Easkoot is a cool project: Now owned by Emily and Stephen Schindler, who also run an importing company called Winemonger, this label is named for Alfred Derby Easkoot, the first land surveyor in California’s Marin County. Interestingly, Marin County does not have much acreage devoted to vineyard, despite being a favorably cool, coastal climate ideally suited to Pinot Noir. Fruit for this wine comes from the acclaimed Chileno Valley Vineyard, which sits near the Marin/Sonoma county line and the “Petaluma Wind Gap”—an opening in the coastal range through which cooling winds and fog roll in nightly off the Pacific Ocean. Juicy but tangy, lush but lively, this is a finessed expression of California Pinot Noir with beautifully modulated red and black fruits mixed with violets and damp forest floor notes. Winemaker Matt Duffy ferments the wine spontaneously, incorporating about 20% whole grape clusters.