Pinot

Pinot on the Patio 8.3 x 5.5 Watercolor on Bristol paperAvailable for sale here.SoldHappy Thanksgiving. This watercolor was painted in bits and parts this week - between house guests and food prep - from a snapshot of MMC on the patio, sipping pinot grigio by the pool. Follow the link above to bid on Ebay.

Mrs. Grapeinabottle and I enjoyed a nice bottle of Trinity Oaks Pinot Noir last night while watching the Presidential debate.  This pinot noir lived up to its slogan, “Trinity Oaks… the food wine” as we paired it with a barbeque chicken pizza with red onions and roasted peppers.  Trinity Oaks Pinot Noir was refreshing,  virtually [...]

The health benefits of the occasional glass of red wine have been long suggested, reported and researched, but white wine drinkers have been missing out on any positive health effects from their favourite tipple. Not anymore according to a new study from the US - white wine can be equally as healthy for the heart as [...] Related News:Stress may trigger skin diseasesHow healthy is the next US pr

If last year was Darth Vader - all about extraction, enzymes, neutral oak chips and depth of color - this year is more zen Yoda. I basically said to the yeast: “do or do not, there is no try”. In short, ‘08 is all about the old wine cliche “let the wine make itself”. The wine [...]

Confesso não entender o preciosismo que alguns críticos atribuem a uva Pinot Noir. É certo que esta variedade produz alguns dos mais aristocráticos e nobres vinhos do planeta, os “grandes da Borgonha”. Mas coitada da Pinot, frequentemente malhada quando não atinge o status de “sublime”, sofre com o preconceito por causa da sua cor desbotada. [...]

I was once told that of all wine the Pinot Grigio variety specifically was most ‘preferred’ by women. I will not delve into the specifics regarding my friends rather crude explanation as to why every self respecting single male should have a bottle of ‘The Grigio’ in his fridge, but I would like to know [...]ShareThis

Vintage : 2006 Type : Organic Wine Alcohol : 13.5 % Aging Potential : 4 to 5 years Price : $ 24.99 Purchase :FinestWine.com Description : Mendocino is certainly one of the gifted areas for organic growing. This Pinot Noir is made with grapes from 40 year vines, imparting a depth and breadth to the wine that only age can provide. [...]

Varietal : Pinot Noir Vintage : 2005 Size : 750 ml Region : Willamette, Oregon Country : USA Weight : 5.00 lbs Price : $ 50.00 Purchase :FinestWine.com Description : The Stermer Vineyard Pinot Noir combines enticing aromas with a mélange of pure fruit flavors that include red and black raspberry, black cherry, and blackberry. One of the most balanced and seductive wines [...]

Varietal : Pinot Noir Vintage : 2005 Size : 750 ml Region : Willamette,Oregon Country : USA Weight : 5.00lbs Price : $ 50.00 Purchase :FienstWine.com Description : The Stermer Vineyard Pinot Noir combines enticing aromas with a mélange of pure fruit flavors that include red and black raspberry, black cherry, and blackberry. One of the most balanced and seductive wines from this [...]

From Morgan’s blog: Exciting news! It works out that a tasting of Kick Ranch producers provides the perfect opportunity to pour barrel samples of my wines to the public for the first time. Thus, I would like to warmly invite you to come and taste not just the 2007 Bedrock Heirloom WIne, the 2007 Rebecca’s Vineyard Pinot Noir, [...]

Region: Corsica, France Total Acid: 0.63 g/l Alcohol: 12.5 % Residual Sugar: 0 g/l Cellaring: 3 - 4 years Vintage: 2005 Price: $12.99 Purchase: FinestWine.com Panel’s Notes: Set the table for two then open this beauty and instantly turn any day of the week into a celebration. Delicate, elegant aromas and flavors of black cherry, violet, plum and a kick [...]

Producer: WillaKenzie Estate Winery Wine: Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Vintage: 2005 Country: USA Appellation: Willamette Valley Wine Type: Red Varietal: Pinot Noir Grade: B+ Designation: Must Drink Price: $23 Purchase: FinestWine.com Review: WillaKenzie is located in Oregon’s prime Pinot Noir region of Willamette Valley. Frenchman and ex-Nasa physicist and high tech executive Bernard Lacroute w

Producer: Foris Vineyards Winery Wine: Pinot Noir, Rogue Valley 2005 Vintage: 2005 Country: USA Appellation: Rogue Valley Wine Type: Red Varietal: Pinot Noir Grade: B+ Designation: Excellent Value Price: $15 Purchase: FinestWine.com The Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon doesn’t get the attention that the Willamette Valley garners. But spotlights and hype don’t necessarily help make wine. The Rog

In honor of the 14th Wine Blogging Wednesday, I am reviewing a “New New World” Pinot Noir. My goal was to find something cheap and exotic. I hit the nail on the head with the cheap part (hopefully the cheapest, at $6.49), but Lindemans is far from exotic. After searching several wine stores in this area, this [...]

Producer: McManis Family Vineyards Wine: Pinot Grigio Vintage: 2004 Country: USA Appellation: San Joaquin Valley, California Wine Type: White Primary Varietal: 100% Pinot Grade: B Designation: Cheap and Good Price: $15 Buy This Wine: FinestWine.com McManis Family Vineyards, founded in 1990, is located near the cool confluence of the San Joaquin and Stanislaus Rivers, now known as the River Junctio

It was difficult to make a bad Pinot in California in 2002, a standout vintage year with supple, juicy, and harmonious wines abounding everywhere, in particular on the Sonoma Coast. Guess what you get from a winery like Williams-Selyem, one of California’s elite standard bearers for handcrafted Pinot Noir? If you guessed a great [...]

Key Data Style: Clean and Crisp Whites Grape: Pinot Grigio, Gewurztraminer or Muscat Country: Italy Alcohol: 12.5% Vintage: 2007 Size: 75cl Buy This Wine: FinestWine.com There have been a lot of fisticuffs over 2007 Pinot Grigio. Basically the Italians can’t make as much as we all want to drink. But we have managed to come out on top. While everyone else was playing around w

Your idea of enlightenment? A hot-off-the-press tabloid and a great glass of wine. This year step it up a notch with the International Pinot Noir Celebration (July 25-27), hailed by The Wine Advocate as "unquestionably the finest in the world," is a must attend event. The camp, for wine lovers, is a hedonistic three days of seminars, tastings, tours and one-of-a-kind meals with sixty internationa

Producer: Sterling Vineyards Wine: Vintner’s Collection Pinot Noir Vintage: 2004 Appellation: Central Coast Country: USA Wine Type: Red Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir Grade: B Designation: Good & Cheap Price: $13 Purchase: FinestWine.com Books that make it to the top of your pile hold so much promise. But every now and then the winner starts out real slow, and you find yourself wondering if it’

Producer: McManis Family Vineyards Wine: Pinot Grigio Vintage: 2004 Country: USA Appellation: San Joaquin Valley, California Wine Type: White Primary Varietal: 100% Pinot Grade: B Designation: Cheap and Good Price: $15 Buy This Wine: FinestWine.com McManis Family Vineyards, founded in 1990, is located near the cool confluence of the San Joaquin and Stanislaus Rivers, now known as the River Junctio

Producer: Brancott Vineyards Wine: South Island Pinor Noir Vintage: 2006 Country: New Zealand Appellation: South Island Wine Type: Red Varietal: Pinot Noir Grade: B Designation: Cheap and Good Price: $10 Purchase: FinestWine.com New Zealand is not the first country that comes to mind when thinking of Pinot Noir. First is France followed closely by California and Oregon. But this finicky and high m

I love cheap wine that doesn’t stray too far from the taste of the grape it is made from. Pinot Grigios fulfill this desire, and this year’s Yellow Tail is no exception. Pear, apple, pineapple, lime! A burst of flavor on the tongue! I enjoyed this wine while sitting outside on this cool fall day and [...]

The Marimar Estate 2005 Dona Margarita Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir just got rave reviews from Wine Enthusiast, 96 point, and seeing it in my local wine store for "only" $35.99 I had to bring it with me home. Said and done, excited about this "gem" we tasted it that very evening.It has a dark, clear, intense, garnet color in the glass.On the nose it shows black cherry, dark raspberry, currant,

The aromas are characteristic of the cool Central coast vineyards that yielded the majority of the grapes for this wine. Red berry perfume with a touch of cinnamon spice, wrapped in a blanket of subtle French oak. Breathe it in. This is one of Pinot Noir’s great pleasures. The taste is pure Pinot, too. Mouth-filling [...]

Basic Details Wine Name 2000 Panther Creek Pinot Noir Date Purchased 10/18/2007 Price 20.99 Winery Name Panther Creek Cellars Appellation Willamette Valley Varietal Pinot Noir Vintage 2000 Alcohol Content 13.5% Region Oregon Country United States Sight Wine’s Color Red Brown Depth of Color Deep Clarity of Color Crystal Viscosity

Winery: Roberto Cohen Year: 2002 Type: Red Country: France Grape Variety: Pinot Noir Note: Stored in oak barrels for 12 [...]

Waltzing Bear Winery is an artisan winery where owner and winemaker Brad Lowman focuses on producing small lots of ultra premium wines.The Waltzing Bear 2003 Rancho Ontiveros Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir is made from the first fruit of a new block planted and grown by James Ontiveros in the southern end of Santa Maria Valley, near Bien Nacido Vineyard. Only 74 cases made.The wine has a

Visiting Selland's Market earlier this week, to bring home some of their fabulous carnitas for dinner, I could not resist taking a look at their wines and of course "accidentally" one of them ended up coming home with me...Tonight it was time to try the "errant bottle", a Bohan-Dillon 2006 Hirsch Vineyards Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Made by Hirsch Vineyards from 97% estate fruit for the cost of $29.99 (at Selland's), compared to the Hirsch Vineyards 2006 Sonoma Coast for $55 (made from the same fruit), I hoped for it to be a high quality wine for a bargain price.It has a clear ruby red color in the glass.The nose displays cherry, raspberry, red currant, tobacco leaves, tea, and vanilla notes.The palate showcasing light plum, cherry, sweet tobacco, and heat from the alcohol (14.6%), backed u

Even after 17 consecutive years of consumption growth for red wine in the United States, Americans still prefer whites: Americans are expected to buy 120 million 9-liter cases in 2007. That figure narrowly beats out reds, a projected 118 million cases sold by year-end. Blush and rosé wines lag far behind, at only 31 million [...]

Zesty citrus flavours, mouthwatering freshness and superb with food … nothing beats top flight Pinot Grigio when it comes to all-round refreshment. Campanula offers unrivalled value for money and is a superb introduction to the historic vineyards of Hungary. Pinot Grigio is the nation’s white ace - originally brought here by Italians and tasting just as [...]

Foxen makes some of our favorite Central Coast Pinot Noirs. We opened a bottle of their 2003 Bien Nacido Vineyard - Block Eight Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir a few night ago, and got to enjoy it close to, or at, its peak.The grapes are 100% destemmed prior to enjoying five days of cold soak. They then go through whole berry fermentation before being aged in 65% new French oak for 16 months. Finally it is bottled unfined and unfiltered.The result is a Pinot with a clear, dark, ruby red/purple color in the glass.On the nose; dark raspberry, cherry, vanilla, and earthy components.On the plate the wine shows of raspberry, cherry, and plum with a hint of spice and vanilla. It is a harmonic, balanced, and concentrated, medium to full bodied Pinot, that receives a lift from the fresh acidity and

Not the first time I have had and reviewed a Bonaccorsi Pinot Noir, and although I always think they are stellar, for some reason I am particularly enjoying the 2003 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir tonight. I decided to try all new recipes for dinner and served it with BBQ red wine flank steak, bulgur/roasted beet/mushroom/red onion pilaf, and a red wine vinegar braised carrot and leek dish. It turned out awesome! (both the food and the pairing)The 2003 Santa Maria Valley has a dark, dense, slightly cloudy, garnet color in the glass. To me indicating big, lush, savage, fruit. But I should have known better. Bonaccorsi usually leans toward the more elegant side, although the dark fruit is there. It stays true in this case as well.The nose, sure enough, displays black cherry, raspberry, bluebe

Pinot Noir, in many ways, could be called “the red wine of lovers”. It is aromatic and extremely appealing [...]

Paul Hobbs 2002 Hyde Vineyard Carneros Pinot Noir has a dark dense garnet color in the glass.The nose shows vibrant dark raspberry, cherry, and vanilla.The first thing that hits you on the palate is ripe, deep, blackberry, supported by cherry, spice, and a nice vanilla/oak component. The acidity is still going strong and the tannins are smooth and well integrated. The balanced medium to long finish has beautiful, elegant, dark fruit and berries, with a trace of pencil lead at the very end.I bought this wine in a local wine store, Capitol Cellars, about 3 years ago for $60. After some research at the Internet I come to the conclusion that this wine is hard to get a hold of. I could not find a single store/website that carries it.It really drinks beautifully at this point and if you can get

Vineyard: Barkan Wine: Pinot Noir 2000 Type: Dry Red This is a beautiful full-bodied wine. The taste of this [...]

Producer: Schiechtl Wine: Pinot Blanc TBA Vintage: 2001 Country: Austria Appellation: Neusiedlersee Wine Type: Dessert Varietal: Pinot Blanc Grade: A- Designation: Excellent Value Price: $20 Purchase: FinestWine.com Fantastic value! Neusiedlersee (noy-zeed-lur-zay) is located in eastern Austria, home for the country’s best sweet wines. TBA, short for Trockenbeerenauslese, literally means dry selected berries and are hand-selected grapes shriveled and dried by botrytis (noble rot) producing what many oenophiles [...]

Producer: Greg Norman Estates Wine: Sparkling Vintage: NV Appellation: Southeast Australia Country: Australia Wine Type: Sparkling Varietal: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Grade: A- Designation: Good and Cheap Price: $13 Point One: Trying to find a impressively high quality/price ratio sparkling wine is like finding a needle in a haystack, well, maybe not that difficult but you get the point. I figure the right man for [...]

Producer: Capiaux Wine: “Swink” Pinot Noir Rose Vintage: 2003 Country: USA Appellation: California Wine Type: Rose Primary Varietal: Pinot Noir Grade: B+ Designation: Good and Cheap Price: $12 Drink Swink? Well, you should, cuz it’s delish! Now, don’t second-guess yourself with this Pinot. Put it in the fridge! What? Yes. Put it in the fridge. Trust me. After chilling, pour a glass, observe. Ruby. Smell. [...]

The opening line in Steve Heimoff’s profile of Greg La Follette in New Classic Winemakers of California reads: “It has been said of Greg La Follette that he could bring a church to tears about Pinot Noir.” In the clip below you can get a bit of a feel for how he earned that reputation. In [...]

Strolling through Winecask Wine Store in Santa Barbara we saw a bottle of the Stone Corral Vineyard 2005 Edna Valley Pinot Noir produced by Talley Vineyards. We have enjoyed several vintages of their Rincon Vineyard and Rosemary Vineyard Pinot Noir, and having heard about the newer Stone Corral Vineyard, but never tasted it, we just had to give it a try. At $55 a bottle we saved it for enjoyment with a Saturday night dinner.This wine has a clear, dark garnet color in the glass.The nose shows floral notes, raspberry, and subtle round oak.The palate displaying raspberry, restrained cherry, spice and notes of green tea. The fruit persistant and showing throughout the whole palate. Relatively high acidity and tight tannins with a “green” finish.We really liked this complex, still refined p

I picked up a bottle of Nagy2 2005 Garey Ranch Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir at El Rancho Market in Solvang when I was in Santa Ynez Valley a couple of weeks ago. I was on the hunt for something new to try and this bottle came highly recommended by the “wine guy” that helped me in the store. El Rancho has as lot of wine from local wineries that can be hard to find in other grocery stores/wine shops. This bottle was no exception. The only other place I could find it online was at WanderingDogWinebar.com, located in Solvang, for $32.The color in the glass; a dark, dense garnet color.On the nose smoky oak, dark raspberry, blackberry and vanilla.The palate showing dark cherry, dark raspberry, blackberry and a hint of pencil lead at the very finish.This is initially a very mouth full and fr

Quando resolvi degustar e comentar sobre esses dois pinots do Novo Mundo sabia que tinha uma tarefa árdua pela frente. Sim, principalmente se a avaliação a que me refiro for positiva. O problema todo está enraizado num velho preconceito. Pinot Noir de qualidade é na Borgonha, o resto é história! Ao me deliciar com esses dois vinhos [...]

Last night we opened and old favorite of a new vintage, the Walter Hansel 2005 South Slope Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. The apperance in the glass; a light, clear, garnet red color.The nose showing raspberry, red cherry, slight hint of strawberry, herbal tea, and touch of basil at the end.The palate tasting of fresh raspberry, cherry, earth, and pencil shavings at the very finish. This pinot has great acidity and young but relatively soft tannins.A beautiful elegant style Pinot Noir with bright red fruit and good structure. We really enjoyed it , as we have earlier vintages of this wine, and at $ 33.99 I dare to say that it is good value for the buck at this level of quality.Find it at Wine-Searcher.com from $33.99.Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top

Melville 2006 Estate Verna's Vineyard Pinot Noir is made from 100% Melville fruit from their Los Alamos Estate. Aged in 20% new French oak.The wine has a ruby red color in the glass with slight cloudiness.The nose shows ripe lush raspberry, strawberry, sweet red cherry, sweet floral, and a hint of baked rhubarb.The palate displays raspberry, cherry, and red fruit with spice. Soft and round on the palate with young tannins matching the fruit, good acidity and a long savory finish.The wine is medium bodied, fruity, and was really nice with salmon, or great just to sip on it's own.Find this wine at Wine-Searcher.com from $19.99, a great price for this very enjoyable wine.Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top!

Lorca Wines is located in Rutherford, Napa Valley, and produces Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc with grapes from Monterey County, Pinot Noir form French-clone vines of Gary Pisoni and Gary Francione of Santa Lucia Highlands, and an old vine Petite Syrah from Napa Valley.The Lorca 2001 Gary's Vineyard Monterey County Pinot Noir has a dark ruby red color in the glass with a hint of purple. The nose is pretty intense and complex with dark cherry, raspberry, dried herbs, earth with a hint of smoke, vanilla, and a trace of liquorice.The palate is less intense with more dusty earth accenting the black cherry and dark raspberry, all with a touch of spice. The tannins are somewhat smooth but still has a "wood" quality to them. We are not talking splinters in the mouth but still a notable amount. Modera

Saturday evening was a busy one in my wine world. Not only was it the last Saturday of February and therefore this year’s Open That Bottle Night - the ninth annual - but it was also the night my friend Vindu brought me a case of Juice Crew Red. Vindu wasn’t due to arrive until much [...]

Preliminary crush data for 2007 were released on Feb 10th. And there was much rejoicing. Some of the data are pretty interesting. I’ve highlighted a couple bits below. This first graph (created in the wonderful Apple spreadsheet app, Numbers) shows the highest price per ton paid for each grape variety in California Sonoma County. Considering the [...]

We went to check out the newly opened Total Wine and More (an all beverage super maket) in Roseville last Sunday, and after spending more than 40 minutes walking through the seemingly endless ailes of wine and other alcoholic beverages, we left with three bottles of wine.We opened the first one, the Pessagno 2005 Lucia Highlands Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands, Pinot Noir, a couple of nights ago for a glass of wine before dinner. It showed a dark garnet color in the glass. The nose had red ripe berries and fruit with massive cherry, red currant, light strawberry, and dried herbs/grass. On the palate the cherry dominated, with blueberry and ripe currant backing it up with some smokey and grassy notes. This wine has a round mouthfeel with a spicy, hot quality to the finish. Good acidity and

Today I am starting of with a fun little trivia: The name of the winery, Taz, is short for Tasmanian devil, which is winegrower Robert "Taz" Steinhaur's nickname.The grapes for the Taz 2005 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir comes from Northern Canyon Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley, and Fiddlestix Vineyard in Santa Rita Hills. 1/4 of the wine was aged in new oak and the rest in neutral barrels.This wine shows a clear, bright, ruby red color in the glass.On the nose red berries, red currant, a hint of blueberries, vanilla and some floral notes come through.When tasting the wine darker berries emerges with dark cherry, ripe raspberry and spice. The acidity is good and tannins, although slightly light and tart, are also there in sufficient amount.This wine is relatively light and lacking a littl

Only 312 cases was made of the Fiddlehead Cellars 2003 Lollapalooza Santa Rita Hills Fiddlestix Pinot Noir.Lollapalooza is an old English word for "the best of its kind".A clear, dark, ruby color, with a touch of purple, meets you in the glass.The nose shows dark cherry, raspberry, spice, and from 15 months in French oak, vanilla and oak.The palate has similar character with dark cherry, ripe red currant, raspberry, nice, light spice, and brandied cherries at the very finish. Great acidity and well integrated, silky tannins, with a firm touch at the finish makes this wine a winner.We had this wine about a year ago in a restaurant and picked up a bottle to enjoy it again at home at a later time. It is as good as I remembered it to be and wish I had picked up some more... Great balance betw

The Marshall Family Wines 2006 Barry's Blend California Pinot Noir is made from grapes from Russian River Valley and Mendocino, and was aged in French oak prior to bottling.The color in the glass is dark ruby red and slightly cloudy. The nose shows dusty berries of cherry and raspberry, earth, and floral notes. On the palate medium to full bodied, with a meaty quality, cherry, dark raspberry, earthiness, and spice. Good acidity and young, green tannins on the relatively long finish. This Pinot Noir can be found at Wine-Searcher.com from $19.95 or at the winery's website for $25. This pinot has a slightly different style than I prefer. The more fruit forward tend to be my favorites but this was certainly not a bad bottle at all. For $20 I would say it's a good value, although I would most l

Last night we opened a bottle with dinner that I had very high expectations of. I have had several vintages of the Pisoni Vineyards and Winery Estate Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir before, and they have always been great. I assumed and hoped that the 2004 wouldn't let me down either.The color in the glass is a vivid deep garnet. The nose exudes black cherry, dark raspberry, notes of blackberry, sweet violet, and a touch of tobacco (?).On the palate big, broad fruit and berries with ripe cherry, dark raspberry, vanilla, an earthy touch, and slight tart fruit at the finish. The acidity is plentiful and the tannins integrated with a young edge to them. This wine has a great backbone and complexity, and I wish I had another bottle to open up in a year or two to see how it develops.As you und

We ordered half a case of the August West 2005 Rosella's Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir after a restaurant visit this summer and having a bottle with dinner. We are now down to our last bottle and I thought I better review it before it is all gone!It has a beautiful dark, clear, ruby red color in the glass. The lush nose reveals raspberry, ripe cherry, sweet vanilla, and notes of herbs. The palate follows with black raspberry, cherry and spice. The fruit carries nicely all the way through the long finish, with a hint of red liquorice at the very end. The acidity is sufficient, and the tannins are well integrated and matches the ripe fruit nicely. Medium to full bodied, this wine is sure to not disappoint. We have not been as you can see, with only one out of six bottles remaining, although I planned to cellar a few... Oh well, very enjoyable right now.Find it at WineZap.com from $45.Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top!

This wine is made by winemaker Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat. His only bottling from Russian River Valley. 800 cases produced.It shows a medium dark ruby color in the glass with medium dark berries, floral perfume, tea notes, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla oak on the nose. The palate shows young red fruit/berries, tart red currant, earthy spice, and a hint of black liquorice (?) and minerals at the very finish.This medium bodied wine has good acidity but slightly harsh, still green tannins that shows on the the full length of the palate. The nose unfortunately promises more fruit than the palate carries.Nice effort but, to me, not worth the $35 I paid for it. At $20 I could have seen it as a good value. The tannins and the tartness of the fruit did not quite fit my palate. It might however be the perfect match for someone else... I would love to hear your opinion if you have had it, and agree or disagree.If you are interested in giving it a try it can be found at Winerz.com for $28.80.V

Hahn Estates is located inland from Monterey on a hillside looking down to the Salinas Valley. It's beautiful country that produces some very nice wines. We found ourselves at the winery late in the day recently and enjoyed the great view with a few of their wines.Hahn Estates 2005 Pinot Noir: This Central Coast winery believes so strongly in its pinot noir that it has ripped out 400 acres of cabernet sauvignon to expand its pinot plantings. This is a lush pinot noir with nice deep cherry notes. A great value for a California red.Hahn Estates 2005 Chardonnay: A hint of peach in the nose, with a nice citrus and apricot flavor profile.Smith & Hook 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon: Named for the ranches that make up the vineyard, this red has good tannins and dark purple fruit flavors.

Wine geeks rejoice! There’s been an explosion of articles, bulletin board debates and blog posts lately about winemaking philosophy, and pinot winemaking philosophy in particular. I find it fascinating to read about how other folks go about producing their wines, but I find it even more interesting to hear them talk about why they make their wine the way they did. Since I already outlined my decisions this harvest, I thought it would be interesting to point you towards some other folks who are openly discussing their methods, and their madness, for pinot. Probably one of the best threads I’ve read on eBob (the Robert Parker bulletin boards) in the past few years is, as I type, running its course. Various western Pinot producers are discussing their winemaking philosophies, and are being pretty open about how they make their wine. Which is just fantastic in my opinion, and I’m certain Tim Patterson would approve based on his recent article calling for transparency in

In 1918 immigrant brother, Phillip and John Bargetto, from Castelnouvo Don Bosco in Piedmont, Italy, purchased the land in the Santa Cruz Mountains where Bargotto Winery was founded. During the prohibition (1919-1933) they made wine for family and friends, and in 1933 they started to sell it to the public. Two generations later the winery is still in the family...The Bargetto 2005 Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir has a clear, ruby red color in the glass. The nose is dominated by cherry, dark raspberry and perfume aromas. It is vivid, but with a light touch to it, on the palate with bing cherry, plum, raspberry and a fruity finish with pencil lead at the very end. The oak is present but far from overwhelming, the acidity is plentiful and the tannins are slightly "tart" but still silky.I found this wine at BevMo on sale for $19.99 (regular price $25.99). If you can't find it there check out MissionLiqour.com wher you can find it from $19.98.Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10

I am finally back after having had family in town for the two last weeks with a lot of traveling (and no blogging). Thank you for being patient...Tonight we opened the ZD 2005 Carneros Pinot Noir with dinner. It is made from fruit sourced from two vineyards in Carneros. After crush it was fermented in small open top fermenters with hand punchdowns every six hours, then aged for 10 months in French Oak barrels.This wine shows a dark ruby red, clear color in the glass. The nose is lush but still elegant with ripe red cherry, rose, vanilla and a slight hint of thyme. In the mouth it expresses red cherry, dark raspberry, dust and smokey oak. The tannins are soft in this medium bodied wine with a moderate finish, that could use a little bit more punch.At first I was slightly disappointed at the very restrained fruit but as I let it open up about 30 min the more lush, ripe berries emerged and made this elegant wine quite enjoyable. After an additional 30 min it was even more fruit forward an

Pinot Brasserie offers the warm, bustling ambiance of an urban Parisian brasserie. Celebrity chef Joachim Splichal traveled to France to find accessories and antiques that provide the perfect backdrop for his signature California-French cuisine paired with an award-winning wine list. For me, Pinot was unimpressive, costly, slow, and not very tasty. The worst part of the experience was the slow

Saturday night and we are revisiting an old friend of ours, the Bonaccorsi 2003 Fiddlestix Vineyard Pinot Noir from Santa Rita Hills. I had this bottle for the first time in Dec-06 in Las Vegas (after which I had to get some for home), could not wait and opened one in January this year. Time for a new taste tonight, and then there is only one bottle left in my stack for future enjoyment.The color in the glass is a dark ruby red with a slight purple shade. The nose is still bursting of bright fruit and berries, with dark cherries, dark raspberry, plum and for the first time I am noticing an herbaceous note. On the palate the dark cherry rules again with dark raspberry, and oak notes. The acidity is mouth watering and the tannins are well integrated and have mellowed down a bit from last time I had this wine, at that point I remember them being firm with an edge. The edge is gone...Hard to get a hold of I found just a fews site online where you can order it, Wine-Searcher.com for $54.99.

I thought that since I shared my recipe for this year’s crush I’d go ahead and outline the protocols other producers have used in the past. You know, for comparison’s sake. The following are general outlines for crafting pinot and will be influenced immensely by the quality of the grapes in a given year. Besides being a useful practical guide, I think it’s fascinating to see how the craft has grown and progressed through the years. And since they’ve been at this thing for just a little while longer than we have it’s only natural that this list is weighted heavily toward French vintners. Note: Much of the producer specific information presented here is culled and re-purposed from Ben Rotter’s excellent article “Techniques for Pinot Noir”. The article can be found here. The Traditional Burgundian Approach (note: highly generalized) Hand harvested Typically 100% de-stemming Wild yeast ferment Approximately 10 day fermentation F

This is a favorite of mine year after year along with the on-step-up Lucia, Gary's Vineyard. During my Santa Barbara trip last week I found a 375 ml bottle in a local grocery store and was very excited to find a good half bottle for once...The Lucia 2005 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir is primarily made from grapes from Pisoni Vineyards and Gary's Vineyard. Wine maker Jeff Pisoni uses classic Burgundian wine making methods such as fruit sorting, gravity feeding, hand punch downs during fermentation, and ageing in French oak. 850 cases made.In the glass it has a clear, dark ruby red color. The nose displays loads of ripe raspberry, red cherry, lingonberry, floral, and sweet tobacco at the end. Tasting it, the raspberry pops in your mouth again, with red currant, hint of fresh herbs, oak, and soft, ripe tannins. The good acidity dominates the finish with some cherry.This wine is ripe and fruity but still clean and towards the more elegant style. After my first sip of this wine, that

I promised a cool annoucement and today I’m delivering. But first I’m going to subject you to our tale of licensing woe. If you’d rather skip ahead to the goodies, just skim down to the heading “Follow the Evolution of a Pinot Noir” below. Our Tale of Licensing Woe I mentioned earlier that we had some licensing issues this year, and that was quite the understatement. Early this year (March to be exact) I contacted a very reputable compliance consulting firm and hired them to shepherd Capozzi LLC through the maze of federal, state and local regulations that you must traverse to make and sell wine commercially. They had many years in business and after talking with the owner I felt they were a perfect choice to help us get the nasty process of getting an AP (a license that allows you to legally share space in a community winery as if it were your own) out of the way. Since we weren’t yet ready to break ground on the winery itself, I decided to sign on

If you’re just joining us, part 1 in this series is here and you can find part 2 here. Also congrats to my sister Sara and new brother-in-law Ryan Bradley who got hitched last Saturday at Viansa winery! Hope you’re enjoying Rome guys! Ahh, fermentation. The time when the real winemakers get to do their work. Choosing a yeast has become quite a process. Local labs and supply houses have pages and pages of yeast strains to pick from, each promising to provide some combination of fruity esters, improved mouthfeel or color extraction. Trial and error is really the only way to know for sure which strains will work best with your particular fruit, and without that experience it can be a bit of a shot in the dark. Initially I was thinking of going with a natural ferment using indigenous yeast (yeast that hitchhikes in from the vineyard on the skins of the berries). However after talking with Morgan at Bedrock, who went au natural with his ferment of our fruit, I decided against it

Part 1 of this year’s pinot story is here. After the must had soaked and temps started to rise, I went about fixing the sugar and pH problems I was facing. As I mentioned in the last post, 27.5 Brix is remarkably high. This is especially true for fruit picked on September 1st. Clearly something needed to be done, otherwise I would be looking down the barrel of a pinot with alcohol approaching 16% alcohol. Besides being waaay too hot, there aren’t many pinot friendly yeast strains that can survive ethanol levels of over 15% to ferment a must that sweet to dryness. So, how did I go about solving these dire problems? The gritty details follow. Jesus Units To The Rescue! Currently there are two ways that winemakers address a high sugar situation: 1) Re-hydrate by adding back water that was lost due to the high temps just before harvest or 2) Reverse Osmosis (RO) removal of alcohol after fermentation. Given the choice between the two options above, for me the decision was

I’ve gotten some comments lately that pinotblogger has been dealing too much in marketing and bloggy matters, and not enough with the business of wine making or how our winery has been progressing. I have quite a bit to say about the difficulties we’ve been facing lately (mainly with licensing issues) and I’ll have an announcement soon that should make the folks who’ve been kind enough to join our samples list and who sent in shirt photos happy. Today though I’m going to get my hands dirty and share this year’s pinot recipe. The High Extraction, Moderate Alcohol Style First a little explanation on the choice of style. Since I was sporting my “Parker’s Bitch” shirt for this year’s crush I decided to try my hand with the California high-extraction recipe, but with a twist. I didn’t want the black fruit or the high alcohol typical of the CA style. My goal was to pick at physiological ripeness but before things got too blac

The Duck Pond 2005 Oregon Pinot Noir is made from grapes grown in the Willamette Valley, with 91% from the south Salem Hills and 9% from the Red Hills. The soil in these vineyards are primarily "Jory" soil, a week volcanic ash and rock type that promotes a low-yielding crop, giving the wine special characteristics.It shows a clear ruby/purple color in the glass. The nose offers soft fruit and berries with red cherry, raspberry, strawberry, and obvious smokey tobacco aromas.In your mouth it continues on the more elegant fruit notes with red cherry, raspberry, and here the tobacco and especially the smoke stands out and lingers, way past the fruit is gone, on the palate. It is definitely of the more elegant style with lighter red fruit and berries. I wish this medium bodied wine was a little bit more complex on fruit/berries, which are on the thin side, to stand up better to the smokey aspect of it.Find this wine at Wine-Searcher.com from $17.49.Vote for my blog here and help me stay in

This is Pahlmeyer's second label Jayson's first vintage of Pinot Noir. They also made a first vintage of Pinot Noir that is to be released in October this year under the Pahlmeyer label.The Jayson Wayfarer Vineyard Sonoma Coast 2005 Pinot Noir has a dark, ruby red color in the glass and is slightly cloudy. On the nose it shows cherry, dark raspberry, blackberry and notes of fresh cut hay. This Pinot is huge on the palate with ripe dark raspberry, notes of cherry, tobacco and coffee. Big and chewy, this medium to full bodied Pinot has good acidity and rather big tannins, with a slightly elegant note to them. 14.9% alcohol. This was a pricey Pinot Noir at $64.95 per bottle. Loving their Proprietary Red I just had to try their Pinot to see if it had the same high quality. I would definitely not hesitate to have this wine again but I would definitely put it away for a couple of years as it is very young at this point and will drink even better in the years to come with the big fruit give

A couple of nights ago we popped a bottle of the Foley 2005 Sta. Rita Hills Rancho Santa Rosa Pinot Noir. We used to drink a lot of Foley and Lincourt (same owner and wine maker) Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but for some reason it has been a while since last time we had one. Opening a bottle tonight I immediately, at the first whiff and first sip, recognized the style, and it felt like seeing an old friend...This wine was fermented in open top fermentation tanks and had its cap punched down three times per day, then aged in 30% new and 70% used French oak for 12 months in small barrels.It shows a dark garnet color in the glass. The nose is vibrant with red and black cherry, dark raspberry, black tea, and earth. On the palate, red and black cherry, blackberry, good acidity, and firm but integrated tannins. Rich, fruity, and medium to full bodied. Not bad at all... I really enjoyed this wine. You can taste and feel that maritime influence in this wine. It is fruity and voluptous but on the

We picked up a new Pinot Noir today at Selland's Market while getting some of their unbelievable carnitas to bring home for dinner. Selland's has a small but extremely well chosen selection of wine, thanks to Josh, and there is always a new small production winery among all the other options every time you go there. Today's choice for us was the A.P. Vin 2004 Clos Pepe Vineyard Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir. Having had wine from several producers from this vineyard before I was expecting a wine that I would enjoy. This wine was aged in French oak for 11 months and was bottled unfined and unfiltered. Only 50 cases made. In the glass a dense, slightly cloudy, dark garnet color. The nose promise me great things to come with black raspberry, blackberry, some floral, thyme, and wet stone. I take my first sip and can't help but smile. This is gooood..... Dark berries dominate the palate again with some dark cherry and light notes of earthiness. The oak is there but does not stand out, just

MWC stands for Margerum Wine Company and is a small winery run and owned by Dough Margerum. Margerum wines are produced in a 240 sq ft space behind Brander Vineyards facility in Los Olivos. All wines are hand crafted by Dough and he strives for individuality and to make wine he himself wants to drink.The 2006 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir shows a vivid, clear, ruby red color in the glass. On the nose slightly perfumey with raspberry, red cherry, earth, vanilla and a hint of herbs. In the mouth this wine shows bright, soft, red fruit/berries with earthy notes. This is not a power house pinot but more elegant and velvety with good acidity, and moderately firm, young tannins. For $24.95 at our local wine shop, Capitol Cellars, I honestly can say that this is a really good wine for the price.Looking online I can only find this wine on one site, Los Olivos Wine Merchant (a great wine shop in the center of Santa Ynez wine country with the perfect lunch cafe), for $28. Find it and try it...

The Sonoma Coast Vineyards 2004 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is composed of grapes from seven vineyards, Abbott, Baranoff, Clay, Koos, Leepin, Nunes and Zephyr Vineyards. It spent 20 months in oak barrels, 50% being new French Oak.This was my first time having a wine from this winery and it was thanks to my husband who brought it home after finding it at BevMo and thought it looked like it was worth a try. BevMo's price was $54 for this bottle and the only other place I can find it online to purchase is at the winery's website for $60.On to the actual tasting. A big, dark ruby red color greats me in the glass just before discovering dark cherry, dark raspberry, blueberry and an earthy quality with some grass/herb nuances, on the nose. I am very excited at this point can't wait to take a sip. Again the black cherry is there with some involvement of red cherry as well. Dark berries makes an impact as well with some oak notes at the end. The acidity is definitley there in the right amounts

By Levi Reiss If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the Languedoc-Roussillon region of south central France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local red Pinot Noir. Among the eleven wine-growing regions of France Languedoc-Roussillon ranks number four in total vineyard acreage. This area, which includes the Midi was traditionally known for generating immense amounts of rather dubious table wine called vin ordinaire. Recently, in part because of Australian winemakers, the region has started to produce a lot of fine wine. A few weeks ago a salesman offering free samples greeted me at my nearby wine store. While I hadn’t planned to review yet another Languedoc-Roussillon wine so soon after the two others, I was particularly intrigued by this wine’s classification and its grape variety. The wine bottle proudly displayed a sticker proclaiming its Gold ranking in a natio

I Love French Wine and Food - An Alsace Pinot Blanc If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the Alsace region of northeastern France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local white Pinot Blanc wine. Alsace [...]

I picked up a bottle of Pinot Noir earlier this year on one of my trips to Testarossa in Los Gatos. While I tend to like most of their Pinot, this particular bottle stood out to me because I knew Thomas Fogarty was also using grapes from the Schultze Family Vineyard. It’s always so interesting to me to compare wines from different vintners using the same grapes, seeing how skill coincides with the raw materials. The 2004 Testarossa Schultze Family Pinot Noir showed strawberry, mushroom, and white pepper on the nose, moving into rich earth, dried cherry, and more strawberry on the palate. Very nice overall and even better with the food. This particular meal was one I tweaked to fit the wine. Since I had scallops, I needed some flavors in the food with a little more earthiness. Therefore, I made a version of a recipe in my Rachael Ray cookbook– 365: No Repeats. Instead of finishing with chopped bacon and raw scallions, I roasted both whole in the oven, then wrapped them

I thought we would try a, to us, new winery tonight. The 2004 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir from Kenneth Volk Vineyards seemed like a good candidate on the shelf in the grocery store.This wine is a blend from several vineyards from Santa Maria Valley and Santa Rita Hills. It was aged in 60% new, 20% one year old, and 20% three to four year old French oak using barrels from several different coopers.A clear dark ruby color with a touch of purple reflects in the glass. On the nose, red cherry, raspberry, blueberry, light strawberry and traces of oak. Moving to the palate blackberry and cherry are the main components, with raspberry and oak in the background. This Pinot has good acidity and firm tannins, that together with the pronounced fruit makes for a great balanced wine with very decent complexity and a medium body.I got this at my local "natural food" market for $ 23.99 and I think that was a good price for this very nice wine. Finding it online for only $17.99 at Wine-Searcher.com

By Levi Reiss If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the Alsace region of northeastern France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local white Pinot Blanc wine. When it comes to the total acreage devoted to French vineyards, Alsace ranks tenth out of the eleven winemaking regions. Don’t be fooled by the numbers; Alsace is a major producer of quality French wine. Its wine growing area is only about 60 miles (100 kilometers) long, and at the most a mere 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wide nestled between the Vosges Mountains to the east and the Rhine River and Germany to the west. But this relatively tiny area is known for distinctive wines. Their wine bottles are also distinctive; tall and thin with labels that feature the grape variety, not the usual practice in France. Chaptalization (adding sugar to the fermenting grape mixture) is allowed for many wine categories. About 95% o

I Love French Wine and Food - An Alsace Pinot Gris If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the northeastern French region of Alsace. You may unearth a bargain wine, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled educational tour in which we review a local white Pinot Gris wine. Among [...]

The Mossback 2005 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is made from grapes from the Cameron and Balletto Vineyards and consists of 95% Pinot Noir and 5% Syrah.It has a beautiful, clear, garnet color in the glass, and displays big perfume on the nose upfront. With it black cherry, dark raspberry, pronounced oak with a slightly smokey quality, earth, and a hint of thyme shows nicely. Swirling it in my mouth the big, soft black cherry and dark raspberry sticks out. In the back ground again the oak and a medium spicy quality. This is a overly smooth, soft Pinot Noir with moderate plus acidity and plush tannins with a slight edge. The finish has a slightly spicy bite at the end mingling with oak and soft, lingering fruit.Overall this does not really have the true characteristics to a Pinot Noir, to me, although it is a nice, decent wine... It is more like a Syrah without the spiciness and bite a Syrah brings...I found this at my local grocery store for $24.99, which I realize was a good deal whe

Yeah... Tonight we popped open a bottle of Pinot Noir from one of my favorite wineries in Santa Ynez Valley, Foxen. I only purchased 2 bottles to start with and the first one we consumed back in December of 2004, and we were semi impressed and decided that it seemed like it would improve with age. Tonight it was time for bottle number 2, and what an improvement it was!The Foxen 2002 Sea Smoke Vineyard Blocks Q & U - Clones 667 & 115 Pinot Noir was aged in 70% new French Oak for 16 months prior to bottling, unfined and unfiltered. 230 cases made.It has a beautiful dark red/purple color in the glass. On the nose a complex array of amazing red and black cherry with blackberry, raspberry, and a touch of tobacco hits you. Taking your first whiff and then tasting it the wine express red cherry, dark raspberry and nice touch of spice on the palate. The acidity is plentiful and the tannins are soft with that nice edge to it to make sure you notice it's presence. For being aged in 70% new

By Levi Reiss I Love German Wine And Food - A Baden Pinot Noir If you are looking for fine German wine and food, consider the Baden region of southeastern Germany. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local Pinot Noir. The Baden region is the southernmost wine-growing region in Germany. Most of its many vineyards are found in a long, narrow strip between the Black Forest and the Rhine River.Across this river lies the French wine region of Alsace. While about 60% of the wine production is white, by far themost important Baden grape variety is the red Pinot Noir. White varieties include the German-bred Mueller Thurgau, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Riesling. Baden ranks third in Germany for both vineyard acreage and total wineproduction. Slightly over one third of its wine productionis QbA wine, the remainder is the higher quality QmP wine. Baden produces no table wine. If you’re going to be in B

Presentación Viña William Fevre Chile: Siempre un desafío, este Pinot Noir es el único elaborado en el Maipo Alto, y sorprende por su delicadeza y elegancia. Vinificado con un proceso de Pigeaje manual, para una óptima extracción de aromas y color, en él se puede descubrir la sorprendente gracia de frambuesas, frutillas y cerezas, danzando juntas [...]

Presentación Viña William Fevre Chile: Siempre un desafío, este Pinot Noir es el único elaborado en el Maipo Alto, y sorprende por su delicadeza y elegancia. Vinificado con un proceso de Pigeaje manual, para una óptima extracción de aromas y color, en él se puede descubrir la sorprendente gracia de frambuesas, frutillas y cerezas, danzando juntas [...]

Bonaccorsi makes some fantastic Pinot Noirs from the central coast. I've had quite a few of them before and also reviewed a couple for them. Read my four earlier reviews here. This is however my first bottle from the Sanford and Benedict Vineyard and I was anxious to see how it compared to the other vineyard designated Pinots.The Bonaccorsi 2004 Sanford and Benedict Pinot Noir shows a very dark, ruby red, medium dense, color in the glass. On the nose big, black cherry, blackberry, earthiness and a hint of vanilla, greets me. Moving on to tasting it dark raspberry, round, dark plum, and black cherry initially leaves a big impression. As it moves toward the finish, silky tannins and juicy acidity steps in, along side the fruit and berries, and gives this medium to full bodied wine a long beautiful finish, with pencil lead leaving you a final impression at the very end.This wine is definitely up there with both the Melville, and the Fiddlestix Vineyards that Bonaccorsi also makes (among

The grapes for this wine comes from Lafond Vineyard and Arita Hills Vineyard, located in Santa Rita Hills. It was aged in French and Hungarian oak, 18% new oak. The dark ruby red color with a hint of purple, has a touch of cloudiness in the glass. It expresses a meaty, toasty nose with red cherry and raspberry. On the palate the red cherry returns with black raspberry, cranberry, and a hint of oak. This wine is a little bit thin on the palate, and is made in a slightly elegant style, with decent acidity and medium firm tannins. The finish is medium long with fruit and berries, and the lingering impact of the tannins.Considering the price this is a pretty ok bottle, but nothing outstanding. I paid $19 at sale at my local grocery store. You can find it at Wine-Searcher.com from $15.99, and the winery sells it at its web site for $22. Worth a try but do not expect anything extra ordinary.Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog TopI am now in top 11!

Not my first Fess Parker Pinot Noir and certainly not the last. We got this bottle in our wine club shipment from Fess Parker a while back and tonight it was time to try it with a Chicken Pasta Primavera. With a clear, deep, garnet color this wine shows black cherry, plum, raspberry, floral notes, and oak, on the nose. In the mouth flavors of black cherry, plum and a nice spiciness emerges. This is supported by good amount of acidity and silky tannins with a firm edge. For the price range we are talking about, $20-25, this is a pretty decent pinot noir. I would not hesitate to get this bottle again and if you have a chance pick it up and give it a try as well.I do not have my records left on this bottle but I believe we got charged $22 for it through the wine club. You can find it at WineZap.com from $21.99, and that is a pretty good deal for this quality level of wine.Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog TopI am now in top 11!

After having the Capiaux 2005 Chimera Pinot Noir a while back I had to try the "one step up" pinot noir from them as well. They have several of the these and I picked the Garys' Vineyard having had many pinots , from other wineries, from this appellation before and always enjoying them.This wine shows a slightly cloudy, dark ruby red/purple color in the glass. Aromas of dark and red cherry, raspberry, perfumy floral, and smoke, hits you on the nose. Tasting it, black currant, red cherries, and smokey oak, shows up. This is a medium to full-bodied wine with supple acidity and relatively smooth tannins with a long beautiful, complex, finish.This is a really good pinot that I hope to enjoy many more times in the future. It is a great pinot if you do not like some of the "fruit bomb pinots" that are being made out there. It is very well balanced with great structure. Give it a try!I bought this at a local wine store for $55. You can find it for as low as $40 at Vinfolio.com. I know it is

We picked up this bottle today at our local wine merchant after the owner recommending it to us.I have never heard of this pinot before and trying to do some research online I found...nothing... The website given on the label is not active, I could not find any reviews or prices anywhere...I did not get the story behind the wine when purchasing it so I am not quite sure if it is a new winery or what is going on...Oh well, on to the wine. It has a very clear, not very dense, ruby red color in the glass. The nose offers red cherry, red raspberry, cranberry and a touch of oak. The cherry and cranberry follows through to the palate with medium acidity and sleek tannins. That is, tannins are definitely there, but are not to obtrusive, and on the other hand, not overly smooth either. A little thin on the fruit on the mid palate and finish for my taste, but never the less a very nice wine.This, I would say, is a really good pinot to pair with food. Very good on it's own indeed, but it will m

I Love French Wine and Food - An Alsace Pinot Gris If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the Alsace region of northeastern France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local white Pinot Gris wine. Among France’s eleven wine-growing regions Alsace ranks number ten in total acreage devoted to vineyards, perhaps because it is the smallest region of metropolitan France. In any case Alsace is one of France’s best-known wine regions. The wine growing area is about 60 miles (100kilometers) long, but at most 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wide. Their wine bottles are distinctively tall and thin. Chaptalization (adding sugar to the fermenting grape mixture) is allowed for many wine categories. And unlike the standard practice elsewhere in France, the labels feature the grape variety. About 95% of Alsace wine is white. The major white grape varieties are Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot

Tonight we are having a wine loving guest over and I opened the Sea Smoke Cellars 2004 Botella Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir. This is an absolute favorite since a couple of years back. Very hard to get a hold of unless you are willing to pay twice the price of original "retail price".I was lucky to get a hold of a couple of bottles at $55 at a local wine shop when it was first released.This wine displays a clear ruby red/purple color in the glass. The first thing that greets you on the nose is black cherries that opens way for the black berry, lingon berry and subtle oak.Sipping this beauty you discover that there is more fruit/berries on the nose than on the palate, although it displays wonderful black cherry and black currant with a spicy note. It is well balanced with firm tannins and good acidity that provides a nice back bone. Full bodied with a long savory finish. Over all a great Pinot Noir that will last quite a few more years in the bottle! This was my last bottle and I wish I h

Tonight I am revisiting a favorite from last year, the Elk Cove Pinot Gris, but this time the new vintage, 2006.Elk Cove Vineyards was founded in 1974 by Pat and Joe Campbell, and to this day it remains family owned and operated. In 1995 Adam Godlee Campbell joined the team as the winemaker. All the fruit is estate grown, the estate being 350 acres, 120 of the dedicated to vineyards.They use gravity flow and gentle handling to intervene to a minimum, to let the grape express itself in the wine.The 2006 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris was whole cluster pressed, cold fermented in stainless steel tanks, and did not go through malolactic fermentation.It has a clear, very pale, straw color, with perhaps a hint of green, in the glass. On the nose white, sweet floral with citrus and a touch of tropical fruit. The first impression on the palate is that of medium viscosity and sweet, soft creaminess. As that subsides fresh citrus with great acidity kicks through and gives this wine a great refres

When we were in Santa Barbara last weekend we picked up a bottle of Rusack 2005 Reserve Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir. After having the 2005 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir not to long ago (and really enjoyed it) we were very excited about this one-step-up bottle.The Reserve Sta. Rita Hills is a 50/50 blend of grapes from Fiddlestix Vineyard and Rancho Santa Rosa. 445 cases produced.It has a great bright, dark red, color in the glass. On the nose I got dark fruit with a sweet touch of oak with caramel at the end. Swirling it in the mouth, black berries and medium dark cherries emerges with enough acidity to give it some structure and kind of firm, but still smooth tannins (what do you call that kind?). Overall it has medium to dark fruit/berries, showcased in a more elegant style. This felt like a very food friendly wine. We really thought this was a very good wine for not to bad of a price ($35.99).Find it at Wine-Searcher.com from $29.99 or atRusack's website for $38.Vote for my blog

It’s either really early or really late for Halloween - take your choice - but when I saw that a guy named Len was offering to draw custom monsters based on a title of your choosing on his website Monsterbymail.com, I knew I had to get one. So I chose “Pinot Swilling Parker Zombies From Hell!” naturally. I’d actually hoped for a fleet of zombies slavishly following their master, who I hadn’t pictured as a zombie himself - more of a mad scientist type, but Len decided to go ahead and draw Parker as a zombie. Artistic license I guess. Anyway I’m still stoked on the picture and I even had Len make a time lapse video of himself drawing Zombie Parker. Darn good likeness! Unfortunately due to high demand Len has had to shut down Monster By Mail temporarily, but he promises to reopen for orders soon. You can get more Monster By Mail details here.

Owners Frank Ostini and Gray HartleyThursday night we tried a new Pinot Noir from Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Winery. The 2005 St. Rita's Earth, Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir. The grapes for this wine comes from Sanford & Benedict, Fiddlestix and Clos Pepe Vineyards. Medium dark red, cloudy color in the glass. On the nose red cherries and not overly ripe, dark fruit, with a hint of vanilla. On the palate the red cherry follows through with blue plum and berries. Medium acidity and some what firm tannins, in play with the fruit, gives this wine a long savory finish.We really enjoyed this wine, but I would give it some time in the bottle, if even just 6 months or so, to settle down a little bit, and I think it will show even better.Find it at Wine-Searcher.com from $29.99. Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog TopI am now in top 11!

The other night the teacher and I continued our tradition of dinner and a movie– with wine, of course. She always tells me, “I have wine, too, you know.” But as I am trying to move some of my inventory to make more room, I usually supply it. The dinner was kabobs from Truly Mediterranean in the Mission–lamb for me, with feta added. Messy but sooo worth it. The wine was from a friend who works at a nearby SCM winery…some Pinot Noir from the bottom of the barrel, so to speak. Unnamed and unlabeled, it was a little hazy and quite spicy. Black fruits, cherry, and earthiness fought against the slight bitterness that finally subsided after being open half an hour. While the food and wine went quite well together, this time the movie didn’t fit. The Queen, despite its superb acting, was a little lacking in the spice factor. We both admitted later it was hard to keep our eyes open at the end. Our other friend (the biodegradable wine fan) had already s

Bonaccorsi rocks! I've said it before and I'll say it again... (Review here, here, and here.)The Bonaccorsi 2002 Melville Vineyard Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir has a dark, dense reddish purple color in the glass. The very first moment you pour it in the glass and inhale, you get a whiff of strong cinnamon. That wears of almost immediately and after that I can not quite detect it again. Dark, ripe, cherries and fruit shows on the nose, with the dark cherries following the wine to the palate, accentuated by dark berries and pleasantly neutral, but very much existing, acidity, and firm tannins. This all wraps up in a nice clean finish with a trace of spice. This is a fruity but very much structured Pinot Noir with the pleasant fruit and berries that are not to overwhelmingly fruity or jammy. It has that nice fruit you are longing for in a slightly more elegant style...Only 200 cases was made of this wine and the only place I can find it online today is at RaedersWines.com for $57.99. Pri

Going wine tasting this afternoon in our local wine store we picked up a bottle of the Samsara 2005 Ampelos Vinyard Pinot Noir ($48.95) from the Pinot Noir section to try something new.Samsara was founded in 2002 by proprietors Chad and Mary Melville. Chad is also assistant winemaker and vineyard manager at his dad's (Ron Melville) winery, Melville, since 1997. Deciding to start his own venture as well, Samsara was created. A little philosophy behind this name to give some thought: Samsara is sanskrit for the eternal cycle of life, the world we live in now, one of passion, oneness, harmony. It talks about each individual human being longing to be in control of every aspect of life. When it comes to farming, as so many other things in life, you can not control everything, no matter how hard you try, and the final result is a harmony of the power of nature, things beyond our control, and the human desire to reach perfection. This will ultimately result in the expressions of the finished