Hitching Post
Spotlighted in the movie "SIDEWAYS", the original Santa Barbara wine
Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Wines was founded by restaurant owner-chef Frank Ostini and his best friend, former Alaskan fisherman Gray Hartley.
Their first vintage was a home made wine in 1979. We made our first Pinot Noir in 1981 and our first wine under the Hitching Post name in 1984.
"Highliner", which is located at the highest peak of their wine, is an honor given to excellent fishermen in the fleet of the Alaska Salmon Fishery Union, and is a gray wine with 28 years of achievement as a fisherman. A title given to Hartley. They gave that same honor to the pinot noir fleet's best 'Hitching Post Pinot Noir'.
The movie "Sideway" released in the United States in 2004 won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and became a topical work that was later released as a remake version with a Japanese cast. In this movie, Miles, the main character who loves Pinot Noir and hates Merlot, goes on a tour of wineries in Santa Barbara with his friends, and the setting is this restaurant of "Hitching Post II".
Miles's famous line "I am NOT drinking any fxxking Merlot!" I was. This movie caused an unprecedented Pinot Noir boom in the United States, and Pinot Noir from the Santa Barbara region and all over California attracted attention from all over the world, and sold out one after another.
Hitching Post Winery is made by only three co-owners, Frank and Gray, and Gray's son, and still produces traditional handcrafted wines that have gained popularity.
"Cork Dancer" is named after salmon jumping over a net with a cork float, and was named by winemaker Gray Hartley, who has been salmon fishing in Alaska for 25 years. . Gray is now making wine with Frank Ostini. They hope the wine will dance for you when you open it, just like the jumping salmon amuses the fisherman.
The number ``xx.1'' on the label means - ``x'' means x of the 20xx vintage and ``.1'' means the first of several bottlings.
Frank and Gray's goal is to create balanced and elegant wines that express many flavors.
