The Pinot Project 2022 delivers classic California Pinot Noir character for under $12, proving that quality wine doesn’t require a premium price tag. Michael Skelnick’s ambitious project creates accessible, authentic Pinot Noir by sourcing from quality vineyards across California’s diverse growing regions.
• Available for approximately $11.89 at retailers
• Part of a Pinot-focused collection including Pinot Grigio from Italy and Washington, plus a Rosé of Pinot Noir
• Sources grapes from Mendocino, Susan Valley, San Benito, and other California coastal regions
• Minimal oak influence with just enough French and American oak for subtle vanilla notes
• Classic translucent cherry color with aromas of sweet cherries, mushrooms, and herbs
• Moderate 13.5% alcohol content (lower than many modern California Pinots)
• Well-structured with balanced acidity that gives the wine proper length
• Previous vintage (2021) received 91 points from Wine Enthusiast
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0:02
Hey, welcome to Domain Dave CheapWineFindercom. Again. Like always, we write up three value price wine reviews a week on the CheapWineFindercom website and then we plug the microphone in and we talk about it, and today we've got a wine that's called the Pinot Project 2022. I found it for $11.89. Of all things, it's a wine you can usually find under $15 and between $10. It's called the Pinot Project because Michael Skelnick is a big-time importer and this is his project. He wanted to do a classic, affordable California Pinot Noir, but they do have this, and they also have a Pinot Grigio from Italy, a Pinot Grigio from Washington and a Rosé of Pinot Noir too, so it's all Pinots. There's four different wines, all Pinots, and that's what the project's about.
Speaker 1:
0:59
Now, one of the things about this a lot of times you see, oh, it's from, know it's, it's from santa lucia highlands or it's from carneros. They have these value price ones and they're from very high-end, fancy uh areas, and here this is more mendocino, uh, the susan valley, uh, san benito. I mean, they're good places for grapes, there's nothing wrong with it. But instead of going for, like, name recognition, they just went for good vineyards that had Pinot Noir and from places, because they have, you know, up and down the coast, from central coast to north coast, and I'm not quite sure where the Susan Valley is. It's between Sacramento and San Francisco, somewhere in there where that falls in. All these different places have different climates and different soils, but it's all Pinot Noir and they all had long growing regions. That's the one thing they did do and there's nothing fancy here. A lot of times it's a full cluster fermentation where they leave the seeds and the stems on, and that's how they do it in France with the heavy duty ones, because that way, by removing them, everything you remove removes flavor. So they leave everything in. No, they pulled that out. This is pretty much a non-oaked you know un-oaked Pinot Noir but they did add a little bit in of French oak barrel and a little bit of American oak, so there's just enough to get a little bit Picked up, a little vanilla here and there. So this is just a solid California Pinot Noir is not trying to be overly fancy, but they're trying to do a really good wine. This big-time importer puts his name on the line all the time. So this is the 2022 vintage, but the 2021 got 91 points.
Speaker 1:
2:55
Wine enthusiasts. Pinot Noir is vintage dependent. You're going to get one year better than the next, but this is perfectly good. It's very see-through. It's got a nice cherry color. You can read your emails through it. Classic nose. It's got those sweet cherries and then the funky mushrooms and herbs and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:
3:23
I'm going to take a sip. This is a solid, affordable, classic California Pinot Noir, not like one of the new ones. Where it's this is 13.5 in the alcohol, which is low compared to what's going on nowadays. But the new ones, the new style, is like 14.9 in the alcohol and they added Petit Syrah and Zinfandelmer Lode to it, you know, and it's more of a red blend than it is a Pinot Noir. Nope, this is classic California Pin pinot noir at an affordable price.
Speaker 1:
3:58
Um, well made, solid acidity. I went to a burgundy tasting one time and I figured out, if you tell the winemakers there from france, oh the uh, the acidity is beautiful. It gives them, gives the wine length, and they're all happy. That's one thing they want in inot Noir they want to control the acidity, to give the wine length and structure. That's what they got here. So there you go. It's inexpensive, I think under $12.
Speaker 1:
4:30
Pinot Noir it's not fancy, it's not from the coolest AVA's in California, but they're good grapes and that's all you're really looking for, you. I mean, all the rest is kind of like window dressing, that's they're trying to sell you on something. All they need to do is make a good wine from good grapes at a good price and think we'd all be happy. So that's it for me. Domain Dave cheap wine fighter. Calm and this one. This is the pinot project 2022. I've actually got a uh, a saint patrick's day wine, uh, coming up. I I never actually I've seen wines with green labels. This one actually has a connection to ireland in a very weird way, and that'll be in a couple of days. So if you look forward to that one, so that's's it for me. Domain Dave cheapwinefightercom.
Speaker 1:
5:20
The Pinot Project 2022. It's a good, solid, everyday drinkable classic Pinot Noir and that's good enough for me. So, adios, keep it cheap and stay warm or cold, whatever it is. It's getting crazy. I think we'll be in the 60s here in Chicago, which is the first time in four or five months. So, adios, bye-bye, talk to you later.
