So interesting what a few years’ difference makes. Poured at the first one at the Barker Hangar a number of years back and it was PACKED! Tons of wineries pouring at it; sold out with over 2000 attendees if I’m not mistaken.
Fast forward to this year and . . . . crickets. I know there was a posting about this a few weeks back but it went south quickly. Do folks not support tastings like this or is it simply now ‘under the radar’ For a variety that probably gets ‘more love’ on this board than any others, and with the vast number of folks from So Cal on this board, I’m just surprised . . .
I’m also surprised that not more SB County wineries are pouring at this event this year. Looking over the list, there look to be only about 1/2 dozen, and I’m not quite sure why (I’m not ‘in the loop’ anymore since I don’t make pinot and I don’t work for someone who does anymore). No Bien Nacidio, No Clos Pepe, No Arcadian, No Foley, No Au Bon Climat . . . .
Larry, I don’t know the logisitics of what the requirements are for the producers to pour. I have been the majority of the years and have noticed that the number of producers has decreased. But even last year at the Shrine there were plenty of interesting producers, including a few “discoveries” like Reuling for me. It is still a very worthwhile event, and like you I’m surprised that more Berserkers aren’t going. In a way last year’s was better than some of the initial years. In part I’m biased because the Shrine is closer to me than Barker or Skirball. But also with their being a decent but not huge crowd, the group is more enthusiast concentrated and not as many yahoos getting their drunk on. I think Barker is such a prime Westside locale that more of that group will come out there, and I’d speculate to say that the overhead is higher so as to necessitate a biggger crowd. At last year’s though we were able to have more space, move easily, not wait, and spend time conversing with the producers. There were definitely plenty of familiar faces as far as attendees.
I would say that obviously Pinot is very popular, but maybe the post Sideways craze has slowed a little. People feel they know enough of the wthe wines and there isn’t as much novelty for the casual folks. Maybe once more mainstream drinkers feel like they know a stable of wines, they aren’t as motivated to try more things as some of us. I would also say that L.A. seems to have many more tastings than it did years back. Especially medium-sized things by shops like Wally’s, Winehouse, K & L, Learn About Wine (though I’ve never been to theirs).
I also think that this is a challenging time of year to have a wine tasting. People are really busy with social events and shopping. I know I wasn’t free until yesterday and Mary is still on the fence. Lastly, Skirball is kind of a wild-card location. It’s freeway close and central to the Valley-ites, but a little farther for those on this side of the hill or O.C., and many people have never been there.
I hope people support the event. It’s definitely worthwhile and there’s obviously a chicken-egg thing between the number of producers who participate and the support of attendees.
There will be a couple of Berserkers there who will be writing mini-features about it, so perhaps the conversations will come AFTER. What’s to discuss prior to attending, really? The Barker Hangar event was when Pinot Days was a brand new concept, so that likely pushed the conversations to occur prior to the event.
I’ll be there, but I’ll be stuck behind a table like you, Larry, only I won’t be pouring wine. (Wonder if I can get someone to BRING me wine!) I’m guessing those who attend the LA event, or any of the others, will post their ‘finds’ and notes here
Good points, both John and Todd. I do agree that the Barker Hangar events had quite a few ‘yahoos’ there, but it also had a lot more producers, and a good number of ‘serious drinkers’ ta boot.
Yep, there are plenty of other events out there, but none that focus solely on Pinot to the extent that this one does.
And what do you make of the fewer and fewer number of SB Cty producers pouring? Have you guys reached out to them to find out?
I have always really enjoyed the Chicago event. Have gone the last 3, maybe 4 years, taste some good juice, see some fellow WBers, and watch the drunks at the end of the event- all quite entertaining!! Did seem that fewer were pouring last year.
I will point out a semi-obvious issue–they scheduled this event in early December. I can’t speak for other people, but my December/holiday party calendar is pretty darn busy. Trying to shoe horn in another event gets a little tough (at least for me).
Yeah I wish that some more producers were there, especially the SB folks. (Fwiw, if logisitcs are keeping a producer from coming down, next year I can always put someone up at Hotel Gonzales.) But like I said last year there were enough producers. At some point one might like options, but there’s a limit to how many wines one can get to anyway. There will be plenty of Berserkers and real enthusiasts there. As Todd said, there isn’t a lot to post about yet, and in general I don’t think people post ahead of time on what they’re going to or offline things as much as they used to.
I get an invitation to some kind of pinot daze/pinot shootout pinotrama every twelve minutes. There are now two big pinot noir festivals. Maybe folks are waiting for a big ribolla festival.
Larry, I’ve only been to Pinot Days in SF, but I’ve observed over the past couple of years that the bigger tasting events have had declining numbers both in terms of participating wineries and in attendees. At the same time, smaller and more focused events - such as those highlighting specific regions and wine styles - seem like they are holding steady or even gaining in popularity. Pinot Days SF and Family Winemakers have both shrunk in recent years, ZAP is changing format for next month’s event, and HdR is gone. So I wonder if that trend is affecting Pinot Days LA too.
Interesting- is this your experience at Pinot Days? I have never had this issue, sure you might have to wait a bit, but not super crowded- maybe they limit the tickets sold here.
What E.Todd describes has not been the case over the past couple of years, as I said above. Last year, knowing the difficulty of making the event worthwhile to organizers and producers, I would have been fine with MORE people. I never waited more than 4 deep for a single wine, most tables had 2-4 people around them and some were even no wait at all.
I noticed the same thing with PinotFest at Farallon a couple weeks ago. It’s one that Calera, Williams Selyem, Littorai, etc still attend because it is so producer-friendly, and it still sells out, but it’s completely under the Berserker radar.
I poured last night at a Pinot Days warm up event at the Wine House. It sells out every year, but most of the people there are unaware that the main Saturday tasting even exists.
It may just be my vantage point behind a more obscure table, but Pinot Days never really seems like a mob scene (unless you’re trying to get to Kosta Browne). I’m pretty crowd averse, and I never find it unmanageable in my forays from behind the table. The LA version can get a little sloppy toward the end. What starts as the occasional sound of breaking glass can build to a crescendo in the last half hour. Probably best for the serious wine geek to go early.
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