07 May Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Los Pilares 2023 Sparkling Red Wine, San Diego County

I recently took a day trip to San Diego to visit the vineyard of Los Pilares in Julian in San Diego County. I came home from that trip with a bottle of Los Pilares Sparkling Grenache. I was intrigued by a sparkling Grenache and decided to open that bottle this week. And guess what? The Los Pilares Sparkling Grenache is the Please The Palate wine of the week.

About Los Pilares

Los Pilares was established in 2010 by friends Coleman Cooney and Michael Christian. They started making “natural wine” before natural wine became a trend. I first met Michael Christian in 2016 at a wine dinner. It was at that dinner that Michael told me that San Diego has the conditions needed to make good wine – wind, fog, and elevation. Michael also told me that he felt that “the typical granitic soils show the promise of a San Diego terroir.”

From the beginning, they challenged the conventions of traditional winemaking by focusing on pre-industrial, minimalist methods of wine production. The grapes are dry-farmed and grown without chemical pesticides or herbicides. They use ambient yeasts to ferment, add little or no sulfur, no added sugars, no coloring agents, tannins or acids, and no new oak. They try different fermentations, such as whole-cluster, whole-berry, carbonic, foot-stomped, crushed, and destemmed. Sometimes they press early and sometimes they extend the maceration period.

But it was visiting the vineyard that I understood how true this all is. As I crossed into San Diego county, I was winding around canyon roads into San Diego’s backcountry. I turned up a hill where I was met by Coleman Cooney. We continued up the hill by foot and then walked to a makeshift platform. There were two underground concrete tanks, two amphora, and two barrels. This was were the wine is made.

A bit further up the hill are the head trained vines. There is Assyrtiko, Pais, Graciano, Grenache, Falanghina, Counoise, Cinsault, and more. Coleman is propagating his own vines, including from seeds that germinate from the heat of the grape must compost. He has collected these seeds, grown them, and now planted them. These will be new varieties.

Standing in the hills, looking at the vines, I knew that everything Michael had told me almost 10 years ago was true. Los Pilares is truly a natural wine producer.

Tasting Notes

The wine I brought home was the Los Pilares 2023 Sparkling Red Wine, San Diego County. Made from 100% Grenache, the wine is made similar to the Col Fondo style of Prosecco. The grapes are picked and fermented dry. Then they add pressed unfermented juice from a second pass in the vineyard (the grapes from this pick are more like raisins). The unfermented juice is added to the finished wine and put in bottles with a cap. The wine then begins secondary fermentation in the bottle. When it is finished, it is ready to drink. There is no disgorgement, like with Champagne. Instead, the wine is a little cloudy. But this wine is also a vibrant red color.

As the wine has not been disgorged, when I popped off the cap crown, the wine immediately started to overflow out of the bottle. Once settled, I poured a glass. The nose was fresh with dark red fruit aromas. On the palate, the tannins of the wine hit the tongue as my mouth watered.

Food Pairing

Savory, textured, and fresh, the wine is similar to a Lambrusco. As I love a glass of Lambrusco with a plate of pasta or pizza, I thought I could enjoy this sparkling Grenache the same way. And I did. It was a perfect pairing with Bolognese lasagna.

Where To Purchase

The Los Pilares 2023 Sparkling Red Wine, San Diego County retails for $30. If you are interested in purchasing this wine or any of their other wines, contact them via the Los Pilares Wine website.

Read More

Read the original story I wrote in the Napa Valley Register about Los Pilares.