Our take
Josh Cellars Reserve Pinot Noir California Red Wine
- Style
- Red wine
- Size
- 750 ml
- Grape
- Pinot Noir
- Region
- California
- Shelf barcode
- 0031259005454

Our take
What we make of this bottle
So there are two names to sort out here, and the grape is the quicker one. Our grape research describes Pinot Noir as a thin-skinned red, one of the main grapes in many traditional-method sparkling wines. For the still reds, regional category guides commonly name plum and berry fruit along with red cherry, lighter in color and gentler in tannin than a Cabernet Sauvignon, and they add that site and ripeness can move the result lighter or darker. If less grip than a Cabernet is what you want tonight, that is the style those guides describe for the grape. At one store, our August 2026 checks put the shelf price at $24.99.
The other name takes a moment. Our record carries Santa Barbara in the brand field, the producer's site presents the wine as a Josh Cellars Reserve bottling, and Josh Cellars says the grapes for its Reserve Pinot Noir come from Santa Barbara County. We have not confirmed the county ourselves; the origin we confirmed is California. We do not have a shopper rating for this wine; 448 of the wines we cover do carry one. In our August 2026 checks, a different store had it at $19.99.
The Grocery Store Wine Desk · written Aug 14, 2026 from our research file for this wine. Numbers reflect our latest checks.
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Read our take →The prices we checked
Dated store checks, not a promise about your store.
- Kroger, Atlanta suburbs, GA$24.99
- Kroger, Cincinnati, OH$19.99
- Fred Meyer, Portland, OR$22.99
- Kroger, Knoxville, TN$21.99
The regular price can vary by store and date.
From the producer
Grape sourcing
Josh Cellars says the grapes for its Reserve Santa Barbara Pinot Noir come from Santa Barbara County.
Research status
What we are still checking
Our overview above draws on the dated store feed, shopper ratings, our region and grape research, and any sourced producer facts. We are still working to confirm the current release, the full producer record, and the bottle itself, and we update this page as we learn more.
Getting to know California.
California on the label is useful provenance but weak detail about place. For these wines, sourcing disclosure, blend construction and house-style consistency carry more decision value than a generic climate paragraph.
What the name means
A state-level appellation, broader than an individual American Viticultural Area. It permits a multi-region blend and does not by itself identify one climate or soil.
How grapes grow here
The state spans cool maritime zones and hot inland valleys. A California designation alone does not reveal which conditions shaped the fruit.
What lies under the vines
At state scale, sourcing and house-style construction matter more than any single soil story.
How large the region is
- Reusable question
- Which counties or AVAs supplied the blend, and did that mix change by release?
Places within the region
- Resolution limit
- County, AVA and vineyard claims begin only when the release names them.
Getting to know Pinot Noir.
Pinot Noir is a red grape with relatively thin skins. It is used for still red wine and as one of the main grapes in many traditional-method sparkling wines.
Category guide
What to expect in the glass
Regional category guides commonly describe red cherry, berry and plum, with lighter color and less tannin than Cabernet Sauvignon. Site and ripeness can shift it from bright and delicate to darker and fuller.
Sources: New Zealand Winegrowers; Napa Valley Vintners. Checked Aug 10, 2026.
Where this information comes from
- Store listing
- Price, package, product identifier. Checked Aug 10, 2026.
- Barcode
- The shelf barcode shown here is computed from the store product identifier. It has not been checked against a bottle.
- Method
- Every price, rating and fact here is a dated observation. How we check.