Week 1 - Virtual Tasting for Charity - Empty My Wallet, Help Me Support Laura's House

As has been the tradition around here for the last several, the holiday season brings a time when we raise a little money for some great charities. As your first week sponsor, I will continue the tradition to kick this off and pay a cash donation for every TN that is posted between the dates of 11/16 to 11/28 (for bottles drank during this time period). The theme? As always for my week, it will be Pinot Noir from anywhere!

What happens? You open and post as many Pinot Noir tasting notes as you like, and I will pay $5 for every TN that is posted here during the time period noted above. I will double the payment to $10 per TN, provided you take a photo of yourself with the bottle (if your photo is of just the bottle label, this won’t qualify for the extra $5). Why the doubled donation? Because the more we can get out from behind an avatar and show who we really are, the less likely we can operate from disrespect and the more we can get to know each other, to humanize and create respect and civility where we have that opportunity.

At the end of the 13 days, I will count the notes and make a donation to Laura’s House. They are the recipient of all the money we collect each year during our Falltacular event we have at our house every February. The charity is about ending domestic violence, through emergency shelter services, counseling, transitional housing and community outreach. To learn more, you can click the following:

Starting posting your notes to this thread beginning 11/16 and make me pay!

To see last year’s TNs and photos from my challenge week, you can click here>>> Week 1 - Virtual Tasting for Charity - Empty My Wallet, Help Me Support Laura's House - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers. Of note, we raised our most ever in last year’s challenge so do your part to help us beat that #.

As a follow-on, I just received a confirmation that our matching donor from the past few years is signed on again. This anonymous Berserker will match my donation to Laura’s effectively doubling the donation. I really appreciate this dedicated support, from this donor, and so many of you who have tasted and posted notes going back so many years on this now. Thank you, and we look forward to a fun 13 days.

I am glad that you continue the tradition and that it is for Pinot Noir and not Champagne, your new love, as I have only a few bottles of Champagne in my collection.

With Pinot Noir, and the 13-day window, I can draw some coin from your wallet for Laura’s House.

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Frank,

Thank you. I will be in. It is so rare to see generosity expressed in such a brilliant manner.
I pay nothing.
I open bottles of my favorite varietal.
I give to charity.

Now I will start planning. As it happens, I have several events on the last day, Wednesday 11/28. There are not a lot of people involved, sad to say. But I will try to open an obscene number of bottles of Pinot Noir.

A very serious question: Do 375ml bottles count? It would be a good way to compensate for the lack of tongues available.

Thank you.

Dan Kravitz

Dan, 375s are fine. Thank you for participating in helping to make this first week successful.

As always, FMIII, you are the model for – well, not a modern Major-General, but for a good person? Certainly.

I don’t think we have any Pinot up to bat for a dinner this evening but I will do my best to find an opportunity to open one. Perhaps a Kutch—it’s been at least a month!

Salud,

Mike

Pinot Noir I can do!

But the donation is reduced by 50%!!!

Well done all.

Especially for you, Frank—I almost never open a bottle alone, but this is a special case

2013 Kutch McDougall Pinot Noir

Nose opens with tangible red raspberry and cranberry fruit, just a trace of forest floor underneath. This, on pop and pour, is really hitting its stride as a verve-driven raspberry and grapefruit (that citrus that I almost always get with Jamie’s McDougall) in ascendancy. Strawberry gets added with time in the glass and it remains very fresh and structured, with still some light herb/cedar component. I am keen to try it again today and wish now that I had more of this vintage. Excellent!

Could you hold off for 3 days?
The Virtual Tasting starts 11/16.
Just doing my part to empty Frank’s wallet.

Oh! I misread. Oopsy. I’ll just have to open something else then! Thanks T. Not that it was a crime to open that wine… :slight_smile:

Mike

I just made arrangements for my week this morning. My charity will be the John Jay College Prelaw Institute, which provides assistance to students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds so that they can attend law school, such as free LSAT prep classes, mentoring, etc. In addition to everything else, they are apparently #4 in the United States on the number of minority students that they get into law school, an amazing statistic since, for example, I come from the University of Michigan, which has a MUCH larger student body.

I have not yet figured out my challenge. I will work it out with Board member Erez Lencher, who is the Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Well it looks like I’ll get this rolling…

2017 Delmore Sta Rita Hills Pinot Noir - initial release from Darren Delmore (who I’ve had the pleasure of raising a glass with at Frank’s Falltacular event the past few years). Bright nose of tart raspberries, with a little hint of earth hiding in the background. Darker, black cherry fruit with some tar/black tea notes on the palate. Really nice acidity on this, which leads to a long, juicy finish. Pretty yummy right now, but based on how it has opened up over dinner, I can see this improving with a little bottle time.

P.S. - Would it be possible to sticky this thread? I knew Frank had started it, but it took me a little time to find it - and it would be great to keep it on page 1 so that others can find it easily to empty Frank’s wallet… [cheers.gif]

Paul, genius. I was just signing in to refresh the thread to remind everyone that the challenge begins today. Thanks for kicking it off. You know, funny enough, this reminds me of the inverse of ‘last man standing’, which is the funny moment we recognize every year to the last person who leaves Falltacular. Usually it has been Gerry Frayer or Rob Winn, so maybe you can have the dual honor this time of being the first dude in for the Charity Challenge, and the last man standing for Falltacular 2019. Think of the glory and notoriety such acclaim could bring. cheesehead

Let’s get after it folks. The challenge is open.

Crap. I just had one the other day and didn’t take notes.

That would be my honor Frank! champagne.gif

Let me relieve you of any anxiety you may be experiencing, Paul. The challenge is for Pinot you drink starting tonight, through the end date. See, made it all better. [drinkers.gif]

2008 Harmand Geoffrey Mazis Chambertin

Probably a few years too early, but opened up eventually with some air. Dark ruby color, powerful nose with some funk and dark fruits. Relatively tannic, but without overt oak influence. Good acidity and length, but was a bit disjointed at this point. Lots of potential, but very primary still. I’ll probsbly bury the rest of them for at least 5 years.