Have you heard of Harvest Moon Winery? If not, don’t feel bad. To be honest, we hadn’t either. After all, there are A LOT of wineries in California and the smaller ones don’t get nearly enough attention. But when our friend Sue Straight [aka The Wine Wench] announced that she was bringing her talents to them, we knew it would be a special place.
Originally from the Los Angeles area, Sue has been in Sonoma Country working with wineries since the 1980s, using her expertise to help wineries achieve their maximum potential, a skill needed now more than ever.
She’s also a helluva singer and harmonica player.
We hadn’t seen Sue in about a decade so we were really looking forward to the reunion at Harvest Moon Winery.
Harvest Moon Winery is located in the Russian River Valley. Owner/winemaker Randy Pitts’s family had been growing grapes in the region since 1976. Randy came back from San Francisco to oversee the family’s ranch in 2000, learned all he could about farming, viticulture and enology and released the first vintage of Harvest Moon in 2002.
Harvest Moon has three estate vineyards in the RRV. The Pitts Home Ranch Vineyard, which is where the winery and tasting room are, is 12 acres of which 9 are planted to Zinfandel, Gewurztaminer, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir, among others. The Willowside Vineyard is 7 acres, of which 5 are planted to Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir. This is where Harvest Moon hosts the Willowside Farm Tour Experience. Finally, the Paradise Lane Vineyard is 5 acres planted to old vine Zinfandel. In addition, Randy obtains Cabernet Sauvignon from the Dry Creek Valley, Sangiovese from the Alexander Valley and even Malbec from the Alta Mesa AVA in Sacramento County.
Randy follows organic farming and winemaking practices and in addition does something that you rarely see, especially at a small winery. He makes sparkling wine using the traditional méthode champenoise. This was a great way to start our tasting:
2023 Sparkling Apple Cider – made with Gravenstein apples from Sonoma County near Forestville. Fresh, ripe, green apple fragrance and on the palate. An adult’s apple cider, not in a box but a bottle.
2022 Sparkling Verdelho – grapes from Sacramento County. Abundant citrus notes, vibrancy coming from the high acidity. Medium-dry.
2022 Estate Dry Sparkling Gewürztraminer – Brioche aromas with delicious lychee and passionfruit to savor.
2021 Estate Dry Sparkling Pinot Noir Rosé – Full of berry fruit and white peach zest, crafted from the highly regarded 828 Pinot Noir clone.
2021 Estate Sparkling Zinfandel Rosé – Full body, rounder than the Pinot listed above. Baby pink in color.
Then it was time to move on to the still wines.
2025 Estate Off-Dry Gewürztraminer – from the 50-yeard old estate vineyard. Bouquet of spring flowers to sniff and enjoy followed by lush tropical flavors. Kiss of residual sugar.
2023 Tempranillo – Alta Mesa AVA, Sacramento County. Dried fig, plum flavors with hint of tobacco. Moderate smooth tannins, acidity and finish. Medium-bodied.
2022 Petite Sirah – 92% Petite Sirah, 8% Zinfandel, Capay Valley AVA, Yolo County. Blackberry and blueberry with a hint of violet and black coffee. Smooth and malleable, medium to long finish.
2019 Pitts Home Ranch Estate Zinfandel – Dried plum, cherry and chocolate aromas with similar notes on the palate along with a whisper of leather and licorice. Well balanced with a long finish. Single vineyard.
2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – Buchignani Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley AVA. Dark stone fruit with secondary notes of oak. High, firm tannins and acidity. Full-bodied with lovely finish.
2014 Zinfandel – Russian River Valley AVA. From the library, a blend of three Estate Zinfandel vineyards, including Old Vine and Pitts Home Ranch Zinfandel fruit. Very fruit-forward with juicy, delicate plum fragrance and flavor. Medium finish. A great example of Zinfandel’s age-ability.
2023 Tannat – Alta Mesa AVA, Sacramento County. Raisin nose, ripe currant on the palate and a kiss of cocoa. Full-bodied with an extended finish.
2018 Estate Late Harvest Zinfandel – Raspberry, strawberry notes. Great with chocolate or just by itself.
Our visit to Harvest Moon Winery served as a great reminder to seek out lesser-known wineries. They are often hidden gems. In addition, it’s a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the local entertainment. You can find Sue Straight playing around town, including the monthly events at Harvest Moon Winery.
A big thank you to Sue for her hospitality and introducing us to Harvest Moon! We had a sparkling good time.
Karen and Michael Perlis have been pursuing their passion for wine for more than 30 years. They have had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show them the way and after a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as they possibly could, they had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Michael and Karen do their best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.
