Praise for Pinot Days 2013

Promise not to judge me? This wine girl did not like Pinot Noir when she started working in the wine industry. Yeah, I know; it’s hard for me to believe, too.

During a visit to the Hope & Grace tasting room in Yountville in late 2009, it was the Russian River Valley Pinot Noir that broadened my horizons. Since then, I don’t think I’ve ever met a Pinot from the Russian River Valley (#RRV) that I didn’t like.

So it was no surprise that, this past Saturday, I fell head over heels for the 2010 Bluxome Street Winery #RRV Pinot Noir (which I brought to Salito’s in Sausalito to share with some friends). Purchased from www.fpwm.com for $32/bottle, this silky-smooth wine is dark ruby and opaque in the glass. Sourced from five different vineyards, it delivers classic #RRV cherry cola flavors. The palate is opulent and complex with nuances of vanilla and spice; it finishes with lingering notes of red fruit. That was Saturday night. Yum!

Then on Sunday. . .

Although I was pouring for SojournCellars at the Pinot Days event at Fort Mason in San Francisco, I was able to sneak away and do a bit of tasting. The folks from Bluxome Street were there with the 2011#RRV Pinot as well as single-vineyard Pinots from Yorkville Highlands and Mendocino. I was partial to the #RRV, but all three are super tasty and available direct from the winery (which is located in SF!).

With limited time to taste, I visited a few of my longtime favorites. The selections from J Winery & Vineyards included the 2011 #RRV Estate Grown Pinot Noir (which is great every year) and the 2010 Robert Thomas Vineyard #RRV Pinot Noir (which was new to my taste buds). With deep aromas of cherry and spice, this limited-production wine is dark and delicious with lingering notes of baking cocoa, dark fruit, and dusty earth. But I feel like that brief description barely scratches the surface of what this wine is capable of. It’s one to spend an evening with!

Like Sojourn, Dutton-Goldfield makes many vineyard designate Pinot Noirs; vintage after vintage, they continue to wow me. The 2011 selections from Dutton-Goldfield are fantastic, particularly the new Azaya Vineyard bottling (Marin County). Lean and fruity, this wine would be perfect for lighter summer fare.

I was also impressed with the offerings from Ten Acre Winery (more on that later) and La Fenetre, which included many delightful Pinots from Santa Barbara County. (Click here for tasting notes for the A Côté Pinot Noir from one of my previous blog posts).

If you like Pinot Noir and you’ve never been to Pinot Days, make sure to get on their mailing list and check out the event in SF, SoCal, NYC, or Chicago. Even if you don’t drink Pinot—go. It will show you what you’ve been missing!

The Santa Rita releases from Expression Wines

With a terrific portfolio of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Expression Wines sources fruit from all the best places these varieties are grown, including Sonoma Coast, Willamette Valley, and Santa Barbara County. As a Northern California native, it’s easy to overlook the wines coming out of Southern California. Don’t make that mistake! Released just in time for grilling season, these two wonderful wines are the ultimate accessory to your backyard BBQ's and summertime soirees...

The 2010 Expression 34° Bentrock Vineyard Chardonnay from Santa Rita Hills ($45/bottle) is a pretty golden hue in the glass with a perfume redolent of crème brûlée. Fermented in French oak (10% of which were new) and aged for 14 months in barrel, the palate is complex and creamy with plenty of vanilla and spice. Flavors of baked green apple and lemon curd are balanced by good acid and minerality. Refreshing tropical fruit notes linger on the finish. Only one barrel was made of this tasty Chard (24 cases total)! Pair it with summer salads, pesto pasta, salmon or shrimp.

The 2010 Expression 34° Rita’s Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir from Santa Rita Hills ($65/bottle) is super dark and concentrated. The nose offers deep aromas of black cherry, dark chocolate, and espresso. Rich and powerful in the mouth, crème de cassis, blackberry jam, and black licorice flavors round out the palate. This Pinot has an opulent, juicy texture and a long finish with notes of sweet vanilla and wood spice. Because it is on the bigger side, this wine is a perfect match for grilled meats and BBQ ribs.

The Expression Pinot Noirs caught my attention at the Pinot Days event last summer. Keep an eye out for them if you’re attending Pinot Days on June 30^th this year at Fort Mason in SF. It’s a fantastic event if you’re a Pinot-lover like me!

These bottles were received for review purposes. They have just been released and are available for purchase direct from the Expression website. Order here. Cheers!

2010 Cornerstone Oregon Pinot Noir: awesome pairing potential

The ZAP Festival was fun, but I think my favorite tasting event of the year is Pinot Days. This year, it’s held in San Francisco on June 30th (I've already requested tickets). For this reason and more, summer can’t come soon enough!

At last year’s Pinot Days, I discovered many new wines, some of which I consider favorites to this day. I blogged about quite a few of the stand-outs on June 17th, but one wine in particular that continues to wow me is the Cornerstone Oregon Pinot Noir ($50/bottle; cornerstonecellars.com) sourced from vineyards throughout the Willamette Valley.

The most recent vintage, 2010, is a stunner with bright aromas of red berries, rose petal, cola, and sweet vanilla. Of medium weight and intensity, this wine flourishes in the mouth with notes of red cherry, currant, slight smoke, and dried herbs. Vivacious acidity and dusty tannins provide an intriguing texture and a long savory finish. With integrated oak and balanced fruit flavors, this wine is distinguished and ever so pleasant to drink.

*If you like Willamette Valley Pinot as much as I do, you will also want to check out this wine’s younger sibling, the 2010 Stepping Stone Pinot Noir ($30/bottle).

When I served the 2010 Cornerstone Oregon Pinot Noir at a dinner party two weeks ago, I prepared a simple meal of pork chops, cauliflower puree, and sautéed spinach to enjoy with it. The wine was delicate enough to not overpower the food and the flavors paired seamlessly. Had I poured a Cabernet along side this meal, it would not have worked.

Pinot Noir as a variety has so much food-pairing potential. Many Pinots are versatile enough to sip casually with cheese and crackers and complement many different dishes. Pinot Noir and pork is definitely a pairing I will enjoy again soon, but it’s also worth mentioning that Pinot is great with roasted salmon, turkey, and mushroom risotto.

What do you like pairing with Pinot Noir??

This bottle was received for review purposes from the Cornerstone Cellars. Please visit them in Yountville, California and Gaston, Oregon or online at www.cornerstonecellars.com. Cheers!

 

Oregon Pinot at its finest

Domaine Serene has been one of my favorite Oregon Pinot Noir producers for some time now. I became reacquainted with their delicious wines at Pinot Days last month.


The 2009 Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvée Pinot Noir ($45/bottle) is a beautiful example of elegance and earthiness. Ruby-hued and transparent, this wine smells of cherry blossom and dried herbs. It greets your taste buds with flavors of black cherry and red currant. The mid-palate displays leather and earthy notes. The bright acidity is followed by a dry, long-lasting finish of red fruit.

This wine is a delight. It shows refinement and restraint, and the potential to cellar for many years. Delicious to drink on it own but would pair nicely with pork chops or any dish with mushrooms. 

The winery and sustainably farmed vineyards are located in Yamhill County in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. In addition to Pinot Noir, they produce small quantities of Chardonnay and Syrah. Their wines regularly receive 90-95 point scores from wine publications. I have yet to visit their tasting room, but I've heard many good things about the experience.

As I said above, I have been a fan of Domaine Serene wines for a while now. They are not a new establishment; in fact, the winery is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year.

The first time I had the opportunity to taste one of their wines was about six years ago; at the time, I worked at Wine Spectator Magazine and Harvey Steiman had just finished a tasting of more than 60 Oregon Pinot samples (meaning there were 60 almost-full bottles of Pinot Noir up for grabs). I was drawn to the elegant label of the Domaine Serene. It was--and still is--quite the memorable wine.

I received this bottle of the Yamhill Cuvée for review purposes. You can order it from their website and it's also available at K&L Wine Merchants. Cheers!

Pinot Party at Fort Mason

Yesterday was the 8th Annual Pinot Days Grand Festival at Fort Mason in San Francisco. According to their website, it is the "largest gathering of Pinot Noir producers in the world." With more than 150 producers from California, Oregon, and France, there were many wines to try!

I attended the event with a fellow wine writer and friend, Alana Gentry ("Girl with a Glass", pictured at left). We arrived with no game plan, choosing to approach wineries at random (sometimes it was the label that caught our eye or the winery name or a crowded table that attracted us).

Although there were a few more corporate wineries with large production wines, it seemed like most of the Pinots we tasted were of limited production (a few hundred cases to a couple thousand cases)--and most of them were new to my palate. I can't say I was a fan of every wine I tasted, but after two hours, I had a long list of favorites:

Sequana Wines was a winery I recognized, but I didn't know they made so many vineyard-specific Pinot Noirs. The Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot was super tasty with nice depth and concentration. I also really liked the Dutton Ranch and Russian River Valley Pinots.

Expression Wines was a winery that sounded familiar but I couldn't recall ever tasting their wines previously. They were pouring a trio of Pinot Noirs; one each from Oregon, Sonoma, and Napa. I don't know many wine companies that can offer such a diverse portfolio of wines. Each wine was delicious, full-flavored, and unique!

Woodenhead was another winery that was new to me. Their Russian River Valley Pinot was light and juicy. The second wine they poured us was called "Wet Kiss" and it suited its name--very playful and easy to drink. This winery makes quite a few vineyard designate wines, including Zinfandel and French Colombard.

Cornerstone Cellars was a familiar name to me because of their tasting room in Yountville, but they also produce Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley. This was news to me. We tasted two vintages....both were beautiful wines with elegant aromas. Light-hued in the glass. Distinctly Oregonian. At the time, my mouth was watering for duck confit; it would have been the perfect compliment to these wines.

JCB is a collection of wines inspired by Jean-Charles Boisset's French heritage and his love for California winemaking. I loved the simple black label with gold lettering--très chic! They were pouring a very refreshing Brut Rosé from Burgundy as well as a few Pinot Noirs.

Just when we thought we had had enough, I spotted the sign for Abiouness Wines, which I had heard were lovely but had never tasted. Unknowingly, we saved the best for last. Nicole Abiouness, the winemaker/owner, was happy to tell us about her wines and the distinct vineyard sites from which she sources the grapes. I loved the Hudson Vineyard Pinot; it was concentrated with a rich mouthfeel and dark fruit flavors. Oh so wonderful!


I was glad to see a few familiar wineries whose wines I always enjoy...including Dutton-Goldfield, Domaine Serene, Sojourn Cellars, Failla, and Eric Kent Wine Cellars.

Always held in mid-June at Fort Mason, I strongly recommend you attend Pinot Days next year. What a fun event!