For 20 years, California Pinot Noir zealots have made the pilgrimage to the rural outer reaches of Sonoma County, twisting up a single-lane road to Coastlands Vineyard.
Home to the cult-favorite Cobb Wines, the 40-acre Occidental estate, sits above the fog line less than four miles from the Pacific Ocean. Visitors are greeted by a rambunctious puppy named Hazel and owner Ross Cobb. A former competitive skateboarder, hobby weatherman and bass guitarist, Cobb is nothing like the stereotypical farmer, until you get him talking about soil, a topic he can wax poetic about for hours.
Though Cobb leads tours, he has never been permitted to host public tastings or sell wine from the vineyard where he lives with his wife, daughter, Hazel and three cats. So this week, he finally opened Cobb’s first-ever tasting room. It’s 25 miles away in Healdsburg and doesn’t require a long, treacherous drive…