Best place/person to review Humboldt Pinot Noirs?

So, we sell our wines locally and have an excellent reputation here in Humboldt. I’d like to offer our wines to those that enjoy unique Pinot Noir. Suggestions on who does a good job of reviewing Pinots? Who do the consumers here respect and listen to?

I think our Pinots are very good and probably under-priced for what they are. There are very few people in our area that spend more than $30 on a bottle more than once a year, if that.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Are you thinking of a professional reviewer or someone here on the board?

There are a number of respected (and disrespected) pinot lovers here on berserkers. There is also Rusty Gaffney who is sort of a pro/am.

You may also want to consider sending down some wine for the Falltacular. I’d love to taste me some Humbolt pinot.

Jason

Thanks for your reply. I will look around and see who is posting a lot of TN’s on Pinots. Perhaps I should look into Rusty as well.

Where do I get more info on the Falltacular? When is it?

I don’t really have a type of reviewer in mind. I am interested in getting some feedback on our wines. Currently well sell all of our 1500 case per year production locally. The feedback I am getting from a few fans that come to our tastings from out of the area is that our current wines hold up to some they find at higher prices. Not that I am looking to raise prices, but that I could expand production to meet increased demand from outside of our county.

We have been in business 25 years and never sent a wine in for review, other than competitions. I’d like to give it a shot.

I have heard of Burghound and of Tanzer. Does anyone have thoughts on them?

Other suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Andrew,

Jason’s suggestion for Falltacular is a great one. I will make a point of trying your wine should you submit it. You can contact Frank Murray about it through this site and read up on the next edition here:
http://www.wineberserkers.com/viewtopic.php?p=409283#p409283" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I might also suggest showing your wine at Pinot Days and Family Winemakers which have events in several locale in California. I know the cost can give one pause but it will get your wines in front of a lot of people in the know.

Tom Hill

Or he can just send it down with the Cabots if they make it down (-:

You might also want to consider pouring at Pinot Days - either in LA or in SF (latter is probably easier for you). Loads of both consumers and reviewers will be there in one place . . .

Cheers!

Then he can claim he ‘followed you from the start’ . . . [cheers.gif]

I like Burghound. Never subscribed to Tanzer but have liked it when I have had a chance to read. Not sure who tastes Cali pinot for Tanzer. It might be Tanzer.

I’ll PM you another smaller option for feed back.

Jason

Andrew,

Please call us at 415-382-8663 and we can discuss participation in Pinot Days and whether it makes sense for you to attend. We believe the festival has something to offer every pinot producer but can discuss the benefits and costs to insure you have a valued experience.

As for reviewers, as already mentioned, I would contact Rusty Gaffney, The Prince of Pinot. He is as thorough and unbiased as you will find.

Greg Walters of the Pinot Report is another advocate of Ca. pinot noir you would want to contact.

As for the boards, it is always good to have Richard Jennings taste your wines. He isn’t a “professional” critic but I would surmise more people respect his palate than many of the paid critics.

Alder Yarrow of Vinography is another strong supporter of pinot noir. Alder is a beautiful writer and although he reviews all wine varieties, I know he is a closet pinot-geek.

There are many other bloggers/reviewers I could suggest but rather than listing them here, email me and I can send you a list.

Regards,
Steve

I’d second all of Steve’s recommendations. And attending an event like Pinot Days can get you a LOT of great exposure. Well worth the expense.

I’d suggest you submit your wine to every critic possible. So I’d add Wine Spectator, Robert Parker, Wine Enthusiast, Tanzer, Burghound, Connoisseur’s Guide, California Grapevine, etc to the list. While you’re not new to the biz, it sounds like you’re a “review virgin”… which has both opportunities and limitations. The biggest hurdle will be to get the major publications to actually try the wine, and then have them print a review. They’re swamped with submittals, so they can’t taste (much less print reviews of) everything. But it is in their best interest to find new and exciting wines. New is good. And the hidden silver lining is they’re extremely unlikely to print anything but a positive review - so you really can’t get hurt. In theory. I accept no responsibility if something goes horribly wrong [berserker.gif].

The “how do I get them to taste the wine” question is one I can’t really help you with, since I don’t think there’s an answer beyond submitting the wines and hoping for the best. One thing you might do is list your upcoming releases on http://www.winerelease.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. It seems like Wine Spectator monitors that site since we get requests to submit our wines when they show up there.

Thanks to everyone who took time to give me suggestions. I really appreciate it. Hopefully, shortly, there will be some reviews or at least TN’s on two of our current release 08’s. We also have a current 07 which is in stores locally now, but I don’t think it would be helpful to submit it. That is one which won Best Wine from Humboldt Grapes at the Humboldt County Fair. BTW, in case you were wondering, we are far to the North of the 08 fires.

Thanks to Jason and Wetrock for posting TN’s on CT.

Is Rusty G. reachable here on WB? I think he was at the tasting as well. Anyone else who attended, I’d be happy to hear your comments.

I’m not sure if Rusty is a member here or not but I’m sure Jason can reach out to him. Paul Lin was there as was Todd. Not sure if either took notes.

Nice wines! The lovers of restraint and Burgundy should give them a whirl.

The Elk Prairie was really good, man - top two of the 20 or so Pinots, seriously. HUGE surprise for us all.

I started a thread here:
http://www.wineberserkers.com/viewtopic.php?p=477871#p477871" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for your kind words. It means a lot.

Rusty should have been on the tip of my tongue in response to this question. Here you go Briceland: A Pleasing Surprise from Humboldt County | The PinotFile: Volume 8, Issue 30

Thanks for noticing. Rusty enjoyed the wines and gave us a nice writeup. [thankyou.gif]

1 day late for Berserkers Day. [cry.gif]

I did allocate a couple of cases of wine to my offer. Given how few people are familiar with our wines and what else was up there, I am not too surprised that I did not use it all up.

I might be persuaded to extend it a day or two, and even include a few bottles of Phelps Vineyard. Which there is less of.

Email me to discuss. Andrew@bricelandvineyards.com

Sorry, if this should be somewhere else. Commerce?

I think John Gilman (View from the Cellar) would find your pinot right up his alley. He’s got a very definite point of view, and he can come down hard on wines deemed overripe. He’s a champion of “traditional” CA wines (Kalin, Mayacamas, Mt. Eden, etc), but he’s open to new (to him) wines that exhibit some restraint and finesse, like yours.

Where/how can I buy your wines? I’m not ITB but my wife & I thoroughly enjoy PN.