Today’s Chamisal Vineyards 2014 Central Coast Stainless Pinot Noir was crafted without the use of oak during fermentation, which you’d never know by tasting it. This wine is silky, elegant and bursting with flavor. Enjoy this very food-friendly wine with your favorite fish or fowl - or all on by its delicious self.

The winemaking technique employed on this wine is called Carbonic masceration, which is a winemaking method often used in the Beaujolais region of France. Whole grapes are fermented in a carbon dioxide-rich environment prior to crushing. In conventional winemaking, fermentation includes the crushing of grapes to release the juice and pulp from the skin with yeast helping to convert sugars into ethanol. Carbonic maceration ferments much of the juice while it is still inside the grape. The result is a fruity wine with low tannin.

On the nose, this wine is rich and bright with aromas of Bing cherry, smoky cherry, red currant, pomegranate, raspberry candy, red plum, boysenberry, cedar, smoky mushroom, summer forest and sweet spice.

On the palate, it is rich and lush with concentrated flavors of Bing cherry, raspberry juice, smoky strawberry, dried cranberry, red plum, lychee, dusty bramble, mixed spice and a hint of white pepper.

This is a ready-to-drink wine that requires no additional aging. Having a fall party? Stocking up for Thanksgiving and the holidays? We recommend that you have plenty of this budget-friendly wine on hand to impress your guests.

Very highly recommended.

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Here’s what the wine press has to say:

90 points - Wilfred Wong, June 3, 2016 - “Have you ever heard of an un-oaked Pinot Noir? I am sure there are a few in the marketplace, though relatively rare. While the term “un-oaked” has gained traction in the Chardonnay world, few red wines have been marketed this wine. The 2014 Chamisal Stainless Steel Unoaked Pinot Noir is fresh and fine. Lively and bright from start to finish. Give this one a slight chill and re-discover what wine with oak-intrusion tastes like. This one is drinking perfectly now.”