As the pendulum of an antique clock swings in perfect balance, a complex network of gears and levers churn in tandem, leaving behind witness marks, or small grooves inside the clock. For veteran clocksmiths tasked with the challenge of repairing such intricate clocks, must rely on these witness marks to guide their process of restoring the pendulum back into balance. At Witness Mark Wines, our winemaker relies on the same tenets of experience, ingenuity, and artistry to craft our wines. A color, an aroma, a lingering flavor profile. These details are the witness marks that guide our winemaker’s creative process. The result is a portfolio of beautiful, perfectly balanced wines from California’s Central Coast.
Rich with full flavors and silky, supple tannins, Witness Mark Pinot Noir, overflows with concentrated aromas of black cherry and ripe plum, followed by robust flavors of raspberry, dark cherry and a hint of baking spice. Elegant and balanced, this Pinot Noir delights with a long and layered finish. Pair with wild mushroom pizza, herb crusted salmon, chicken marsala or ancient grain bowl with roasted chickpeas.
At the winery, the fruit is carefully sorted then destemmed, crushed and fermented at warm temperatures in stainless steel fermenters. Gentle punch downs are performed several times a day. Once dry, the must is pressed into stainless steel tanks for settling, then racked prior to aging on both new and neutral French oak. The time on oak imparts nuanced notes of vanilla and toast.
Scheid Family Wines, a family-owned and operated wine company for over 50 years, is ranked among the top 25 largest wine producers in the United States. Based in Monterey County, California, Scheid is vertically integrated to bring high quality estate grown wines to the marketplace from its sustainably and organically certified vineyards, and grower partners throughout the Central Coast. Scheid’s innovative, luxury-level winery is 100% powered by renewable wind energy generated by a 400-foot-tall wind turbine, which also supplies energy to the local community. The Scheid Family Wines globally distributed brand portfolio includes Scheid Vineyards, Sunny with a Chance of Flowers, VDR (Very Dark Red), Grandeur (organically certified), Fog & Light, Metz Road, District 7, Ryder Estate, and HOXIE, a premium wine spritzer as well as Witness Mark. Scheid Family Wines sells internationally to over 30 countries and is one of the largest producers of premium exclusive brands.
Hello All! Lab Rat reporting for duty! I received an email Thursday from Alice that we had a bottle of wine on the way! The shipment was redirected to a UPS pickup point, but my spouse and I had a busy week and weekend and were not able to pick the bottle up until Sunday. Opening the package, we found a bottle of 2020 Witness Mark Pinot Noir and a stemless Casemates glass! We placed the room temperature bottle in the wine cellar for a few hours to cool off before tasting.
Due to time constraints, we were not able to pair a meal with the wine. We both love pinot noir and have a good selection of both new and old-world bottles in our cellar. Generally speaking, we enjoy more restrained styles of PN with some age on them but love Russian River Valley as well. We regularly visit Iron Horse when in the Bay area and are wine club members at Emeritus.
The bottle is a traditional pinot noir shape, has a nice front label, and a screw cap (no judgement here!). The story on the rear feels like it was written by a marketing firm, and although I appreciate horology, it comes across as incredibly generic. I also would not associate a sub $20 bottle of wine with mechanical watchmaking… but I digress.
I see the wine listed as Sonoma Coast, but our bottle states the appellation as ‘California’ and not something more specific. I’m not sure if this is a typo?
We poured the wine around 60F. We tasted it from pinot noir glasses. The wine was ruby red, clear, with no gas or sediment. It had a slight thinning around the edge.
The initial nose had cherry, some earthiness, and a little alcohol. The first taste without swirling was very juicy with great acidity, a little cherry, and maybe some blueberries. The finish was disappointingly short and uninteresting. My SO called it dull.
After a swirl, the nose had a ton of bright cherry, and the alcohol disappeared. My SO also got a hint of citrus, vanilla, and still some earthiness. The palate is about the same with the cherry being a little more pronounced. At this point the wine was a disappointment and picking this up at the grocery store for $10 would have felt like a poor deal.
We poured some additional wine in our glasses and let it sit for 30 minutes. Wow! What a difference. Did it turn into a Grand Cru Burgundy? No, of course not. But it did become a solid wine. The nose was still cherry with a bit of oak. The palate remained juicy but moved to cherry cola (maybe there’s some RRV grapes in the bottle?). The finish was a bit longer, I would still call it short, but much more interesting and integrated.
After 90 minutes in the glass the nose remained, but the taste was leaning towards darker red fruits.
Overall, the Witness Mark PN turned out to be a solid bottle of wine and we would be happy paying $15 or so for it from a grocery store. Sitting on a shelf next to a bottle of La Crema Sonoma Coast, I would pick the latter 9 times out of 10. But for the Casemates price, this is a solid bottle of PN with some good varietal characteristics. The screw cap and price make this a solid weekday bottle, and the acidity surely will pair well with food. If you need some cellar defender bottles this isn’t a bad option. Truth be told, for sub $20 MSRP wine, we usually gravitate towards zins, especially for crowd pleasers, but the Witness Mark Pinot Noir is a solid bottle for the price.
We saved 1/3 of the bottle in the fridge to taste tomorrow (we were planning to save half, but both ended up pouring a little more this evening, so that’s a good sign!)
Thank you, Alice, David, and the team, for sending us a bottle! Let me know if there are any questions!
The wine still had some life, nice nose and the palate held up pretty well. Some secondary and tertiary flavors crept up, and it vaguely reminded both my SO and I of 2007 WineSmith Pinot Noir, but without the depth and complexity. Overall, I still think it is a solid QPR and a decent daily drinker.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2020 Witness Mark Pinot Noir - $25 = 20.83%
Sorry for the late rattage: work! OY.
PnP w dear wife assisting:
First sniff little alc., mild sense of cherries, on the eye: medium pinot density, not thin, not bricked. First taste was again with the cherries, maybe sour red berries…
She said: astringent, (and no sneeze, her test for sulfite levels?)
We paired with roasted squash over arugula w candied walnuts and pom arils. I had a kielbasa and caramelized onions, DW had leftover soup. No great enhancement w the meat or soup, but the wine DID bloom a bit with the salad.
Day 2 no improvement (tasted w dark chocolate dessert snack after indian after movie dinner out.)
Day 3 still drinkable, no great evolution. I was estimating a max price I’d pay at $11 per bottle making the actual sale price a decent deal for a wine I wasn’t really all that crazy about. I do prefer something heartier. The PS from Elevens is still rocking my tastebud memories.
TL;DR: OK daily drinker or party contribution. I’m passing. AND: THANKS for the chance to rat!
@kls_in_MD what you uploaded or linked is not a recognized image format. I’ll include it in your post after you’ve gotten something recognized (jpg, gif, png, etc) up; no apple heic…
2020 Witness Mark Pinot Noir, California
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $216/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Nov 11 - Tuesday, Nov 12
2020 Witness Mark Pinot Noir
6 bottles for $59.99 $10/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $94.99 $7.92/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Hello All! Lab Rat reporting for duty! I received an email Thursday from Alice that we had a bottle of wine on the way! The shipment was redirected to a UPS pickup point, but my spouse and I had a busy week and weekend and were not able to pick the bottle up until Sunday. Opening the package, we found a bottle of 2020 Witness Mark Pinot Noir and a stemless Casemates glass! We placed the room temperature bottle in the wine cellar for a few hours to cool off before tasting.
Due to time constraints, we were not able to pair a meal with the wine. We both love pinot noir and have a good selection of both new and old-world bottles in our cellar. Generally speaking, we enjoy more restrained styles of PN with some age on them but love Russian River Valley as well. We regularly visit Iron Horse when in the Bay area and are wine club members at Emeritus.
The bottle is a traditional pinot noir shape, has a nice front label, and a screw cap (no judgement here!). The story on the rear feels like it was written by a marketing firm, and although I appreciate horology, it comes across as incredibly generic. I also would not associate a sub $20 bottle of wine with mechanical watchmaking… but I digress.
I see the wine listed as Sonoma Coast, but our bottle states the appellation as ‘California’ and not something more specific. I’m not sure if this is a typo?
We poured the wine around 60F. We tasted it from pinot noir glasses. The wine was ruby red, clear, with no gas or sediment. It had a slight thinning around the edge.
The initial nose had cherry, some earthiness, and a little alcohol. The first taste without swirling was very juicy with great acidity, a little cherry, and maybe some blueberries. The finish was disappointingly short and uninteresting. My SO called it dull.
After a swirl, the nose had a ton of bright cherry, and the alcohol disappeared. My SO also got a hint of citrus, vanilla, and still some earthiness. The palate is about the same with the cherry being a little more pronounced. At this point the wine was a disappointment and picking this up at the grocery store for $10 would have felt like a poor deal.
We poured some additional wine in our glasses and let it sit for 30 minutes. Wow! What a difference. Did it turn into a Grand Cru Burgundy? No, of course not. But it did become a solid wine. The nose was still cherry with a bit of oak. The palate remained juicy but moved to cherry cola (maybe there’s some RRV grapes in the bottle?). The finish was a bit longer, I would still call it short, but much more interesting and integrated.
After 90 minutes in the glass the nose remained, but the taste was leaning towards darker red fruits.
Overall, the Witness Mark PN turned out to be a solid bottle of wine and we would be happy paying $15 or so for it from a grocery store. Sitting on a shelf next to a bottle of La Crema Sonoma Coast, I would pick the latter 9 times out of 10. But for the Casemates price, this is a solid bottle of PN with some good varietal characteristics. The screw cap and price make this a solid weekday bottle, and the acidity surely will pair well with food. If you need some cellar defender bottles this isn’t a bad option. Truth be told, for sub $20 MSRP wine, we usually gravitate towards zins, especially for crowd pleasers, but the Witness Mark Pinot Noir is a solid bottle for the price.
We saved 1/3 of the bottle in the fridge to taste tomorrow (we were planning to save half, but both ended up pouring a little more this evening, so that’s a good sign!)
Thank you, Alice, David, and the team, for sending us a bottle! Let me know if there are any questions!
@knlprez If anyone wants to split a case in the Denver metro area, let me know!
@knlprez Day 2 update:
The wine still had some life, nice nose and the palate held up pretty well. Some secondary and tertiary flavors crept up, and it vaguely reminded both my SO and I of 2007 WineSmith Pinot Noir, but without the depth and complexity. Overall, I still think it is a solid QPR and a decent daily drinker.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2020 Witness Mark Pinot Noir - $25 = 20.83%
The offer says “California” but the description says “Central Coast” – I’m presuming that California is correct and Central Coast is a mistake…
@rpm @knlprez
correction request submitted, thanks all
@rjquillin @rpm thank you! The bottle also states California and not Central Coast.
Sorry for the late rattage: work! OY.
PnP w dear wife assisting:
First sniff little alc., mild sense of cherries, on the eye: medium pinot density, not thin, not bricked. First taste was again with the cherries, maybe sour red berries…
She said: astringent, (and no sneeze, her test for sulfite levels?)
over arugula w candied walnuts and pom arils. I had a kielbasa and caramelized onions, DW had leftover soup. No great enhancement w the meat or soup, but the wine DID bloom a bit with the salad.
We paired with roasted squash
Day 2 no improvement (tasted w dark chocolate dessert snack after indian after movie dinner out.)
Day 3 still drinkable, no great evolution. I was estimating a max price I’d pay at $11 per bottle making the actual sale price a decent deal for a wine I wasn’t really all that crazy about. I do prefer something heartier. The PS from Elevens is still rocking my tastebud memories.
TL;DR: OK daily drinker or party contribution. I’m passing. AND: THANKS for the chance to rat!
@kls_in_MD crud, my dinner pic is not showing up
@kls_in_MD what you uploaded or linked is not a recognized image format. I’ll include it in your post after you’ve gotten something recognized (jpg, gif, png, etc) up; no apple heic…
Alphabetically this is #58 of 58 Scheid labels. Unless they added some since this morning…ha!
fwiw
@kaolis Lucky number 58 I guess?