West of West

West of West is one of the most intellectually serious and geographically extreme Sonoma Coast sourcing projects in California. William Allen founded the label in 2010 with a clear and uncompromising mission: identify the most Pacific-influenced, climatically extreme, and geologically complex vineyard sites on the Sonoma Coast — places where the boundary between viable wine grape farming and oceanic conditions is actively contested — and produce wines from them that document what the most challenging California terroir can achieve.

The vineyard roster reads like a map of the Sonoma Coast's most celebrated and least-accessible sites: Annadel Gap, Bohan-Dillon, Running Creek, and other extreme coastal locations that see daily fog, fierce maritime winds, and growing seasons that test conventional California viticulture assumptions. The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay produced from these sites have genuine salinity, mineral complexity, and structural tension that distinguishes them completely from inland California Pinot.

The Sebastopol appointment tasting provides direct access to one of the Sonoma Coast's most focused and ambitious small-producer programs — wines that require the same patience and curiosity from visitors that William Allen demands from his vineyard partnerships.