2021 Sojourn Cellars Fog & Wind Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 750 ml

When you look at a bottle of Fog & Wind—or when you go to their website—you’d have no way of knowing that it was made by the same team behind cult favorite Sojourn Cellars.

That’s on purpose.

After all, Sojourn is one of the premier makers of single-vineyard Pinot Noir in Sonoma. Their wines have beautifully lush fruit, silky textures, and fantastic complexity, so they often go for over $75 per bottle—generally to their loyal mailing list.

But when star winemaker Erich Bradley—tutored by Pinot legends David Ramey and Richard Arrowood—doesn’t mind signing a few NDAs from the same types of plots to get the fruit he wants at the price he needs, he turns to his secretive, limited-edition label known as Fog & Wind.

This quiet, small-production project isn’t heavily publicized. Unlike Sojourn, a Wine Spectator Top 100 Winery, the wines usually aren’t submitted for critic’s reviews. The website is as tight-lipped about its sourcing as a CIA case officer.

Bradley—who also makes wines for Repris, Pangloss, and Ojai Mountain—drew on a network of top Russian River Valley sites for today’s standout release. He doesn’t name names for his Fog & Wine releases, but this is a guy who regularly contracts fruit from iconic sites like Rodgers Creek, Sangiacomo, and Beckstoffer’s vineyards.

In 2021, lower yields, small berries, and loose clusters have concentrated the expression of these Pinot clones (115 and 667), cosseted by Russian River Valley fog and drenched in afternoon suns. This is Sonoma richness and finesse at its finest.