You had me until spreadsheet…
I think Pinot Days is a great opportunity to see many diverse styles and regions at one go. It is difficult to taste them all, so if the pack offers less familiar options it becomes more likely to discover something new.
It’s always a challenge dealing with people who over consume, for whatever reasons. Some people can get very rude to each other including the attending wineries who follow Steve and Lisa’s directives to stop pouring when the closing bell sounds. It’s just part of the less picturesque landscape on the road trip.
I’d be there but the date conflicts with a huge chunk of cellar work and preparing some important (to us) releases.
I would definitely try Kendric if you haven’t before. Don’t let the translucent color fool you, the wines have great concentration.
I had limited tasting opportunities, but my favorite wines were from Comptche Ridge, which I hadn’t realized was a winery before yesterday. I preferred the '11 to the ‘12 by a slim margin, but I thought both were outstanding–balanced, lively, excellent soil signature (to steal Gilman’s phrase). Ought to be on Berserkers’ radar screen.
I was with many others who wished that Arcadian and Scherrer and Windy Oaks, etc. were pouring yesterday. Had they they had been, however, I probably would have made a beeline for their tables and missed trying an unknown; i.e., I would have taken the opportunity to confirm what I already know (that I like Arcadian, etc.) at the expense of discovering something new. It seems a more rational and more fun way to deploy your wine budget to buy what you already like and sample, on the cheap, a bunch of stuff you don’t know at these big tastings. From that perspective, it’s not all bad that the Pinot Days roster is full of unfamiliar names.
That said, I’m still appreciative of the fact that Siduri, August West, Sojourn and other wineries with more of a following stick with Pinot Days and help draw the crowds (and these do sell out) from which the rest of us benefit.
I find the crowd in Chicago pretty congenial, even the overserved. The only rudeness I witnessed yesterday was fully warranted by the winemaker/pourer who stands there holding the bottle but engrossed in conversation with one taster while ignoring all the others piling up at their table. Drives me nuts. If I reach around the person I’m talking with to pour for other tasters at my table, I don’t feel I’m being rude. I’m just doing what’s necessary to enable that conversation to continue. Dividing your attention is part of the job description for a pourer, and those who don’t see it that way invite the crabbiness visited upon them by frustrated tasters.
Stewart,
Thanks for your insights. I always find it a challenge when I am engrossed in a conversation with one person and a line forms. Part of the challenge sometimes us that the organizers for some of these tastings pack the wineries so close together and give you 3 or 4 feet, so that it’s challenging to go 2 wide at the table, and impossible to go more than that.
I did a tasting last night where each winery got a 6 foot table and they weren’t crammed next to each other. I was able to not only have 3 or 4 people directly in front of me but 1 each on the corners. I wish more tastings were like this . . .
Cheers.
Stewart, thanks again for your insights during the VIP tasting yesterday, it was a treat to get to try your wines. And that Viognier you were pouring was fantastic.
So I really enjoyed the format of the VIP tasting. Three flights with four wines each in the first two, followed by two wines on the last. The first flight was Amalie Roberts and Kendrick. The second was Trombetta and and Mansfield-Dunne. The final flight was Sojourn. It was great hearing the winemakers (including Stewart!) provide some background on their wineries, and in particular I enjoyed Stewart’s insight on some of the challenges to growing grapes in the proposed Petaluma Gap AVA.
One thing I would have liked done differently is to have had Trombetta be poured last. That was far and away the heaviest of the Pinots poured during this tasting, and in fact many of the people at my table, who are fans of a heavier Pinot, commented that it was not only heavy it didn’t resemble Pinot (or at least any Pinot they’d experienced previously). It was so big that I wasn’t able to really enjoy the Mansfield-Dunne or Sojourn pours, as my palate was wrecked for a good 10-15 minutes. That may have just been me though.
My notes from the main event aren’t very copious and I may have discovered that my palate just isn’t built for tasting this much wine, as not too much jumped out at me, but here’s what did:
Aberrant Cellars - I really enjoyed Aberrant Cellars. I don’t have a great deal of exposure to Oregon Pinot, but if this is in any way typical of the Willamette Valley, I will be a huge fan. In addition to the Pinot Noir they were pouring a Pinot Noir Blanc that was unlike anything I’d ever had - similar to a Pinot Blanc but with a bit more going on. It was really fun.
J. Wilkes - As Mike mentioned before they have a nice Pinot Blanc (though after trying it I still favor ZD’s Rosa Lee). I really enjoyed their version of Pinot from the Santa Maria Valley; this is a region where I’ve not found much that matches my palate but their Pinot was surprisingly elegant.
Trombetta - This just did not do it for me. They poured their 2012 Sonoma Coast and 2012 Gap’s Crown. I thought these were just too big and intense. Is this style typical for that area?
PS one of the things I found interesting was during the one hour trade tasting, Belle Glos looked to have the most people around their table. More good wine for the rest of us I guess, but I just thought it was kind of depressing that industry folks went there of all places. But overall it was a really enjoyable event and I got a lot more out of it than I expected.