- You want lush California Pinot with visible oak
- Monterey and San Benito sourcing is enough regional detail
- You prefer ripe fruit over delicate Pinot restraint
The Grocery Store Wine verdict
Sea Sun
California Pinot Noir
Sea Sun runs $19.99–$25.49 in our checks. It is a ripe, oak-framed 2024 Pinot with better sourcing disclosure than many statewide bottles; the split between perfect small samples and Total Wine’s 4.1 is a reason to expect style division, not a reason to average blindly.
- Region
- California
- Grape
- Pinot Noir
- The release we researched
- 2024
- Price context
- 4 exact store checks below
What it costs
Exact regular prices from dated store checks.
- Kroger, Atlanta suburbs, GA$25.49
- Kroger, Cincinnati, OH$19.99
- Kroger, Knoxville, TN$19.99
- Kroger, Richmond, VA$21.99
Observed at specific stores; your store will vary. A price target, not an ad.
Sea Sun runs $19.99–$25.49 in our checks. It is a ripe, oak-framed 2024 Pinot with better sourcing disclosure than many statewide bottles; the split between perfect small samples and Total Wine’s 4.1 is a reason to expect style division, not a reason to average blindly.
Our call uses physically certified package identity, producer and regional evidence, dated public ratings and current store-price context. Price never enters the GSW Score.
- You want light body and high-toned acidity
- A 4.1 large-sample rating worries you
- Your shelf price is above the mid-$20s
Serve slightly cool, then let the glass warm enough to show its fruit and structure.
Match the bottle’s plush red weight, acidity and oak to the food, not to the label’s prestige.
The release and package behind our call.
We decoded the EAN-13 from the owner’s in-store photograph on August 8, 2026 and verified its check digit. The package GTIN is physically certified; vintage and lot claims remain limited to what the photograph or producer record proves.
Physically certified package
- Physically certified GTIN
- 0710909760102 physical specimen evidence
- Certification record
- Owner fieldwork photograph · EAN-13 decoded with Vision · GTIN-14 00710909760102 physical specimen evidence
- Retailer source identifier
- 0071090976010 retailer listing evidence
What to expect in the glass.
Region, production, chemistry and house style point to a clear sensory profile. This is the profile we would buy against.
14% retailer record and lush producer brief
Producer description
Current Target record
Coastal blend and public-rating pattern
Understanding California without flattening it.
California on the label is useful provenance but weak terroir resolution. For these wines, sourcing disclosure, blend construction and house-style consistency carry more decision value than a generic climate paragraph.
A protected place
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.
The climate frame
The state spans cool maritime zones and hot inland valleys. A California designation alone does not reveal which conditions shaped the fruit.
What can be claimed
At state scale, sourcing and house-style construction matter more than any single soil story.
Scale, without the fog
- Reusable question
- Which counties or AVAs supplied the blend, and did that mix change by release?
Subregions worth tracking
- Resolution limit
- County, AVA and vineyard claims begin only when the release names them.
What is specific to this 2024 bottle.
The owner’s photograph certifies the 2024 vintage and physical GTIN. Target gives the current release useful county, oak and alcohol detail; the producer page remains broader about its coastal sourcing.
Production
The current market record names Monterey and San Benito fruit and new plus neutral French oak; fermentation and exact oak proportions are not published.
Taste claim
Producer-stated cherry and baking spice with lush fruit and a grippy finish.
Sea Sun
Sea Sun is a Wagner family wine made by Charlie Wagner.
The producer places Sea Sun within the Wagner family’s multigenerational California farming and winemaking history.
The 2024 market record identifies Monterey and San Benito fruit and a mix of new and neutral French oak, while the producer frames the wine as a lush coastal California Pinot Noir.
- Physical release
- 2024 California Pinot Noir is visible on the owner’s bottle photograph. source checked
- Current sourcing
- Monterey and San Benito counties in the Target record. source checked
- Oak
- New and neutral French oak; proportions and time are not published. partial
- Retailer-reported package
- 2.66 × 11.64 × 3.08 in; 3.12 lb gross; net weight not supplied disclosed
What is still open.
Conflicts and missing evidence stay visible until a physical bottle or stronger source settles them.
- Physically certified GTIN
- Owner fieldwork decoded EAN-13 0710909760102 from an in-store photograph on August 8, 2026; GTIN-14 00710909760102 passed its check digit. disclosed
- Retailer identifier
- Kroger supplied 0071090976010 as its source identifier. It is retained in the evidence record but does not replace the physically certified package GTIN. conflicted
- Artwork
- Original house photography from a real store aisle is published on this page. disclosed
- Public rating coverage
- 3 current retailer rating sources are included; empty 0/0 retailer placeholders are excluded from the GSW Score. disclosed
- Data quality note 1
- Kroger’s source identifier 0071090976010 differs from the physically certified package GTIN. conflicted
- Data quality note 2
- Provider image references were not classified and are not used as page artwork. conflicted
Claims stay attached to evidence.
Every claim on this page shows where we found it and when we last checked. If we got something wrong, tell us. We fix it in public.
SourcePublisher / how strong the source isChecked
American Viticultural Areas ↗
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureauregulator
Sea Sun release record ↗
Sea SunRelease, production and producer-stated taste
Owner fieldwork barcode photograph
Grocery Store WinePhysical EAN-13 decoded on 2026-08-08; check digit verified as GTIN-14 00710909760102
Dated retailer product record
KrogerPackage fields, retailer identifier and data-quality checks
Kroger product rating ↗
Kroger5.00 / 5 from 1 ratings
Target product rating ↗
Target5.00 / 5 from 18 ratings
Total Wine product rating ↗
Total Wine4.10 / 5 from 77 ratings
Front, back, fine print.
The label, the barcode, and the fine print, captured so you can read what the bottle actually says.
- Physically certified GTIN
- 0710909760102
- Editorial status
- Verdict published
- Artwork class
- Original house photography
- How much we know
- Region and release researched