Crew Testimonials

"You have impacted the wine scene more than you will ever know."

David Hejl

"Thanks for all you do! Information, reviews and insight are simply remarkable!"

Mike Twilling

"Thank you so much for continuing to produce this publication. Your reviews and insight are invaluable in helping me to discover new pinot noir producers and to learn more about them."

Bob Ancharski

"I do faithfully read POP. Thanks for keeping POP going. I rely on it for solid Pinot information."

Wayne King

"Thank you for your newsletter - I look forward to it and appreciate the time and effort you put into it!"

David Price

"I don't know how you do it...you have been doing these newsletters for YEARS!. At least now I don't sign up for every new winery you review since I have more wine than I can drink now. Thanks for all of the adventures."

David Lee

"Thanks for being the Pinot Noir missionary, brother Pinot! To the genie in the bottle."

Dyson DeMara, HillCrest Winery

"This is just a short note to thank you for being the Prince of Pinot for these many years. I have consulted your work over the years while doing research used in writing wine auction catalogs. Your PinotFile newsletters were always an immense help and a pleasure to read. I just wanted to acknowledge you with my thanks." His email was titled, "I want to be like Rusty."

Tom Miller

"Just wanted to let you know we love your newsletter. It is outstanding and allowed us to discover some amazing off-the-beaten-track Pinots."

Steven Silver

"Your comprehensive style and approach are really appreciated and you are to be commended."

Chuck Hayward

"I print and read every issue."

Stan Widger

" When I see your newsletter in my email I have to smile because it is like seeing an old friend who I miss. My two sons are also happy about your wine reports."

David L. Price

"Well done newsletter especially the recent articles on the history of the wine newsletter. Love when facts are challenged and when inaccurate are updated/corrected. Love the newsletter!"

Don Salveson

"I follow you for your wine recommendations and I have admired your balance, your truthfulness and humility. Your thoughtfulness, intellectual curiosity and honesty are self-evident. And I applaud your energy!"

Sheldon Robbins MD

"I enjoy your newsletter and have tried several wines at your recommendations. I have also learned many interesting things about Pinot Noir."

Bill Desler

"I have been reading your wine blog for over 10 years now and have enjoyed it immensely. It's absolutely first rate. I've always enjoyed your wine reviews in particular, as the descriptors seem to match well with the way I assess wines. Thanks again for doing what you do."

Rick Sequin

"I came across your newsletter a few months ago and I am very pleased that I chose to subscribe. I also subscribe to the wine magazine usual suspects. But the one I look forward to every month and actually read is yours. You have given me some good tips and I appreciate the content that you offer."

Kraig Haviland

"Since I found you my cellar has changed complexion and now is mostly made up of Pinot. It was through your guidance that I found Soliste, Black Kite, Evesham Wood, Rhys, Maggy Hawk, Harmonique and a bunch of wines from Anderson Valley. It was through your recommendation that I attended the Anderson Valley Pinot Festival in 2017. Your recommendations fit into my taste so seamlessly. There was a time recently when you said that the wines were sold out, but I sent an email to the winery and said that you recommend I try to get on their mailing list and they instantly sent me an allocation. Thank you so much.

Michael Kennedy

"I want to thank you for the treasure trove of great Pinot and Chardonnay information that you share in your newsletter. It is a fabulous resource for all wine lovers, but especially for those of us living far away from the West Coast. Thank you for all the effort and passion that you put into it."

David Hewitt

"I have profited greatly from your insight over the past several years, and I have found your perspective on wine coincides to a less sophisticated degree very often to my own."

Robert Price Wright

"I have been enjoying your newsletter for many years and greatly appreciate your efforts."

Steve Frappier

"I have been a wine drinker for 30+ years, but over the past few years I have really learned to appreciate Pinot Noir and can't seem to get enough of it. I really enjoy your newsletter and use it regularly as a point of reference when researching wines and wineries that I am unfamiliar with. I value your ratings and reviews, and I have never been disappointed when trying wines that you have highly rated."

Bob Ancharski

"You have introduced me to some wineries I wouldn't have patronized. You have helped me broaden my horizons."

Chris Clark

"I have been following you for a while now and you have yet to steer me wrong. The profiles of wine that you taste are very much in line with my tastes. I have shared your information with a bunch of my friends here on the East Coast and my local wine shop has allowed me to share my wine and expand peoples' tastes. Keep up the good work."

Michael Kennedy

"Love your articles on industry trends. Keep up the good work. How could you not enjoy great wine for a hobby/passion."

Jack Atkins

"I have been a reader for quite awhile and buy based on many of your selections. Seldom disappointed. Thanks."

Jack Calcagno

"Your suggestions and reviews have cost me a lot of $$, and provide me with a ton of pleasure. The reviews and wine news are all given from the heart without expectation of monetary gain or accolades of any kind. This is what true giving is all about. Thank you."

Andy Shott

"What a labor of love and learning the Pinot directory is. Wow!

Diana Stockton

"Your lead article is just wonderful. Bravo for adding spice to our regular email feed. Keep right on pimping PN!"

John A. Fisher

" Thank you for helping to educate and excite people about wine. What you do allows hose-draggers like me to keep doing what I love to do. Thanks for all you do."

Greg La Follette

"I don't even know how many years I have been looking forward to your next newsletter. You have increased my enjoyment and knowledge of Pinot Noir immensely. I was one of the supporters who encouraged you to include your personal tasting ratings and now I use your ratings as a cipher of what I like. Keep up the good work."

Dick Day

"I have thoroughly enjoyed your newsletter and find your tasting criteria much closer to mine than Jim Laube or Robert Parker. Keep up the great newsletter!"

Richard Roessler

"I wanted to let you know how much I enjoy getting your newsletter via email. You have made some good winery recommendations for me in California when I have gone on wine safaris to different regions."

Ronnie Coleman

"I really enjoy your site and all you do. I pretty much only trust your ratings above all else for Pinot."

Kevin Snorf

"I continue to be amazed at the scope and depth of your coverage!"

Jim Schultze, Windy Oaks Estate

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm enjoying your site immensely. Great, dedicated, and passion-infused work."

Drew Sievers

"THANK YOU for extending, no, improving the Canon of California Pinot. That's big. You've done it with love and integrity and it shows. Your considerable contribution is read theologically. I raise my glass to you, absolutely."

Andrew Graef

"Thanks for continuing to publish the PinotFile newsletter. It is always filled with great information and has steered me to many wonderful Pinots over the years. Thanks for all your efforts at keeping us educated!"

Tom L. DeVine

"Thank you for your service to American Pinot Noir lovers for the past eleven years."

Dennis Sienko

"I wanted to thank you for taking so much time out of retirement to produce what I believe is the best pinot noir periodical in the country. My work takes me to places where most locals would have a difficult time spelling pinot, much less knowing that much about it! On the tougher trips, I find myself re-reading your issues in an effort to remind me what I have to look forward to when I get back home."

Al Prince

"Rusty is a passionate writer on the vast subject of Pinot Noir. We love him because he can't be bought, swayed, charmed or otherwise bribed to give a wine a great rating (how refreshing in the world of wine writers these days)."

Tina Hammond, winemaker, Privé Vineyard

"I am blown away at your website. I am telling all my clients and wine friends about you, and what you are doing for us Pinot lovers. Keep up the great work you are doing!"

George Zarate

"Thanks for the reviews. I was going to email you when I sent the wines and tell you how I find them to be among my best ever. No need to do that, you nailed it. There is no other source that comes close to you on American Pinot Noir. I tell people this all the time. I learn more from your newsletter than any contemporary reviews of Pinot Noir."

Steve Lutz, Lenné Estate

"Thank you so much for the glowing article!"

Amy Wesselman, International Pinot Noir Celebration

"A sincere note of thanks for all you do through the newsletter. Your work has enhanced my appreciation of pinot and its producers. My cellar is better and so is my overall enjoyment of wine. Whether it is your well researched technical pieces or your tasting notes I am a grateful beneficiary of your work." "I trust a heartfelt thank you while no where near as impacting as your work will have some value in knowing how much enjoyment you create on the part of your readers…this reader for sure."

Walter Crutchfield

"Thank you for a stellar write up of Pinot history. Incredibly detailed and impeccably researched."

Kerith Overstreet, Bruliam Wines

"Your writing style is really superb and the attention to detail is noteworthy. PLEASE keep up the good work. Despite not writing to you in the past on your many fine articles, I have to say I look forward to every issue."

Ken Mapes

"Burt Williams tribute, Wow. I knew a lot of this and have been on the list for some time, but this is really special, thank you."

Jim Caudill

"I would like to send my great appreciation to you for your perseverance in this worthy pursuit and how much my wife and I enjoy every issue. I download and save each one for our pinot hunting excursions."

Chris Ward, Atlanta, Georgia

"The quality of YOUR product including the research, advice and writing is far superior to most of the so called reviews and commentary out there. Your advice and direction over the years have played key roles every time we have planned a trip to Northern California."

Mindy Posoff

"There are many wine-based newsletters and blogs. I have not found any that come near your in-depth reporting of the Pinot Noir segment of the business. I am always amazed at how much territory you cover to get your newsletter out each issue and appreciate the expense you go to in order to get it to us."

Richard Alfaro, Alfaro Family Vineyards

"I really enjoy your site, which I feel goes so much farther to educate people about tasting wine (as opposed to just force feeding them opinions) than other options out there. My compliments."

Melissa Casteel, Bethel Heights Winery, Willamette Valley, Oregon

"Thanks to your report last year, I discovered Windy Oaks Estates and fell in love with their wines - I am a member in their preferred pinot wine club - fortunate enough to get in before the club got wait-listed - the other small winery that I discovered from your reviews was Laura Volkmann winery in Oregon - fabulous pinots!!! I have to be choosy about getting wine shipped to me, as the shipping charges from the West Coast to New York can be rather hefty."

Ralph Biller, NY

"I LOVE your take on my very favorite varietal and learn so much from your tastings, winery write-ups, and adventures. Keep up the good work."

Charles B. Simmons, Houston

"I have found his Pinot recommendations to be absolutely spot-on, much better than those from Greg Walter's Pinot Report, for example."

Dan

"Thanks for sharing your love and knowledge for Pinot Noir - I enjoy the PinotFile and appreciate all the work you put into it."

Bob Smith

"You continue to educate me and make me smile. Keep it up."

Lou Wood

"I appreciate your time and effort on the PinotFile - it's been a great educational tool for me as a learning Pinot fanatic. I have been able to get on several mailing lists like Radio-Coteau, Rivers-Marie, and Gypsy Canyon after trying the wines based on articles you wrote."

Sandy Porter

"Please add us to your email list. Of all the wine newsletters, and especially those that concentrate on pinot noir, we enjoy yours the most by far. We currently live in South Lake Tahoe but have just purchased a 7 acre pinot noir vineyard in the southern Willamette Valley. We will be relocating in the spring and begin to build our retirement project. We look forward to sending you a couple of bottles within a few years! Keep the great newsletter coming!"

Brian and Therese Schafer, Monroe, Oregon

"I have been reading the Prince of Pinot newsletter for about 3 months now, and I am massively enjoying it. While I can't believe that there is no subscription fee (yet!), the newsletter has already cost me a lot of money in Pinot Noir purchases. As of yet, I have only tried one of the wines I have signed up for based solely on his recommendations (Windy Oaks), and I have been very pleased. On this wine, and others that he has written about which I am familiar with, our palates seems to be aligned."

"Furthermore, The Prince writes about tiny producers that are not likely to be mentioned in any of the more popular periodicals...."

"Read all the posts on this thread at Mark Squires' Bulletin Board"

Errol Kovitch, Rochester Hills, MI

"We had visitors from Washington, D.C. They had heard about us in the PinotFile and wanted to come to our "Tasting Room." When we told them that we did not have a winery (we are "just a grower") and our tasting room would be our kitchen, they were even more happy to come visit and taste. If you don't already subscribe to the Pinotfile, google it and get on [the Prince's] list! It is a great weekly/bi-weekly newsletter. As I said, Rusty is not only very informed about Pinot Noir, he is extremely entertaining. His Pinotfile makes for a very good weekly read! "

Mike and Teela Ridgeway, Ridgeway Vineyards

"I just wanted to thank you for all you do for us devotees of Pinot Noir. I have found that I cannot rely on the wine critics like Laube and Parker. You never know what you are going to get from them. I have found that the wines you recommend suit my taste admirably. Keep up the good work, and again, thank you, thank you, thank you."

James, a loyal follower

"I just want to take a moment to thank you so much for producing the PinotFile. I look forward to receiving and reading every issue. It allows me on the East Coast the ability to learn so much about Pinot Noir that I would never be able to learn even though my wife and I take two trips to California every year. Thanks again for the great publication. It's much appreciated."

Richard Byrne

"You are a gift to a busy pastor of a much too large congregation who never has enough time do all the ‘Eucharistic research’ (that's what I call it!). You pave the way for my tastings and teach me every issue with both passion and fairness - what more could a guy ask?"

Chuck Simmons (aka Pinot Preacher), Houston, TX

"Keep up the great work on what is a well put together, informative, yet entertaining newsletter."

Chad, Singapore

"I print each and every one of them and read just about every word! I just love your newsletters! They really are the best that I have ever come across! Thanks so much for your stupendous work!"

Julianne Odell