If you're old enough to remember the "French Paradox" you remember that CA Merlot sales took off afterwards. And it's happening again with Pinot mostly because of "Sideways" and because wine is trendy (a topic for another time).
I love Pinot Noir. It's not too in-your-face (usually), not too high in alcohol (usually), and mostly because it versatile enough to go with many different foods or is great just by itself. I really love Russian River Valley Pinot. Yes, I have a local palate. Can't help that!
Pinot Noir is great young, with a few years of bottle age, and goes with lots of foods or just by itself. I use it to sub in when you're "supposed" to be having a white wine; such as with seafood.
However, supply and demand have kicked in. I see lots of $40 Pinots and maybe 25% are really good and worth the money. The good news, in Sonoma anyways, is there has been a lot of Pinot planted in the last five to ten years and there's still a lot in the pipeline. Maybe supply will catch up and we'll see some really good $25 Pinots in a couple years.
Some Pinot Noirs to look for in the $35 range (not sure on availability in retail outlets):
Balletto, Pellegrini, Russian Hill, Selby.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Oh no! Not another wine blog!
Welcome to Sonoma County, California!Why this blog is here -- and why it's a bit different from most:
What is the Current State of the California Wine Industry (mostly the Sonoma/Napa region)? And how much does it really matter? I mean, people are losing their jobs in the economic mess or their lives in the political mess we're in. So I won't take this too seriously if you don't.
I believe it should be light-hearted as I'm in this biz mostly because it's fun; NOT for the money (trust me on that one).
My perspective is one of being a consumer since about 1980 and working in tasting rooms on-and-off since the mid-80s. There have been many changes, mostly good, but not always. Though I work in the local wine biz I'm not mentioning who I work for nor will I talk about them in this blog to avoid any hint of commercialism.
My plan, for now, isn't to be another list of tasting notes until I run out of other stuff to talk about. And it's not just about Sonoma County, though that's what I know best.
What is the Current State of the California Wine Industry (mostly the Sonoma/Napa region)? And how much does it really matter? I mean, people are losing their jobs in the economic mess or their lives in the political mess we're in. So I won't take this too seriously if you don't.
I believe it should be light-hearted as I'm in this biz mostly because it's fun; NOT for the money (trust me on that one).
My perspective is one of being a consumer since about 1980 and working in tasting rooms on-and-off since the mid-80s. There have been many changes, mostly good, but not always. Though I work in the local wine biz I'm not mentioning who I work for nor will I talk about them in this blog to avoid any hint of commercialism.
My plan, for now, isn't to be another list of tasting notes until I run out of other stuff to talk about. And it's not just about Sonoma County, though that's what I know best.
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