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The Peaks and Tides Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2018 is a $12.99 ALDI exclusive. The Sonoma Coast AVA is located between Coastal Mountain ranges on the Pacific Coast of Sonoma County.
ALDI typically owns the trademark for the brands of wine they sell, so it is difficult to find out who exactly is responsible for the production of the wine. But, Geyserville, California is the location where Pinot Noir was vinted and bottled. A quick Google search will offer a few possible candidates.
We featured the Peaks and Tides Sonoma Coast Chardonnay a while back and thought highly of that wine, so I have high hopes for this Pinot Noir. The Sonoma Coast is an excellent location for growing the Pinot Noir grape. The Pacific Ocean allows for a long cool growing season and the mountain foothills and the secured valleys offer a wide range of growing conditions.
I put a link in the first paragraph to the Sonoma County Wine Association to include more in-depth information. The list of wineries in this appellation is impressive.
The Sonoma Coast Ava is a fairly small area, there are only around 2,000 acres of vineyards. There are individual wineries that have mo more acreage than that. So, these are boutique vineyards and wineries.
These grapes do not often end up in $12.99 grocery store wine (unless you are talking Aldi, Trader Joe’s, or Costco). The Peaks and Tides Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2018 on the surface seems to be a bargain. A typical wine shop Sonoma Coast Pinot often starts at $20 to $25.
As an Aldi wine, there is no information on the production techniques used in the making of the wine. The packaging is good, it has a composite cork but that is typical in this price range. The label is attractive with several shades of grey along with gold and red foil depicting vineyards, ocean, and mountains.
Private store brands have improved their packaging in recent years to the point that you usually can not tell them apart from retail brands. So, let’s head to the tasting section to see if the Peaks and Tides Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2018 is a worthy addition to your Thanksgiving table. The alcohol content is 13.9%.
Peaks and Tides Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2018 Tasting Notes
The color is a clear see-thru garnet red with black highlights. The nose is ripe cherry, herbs, dried fall leaves, spice, a little smoke, and tea. This is a rounded silky Pinot upfront with some spikes notes on the mid-palate.
It tastes of ripe black cherry, a touch of cream, Altoid’s spice, and raspberry jam, but not sweet. The mid-palate adds herbs, black pepper, orange zest, and cranberry.
This is a Pinot Noir with a little body to it, it is not one of those new full-bodied pinots that are currently popular. And it is not one of those light, ethereal Pinot Noirs, either. It is somewhere in the middle. The acidity is well-balanced, it does its job and stays out of the way.
The Summary
- The Peaks and Tides Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2018 is a solid $12.99 Pinot Noir.
- It has good, reasonably complex flavors, and excellent silky, smooth texture.
- A Pinot Noir is often recommended for Thanksgiving because a medium to light-bodied Pinot Noir will not overpower the delicate taste of turkey and it’s harvest fruit flavors will match many of the supporting dishes.
- With Covid-19, soon to be Covid-20 refusing to go away, being able to pick up a solid wine where you do your grocery shopping is a luxury.
- Aldi does not have extensive Pinot Noir wines available, but both wines I saw today at my ALDI would do a fine job for the Holidays.
