November 11, 2025 – I’d never heard of Domaine Della, but a quick outreach to Mark Pisoni, who farms Soberanes Vineyard, revealed that the winemaker, David Hejl, has been making wine from that vineyard for since leaving Kosta Browne, where he had previously worked. Hejl started his own brand 10 years ago and has been getting fruit from Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast and Santa Lucia Highlands. He’s also sourcing fruit from the one-of-these-days-to-be-approved Carmel Coast AVA. More on that later. Jeff Pisoni says that Hejl makes wine nearby his winery in Santa Rosa. There is zero degree of separation in the wine world.
The 2023 Domaine Della Soberanes Vineyard PN was sent up to the Sweepstakes round by my panel at the recently concluded Harvest Challenge wine competition in Santa Rosa. This year’s Harvest Challenge, where wines are judged by AVA, saw a big increase in submissions from places like Ohio, Delaware, North Carolina and Virginia. My panel was lucky enough to have a Monterey flight, the entirety of which was really strong. We also scored most of the Virginia wines highly.
I absolutely loved the Domaine Della Pinot Noir and hoped it would captivate the rest of the judges during the Sweepstakes round. The fact it was the only Pinot Noir on the table in front of us during the finals increased its chances of making a case for itself to prevail against 11 other reds.
Prevail it did, although an absolutely wonderful 2022 Garre Cabernet Franc from Livermore Valley, made by winemaker Aaron Luna, who got his start at Bernardus, working with Dean De Korth, gave it a serious run for the crown. Not only did the Domaine Della Pinot Noir win Best Red, but it also went on to best the Best of show winners for white wine, rosé, sparkling and dessert wine for Best of Show overall…