover, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be offered any wine, but it’s definitely worth a shot.

Unfortunately, I can’t get any of this beautiful wine for you. But I can offer you several wines that are similar, from neighboring vineyards and made by other winemakers with similar styles.

The following wines are from Satnta Barbara, like Sea Smoke, and share similar characteristics, influenced by the same ocean fog that lends Sea Smoke its name. Typically, mountains run parallel to the coastline, shielding inland valleys from the Pacific Ocean’s cooling winds, fog, and marine layer. However, in Santa Barbara County, the mountains closest to the coast run from East to West, perpendicular to the shore.  The ‘transverse’ mountain ranges, and the valleys between them act as funnels, channeling cold air, fog, and the marine layer. Consequently, Santa Barbara County houses one of the most southerly ‘cool climate’ wine regions in the Northern Hemisphere.

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