In the past 10 years, Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley has emerged as one of the leading terroirs for California Pinot Noir. Farther north than Russian River Valley, but sharing a similar cooling coastal influence from the Pacific Ocean, Anderson Valley’s Pinot Noir vineyards have been planted with state-of-the-art clonal and rootstock selections, yielding intensely flavored Pinot Noir with great varietal character and complexity.

Copain (the French word for “pal”) is a partnership between vigneron Wells Guthrie and former software engineer Kevin McQuown. Since their first vintage in 1999, the partners have looked to both Burgundy and the Rhone Valley for inspiration, producing varieties native to each of those regions. Guthrie even worked for the great Rhone producer Chapoutier before founding Copain. The partners have always aimed to make wines with pure expression of fruit and site, not overly ripe or overly alcoholic.