pinot noir

Travel memories through wine

/ Greg / 1 Comment

I like to consider myself a fairly advanced travel planner, but sometimes you just need to tip your cap to serendipity. A week or two after booking my flight to Vancouver for a short winter vacation in February, I came to learn I’d be in the city at the same time as an international wine festival. Quickly scanning the festival schedule, I bought a ticket for a wine tasting event downtown. Three hours, a world’s worth of wines, and now, me.

Before the wine tasting kicked off and after polishing off a very large early dinner to fortify me, I went through the tasting program to find the wines I was most interested in trying. In that process I realized I was going to be taking a trip down taste memory lane from many of my past travels. Wine moreso than food or other drinks can bring my mind right back to a specific place and time.

Like a lot of other attendees, I circled one wine in particular – the Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle Champagne. Since coming back from France last spring and a magnificent trip to Reims, I have been more opportunistic in trying champagnes. Pushing close to $200 a bottle, there was a lineup for this wine most of the night. Anytime there was a break in the crowd I popped in for a sample. It was delicious on the first, second, third, fourth and I won’t say how many more tastings.

Vancouver International Wine Festival

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A day in Burgundy

/ Greg / 4 Comments

If I had to pick one wine, and only one wine to drink over the remainder of my days, it would be a toss up between pinot noir from Burgundy or the effervescent bubbly from Champagne. Coincidentally, on our visit to France this spring, we spent a couple of days touring these respective wine regions to help me solve this dilemma to which there really isn’t a wrong answer. I’ll leave the account of a day in and around Reims tasting world class Champagne for another post… this one is all about a spectacular day spent in Burgundy.

We took an early morning train from Lyon to Beaune and waiting for us at the quaint station was Patrick, an expert on all things Burgundy. He was our guide for the day and after some quick hellos and a sketch of our plans, we got into the back of his car to make our way to Auxey-Duresses for our first tasting and visit with a winemaker.

It couldn’t have been a better start to the day. Michel Prunier warmly welcomed us into his small facility. Although Patrick was available to translate where needed, Michel spoke in French slowly and we followed along except for the most technical of winemaking jargon. Michel explained his winery and its 5 generation family history and spent some time showing us the small batch of bubbly he makes each year in addition to his pinot noir.

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Oregon pinots before France

/ Greg / Leave a comment

I made a very difficult decision while visiting Portland in February. On a rainy afternoon, I gave up a precious afternoon beer tasting opportunity to visit Oregon Wines on Broadway to sample three higher end pinot noirs. Rough life eh?

If I could only drink one red wine the rest of my life, it would be pinot noir. At its best, its delicacy, earthiness and balance appeals to my senses. I’ve always thought of pinot noir as one of the truest expressions of wine and the expert craftsmanship that goes into it. Settling into an empty wine bar on a weekday around lunch, I was ready to sample the best of Oregon with a tasting consisting of three outstanding examples of the state’s signature grape.

Pinot noir tasting in Portland

I started with the J. Christopher Dundee Hills (2013). It was very cherry forward and I immediately noticed a bit of bottle age on this one and a touch more heat from the alcohol than a prototypical pinot. It may have been due to the rain pelting the window as I sampled it, but I quite enjoyed the extra bit of burn of this one going down. It was very pleasant and an easy sipper. My unrefined palate would say this is a great pinot for a fall day.

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