Another winning wine from Las Varas, the collaboration between comic actor Eric Wareheim and winemaker Joel Burt.
These days, there are plenty of celebrity faces that flirt within the wine space. Sometime, its a pop star selling her poolside rosé, other times it’s a TV celeb who lends her name to a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. Some are great, others are less so, and few do a good job of convincing us it’s more than another brand deal.
Las Jaras is different. It’s a collaboration between Master of None star Eric Wareheim and winemaker Joel Burt that started as a dabble — a special-edition project sold only to the comedian’s fans. It’s now a full line of fun, peppy, and highly precise wines (including these psychedelic cans) that feel more thoughtful than your standard star-backed project. Though that makes sense — take a peek at Wareheim’s Instagram, it is stacked with food pictures and in-the-know restaurant recommendations.
But back to the wine. The recently-released Enz Vineyard Pinot Noir hails from one of California’s oldest vineyards, with vines dating back to 1895. The subsequent wine is aged for 22 months in barrel, but it feels younger than its combined years — it’s a cozy, warming wine with youthful red fruit (blackberry, serviceberry and other wild berries) balanced with black cherry and a salty, saline finish. $50
Kate Dingwall is a WSET-trained sommelier and spirits writer. Her work has appeared in Wine Enthusiast, Eater, Forbes.com, and Food & Wine, and she pours wine at one of Canada’s top restaurants.