2008 Gypsy Boots Pinot Noir

We recently enjoyed a bottle of 2008 Gypsy Boots Pinot Noir at one of our favorite Pinot-friendly restaurants, The Prado. The best way to describe this wine is delicious. The rest of the obligatory descriptors won't quite do it justice.

It's a very California Pinot Noir, with solid fruit concentration and a hint of earthiness on the finish. It starts as a very delicate wine that really emerges once it has been open about 30 minutes and is served with food. The two of us were definitely disappointed that we only had one bottle!

Let's taste two! A fun side by side tasting

It can be a lot of fun to taste two wines side by side to compare their flavors and pick your favorite. A great way to do this is when they are from the same wine maker but of different vintages or from different vineyards.

We recently had a chance to taste two bottles of Pinot Noir when we dined with Sally's parents and Jeff's parents at the Beach House Restaurant in Laguna Beach. Both bottles were from Barrel Fence Cellars, a small winery in Dundee Hills, Oregon. One, called 45 North, was from their Oregon vineyard. The other, called 45 South, was from their vineyard in New Zealand. We had acquired them by chance on a November trip to Willamette Valley, Oregon.

A lot of people might open one bottle and then the other, but tasting them at the same time allows you to appreciate their subtle differences and pick a favorite. Our server brought each of us two wine glasses and poured a taste in each one.

The table ended up split over which was the best. When you do a side by side tasting over dinner, people generally pick their favorite and continue drinking that wine with their meal. A split is a fortunate result since the wine can be more evenly divided.

Our challenge with these wines was they both kept getting better and better the longer they were open. We all ended up pouring a little more from each bottle over the course of our dinner. Good thing we had a third bottle (another 45 South) on hand when our glasses got low!

The next time you have two great bottles of wine, try sharing them with friends or family by doing a side by side tasting. Don't be afraid to bring them with you to a favorite restaurant if their corkage policy (and local liquor laws) will allow. It's a great way to have a fun night out and you won't have to pay wine list prices!

A great day in Willamette Valley, Oregon

It's Will-ah-met, damn it! The locals are a bit touchy about the pronunciation of their outstanding wine region, but Sally and I were willing to learn the local lingo in return for some great finds at some terrific wineries. Miles would be in heaven here because the main thing is Pinot Noir, but you can also find some good Pinot Blancs, Chardonnays, and even the occasional Syrah.

The Four Graces
Our first stop of the day was the Four Graces in Dundee Hills. Most wineries in the area open at 11 am, so the Four Graces was our pick because it sounded interesting and opened at 10. They poured a very crisp and refreshing Pinot Gris along with five different Pinot Noirs. It was interesting to taste the differences in the same varietal from the same winery. All were good, but our favorite was the '07 Dundee Hills Reserve Pinot Noir which smelled like good BBQ smoke and would go nicely with a piece of slow cooked meat. Mmmmmm.

Domain Drouhin
This winery is French-owned, so they were pouring wines from both sides of the pond. Our favorites were their very balanced 2008 Chardonnay Arthur and their 2007 Pinot Noir Laurene Cuvee that managed to be both delicate and complex at the same time.The grounds were beautiful with views of the valley that might be amazing if it weren't for the gray sky and slight fog.

Domain Serene
A worthy goal when wine tasting is to get a taste of something not on the menu. Going off the tasting menu seemed to be in the plans at the Four Graces and Domain Drouhin, but we had to do some smooth talking at Domain Serene. We started by tasting a Chardonnay and a couple of Pinot Noirs and then moved on to their "Rockblock" Syrah. Their '05 Rockblock Del Rio Vineyard Syrah was very impressive with deep fruit and a taste that grows in complexity. Our server mentioned they only had 17 bottles left of their '06 Rockblock Reserve Syrah so it wasn't open. Hmmmmmm. Fast forward a few minutes and it WAS open, we enjoyed it, and bought two bottles. Just like that they were down to 14 bottles. Almost sold out!  Domain Serene was another beautiful winery that would have some impressive views on a clear, sunny day.

White Rose Wines

Several people had recommended White Rose Wines throughout the day, so we had to stop by. They are perched on a hilltop with another would-be incredible view that was obscured by gray and fog. It was still cool though and their wine was very good. Several different Pinot Noirs to taste, though our favorite was the '08 White Rose Estate Dundee Hills Pinot Noir due to its classic Oregon Pinot taste (earthy) with a hint of spice. Yum!

And now, a lunchtime interlude... We dined at Farm to Fork, a gourmet deli and restaurant that was very 'wine country' with it's nice selection of locally sourced vegetables, wonderful meats, and innovative takes on traditional lunchtime sandwiches.

Back to wine...

Barrel Fence

We almost judged this book by it's cover, but a new friend at the Four Graces had told us this newly opened winery made great stuff and a tasting was worth it because they were seldom open.

The inside of their tasting room looked like a garage, complete with a beautiful '68 Corvette parked in the middle. Okay, it really WAS the guy's garage! But the wine was good and very interesting. He had an estate Pinot Noir from his Dundee Hills vineyard (45 North) and a Pinot Noir made from grapes grown on land he owned in New Zealand (45 South). Both were terrific and reasonably priced ($28/$29) compared to other comparable wines we'd tasted that day.

Penner-Ash
This was another winery that featured beautiful views (if only the day was clear). Like everywhere else, their main show was Pinot Noir, and their several varieties were solidly good.

One last note... Six wineries in one day. Were we drunk? No. Here's the secret to enjoying some wine tasting while still having gas in the tank at the end of the day.

1. Share. You've just cut your intake (and tasting fees) by 50%.
2. Don't drink it if you don't like it. There's no sense in quaffing everything put in front of you.
3. Don't drink it all if you don't love it. It's perfectly OK to take a sip and dump the rest of the glass.
4. Pick your favorite at the end of the day and THEN get pickled.

HalloWine Party 2010

Sally and I had a few friends over for a "HalloWine" party last Saturday night. The wine theme was "favorites under $20" and Sally was able to pair each one with a finger food, a cheese, and even a Halloween candy! The tasting was blind, so our guests also got to decide whether each wine was a trick or a treat.

1st Place - 2008 Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir (100% Treat)
This was the only wine to get 100% "Treat" votes. Cycles Gladiator makes an outstanding Pinot Noir, and it tastes even better when you know how inexpensive it is! It has a nice balance of earthiness with fruit and went very well with all our pairings.

• Finger food: mixed veggie tray, pigs in a blanket
• Cheese: smoked Gouda, Camembert
• Candy: Hot Tamales

2nd Place (tie) - 2009 Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc (78% Treat)
This is probably the wine we recommend to friends and family most often, so it was good to see it do well in our tasting. It's a dry Sauvignon Blanc (hence, "Fume Blanc") that is a very smooth drinker and goes well with a wide variety of food.

• Finger food: cranberry feta pinwheels with ham
• Cheese: lemon feta spread
• Candy: candy corn

2nd Place (tie) - 2007 Ravenswood Napa Valley Old Vine Zinfandel (78% Treat)
I've got nuthin' to say about this one because I voted "Trick". It wasn't my favorite, but many of our guests said the wine grew on you, especially with food.

• Finger food: pepperoni pizza bites
• Cheese: aged cheddar, Dubliner
• Candy: Skittles

4th Place - 2008 Blackstone Winemaker's Select Cabernet Sauvignon (75% Treat)
This wine was exactly what a good, inexpensive bottle of wine should be. An easy drinker that's light on flavors, tannins, and alcohol taste so it goes well with a wide variety of food.

• Finger food: open-face London broil sandwiches (mmmmm, soooo good!)
• Cheese: blue Stilton, brie
• Candy: Hershey's Miniatures

5th Place - 2008 Hess Chardonnay (56% Treat)
Hard to believe a Hess didn't fair well, but it drew mixed reviews from our guests. Some really enjoyed its neutral Chardonnay flavors - not too much butter and not too much tart fruit. Others felt the flavor was a little 'off' and they didn't like it with their food.

• Finger food: vegetable egg rolls
• Cheese: Monterey jack, double cream Gouda
• Candy: Reece's Peanut Butter Cups

Clos du Val Reserve Pinot Noir

We notice the effect that food has on Pinot Noir perhaps more than any other wine. It is delicate, but it can still be complicated enough to reveal nuances of flavor when paired with different dishes. (In other words, it's fun, it's tasty, and it goes well with good chow!)

Sally and I shared a bottle of 2005 Clos du Val Reserve Pinot Noir at the Prado last Sunday night. The Prado is one of our favorite restaurants and it features a very 'pinot-friendly' menu. Sally had their outstanding beef short ribs while I enjoyed their Colorado rack of lamb. Both were very, very delicious. Both also went very well with the wine.

We could taste a lot of fruit when we sipped the Clos du Val, followed by a hint of spiciness, and a fairly subtle version of Pinot Noir's trademark earthiness on the finish. (Note to self: "earthy" sounds way better than "hints of leather", which is how it's described on Clos du Val's website.)

The wine was very good, though it doesn't rank among our favorites. We prefer a little more balance and rich flavors, especially for a wine like this that's a little higher on the price scale ($50 for the current release).