The Story: In 1997 three friends got together to taste some wines (Hermitage) and two years later they decided to make some wine (two barrels) in their garage in the LA area. The label featured a drawing of an old Los Angeles Pacific Electric Trolley Car and the words “Red Car” in a bull’s-eye. In a prior lifeMark Estrin had been a screenwriter and Carrol Kemp had been a film producer. The highly stylized approach to our early marketing married Mark’s background as a writer and his experience selling wine. The distinctive front label was a nod to a romantic, idealized past in our home city of Los Angeles.
For the back label, Mark wrote a vignette with a tip of the hat to Raymond Chandler: “The Window I walked to the window and pulled back a thin, tobacco-stained curtain. What passed for a breeze from the street below was hot and close and remorseless. Then a westbound Red Car trolley lumbered by, filled with people. For a fleeting moment, I imagined I was in that Red Car, heading to the beach, where the air was fresh and clean and cool. Riding the Red Car to the edge of the continent, to the edge of everything.“ The wine sold out in no time, and the rest as they say is history…
In 2003 a second chapter started when they bought 128 acres of land in Cazadero perched 1,200 feet above the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by forests of old-growth redwood, oak, and manzanita, and remote vineyards cooled by ocean breezes. Hawks circling above the trees and sunshine pushing the morning fog back out to sea. It is a breathtaking view, and a great site to plant Pinot & Chardonnay. So full circle another 20 years later and many bottles…
Red Car 2019 Pinot Noir “Heaven & Earth”
Sonoma Coast
GGWC 79.99
FREE SHIPPING on 12
Use code REDCAR during checkout
Wine Enthusiast 95 Points: “This ethereal red offers tension and texture in equal measure with grip and grit. The savory, earthiness is met by a nice sprinkling of baking spice and black tea, with a fruity landscape of strawberry and cherry that last through integrated oak and supple tannin.”
FMW 96 Points: “Bright aromatics of violets, black stone fruit, and a whiff of spice jump out of the glass. This medium to full-bodied Pinot offers up a stellar palate of bing cherries, strawberries, a touch of saline, and minerality with a touch of espresso bean and bitter chocolate. The wine lingers into a long, complex finish of silky tannins."
Winery Notes: “Located just outside the tiny coastal town of Occidental, the 4.5 acre Heaven & Earth vineyard has been a darling from the time that we made our first vintage; over 15 years ago. Planted to 3 distinct clones of Pinot Noir and farmed organically by Red Car from day one, this site produces some of our most distinguished Pinot – truly unique to the site itself. The 2019 vintage was a unique one for our area – cool & long. This was due to a period of seasonal oceanic upwelling in the frigid waters of the Pacific Ocean, invoking cooler-than-usual temperatures along the coast throughout the month of August. This is in turn afforded fruit from each of the three clones at Heaven & Earth extended hang time, lending to deep, layered, and complex wines.”
Vineyard: “Heaven & Earth Pinot Noir is a 4.5-acre site less than one-mile northwest of Occidental. The vines were planted in 2004 using the Calera, Pommard, and 828 selections of Pinot Noir. Nestled into a picturesque little valley just east of the Bohemian Highway, the vineyard site is protected from the harsher offshore winds while still enjoying cool coastal temperatures. This sheltered yet cool environment keeps extreme temperatures to a minimum, effectively lengthening the hang time and enhancing site expression while preserving acidity and moderating alcohol.”
Click here or on the links above to order!
Call 415-337-4083 (landline, please do not text here – we will not receive
it)
email frank@ggwc.com for availability and priority allocation
For the back label, Mark wrote a vignette with a tip of the hat to Raymond Chandler: “The Window I walked to the window and pulled back a thin, tobacco-stained curtain. What passed for a breeze from the street below was hot and close and remorseless. Then a westbound Red Car trolley lumbered by, filled with people. For a fleeting moment, I imagined I was in that Red Car, heading to the beach, where the air was fresh and clean and cool. Riding the Red Car to the edge of the continent, to the edge of everything.“ The wine sold out in no time, and the rest as they say is history…
In 2003 a second chapter started when they bought 128 acres of land in Cazadero perched 1,200 feet above the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by forests of old-growth redwood, oak, and manzanita, and remote vineyards cooled by ocean breezes. Hawks circling above the trees and sunshine pushing the morning fog back out to sea. It is a breathtaking view, and a great site to plant Pinot & Chardonnay. So full circle another 20 years later and many bottles…
Red Car 2019 Pinot Noir “Heaven & Earth”Sonoma Coast
GGWC 79.99
FREE SHIPPING on 12
Use code REDCAR during checkout
Wine Enthusiast 95 Points: “This ethereal red offers tension and texture in equal measure with grip and grit. The savory, earthiness is met by a nice sprinkling of baking spice and black tea, with a fruity landscape of strawberry and cherry that last through integrated oak and supple tannin.”
FMW 96 Points: “Bright aromatics of violets, black stone fruit, and a whiff of spice jump out of the glass. This medium to full-bodied Pinot offers up a stellar palate of bing cherries, strawberries, a touch of saline, and minerality with a touch of espresso bean and bitter chocolate. The wine lingers into a long, complex finish of silky tannins."
Winery Notes: “Located just outside the tiny coastal town of Occidental, the 4.5 acre Heaven & Earth vineyard has been a darling from the time that we made our first vintage; over 15 years ago. Planted to 3 distinct clones of Pinot Noir and farmed organically by Red Car from day one, this site produces some of our most distinguished Pinot – truly unique to the site itself. The 2019 vintage was a unique one for our area – cool & long. This was due to a period of seasonal oceanic upwelling in the frigid waters of the Pacific Ocean, invoking cooler-than-usual temperatures along the coast throughout the month of August. This is in turn afforded fruit from each of the three clones at Heaven & Earth extended hang time, lending to deep, layered, and complex wines.”
Vineyard: “Heaven & Earth Pinot Noir is a 4.5-acre site less than one-mile northwest of Occidental. The vines were planted in 2004 using the Calera, Pommard, and 828 selections of Pinot Noir. Nestled into a picturesque little valley just east of the Bohemian Highway, the vineyard site is protected from the harsher offshore winds while still enjoying cool coastal temperatures. This sheltered yet cool environment keeps extreme temperatures to a minimum, effectively lengthening the hang time and enhancing site expression while preserving acidity and moderating alcohol.”
Click here or on the links above to order!
Call 415-337-4083 (landline, please do not text here – we will not receive
it)
email frank@ggwc.com for availability and priority allocation