Pinot Noir Wrap-Up

July 20th, 2010

Two of the great values.

Before last Thursday’s global #pinotnoir Twitter tasting, I have to be honest: I’d never been very experienced with Pinot. I even wrote this past April that I’d never bought a bottle of it until then. Yeah, it’s embarrassing, but hey, it’s true. It’s just a wine that I’ve had little experience with. Now, a few days after the event, I’ve tasted a lovely variety and even had a dream involving the beverage. It was so intense that I was tossing and turning. Who knew that the Pinot had so permeated my thoughts? (And who knew that I was such a nerd, dreaming about wine?)

I’ve always been told that it’s hard to find an affordable Pinot Noir that isn’t thin and boring. I guess that probably got into my head and prevented me from really going out there and trying some lower end wines that were good. After the tasting on Thursday, I feel like I’ve got at least a starting point with the grape now. I was lucky to host a Boston based event with TJ and Hadley of The Urban Grape and they pulled some great wines for us to try, a few of which were amazing values.

The three that are actually in my price range were surprisingly good:

All in all, we tasted 7 wines and it helped to shape my perception of the grape. Verdict is: it’s pretty good.

Beyond the wine, it was my first ever hosted event. It was encouraging and proved that it’s something I’d like to keep on doing, even if this first one was rather small. Stay tuned. I might have some more tricks up my sleeve (nothing planned yet, though).

Filed under: Uncategorized Comments (14)

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  • http://twitter.com/vinotology Ben Simons

    Congrats on your first event! I always enjoy putting together wine events. Fun way to grow your community, and establish yourself as a leader in it.

    I think that it is certainly harder to find quality Pinot at lower price points, but it is not impossible by any stretch. Glad that you found some pretty good ones in your price range. The group favorite at the event I hosted was actually a $25 bottle of Pinot from Carneros (unfortunately I'm drawing a blank on the brand and don't have my notes in front of me.)

    • http://www.thewineingwoman.com/ Amanda Maynard

      That's exactly it. Perfectly stated, Ben.

      The higher prices wines did officially win our tasting, but I think all of the wines were really good, and for these low prices, I'd buy all of them so they're easy to recommend.

  • http://drinknectar.com Josh Wade

    Price does not always mean quality, but with Pinot being a challenging grape to grow, it can have a direct correlation. I'd be curious about the Angeline. I'm going to click the link and see what their distribution is!

    Great job on your first event.

    Josh
    drinknectar

    • http://www.thewineingwoman.com/ Amanda Maynard

      For the price, I think the Angeline is very solid for sipping, but it is rather light so it might be tough to pair with foods. It opened up considerably through the evening, though. I've had other Pinots at that price that weren't quite there, so it was nice to see something so affordable from such a picky grape.

      Thanks, Josh. Hopefully more to come!

  • http://twitter.com/thegreengrape Christopher Carbone

    Congrats on your first event!!! Many more to come A…………. Oh, and drink alot more pinot noir!!!

    • http://www.thewineingwoman.com/ Amanda Maynard

      Thanks a lot for coming, Chris! It was great to meet you and drink some good wine.

  • http://twitter.com/thegreengrape Christopher Carbone

    Congrats on hosting your first event! Great time. Mant more to come A…….. Oh, and drink more pinot noir!!!

  • http://www.sipwithme.blogspot.com Tamara

    Glad you were able to join the Pinot Party! As with any varietal, there are some winemakers that make better wines than others. And the same goes for the fruit. There are some growers that do a better job with whatever grapes they have planted than others. Try not to listen so much to others about thin and boring, there are some fantastic affordable Pinots, be brave and keep on tasting!!

    • http://www.thewineingwoman.com/ Amanda Maynard

      Thanks, Tamara. I had a lot of fun with the event and I'm really looking forward to doing more. I'm glad you helped to organize it.

      I try not to listen to naysayers and whatnot, but sometimes things seep in when you're not looking. I've totally busted my previous notions about Pinot and I'm ready to get out there and try some more.

  • Wes Hagen, Clos Pepe

    Just my $.02 as a pinot grower and maker. There is a reason why good pinot is expensive. In my world, it's because we provide our field workers with full medical benefits for them and their families, we farm meticulously, and get ridiculously low yields. I'm not saying you always get what you pay for (cough cough Burgundy cough cough), but in this economy there is little fat left in wine pricing.

    Thanks for coming to the elegant side! The pinot side!

    • http://www.thewineingwoman.com/ Amanda Maynard

      Thank you for your comment, Wes! It's always great to have the people doing the work jump in an offer their thoughts.

      I totally understand that the costs of the wines directly relate to how much it costs to pay your employees (and all of the other expenses you have) but sometimes, as consumers, we kinda forget that. It's good to be reminded of how hard people work to get this (delicious) juice into our glass.

  • April Yap

    Hi Amanda,

    I too thought that pinot has to be expensive to be good. Great that you have mentioned Angeline 2009, Cooper Hill 2008 and Sean Minor 2008 Pinot Noir which is all under 20USD!

    BTW, I wanted to ask you a question about your blog but I couldn't find a contact form. Let me know if I can email you!

    April

    • http://www.thewineingwoman.com/ Amanda Maynard

      Thanks for your comment, April. I have my email address on my Contact page. It's amanda (at) thewineingwoman.com.


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