Waypoint winemaker spotlight
Philippe Melka on camera sorting fruit at Alejandro Bulgheroni Estate, the New Frontier Napa cellar behind Waypoint. Parent-house film, not a Terra de Promissio vineyard clip.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2021 Waypoint Terra de Promissio Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $33.02 and the average is $52.83. Our slash is $33.00.
2021 Waypoint Terra de Promissio Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
Melka and Sands' Terra de Promissio Pinot, bay leaf and sour cherry from the Petaluma Gap, a 96-point 2021 at forty dollars.
The 2021 Waypoint is 100 percent Pinot from Terra de Promissio, stainless-steel ferment, 12 months in 51 percent new French oak, 205 cases. Bay leaf, spearmint, sour cherry, cranberry, now $33.
Land of promise, in a bottle you will finish
Terra de Promissio sits where Sonoma Coast and the Petaluma Gap overlap. Wind, fog, southwest slope, slow hang time. Maxim caught cherry and cranberry leading into bay leaf, white pepper, and cardamom. Two hundred five cases. This is the proof that a known Pinot vineyard can still feel lifted, not heavy.
The house
Waypoint is Philippe Melka and Matt Sands sourcing small lots from Northern California sites, based in St. Helena.
The place
Charles and Diana Karren planted Terra de Promissio in 2002. Dijon 115 and 777 first, then 943, 97, and a Calera field blend.
The wine
Stainless ferment, 12 months in 51% new French oak. Savory herbs, red fruit, fine tannin, 14% ABV.
The drinker
Burgundy bowl. Little air, no heavy decant. Cherry-balsamic pork or crispy-skin salmon.
Bay leaf, spearmint, then sour cherry
The vineyard's own 2021 note on this Waypoint bottling is intricate savory aromas of bay leaf, spearmint, and sour cherries, then red cherries, cranberries, and basil.
Sonoma County Winegrowers called 2021 a cold start to a warm, fast finish, a slightly lighter crop, excellent overall, intense fruit. That profile fits this wine's concentration and freshness.
Sour cherry, cranberry, raspberry, bay leaf, spearmint, basil, forest floor, tobacco.
Soft structure, supple finish, 14% ABV, 12 months in 51% new French oak, brisk acidity.
Long, fresh, herbal. Burgundy bowl. A little air. No heavy decant.
Stainless first, then a light oak frame
The official tech sheet is focused and clean: stainless-steel fermentation, then 12 months in 51 percent new French oak. Waypoint wants the vineyard to speak. Terra de Promissio character stays in view: lifted fruit, herbs, fine tannin. The oak shapes texture. It does not bury the Gap.
Petaluma Gap wind and fog stretch the hang time. Skins thicken. Color and savory depth arrive without extra extraction.
Two hundred five cases. Drink it now for the herbs, or give it a short cellar for more forest and tobacco.
A viticultural quest, a Grand Cru of Sonoma
Waypoint calls itself an intrepid viticultural quest. Terra de Promissio is one of the Sonoma sites that quest was built for.
Waypoint sources from esteemed Northern California vineyards rather than a single estate. Small-lot, single-vineyard wines are the collection.
Terra de Promissio, developed by Charles and Diana Karren, is now 50 acres of Pinot. In 2011, Kosta Browne's 2009 Sonoma Coast, largely from this fruit, was Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year. In 2024 the vineyard was named among Sonoma's Grand Cru sites.
Southwest exposure, hill elevation, vine density, wind, and fog. Slow maturation. That combination is the quiet confidence in this glass.
Pork, salmon, herbs, tart fruit
Savory herbs and acidity like pork with cherry and a richer fish with lemon and dill.
Two plates. One cherry-balsamic pork tenderloin. One crispy-skin salmon. Both keep the Pinot lifted.
Serve in a Burgundy bowl if you have one. No heavy decant. A little air helps the savory aromatics bloom.
Cherry-balsamic pork tenderloin
Pork between the wine's red fruit and herbal side. Cherry glaze mirrors sour cherry and cranberry. Fennel keeps it elegant.
Why it works: Cherry sauce echoes the Pinot. Fennel taps bay leaf, basil, and spearmint.
View Recipe for cherry-balsamic pork tenderloin (opens in a new tab)
Crispy-skin salmon
Hard sear, lemon, dill, potatoes. Oil and citrus keep a coastal Pinot upright.
Why it works: Salmon fat and lemon meet acidity and red fruit without burying the herbs.
View Recipe for pan-seared salmon (opens in a new tab)Open the Sonoma Coast Pinot this week
Terra de Promissio, Melka and Sands, 96 points, two hundred five cases, forty dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is savory Sonoma Coast Pinot with a vineyard name that already means something.
