Introducing Kitson Wines - Small Batches, Big Value - CA Pinots and Blends

Hello Berserkers!

My name is Brad Kitson. After 20 years in Silicon Valley, I was ready to try something new. While out wine tasting, my wife, Svetlana, suggested winemaking. A master’s in Viticulture & Enology at U.C. Davis was the next step. I started working at Farella Vineyard in Napa Valley as assistant winemaker and the only person in the cellar of a 3000+ case winery. It was a great hands-on experience. Tom Farella and I co-authored the Coombsville AVA during this time. Robert Parker called the Farella 2007 Syrah the best QPR wine of that vintage. In 2010, I became winemaker at Georg Rafael Vineyards (Rafael et Fils). Svetlana and I started making some of our wines at the same time under the name of - Kitson Wines.

The image of the car on our label was taken from a parade in San Francisco over a century ago. More importantly, the driver is my grandfather Hugh “Hud” Huddleston. Hud made his way to Napa from Virginia, by way of Colorado, Arizona and San Francisco. He didn’t come to Napa to grow grapes, but instead to open the first car dealership.

Probably half of our production to date has been Pinot Noir. We currently also have a GSM blend and a unique Primitivo/Petite Sirah blend. We are currently sold out of whites and rosé.

BerserkerDay 13 Offers
We are excited to participate in our first Berserker Day!
All of our offers are 25% off with flat rate shipping.

Intro to Kitson 4-Pack – $90 (retail $120)
This intro 4-pack includes 3 of our Pinot Noirs and our Decko GSM blend:
2016 Black Knight Vineyard Pinot Noir – Sonoma Coast AVA
2017 North Coast Pinot Noir (will switch to 2018 if 2017 runs out)
2018 Haynes Vineyard Pinot Noir – Coombsville, Napa Valley
2019 Decko Red Wine (GSM Blend)

Click here to order (AL, AR, AZ, CA DE, KY, MI, MT, NJ, RI, SD & WA)
Click here to order (other states, except MS & UT)

Intro to Kitson 6-Pack - $126 (retail $168)
The intro 6-pack includes 4 Pinot Noirs and both of our blends:
2016 Black Knight Vineyard Pinot Noir – Sonoma Coast AVA
2017 North Coast Pinot Noir (will switch to 2018 if 2017 runs out)
2018 North Coast Pinot Noir
2018 Haynes Vineyard Pinot Noir – Coombsville, Napa Valley
2019 Decko Red Wine (GSM Blend)
2019 Hud’s Blend Red Wine (Primitivo/Zinfandel + Petite Sirah)

Click here to order (AL, AR, AZ, CA DE, KY, MI, MT, NJ, RI, SD & WA)
Click here to order (other states, except MS & UT)

Mix and Match
Mix and match any bottles on our website. Minimum purchase $120 retail, then apply the discount code. Use 25% off discount code KWBD13.

Just 10 bottles left of my favorite 2017 Elke Home Ranch Pinot Noir - 1 bottle limit on mix and match
3 bottle limit on 2017 North Coast Pinot Noir on mix and match.

Click here to order (AL, AR, AZ, CA DE, KY, MI, MT, NJ, RI, SD & WA)
Click here to order (other states, except MS & UT)

White Wines and Rosé
Unfortunately we are currently out of white wines and rosé. We expect to have these in the April time frame. In the past, we have made Malvasia Bianca, Riesling, a white blend of Chenin blanc & Colombard and Carignan rosé. Please sign up to our email list for future offerings. The sign up can be found in the footer of our website. Click here and scroll down to sign up.

Delivery/Shipping

• We offer free delivery in the S.F. Bay Area.
• Shipping is a flat $15 per package to the rest of CA and the western states of AZ, ID, NM, NV, OR, & WA.
• Shipping is a flat $25 per package to other states (except AK, HI, MS & UT). We charge the UPS fee for AK and HI. We don’t ship to MS and UT.

A latecomer to our Preview forum, BerserkerDay Council member Patrick Taylor has been working his tookus off on this one!

Kitson Wines is a family winery led by husband and wife, Brad & Svetlana Kitson. After a couple of decades in Silicon Valley, Brad went back to school to get a master’s degree in Viticulture & Enology at U.C. Davis. While in school, Brad began to work at Farella Vineyard in Napa Valley in what would later become the Coombsville AVA. While at Farella, Brad was co-author of the Coombsville AVA application. Then after a stint at Georg Rafael Vineyards, Brad launched Kitson Wines.

The image of the car on the label is a Hudson Super Six which is being driven by Brad’s grandfather, Hugh Huddleston. Hugh opened one of the first car dealerships in Napa. The photo was taken during a parade in San Francisco, circa 1916 or 1917.

I tasted five Kitson wines from Grassl tasting glasses. All the wines were opened at least an hour before the first tasting, and I tasted all five wines the next day.

2018 Kitson Wines Pinot Noir Haynes Vineyard (USA, California, Napa Valley, Coombsville)
Pale ruby in color, verging on garnet. Aromas of red berries and spice follow on to flavors of light red cherry, strawberry, sandalwood and a touch of vanilla on the palate. Pleasantly feminine in style, with moderate tannins and a medium finish. Swan and Dijon 115 clones which saw one-sixth new oak.

2016 Kitson Wines Pinot Noir Black Knight Vineyard (USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast)
Medium garnet in color, with aromas of dark fruit and spice. The palate shows black cherries and black plums up front, then orange peel, tea, and sassafras notes through the medium-long finish. This is a blend of Dijon 777, 667, and 115 clones, with 20% new oak.

2017 Kitson Wines North Coast Pinot Noir (USA, California, North Coast)
Light ruby in color, with array of both fruit and floral aromas. The palate shows red and black fruit flavors mixing with notes of citrus, dried herbs, and sandalwood. Roughly 55% from the Anderson Valley AVA, 35% from the Coombsville AVA and 10% from the Sonoma Coast AVA. Just over 60% of the blend was from Pommard Clone with remainder from Dijon 777, Dijon 115, and Swan. No new oak.

2019 Kitson Wines Hud’s Blend (USA, California, Yolo County)
Medium-dark purple in color, with aromas of violet, wild berry, and licorice. The primitivo is distinct on the palate, with briary blue and black fruits, black peppercorn, and spice notes which take on a bit of richness through the finish. 50% Primitivo and 50% Petite Sirah in 25% new oak.

2019 Kitson Wines Decko Wheeler Vineyard (USA, California, Central Valley, Yolo County)
Medium purple in color, with aromas of blackberry, black cherry, and damp soil. On the palate, polished black raspberry, garrigue, and smoky pepper flavors show. 25% Grenache, 50% Syrah, and 25% Mourvèdre in 25% new oak.

Overall, I would rate all the wines very good to outstanding. The 2016 Black Knight Vineyard Pinot Noir was the most distinguished of the pinot noirs, while the 2019 Decko Red Wine is very easy-going and would easily pair with a number of dishes. All five wines are for sale on Kitson’s web site (kitsonwines.com), with prices ranging from an affordable $18-$36.

Hey Berserker crew. I had a chance to taste these and provide notes to Todd during the “qualification” stage. Below are my findings. In short, these are great bargains, nicely made wines. Well worth a try!

Methodology. After receiving these wines I stood them up for about 6 days to allow any sediment to fall to the bottom and settle, ensuring clear pours. I tried them all at about 69 degrees temp, non-blind. I did not look at anything on the Kitson website until I’d completed my notes, and so was unaware of pricing, oak treatment, or any other notes. I tried the wines in order of ABV, smallest to largest. I opened the bottles and gave them about ten minutes to clear head space, then poured and tasted each bottle, swallowing a small sip and tasting and spitting the rest. Then ran through a second time to ensure consistent notes or to note if something developed a bit.

Overall Impression. My overall impression of these wines is that they are well made, have generally nice balance, and deliver great QPR. They also present an interesting gradation in size and darkness of fruit.

2017 North Coast Pinot Noir. 13.5% abv. This shows an expressive nose of cherry and cranberry sauce with rich warm baking spices and dried orange peel. This is a mid weight wine on the palate and soft in texture. There is a hint of rose on the palate, which compliments the more dominant baked cherry and allspice berry notes. Just a hair short on the finish, but this is a nice, silky smooth, lovely smelling wine. 90ish

2016 Black Knight Vineyard Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast. 14.1% abv. Blackberry and red cherry mix with oak, spice, and a lovely violet floral note on the expressive and vibrant nose. This is larger in style, fruit, and structure than the North Coast, with licorice, a faint earthy note, and ripe fruit. This is a big but nice and well made wine. The oak here is present, but if you’re a fan of a slightly larger style pinot noir this will be a hit. Nice complexity, nice long finish, and very expressive. 92ish

2018 Haynes Vineyard Pinot Noir Coombsville. 14.2% abv. Rich currant and black cherry on the nose with a savory black tea note, oak spice, mint, and orange peel. On the palate, this carries dark fruit with vanilla, licorice, and oak spice. This is large in structure with fair tannins, but with sufficient acid to keep this balanced. Make no mistake, this is on the larger side of the scale with a palate that begins to hint at cola/sarsaparilla. The oak profile is a hair softer here than on the Black Knight, but still present. Again, smooth, complex, and well made. Showing its youth, this should improve with a couple more years. 91ish

2019 Decko Red Wine - Yolo County. 14.4% abv. 50% Syrah, 25% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre. Peppery cherry and cool blueberry drive the nose, hinting at green peppercorns and backyard barbecues. Nice richness of blue fruit on this with a hint of meat and hemp. The combination of the cool blue fruit and savory peppery herbs makes this really pretty interesting on the nose and palate. Some depth to the tannic structure, and flexing its youth a bit. This would be a great wine for a BBQ or good meaty pizza. It’s a fun and interesting wine, but serious too. Some soft vanilla from what seems like decent oak treatment gives it a creamy finish. Great QPR 90-91 range on this. I was shocked to learn this is $18.

2019 Hud’s Blend Red Wine Yolo County. 14.5% abv. 50% Primitivo, 50% Petite Sirah. Bright tangy red fruit nose with citrus, white pepper, bell pepper, blackberry, raspberry, and faint vanilla. Palate is not as smooth as the previous wines, and the rusticity of the petite sirah really dominates the profile. This is grippy with peppery red and black fruit with candied cherry and licorice on the back palate. Just a bit rough and less “together” than the other wines, but if you’re a fan of petite sirah, jump in. 87ish

I had some family over the following day and they really enjoyed the pinots as well. For $18-36 per bottle, these were really great for the price. Cellar defenders, but also good and serious wines.

As you can probably tell from my notes above, I’m absolutely in for the BD 4 pack! It’s a steal. The quality of the wines for $90 is a stupid good deal. Or, in context, the quality of the wines for $120 is a great deal. Knocking $30 off of that makes this a no brainer.

Brad, it doesn’t look like the flat rate shipping applied although I didn’t realize it until after I had checked out. Shipped to Iowa so went through vinoshipper

In for a 4 pack plus a couple more mix and match. Looking forward to trying these based on those excellent write ups!

It’s working now. Refund for shipping on its way.

LOVE your label! Hope you guys had a great first BerserkerDay