14% retailer record and lush producer brief
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 to expect in the glass.
Here is the style this wine is meant to have, based on its region and how it was made.
Producer description
Current Target record
Coastal blend and public-rating pattern
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 lush California Pinot with visible oak
- Monterey and San Benito sourcing is enough regional detail
- You prefer ripe fruit over delicate Pinot restraint
- 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.
Getting to know California.
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.
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.
About this bottling
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.
Winemaking
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
The producer says 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. we checked this
- Current sourcing
- Monterey and San Benito counties in the Target record. we checked this
- Oak
- New and neutral French oak; proportions and time are not published. partly confirmed
- Reported by the store package
- 2.66 × 11.64 × 3.08 in; 3.12 lb gross; net weight not supplied reported by the store
Where this information comes from.
We photographed this exact bottle and its barcode on a real store shelf.
SourcePublisher / how strong the source isChecked
American Viticultural Areas ↗
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureauregulator
Sea Sun release record ↗
Sea SunRelease, production and taste description from the producer
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