Williams Selyem Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

Erich Bradley and Craig Haserot, co-founders of Sojourn Cellars, are Pinot Noir addicts. The small brand produces about 11,000 cases a year of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and some Cabernet Sauvignon at the custom crush facility Vinify in Santa Rosa, located in a warehouse on Coffey Lane just 200 yards from where the Tubbs fire swept through in October, destroying thousands of homes and structures. Most of these are site-specific, vineyard-designated wines. The pair work with growers in Sonoma (and a few in Napa for the Cabernets), sourcing fruit from top vineyards including Reuling, Sangiacomo and Rodgers Creek. Erich makes the wines while Craig runs the business side of things, meeting clients and focusing on sales and marketing.

The two met in the early 2000s; Erich was working at Arrowood Winery, making wines from Rhône and Bordeaux varieties, and Craig had recently left his 16-year career in the software business. A great lover of Burgundy, Craig had been exploring the California expression of the grape via the mailing lists of producers like Williams Selyem and Kistler. Erich had winemaking experience but had yet to try his hand at Pinot Noir. “We decided to make Pinot Noir mostly because we love to drink it,” Craig explains. “Pinot Noir was our addiction.” Erich adds, “Sojourn was how I could scratch my Pinot Noir itch.”

“We didn’t know what we were doing,” Craig says of the early days of Sojourn..