Pinot Noir Shootout

I recently savored the opportunity to participate in The 5th Annual Pinot Noir Shootout: Women, Men and Pinot Noir. Over 230 Pinot Noirs were submitted by producers from California, Oregon, New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, and elsewhere and judged by a distinguished panel through a series of preliminary tastings during December, 2006, and January, 2007. The top 64 Pinot Noirs were then judged in San Francisco on January 17, 2007. The event culminates in The Pinot Noir Summit in San Francisco on February 10, 2007, where the final wines are showcased for the public and press.

This competition is quite unique for several reasons. Eight wines are tasted blind in 4 flights over several hours, allowing attentive and extensive evaluation of each wine, and eliminating palate fatigue as a factor in judging. At many major wine competitions such as the recent San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, judges must sample at least 100 wines a day and often many more. Judging at the Pinot Noir Shootout is independent of producer, appellation, and price. A 100 point scoring system is utilized but the emphasis is on the copious notes that each judge creates for the wines. The judging panel is comprised of a diverse group of over 40 Pinot Noir loving wine professionals including representatives from the press (Virginie Boone, features writer, Santa Rosa Press Democrat; Lynne Char Bennet, writer, San Francisco Chronicle; Laura Daniel, San Jose Mercury News; Joyce Goldstein, food and wine writer; Rosina Wilson, editor, Wine X Magazine, Leslie Sbrocco, author of Wine for Women; Alder Yarrow, wine writer, Vinography Blog; Norm Roby, wine writer; Graham Parnell, managing editor of Vineyard and Winery Management; Ron Wiegand, writer, Restaurant Wine; and yours truly), sommeliers (Joanna Breslin, Ana Mandara Restaurant; Christopher Sawyer, Tim Gaiser), wine buyers (Kristi Mohar, Fiesta Market in Sebastopol; Shaun Green and Michael Jordan, K & L Wine Merchants), winemakers (Anthony Austin, Sonoma Coast Vineyards; Patrick Melley, Russian Hill Estate Winery), and educators (Barbara Drady, Affairs of the Vine; Skip Hanson, Edgar Vogt and David P. Jones, Wine Works). There are more judges per entry than broad-based wine competitions. The results and reviews are gender based in that male and female judges’ scores and comments are tabulated separately.

The winning 40 wines will be announced at The Pinot Noir Summit to be held at 1 Fort Mason in San Francisco on February 10, 2007. Attendees of this event will have the opportunity to judge the wines blind in a walk-around format and compare their results with the professional judging panel. Consumers will also be able to meet the winemakers and/or winery owners of each of the finalists after they are judged and unveiled.

This year there was an additional element added to the judging: comparison of wines with and without food. At The Pinot Noir Summit, attendees will also be able to taste the wines blind without food and then taste the same wines with specially paired hors d’oeuvres.

Pinot Noir Workshops will also be held in conjunction with The Pinot Noir Summit and include: Here Comes the Clone - Discussion and Tasting; Food and Pinot Noir Pairing - An Exploration of Classic Pairings; The Fashion of Pinot Noir - Who’s Driving the Fashion?; A Question of Style - Winemaker panel will discuss their style of Pinot Noir; Discover the Velvet - A Vertical Tasting; Understanding Pinot Envy - Identifying Aromas and Flavors in Pinot Noir; Discovering New Stars - An Introduction and Tasting of Wines; and Location, Location, Location - An Exploration of Appellations.

For those Pinot Noir lovers in the Northern California area, this is a must-attend event. I can heartily recommend it. Consider: blind tasting of 40 top-rated Pinot Noirs, Pinot Noir Awards Ceremony, Pinot Noir Workshops, and a reception featuring noted Pinot Noir winemakers showcasing their wines - all for $100 per person! Readers of the PinotFile receive a 25% discount! When you register for The Pinot Noir Summit online at www.affairsofthevine.com, use the word prince (all lower case). Attendance is limited to 200 lucky pinoaficionados.

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Pinot Noir Shootout Favorites

Through my participation in preliminary tastings and the final tasting, I was able to sample almost 100 Pinot Noirs. One trend in style that seemed to characterize the tastings was that a number of the wines lacked the elegance, finesse, texture, and sensuality of Pinot Noir. Tasted blind, these generously fruited rather than classy or complex wines possessing high alcohol and heavy oak could easily be mistaken for Syrah. They had enormous richness and concentration, but lacked the proper balance of acidity, alcohol, texture, and tannins. A lack of acidity was noteworthy in a number of the wines. Acidity is crucial for refreshment, food, and aging. I like to call these wines “P-no-no-R”. There were, however, several excellent Pinot Noirs that I can recommend. Remember, these wines were not the judging panel consensus favorites, only my personal preferences. In talking with other judges, however, there was often consensus of opinion that supported the pedigree of these Pinot Noirs.

An interesting list of flavor and aroma components in Pinot Noir was compiled by Barbara Drady of Affairs of the Vine and handed out to the judges. I would like to share this list with you as it highlights the most commonly encountered descriptors in Pinot Noir. It is by no means a complete list. Cherry, raspberry, raspberry jam, strawberry, strawberry jam, rose petals, pine pitch, orange peel, oak, violets, peppermint, tangerine, coffee, chocolate, cinnamon, earth, cedar, grapefruit, barnyard, black cherry, quinine, Coca-Cola (I would add Dr Pepper), smoke, pomegranate, rhubarb, cranberry, tea, roasted tomato, blackberry, blackberry jam, wet leaves, mushroom, vanilla, plum, licorice, rose, mint, spearmint, currant, and dried cherry.

There were a number of other Pinot Noirs that did not leave me, as the French say, aux anges (floating with angels), but they were perfectly fine and decent examples of the varietal. These wines can often be more Burgundy-oriented and because of a more minimalist and acidic style, do not show well in a tasting lineup with more flashy wines.

2004 Carneros Creek Winery Carneros Pinot Noir 1000 cases, $40. A shy girl in the back row.

2004 Domaine Carneros Estate Carneros Pinot Noir 1043 cases, $60. A cinnamon treat.

2004 Estancia Stonewall Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir $25. Very restrained nose.

2004 Hallcrest Vineyards Vista Del Mare Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir 167 cases, $35. Cherry-vanilla Dr Pepper with a lengthy finish.

2004 La Rochelle Garys’ Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 95 cases, $75. For oak lovers

2005 Flying Goat Cellars Dierberg Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 425 cases, $42. Simple and fruity, but well-made.

2005 Ste Michelle Wine Estates Erath Vineyard Oregon Pinot Noir 50,000 cases, $16. Rich palate with hints of tobacco and oak.

2005 Fess Parker Winery Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir 1664, $25. A big cherry pie.

2005 Dr Konstantin Frank Finger Lakes New York Pinot Noir 560 cases, $25. Fresh strawberry jam with oak dust.

2005 Hahn Estates Winery Monterey Pinot Noir 22,000 cases, $18. Exotic woods, hi-profile tannins.

2004 Carneros Della Norte Los Carneros Pinot Noir 400 cases, $48. Burgundian austerity with appeal.

2005 Tom Eddy Monks Gate Yamhill-Carlton Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 191 cases, $55. Rose petals on a soft pillow.

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2007 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition is the largest competition of American wines in the world - 3,800 wines from 1,500 wineries in over 20 states. Held on Jan 9- 12, 2007, the latest competition involved 55 judges. Judging at this event takes some real strong palates as over 100 wines are often judged in only a few hours. The results are widely publicized and a public tasting of the award winners is held in the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, February 24, 2007 (for ticket information, www.winejudging.com). The public tasting can be a real zoo so you have been forewarned. All of the winners will be announced in February, but the major award winners have been released.

2007 Red Sweepstakes: 2005 Flying Goat Cellars Rancho Santa Rosa Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir. $44. Winemaker Norm Yost crafts small amounts of Pinot Noir in his Lompoc wine ghetto winery. The wine is available for purchase on the winery website at www.flyinggoatcellars.com.

2007 Best of Class Awards

Pinot Noir < $15.00: 2005 Jekel Monterey County Pinot Noir $14.99

Pinot Noir $15-$25: 2005 Laetitia Estate Arroyo Grande Pinot Noir $25

Pinot Noir $25-$25: 2004 Sharp Cellars Keenans Lane Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 344 cases, $32. Owner and winemaker Vance Sharp is one of the few African American winemakers making Pinot Noir. The wine is available on the winery’s website: www.sharpcellars.com.

Pinot Noir >$35: 2005 Flying Goat Cellars Rancho Santa Rosa Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir $44

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2006 Sonoma County Harvest Wine Competition

Best of Class >$25: 2004 Davis Family Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 300 cases, $38.

Best of Class <$25: 2005 Dutch Bill Creek Heintz Ranch Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $23. This winery was founded by winegrower Charlie Heintz in 1997 and is a small producer of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (1,000 cases). The label pays homage to William “Dutch Bill” Howard who was a settler in the Occidental area in the late 1800s. The wines are available through a mailing list or by phoning 877-874-3852. The website is www.dutchbillcreekwinery.com.

Gold Medal >$25

2004 Mietz Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $30

2004 D’Argenzio Bacigalupi Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir $36

2004 D’Argenzio Thorn Ridge Ranch Russian River Valley Pinot Noir $48

2004 WillowBrook Cellars Dutton Morelli Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 334 cases, $42. A newer winery established in 2001. The winemaker is Joseph Otos. Besides this Pinot Noir, there is a bottling from Owl Ridge Vineyard in the Russian River Valley. The wines can be purchased online at www.willowbrookcellars.com.

2004 Mahoney Vineyards Las Brisas Vineyard Carneros Pinot Noir $36. Francis Mahoney is a legend in Carneros where he has been a winemaker and grower for over 35 years. He founded Carneros Creek Winery in 1972 and for 30 years has conducted landmark clonal trials of Pinot Noir. In 2001 he left behind Carneros Creek to concentrate on farming his 110 acre Las Brisas Vineyard in Carneros. The current winemaker is Ken Foster who spent 15 years at David Bruce Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The wines are available on the informative website at www.mahoneyvineyards.com.

2003 Larson Family Wines Estate Carneros Pinot Noir $30. The Larson family has owned the land where the winery sits in Carneros since 1877. Located just of Hwy 121 near the Sonoma Plaza, the tasting room is open from 10-5 daily. The wines are also available online at www.larsonfamilywinery.com. Currently, only the 2003 Reserve Pinot Noir is listed on the website ($50).

2003 Paradise Ridge Elizabeth & Henry’s Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $30

2004 TR Elliott Queste Russian River Valley Pinot Noir $32

2004 TR Elliott Three Plumes Russian River Valley Pinot Noir $32

Gold Medal <$25

2004 Kenwood Russian River Valley Pinot Noir $18

2005 Taft Street Winery Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $18

2005 La Crema Sonoma Coast $22

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Segue Pinot Noir

Stephen Yafa has written about wine professionally for many years including contributions to the San Francisco Chronicle. He decided to embark on an adventure of making his own wine and writing a book about the experience. Although he has not found a suitable and willing publisher as yet, he has found an outlet for his experience in his Big in the Mouth Blog at www.seguecellars.com. The blog is very entertaining as it takes the reader on adventures in and out of winemaking. “Cheap shots, unsolicited opinions, and erratic journal entries on my segue from writer to Pinot Noir winemaker.”

Along with guidance from noted winemaker Greg LaFollette, he crafted a 2005 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. The wine is a blend of three outstanding Pinot Noir vineyards: Balletto, Van der Kamp, and Sangiacomo. All of these vineyards are in an area of the Russian River Valley where daily fog cools the grapes as it funnels in from the Pacific Ocean, which is about 15 miles to the west. The grapes were cold-soaked for 7 days, then fermented using native yeasts and hand punch downs. The wine was aged in 50% new and 50% neutral French oak for 11 months and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Bottled October 20, 2006.

Segue Cellars 363 N. Ferndale Ave, Mill Valley, CA 94941. The website is www.seguecellars.com. Stephen Yafa can be reached at 415-389-1183 for ordering wine. 20 cases remain.

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Molnar Family Pinot Noir

Nicholas Molnar is a Hungarian refugee who escaped Communist rule in 1956. In the late 1960s, he discovered Napa Valley and the wines reminded him of those from his homeland. He began buying land and developing vineyards throughout the Napa Valley. In 1973, he planted Poseidon’s Vineyard at the confluence of Carneros Creek and the Napa River at the northern edge of the San Francisco Bay. This was one of the few vineyards in Carneros which at the time was largely composed of sheep ranches. Cooling winds blow through the Petaluma Gap from the Pacific Ocean and bring fog throughout the growing season to temper the heat. Over the next 30+ years, Molnar supplied grapes to notable wineries such as Joseph Phelps, Heitz Cellars, Sterling, Pride Mountain, Acacia, and Mumm Napa Valley. There is a rumor that local Carneros legend, Boonfly, is buried in Poseidon Vineyard.

The Molnar sons wanted their own label and so they partnered with Michael Terrien to make Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from their own vineyards in the cool southern end of the Napa Valley. Michael Blaise Terrien is a University of California Davis trained winemaker who crafted wine at Acacia for a number of years and is now at Hanzell. He also makes wine for Kazmer & Blaise and Obsidian Ridge, which like Molnar Family, is part of the Tricycle Wine Company group (www.tricyclewineco.com).

Molnar Family wines are distributed to fine wine retail stores such as Roots Cellar in Healdsburg. There is a mailing list signup at www.tricyclewineco.com

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Wine Money

Wine and money are intractably linked because it takes plenty of money to buy a little good wine. You have probably handed over your share of $100 dollar bills for some great Pinot Noir, but have you ever taken the time to look at our funny money. In 2003, the U..S. Treasury began retooling our paper currency to prevent North Korean counterfeiting. Now it is decorated in pastel colors.

Dan Neil, writing in the Los Angeles Times, notes that American bank notes picture “Dead White Men.” He points out that “If we’ve relearned anything recently, it’s that politicians can’t be trusted. Why should we require their image to ratify our money?”

I suggest that we put the images of notable wine luminaries on our money because so much of it changes hands in the purchase of fine wine. I mean, who better to trust than Robert Parker, Jr. who hands out wine scores with unshakeable integrity. He accepts no bribes or advertising so he would make a perfect monetary saint. I would propose that we put his picture on the $100 dollar bill in honor of the 100 point wine scoring system. We could also use him on a $1 million dollar bill, if we had one, to honor his “million dollar nose.”

Fred Fanzia, although some of his business practices at Bronco Wine Co have been reproachable, would be perfect for the $2 bill (in honor of Two Buck Chuck sold nationwide at Trader Joe’s markets). Big business wineries could also sponsor currency. How about the Mondavi $20 bill, the Gallo $10 bill, and the Sebastiani $5 bill?

For the $1 bill we need someone ubiquitous, preferably a woman, to grace the bill. Maybe no wine person is in the public eye enough to warrant such an honor. We probably need to look outside wine for a figure here. We could consider Paris Hilton and instead of “In God We Trust,” we could put “It’s Hot!” on the currency. Or maybe Brittany Spears with the phrase “Howyadoin’” next to her mug shot. Actually, I think I would vote for Rachel Ray because her face graces every newsstand in the country, she is the face of food (and isn’t wine food?) and for $1 we can get a value meal at most any fast food restaurant. “Yum O!”

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Buena Vista 150th Anniversary

This week in 1862, Count Agoston Haraszthy imported 100,000 rootstock cuttings from Europe. He was a Hungarian immigrant who purchased the Vallejo Vineyard in Sonoma County and renamed it Buena Vista. He became known as the father of the California wine industry and Buena Vista became California’s first premium winery. Today, Buena Vista is the state’s longest continuous operating winery and will be celebrating it’s 150th anniversary.

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Drink Up or Procrastinate?

One of the wine enthusiasts I know is prone to say, “It’s not ready to drink. It’s a baby, a Lolita.” Sometimes I wonder if he ever enjoys a bottle of wine, since he drinks with guilt, always thinking the wine might be better with more age. Judgments about when wine will reach its peak are very subjective. For me, I don’t want to be encumbered by worried thoughts about how long to cellar wine - I just pop the cork when I feel like drinking it.

Most American Pinot Noirs are ready to drink upon release, and although they generally improve with a couple years of time in the cellar, they are not made with long term aging in mind. Sommelier Lauriann Greene-Solin has stated that only 20% of wines improve with aging beyond one or two years. This is because current winemaking techniques favor fruitiness and freshness, not extraction of tannins needed for a wine to age well. Over the years, tannins tend to round out, tastes blend together, and complex or secondary aromas (termed bouquet) will emerge if you catch a wine at its zenith.

Good balance in a wine (acidity and tannins in balance with alcohol) are a necessity for aging potential. Balance must be there from the beginning, because wines never become more balanced with time in the cellar.

Persistence is also important for aging. Count the number of seconds a wine’s aroma lasts once you spit or swallow the wine. If it lasts longer than six seconds, the aging potential is good. More than eight seconds, and the wine will likely last a number of years in the cellar.

The golden rule of cellaring wine is not to let it slip past its prime. When a wine is over the hill, it will never come back to life. When you discover a Pinot Noir is at its peak, pull the cork on every bottle you own, invite me over, and let’s party. If the wine is on the down slope, don’t bother to call, for I prefer Lolita over the decrepitude of old age.