...West Sonoma Coast producers are familiar to a certain type of wine lover: Hirsch, Failla, Littorai, DuMol, Paul Hobbs, Peay, Freeman and Cobb. In Pursuit of Balance, a crusade to bring restraint to California Pinot and Chardonnay, originated here. Many vineyards are long-established: Cobb Coastlands and BA Theriot (of which more later) were planted in 1989, Peay in 1998, Hirsch in the early ‘80s.

Andy Peay, who bought a sheep ranch in the mid-1990s and planted to Chardonnay and Pinot, says the weather can be ‘frankly hostile’. His Chardonnay is intense, ripe and precise with an oyster-shell texture. Yields are low – ‘we’re not interested in big and bold,’ he says.