2024 · Freestone-Occidental

Occidental is a family-owned Pinot Noir specialist in Bodega on the Sonoma Coast, founded in 2011 by Steve Kistler as a dedicated coastal project separate from Kistler Vineyards and now led by second-generation owner-winemaker Catherine Kistler and her sister Elizabeth. The estate focuses on extremely cold, late-ripening headland and ridge sites overlooking the Pacific in the Freestone-Occidental area. Farming emphasizes careful site selection, low-yielding coastal vineyards and long-tenured vineyard and cellar teams. In the winery, fruit is harvested at night, fermented by block with native yeasts, handled gently with gravity, and only free-run wine is used. The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal SO2, aiming for crystalline, vividly aromatic Pinot Noir with chiseled, savory coastal character.