Brunch is, at its best, an act of exhaling. It’s the meal where the morning slows down and opens up: where a table set for friends becomes less about the food itself and more about the permission to linger. For the ultimate brunch, a wine, chosen well, is the thing that makes that lingering feel exactly right.
Bonterra’s Chef Olan Cox knows this intuitively. A culinary voice rooted in the seasons and landscapes of Mendocino County, Olan brings to every brunch table a philosophy shaped by curiosity, generosity, and a deep attunement to what the land is offering right now. His brunch spreads are always family-style—buffets that, as he puts it, “flirt on the classic brunch but take quick turns down the alleyways of my culinary journeys.” The wine is chosen with the same spirit.
We asked Olan to share his thoughts on wine for brunch—which bottles he reaches for, how he thinks about wine pairing, and what brunch means to him when it’s happening at his table. What follows is equal parts practical guidance and an invitation to approach the meal the way he does: with warmth, without rules, and with a very good glass in hand.
Why Wine Belongs at Brunch
Brunch is among the most wine-friendly meals, and that’s largely because of its beautiful contradictions. Sweet dishes—pastries, galettes, fresh fruit—share the table with savory frittatas, herb-roasted proteins, and the quietly perfect architecture of a good eggs Benedict topped with creamy hollandaise. Wine’s range of styles makes it uniquely capable of navigating all of it.
The key is choosing the right wine for brunch feels: light, refreshing, a little celebratory. Wines with high acidity are natural allies to egg dishes, cutting through richness while lifting fresh flavors. A dry white with seafood, a lightly chilled red with smoked duck, a glass of rosé just because it’s a Sunday—all of it belongs.
As Olan frames it: “Brunch is a forgiving approach. No rules, just flavors that mash up to create that brunch theme.” Finding the perfect wine for your brunch menu, in that spirit, is less about getting it right and more about finding what makes the table come alive. In that spirit, the following selections, from our organic winery, are designed to meet the moment.
Chef Olan’s Wines of Choice
When it comes to the best brunch wines, Olan keeps his lineup focused and intentional. His three go-to bottles are Bonterra’s single-vineyard “The Roost” Chardonnay, the Bonterra Pinot Gris and Bonterra Pinot Noir. Each is selected for the same reason: versatility in the face of a meal that refuses to stay in one flavor lane.
The white wine Pinot Gris is the workhorse of Olan’s brunch table—a wine with enough citrus brightness and gentle floral texture to move gracefully from a prawn salad with mirin honey dressing to a pear and walnut galette without missing a beat. “It finds its way alongside almost everything,” he says.
“The Roost” Chardonnay is Olan’s seafood wine, full stop. Its bright minerality—the quality that makes Bonterra’s single vineyard expressions so compelling—makes it a natural companion for fresh oysters, a savory chèvre frittata, or the kind of citrus olive oil cake that feels like it was made for a late-morning table. “Seafood shines with the bright minerality of this wine,” he says simply. “Fresh oysters all day long.”
Pinot Noir comes in when the spread gets a little heartier—smoked chicken, a mushroom and gouda pot pie, or a poached salmon salad with fingerling potatoes and crème fraîche. Served lightly chilled, around 55–58°F, its bright berry notes and earthy undertones are grounding in exactly the way those brunch dishes call for.
At the Table: Chef Olan’s Pairings in Full
Rather than a list, think of Olan’s pairings as a meal unfolding—lighter, fresher flavors giving way to something richer and more grounded as morning stretches toward afternoon.
Pinot Gris: The Fresh, Herb-Forward Start
Olan opens with the Pinot Gris when the early dishes are seasonal and light. A pesto pasta salad with citrus and olive oil dressing is a natural match—the wine’s citrus notes echo the brightness of the dressing while its herbal quality harmonizes with the basil. Grilled zucchini with lemon zest, juice, and good olive oil works the same way: simple, honest, and made better by the wine alongside it.
His prawn salad—sweet corn, shaved red cabbage, peppers, avocado, lettuces, and a peanut mirin honey dressing—is one of those dishes that could easily overwhelm a less confident wine. Bonterra Pinot Gris holds its own: the barest hint of sweetness bridges mirin’s umami richness, while Pinot Gris’ bright acidity keeps the whole dish feeling fresh and vibrant. And then there’s the pairing Olan returns to most often in spring: grilled stone fruit with fresh herbs, burrata, good olive oil, and a little salt. The wine’s own stone fruit notes find a natural echo in the dish, and its brightness keeps the richness of burrata from going too far. It’s the kind of pairing that feels inevitable once you try it. The pear and walnut galette works in the same register—the wine’s kiss of sweet fruit flavor and pear-edged character make it feel like the pairing was planned by the season itself.
Chardonnay: Minerality and the Sea
“The Roost” Chardonnay comes into its own when oysters are on the table. Olan doesn’t overthink this one—“fresh oysters all day long” is essentially his entire argument, and it’s a convincing one. So is Chardonnay dry? Yes, it is. The wine’s precision and suggestion of salinity are a classically perfect counterpart to the brine of a fresh oyster, and the acidity makes each sip feel like a reset.
Beyond seafood, the Chardonnay moves beautifully into savory territory. A frittata with chèvre, spinach, and caramelized shallots finds the wine’s subtle richness answering goat cheese’s creaminess, while refreshing acidity keeps the eggs from feeling heavy. Citrus olive oil cake is Olan’s most unexpected recommendation in this category—and one of his favorites. The wine’s citrus and floral notes echo the cake’s brightness with a lovely, almost effortless symmetry.
Pinot Noir: When the Table Gets Heartier
By the time the smoked chicken or duck arrives, or the pot pie comes out of the oven, Bonterra Pinot Noir has earned its place. Olan serves it slightly chilled—a small gesture that makes a real difference, softening the wine’s structure and making its fruit feel more vivid and refreshing. A strawberry or cherry sauce alongside the duck, he notes, is a beautiful complement: the wine’s own berry notes mirror the sauce while its earthiness anchors the richness of the bird.
His poached salmon salad with eggs, bacon, fingerling potatoes, dill, and crème fraîche is perhaps the most considered pairing of the bunch—a dish with multiple moving parts that the Pinot Noir navigates elegantly. It bridges the salmon’s richness, finds a note of affinity with the smokiness of bacon, and lets the brightness of dill shine without competition. It’s the kind of pairing that reveals itself slowly over the course of a long, unhurried meal.
Springtime on the Ranch
There’s a reason Chef Olan’s brunch philosophy feels so rooted in season and place. When he describes springtime in Mendocino—rolling into Ukiah valley, the buckeyes and madrones pushing out their first leaves, manzanita blossoms and cherries in full bloom, creeks bubbling alongside nesting waterfowl—it’s clear that his cooking and his wine choices are shaped by something deeper than a recipe or a pairing chart.
“Springtime is the time to exhale your winter away and inhale the new season,” he says. “What a reminder—when we are in natural environments, we can retune and recharge our spirits.” The garden project at McNab Ranch is in full swing: new beds being built, native pollinators planted, shade structures taking shape for the long summer ahead.
Brunch, for Olan, is the meal that most naturally reflects this feeling. It’s a gentle entry into a new day and a new season—a table where the food celebrates what’s just come into bloom, and the wine carries the same lightness and optimism. “Brunch is a gentle way to share new recipes, leftovers, and bring new friends together,” he says. “Find out what your guests like to eat.” It’s the simplest possible advice, and somehow, the best.
A Few Practical Notes for the Table
If you’re building a wine and brunch spread at home, the most important thing is to offer a range— because the best wine for brunch is rarely just one bottle. That might mean a sparkling wine or bright white to open, a Pinot Gris or Chardonnay as the main act, and a lightly chilled Pinot Noir for guests who prefer red wine or whose plates have shifted toward heartier territory.
Serve whites at 45–52°F—pull them from the fridge about five minutes before guests arrive to let them open up. The Pinot Noir benefits from 15 minutes in the fridge before serving, which brings it to the ideal 55–58°F range. Pour generously but not heavily; brunch is a long meal, and smaller pours encourage guests to explore different wine options across the lineup rather than committing to a single varietal from the start.
And above all: don’t overthink it. As Olan’s brunch philosophy makes clear, the best table is the one where the food and wine serve the people gathered around it—not the other way around. Whether you choose something sparkling or sweet, the goal is to delight the palate.
The Invitation
Wine for brunch is, at its core, an expression of hospitality. It says: we have time, we have abundance, and we’re glad you’re here. Whether you’re pouring a glass of Pinot Gris alongside an herb-roasted veggie salad or opening a bottle of Chardonnay for the oysters, the gesture is the same.
Explore the Bonterra wine collection to find your own Sunday brunch wines, then use our Wine Finder to locate your brunch wine online at a retailer near you—and set the tone for a gathering worth lingering over this spring.
CITATIONS
Wine Institute. Wine & Food Pairing Guide. https://wineinstitute.org/wine-food-pairing-guide/
Wine Enthusiast. Best Wines for Brunch. 2024. https://www.winemag.com/2024/03/18/best-wines-for-brunch/
Food & Wine. The Best Wines for Brunch, According to Experts. 2023. https://www.foodandwine.com/wine/best-wines-for-brunch
