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Ready for a touch of techy-but-tasty wine science? Join me in Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley, in the heart of Pinot paradise! Click on the video (I’m with my longtime friend, wine author Heidi Cusick Dickerson), then read on…
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FRIDAY’S TECHNICAL CONFERENCE:
Ever heard of saignée? How about anthocyanins? Or co-polymerization?
You haven’t? No problem. As you’ve probably guessed, all of these are rather esoteric terms used in winemaking. And luckily, you don’t need to know a thing about any of them to enjoy a good glass (or two) of vino.
Just follow the arrows to the Pinot Festival's kickoff event, the Technical Conference (and tasting)...
But if you’d like to turbo-charge your learning curve ~ about Pinot Noir and wine in general ~ the Technical Conference, Friday’s full-day event at the Pinot Festival, is the place to be.
This year’s speakers and discussion panels covered a huge spectrum of Pinot-focused topics, including vine nutrition (those precious grapes need their minerals, too!), wine yeasts (different varieties, or “strains” of yeast can make for very different flavors in the glass), and whole-cluster fermentation (which allows some of the juice to ferment within the intact grape “berries,” adding complexity).
The tech conference wasn’t all theoretical, though. During several presentations, the speakers led us through tasty and “edutaining” guided tastings of their wines. In one of these, five wines were poured “blind,” letting us taste and compare without preconceptions. (Did you catch the scene with the numbered bottles in the above video? That’s one more use for duct tape ~ hiding wine labels!)
In a session illustrating the nature/nurture aspects of winemaking, we sampled different Pinots from the same growing site ~ Ferrington Vineyard, one of Mendocino’s finest and best-known ~ made by different winemakers and wineries. It was fascinating to see the “family resemblance” among the wines (they were all made from the same grapes, after all), as well as the subtle differences that the winemaker’s hand can introduce. Needless to say, the quality was superb throughout.
Delicious, refreshing, food-friendly Pinot Noir Rosé from Toulouse Winery in the Anderson Valley.
In the session called “Think Pink,” we sampled both sparkling and “still” (non-sparkling) rosés made from Pinot Noir. They were beautifully made, delightfully fruity yet dry, and full of ripe, juicy flavor. (By the way, I’ve enjoyed and championed high-quality rosé wines for decades, and I’ll be bringing you lots of tastings and food pairings as we move from spring into summer.)
This year, for the first time, the tech conference’s afternoon program was designed for the consumer. (After all, although *making* great wine requires understanding the science behind it, *enjoying* it is another matter entirely!)
Award-winning wine author, educator, and media personality Karen MacNeil, in highly lyrical and evocative language, spoke about Pinot Noir from a purely hedonistic perspective. Her poetic descriptions of this complex, elusive varietal focused on the intangible essence of Pinot Noir. All in all, good Pinot is a wine to savor, to contemplate, and to bring to the table for an always-fascinating wine experience.
Wine author Karen MacNeil leads a presentation ~ including tasting ~ on *enjoying* Pinot Noir!
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FRIDAY’S FOOD:
And bring it to the table we did. Friday’s outdoor buffet lunch of (fantastic) pulled-pork sandwiches, heaped high with succulent, smoky meat. (Did you get to see mine in the video?) The pork, the cole slaw; and the best black-bean-and-corn salad I’ve ever had, proved beyond a doubt that the Anderson Valley’s world-class Pinot Noirs aren’t “above” a down-home picnic.
So many Pinots ~ so little time! (Not really ~ they were so *good* with the pulled pork that most of us tried a handful or more...)
The wine was help-yourself also, with bottles from a dozen or more wineries spread out for sharing. In the glass ~ some of the finest Pinot on the planet. On the plate ~ easy-going BBQ-style food. Incongruous styles? If so, nobody cared. It was all about the flavors ~ and the flavors meshed amazingly well. Pure Mendocino, all the way!
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My hero, gallant Eric Trifilo of Boont Berry Farm, brings me a heaping plate of paella. Fantastic!
Friday evening brought yet another sumptuous meal al fresco, overlooking a green sea of vineyards at Navarro, which dates back to 1974 as one of the Anderson Valley’s pioneering wineries. A hearty paella from Boont Berry Farm, loaded with sausage, chicken and mussels, was the star attraction ~ and just as at lunch, the wine flowed freely and paired with the food beautifully.
Tomorrow I’ll bring you with me to the big white tent at Goldeneye, an ultra-premium, all-Pinot winery, for the Grand Tasting. Food, music, dancing, and of course dozens of different Pinots to sip and savor. See you there!
Cheers, my friends ~
Rosina
