The Santa Cruz Mountains contingency arrived in McMinnville last night and we had a nice dinner at Thistle with Nathan from Thomas Fogerty, @RobB from Sandar and Hem, Kevin Hsu, Marcus Goodfellow, Megan Joy and myself. It was great to see everyone and enjoy some great food and wine.
All the wines were spectacular, including the 2021 Richards Cuvee and the 2021 Psycho Killer (not pictured). The Allemand Sans Soufre was very special, and the 1986 Moreau Le Clos had so much complexity.
Today we’re excited to taste with Jim Maresh and Seth Morgen Long and then have dinner at the Joel Palmer House. It should be a fantastic day.
We will once again be pouring our beer at tomorrow’s Salmon Bake. I’m bringing cans of three or four different beers (Pils, Das Bier, Lenzbock, IsarWeizen I hope). We’ll also be pouring (Pils and Lenzbock, our award-winning MaiBock) at Passport to Pinot on Sunday. Beyond that, we have a (small) house full of my daughter’s dogs and my son and grandson. No rest until Tuesday.
@RobB brought the Allemand. Surprisingly only one pinot on the table last night. An NSG that Nathan brought. We’ll get our share of Pinot Noir over the next few days. Excited that Dujac is pouring this year.
That Goodfellow ‘21 Richard’s Cuvee was killer and perfect with the rockfish at Thistle. Sean forgot to mention our intermezzo course of garbage can nachos and Bloody Marys over at the Blue Moon Cafe before cracking that ‘86 Les Clos back at the Airbnb. No trip to McMinnville is complete without a visit to Blue Moon.
We are looking forward to seeing some more Berserkers at the IPNC Grand Tasting and Salmon Bake Dinner.
My obsession with Allemand may have begun with Alan at the tasting counter at Vin Vino in Palo Alto. And Alan may have continued to throw fuel on the fire for giving me hints where to find Allemand “cheap” over the years. But that San Souffre bottling came out of a Sydney Australia restaurant cellar after I found it on the list for $70!
I’ll be across the street from Linfield pouring our wines and wines from Patton Valley at our pop-up tasting room at the Ten Oaks Gallery. Fri-Sun 12-5.
Although I’ve heard of IPNC, I’ve never been to one before. I’m a big fan of Oregon wines (especially Pinot). Is IPNC an event I should consider attending as a consumer? Or is it more of a winemaker/industry event for those in the business?
If you have a chance at are attending IPNC drop by my table at the Al Fresco tasting tonight and taste my Clarice Pinot Noir. I’ll also be at the Sunday tasting.
IPNC is a great event, as long as the weather cooperates. This year, the weather is the best its been in several years - highs in the low 80s, with lows around 50, and no humidity. It seems like a lot of the participants are involved in the business, but it’s a great event for anyone interested in wine. The event is a chance to taste 70+ Pinots from Oregon and around the world, eat really good food, and attend some very interesting seminars.
One of the featured events is the Salmon Bake, where the food is okay, the wines they serve are good, and the participants bring all sorts of incredible wine to share. I’ve tasted multiple vintages of many “unicorn” wines at the event. It is definitely worth experiencing at least once.
Chris, bring any bottle you’d like to drink and share. Large formats are especially welcome. Last year we brought mags of our Chard and a mag of Corton Charlemagne in a cooler so we could beat the heat, share with old friends, and make some new ones. They will be pouring a ton of Pinot through the night so take that into consideration. Bubbles are always a winner.
