Beverage of the Week (BOW)

Product Story

The fifth vintage of Tongue Dancer Wines’ (TDW) Foxtrot is the fourth on the trot from the Russian River Valley. However, the vineyard source, Castro Vineyard, is new to Foxtrot. The vineyard is located in the Santa Rosa Plains sector of the Russian River Valley. The area is known for cooler temperatures, clay soils, and coastal influences. The 2024 vintage was warm, so some of the cool climate effects were negated. Most importantly, the wine remains fun to drink, with unstoppable charm and style. This wine features three Pinot Noir Clones, Dijon 115 & 667, and 2A. The grapes were hand-picked on the cool morning of September 26th and gently de-stemmed — not crushed. Daily punchdowns and cool fermenting temperatures ensured depth and a fruit-forward wine. The wine spent 11 months on the lees in French oak, 20% of which was new. It was bottled unfined and lightly filtered in August 2025. The resulting wine is truly delicious, fun to drink, and a super value.

Brand Story

Tongue Dancer Wines is the creation of James and Kerry MacPhail. If you are a California Pinot Noir lover, you likely know James' previous work with MacPhail Family Wines. James knows how to make amazing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and James knows a lot of people who grow spectacular Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. We have been reviewing the wines from Tongue Dancer for the better part of a decade and have never seen a Tongue Dancer Wine fail to earn Four-Stars or better. Tongue Dancer constantly innovates, releasing new wines yearly while never missing a beat. Once, they surprised us by releasing a great, dry cider! This is a winery to watch. The wines are always in short supply, so be swift. Visit their website and join their mailing list to get direct access to their wines.