PharaohMoans Wine — El Pomar District Winery & Tasting Room

PharaohMoans Wine is named with maximum irreverence — a wordplay on 'pheromones' filtered through an Egyptian pharaoh, the punning result being simultaneously absurd, memorable, and slightly too clever for its own good. The founders embrace all of this. A winery that names itself PharaohMoans is making a statement about the kind of winery it is: one that doesn't take itself seriously, that finds the humor in the wine world's pretensions, that would rather make you laugh than impress you.

The El Pomar District estate produces Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel from calcareous limestone estate vineyards with the unpretentious, walk-in-welcoming character that the irreverent name implies. The wine quality is better than the name lets on — which is, presumably, part of the joke.

Dog-friendly, picnic-equipped, family-welcoming, priced for everyday drinking. Come for the name, stay for the Grenache.