Sunshine Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023

The Sunshine Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023 is a $14.99 Trader Joe's exclusive. The back label says it was "Produced and Bottled by" Northwest Collective from Dundee, Oregon.







The Story















The Northwest Collective is a part of Precept Brands, a large wine and spirits business in the Northwest part of the US. They have a family of brands with the most well known being Gruet Sparkling wines.







The Sunshine Mountain Vineyard is located near the town of Dalles in northeastern Oregon, near the border with Washington. The AVA here is part of the Columbia Valley AVA, most of which is located in Washington. The Columbia Gorge AVA is close by.







When you think of Oregon wine, you think of the Willamette Valley AVA, which is south of Portland. The Columbia Valley AVA of Oregon is 60 miles east of Portland.







The soil type in this growing region is volcanic, and the climate can range from almost rainforest to high desert. Trader Joe's notes that the vineyard receives 300 days of sun annually, positioning it closer to the desert.







Trader Joe's Sunshine Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023 is sourced from a single vineyard. It is a higher-altitude vineyard that overlooks the Columbia Valley. This region is more known for Cabernet Sauvignon than Pinot Noir.







One odd factor is that Sunshine Mountain Winery is located in San Marcos, which is in the hills of northern San Diego. While Sunshine Mountain Winery does not name any of their wine Sunshine Mountain, it is odd to have another wine using the same name.







Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer says this wine should sell in the $20 to $30 range (again, it is $14.99), which may be why it is selling at Trader Joe's so as not to compete with the other winery. That is me speculating.







The alcohol content is 14.5%.







The Sunshine Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023 Tasting Notes







The color is a nearly see-through garnet red. The nose is herbs, black cherry, mushroom, cola, spice, and plum. The Sunshine Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023 is light to medium weight, long and sleek with a slap of spice on the finish.







This Pinot Noir tastes like black cherry, a shock of herbs, cooling plum, a little not-sweet Dr. Pepper, sharp spice, and strawberry. This is an interesting wine that slowly opens its flavor to you.







The Summary









* The Sunshine Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023 is an interesting wine well worth giving a try.







* Value-priced Pinot Noir tends to taste familiar; this is something different.







* This is a wine that has more in common with higher-priced Pinot Noir.