As my most favorite of Pinot Noir loving friends who read this blog — all 3 of you — you can save $80 off a ticket to attend The 10th Pinot Noir Summit if you act now.  The 10th Pinot Noir Summit will once again be held at the Hilton San Francisco Financial District on February 25, 2012.  Last year was the first time I attended and this year I also participated as a judge.  The Pinot Noir Summit is unique in that this event is where the attendees become the judges and “pit their palates against the expert panel.” The Showdown consists of the 40 top wines from 50+ different appellations.  The rest of day consists of workshops conducted by winemakers, viticulturalists and wine educators.

If you use my Insider’s Discount Code below you can receive 50% off the published price. No one will have better priced tickets, ever.

There are 2 types of tickets available:

• All Day Ticket including The Showdown, Workshop, Sparkling Wine Reception, and Grand Awards Tasting & Ceremony ($130 Full Price – $100 until February 1st)
• Grand Awards Tasting & Ceremony Only ($85 Full Price)

If you buy tickets to the All Day Summit before February 1st, you can save $80 per ticket (YOUR cost is only $50!).

To purchase tickets to The 10th Annual Pinot Noir Summit click here, or enter http://affairsofthevine.com/shop/

Use my Insiders Discount Code: PNS50 to receive 50% discount.  The discount code is in effect now through February 18th.  You must click on Apply Discount Code and enter PNS50 to receive the discount.  At that time, if the event is not sold out, all tickets sold will be at full price.

You’re welcome.

AGENDA:

Full Day: 1:30-8:30 PM
Pinot Noir Showdown ~ A Blind Tasting
1:30-4:00 PM ~ A distinctly different format and atmosphere from other wine-tasting events, attendees blind taste and judge 40 of the top wines. Male and female votes are tallied separately and announced at the Grand Awards Ceremony.

Pinot Noir Workshops
4:15-5:15 PM 
Ellen Landis, Moderator ~ “Sleek, Silky and Seductive – Pinot Noir”
OR
Sid Sall, Moderator ~ “What Makes a Great Vintage”

Sparkling Wine Tasting
5:30-6:00 PM - Wines That Dance on Your Tongue ~ Sparkling Wine Reception includes an international selection of cheeses and other tasty tidbits.

Grand Awards Tasting & Ceremony
6:00 -8:30 PM - The Bay Area’s favorite meteorologist and celebrated wine aficionado, Spencer Christian of KGO/ABC will emcee the Grand Awards Tasting & Ceremony. Top Pinot Noir winemakers will showcase their wines with a pinot-friendly selection of light hors d’oeuvre. The winners will be unveiled and final results will be announced by wine lover, Christian at 8:00 PM.

The recent ruling in favor of Gallo’s proposal to expand the Russian River Valley AVA further south to Cotati and specifically include all of their Two Rock Vineyard just off Hwy 101 has raised more than a few eyebrows.  Wine Industry Insight has been on this story for several years and raised more than a few issues not only with Gallo’s claims but also with the TTB’s process and regulations.  On the surface it seems once again the big corporation bullies its way to get what it wants, but at what price?  What does this expansion potentially mean for winegrowers, producers (majority of smaller wineries) and, more importantly, consumers?

The battle for expansion has been going on since at least the early 90′s and pushes the RRV AVA boundary further south to Cotati, a move adamantly opposed by the Russian River Valley Winegrowers and notably Merry Edwards in this article, though several producers in the area were outspoken on this issue.  The expansion totals more than 14,044 acres bringing the total AVA acreage to 169,028.  The winegrowers argued weather conditions were, indeed, not the same and resulted in extended harvest dates when compared to the current AVA, however, Gallo contended the geographic components including climate and soils were, in fact, the same and seemed to have provided more evidence to the TTB than the naysayers.  It also appears the TTB process is based more on the information provided by all parties and not by bringing in any independent experts to validate such claims.

What is clear is that Gallo’s Two Rock Vineyard (350 acres) was a focus and expected to be included in the final boundary proposal.  It is my opinion that this argument is less a geographic and climatic one and more about what  Gallo does with the juice from this region and how it impacts the perception and reputation of the “brand” that is Russian River Valley.  We all know Gallo (most brands anyway) is a bulk producer more interested in high yields, high volume and low price and that can only mean less than great things when is comes to the level of quality we’ve come to expect from the Russian River Valley, don’t you think?

a viticultural area for American wine [is] a delimited grape-growing region having distinguishing features as described in part 9 of the regulations and a name and delineated boundary as established in part 9 of the regulations. These designations allow vintners and consumers to attribute a given quality, reputation, or other characteristic of a wine made from grapes grown in an area to its geographic origin. The establishment of viticultural areas allows vintners to describe more accurately the origin of their wines to consumers and helps consumers to identify wines they may purchase

Complete ruling and supporting information can be found here:  http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/11/16/2011-29519/expansions-of-the-russian-river-valley-and-northern-sonoma-viticultural-areas

I am curious as to why when making a case for the Two Rock Vineyard degree day comparison to the rest of RRV, why they used 1996-98 data instead of something more recent?  Is the next step to create smaller AVA’s within RRV to target further uniqueness or does that become too confusing for the regular consumer?  But, as some have pointed out, what is done is done, so why not just move along?

I once said on this blog that when drinking Pinot Noir there are no losers, but now I am not so sure.

What are your thoughts?

Gallo Proposed

RRV Map Prior

One year ago I packed up the car without a job and moved to wine country from Atlanta for a short stint as a harvest intern for Holdredge Wines based in Healdsburg, CA.  As I have chronicled here on the blog and elsewhere on the internets my short time working with John Holdredge and the “diminutive one” (my intern partner in wine, Adrienne) was one of the best experiences of my life.  For that, I give John my thanks and gratitude.  The wines we worked our asses off for in a short but hellfire 5 week onslaught in 2010 were released this week with much fanfare and an introspective, funny and always informative newsletter written by John himself.

And with that, the sounds of harvest began, but so did the fury. Because the temperatures had been so cool, the difference between ripeness at our warmer (relatively) sites and our cooler sites was nominal. That meant everything all came in at once – with a fury. We had every fermenter filled and I had to turn down some fruit because I just didn’t have space for it. It was just crazy.

Everything John describes about the calm before the storm in his introduction is spot on as Adrienne and I left the winery every day completely soaked, fingers raw, tired to the bone and ear-to-ear grins – and that was before the first cluster was every picked.  As he explains each wine, my mind flashes back to code names for each written on duct tape and slapped on T-bins while we punched down caps with abandon, took Brix & Temp measurements and shepherded our little babies through fermentation and into barrel.  I felt one with nature and the simple nature of hard work and working with your hands as well as with your mind.

You can read the details about each wine in the newsletter, but here is a summary of each wine:

2010 “The True” Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast – named for the fact that the fruit is sourced from what John calls the “true” cooler climate Sonoma Coast because much of the southern end of that AVA juts inland to thru Petaluma, which arguably is not even close to the same terroir as what you get actually on the Coast itself.  This will be a lighter style of wine and is just simply “pretty”, with lower alcohol (about 13.6%) and is what I fashioned my own 2011 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir after.

2010 Bucher Vineyard Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - this has been my long time favorite of all Holdredge Pinot’s and this vintage is no exception.  It is quintessential Russian River with the Bucher ranch situated at the northern end of the AVA just off Westide Rd.  Holdredge’s block shares company with some other highly touted Pinot producers in the area.  Expect layers of complex flavors with bright cherry cola, raspberry, and tea.

2010 Mazie Rose Pinot Noir RRV – very small vineyard near Olivet containing Pommard and 828 clones.  Leaving some whole clusters intact and plenty of love this is a solid wine.  I’ll let John tell the rest:

There is an undercurrent of dark red and black fruits- and a nice toasty quality about it. Rich and round, but the finish holds together quite nicely. I’d enjoy these as I wait for the other wines to catch up. Three nights ago I served it with seared mushrooms (Chanterelles, Lobsters, Shitakes and Cinnamon Caps with garlic time and shallots and a touch of brandy) over crostini topped with goat cheese and then melted under the broiler. It seemed quite comfortable in those surroundings.

2010 Rolling Thunder Pinot Noir RRV – powerful, dark and brooding, the name says it all.

If you are a lover of Pinot Noir, no matter what style, Holdredge has an offering for you.  John has been making wine for decades and his own label as been around for more than 11 years so he knows Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley and how to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience.  Seek them out.  Love them.  Cheers!

When we lived in Atlanta we visited “wine country” many times.  No visit was ever void of special moments.  Those special times when everything is relaxed and in order and it just feels good.  And there would usually be a glass of wine in hand.  But, living here all the time has made me wonder if we would still get to enjoy those special moments. Or, if tasting wine and relaxing at wineries would just become routine.

Luckily, that hasn’t happened.  A visit to Ma(i)sonry last Saturday made this even more true.  Ma(i)isonry is a tasting room/art gallery in downtown Yountville that pours 13 different artisan wine labels.  The service is top notch, which made the many wine choices you have easy to manage.  Taj (spelling? – pronounced “Ty”) and the rest of the team make the menu very easy to navigate.  We recommend setting the tasting menu aside and just go with their great recommendations. The outdoor seating area is very relaxing and inviting.

As we mentioned there are 13 different artisan producers they host and there were two that really stood out for us during this visit:

2009 Chester’s Anvil Sonoma Coast Chardonnay – this is a well-made, balanced Chardonnay that is unfined and unfiltered.  Only a hint of toast on the nose, mostly due to the aging on the lees, with pronounced citrus notes and minerality on the palate.

2007 Renteria Knittle Vineyard Pinot Noir – very aromatic, delicate, elegant, lots of red fruit from Carneros.  The palate is smooth and silky.

Many people ask us for recommendations on places to visit when they’re in the area. Ma(i)sonry has become a “must stop” on our list of places we will suggest.

Pinot Noir (pee-noh nwahr), to this writer, is the most versatile grape and the source of much enjoyment and memorable experiences in recent years. The grape is fickle, delicate and the most expressive of terroir. Yes, I used that word… I think you know what I mean. So, it should come as no surprise that I inform you of a day-long event dedicated to Pinot. Entirely Pinot. And YOU be the judge.

The main event starts with the 9th Annual Pinot Noir Showdown, hosted by Affairs of the Vine, where the attendees become the judges and “pit their palates against the expert panel.” The Showdown consists of 64 wines from 56 different appellations. This is a smackdown of epic proportions! Furthermore, Tim Hanni, MW will be taking this data and applying his Taste SQ algorithm to match attendees’ tastes with those of the judging panel to see whose palates they align best with.

The rest of day consists of workshops conducted by winemakers, viticulturalists and wine educators. Yours truly will be moderating the panel devoted to Winemaking 101 with Greg Freeman (Hahn), Steve McIntyre (McIntyre) and Patrick Murray (PARO Wines). Oh yeah, this could get interesting in a hurry.

You can also attend the Pinot Noir Shootout Grand Awards tasting where the winners will be announced. Finally, there is a Winemakers’ Dinner with a menu prepared by Chef James Aptakin, winner of the Food Network Caterers Challenge.

This is a can’t miss event if there ever was one! Please pass it on.

What: The Pinot Noir Summit

When: February 26, 2011

Where: Hilton San Francisco Financial District

750 Kearny Street

San Francisco, California 94108

Purchase tickets at this LINK …. OR better yet, add a comment below about why Pinot Noir is your favorite wine and I’ll draw a random winner this Friday, February 18, 2011 at 9pm PST for a 2-for-1 voucher to the main all-day Summit event!

Stay Pinot, my friends.