Founding Fathers of Change

The Declaration of Pinot Independence

When in the Course of Pinot Noir events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. [Read more →]

Tags: Pinot Noir // Add Comment »

Stand back, there’s a new winemaker in Napa and he’s pushing his way through the crowd. 30 year old, Nick Floulis has made his first wine, a very exciting wine at that. It is labeled as a Sauvignon Blanc, but it isn’t your average Sauvignon Blanc.

The wine is very dry, it explodes with flavor as Nick has dialed up the right balance of yeasty pie-crust and saffron aromas, ripe fruit flavors of red apples, candied pineapple, and juicy white peaches along with a floral complexity and a racy citrus acidity.

[Read more →]

Tags: Tasting Notes // 1 Comment »

“A Tale of Two New Wine Movies.”  

(Which one will you like most?)

Two movies; each portrays the perspective of a different winery. Both movies stem from a wine tasting in 1976 that gave California international validation for being able to produce world class wine.

The first movie is about to hit the screens this weekend, it is called “Bottleshock.” From looking at the movie’s official site and viewing trailers, it seems as if this movie is trying to be a “Sideways” spinoff, by incorporating humor and the glamour of the wine world.

[Read more →]

Tags: Wine Movies, Wine News // Add Comment »

Oregon Pinot Camp is a four-day educational Pinot Noir festivity that is sponsored by 50 Oregon wineries. The 2008 event was attended by 270 invited guests. All participants were members of the wine trade from across the United States and Canada. The festivities included tastings, grand dinners, educational workshops, and interaction with winemakers and winery owners.

This blog is much longer than the entries I normally make, I broke this down into four parts, one blog per day of Pinot Camp.

Excluding the photos at the very top of this blog, you can click on any of the other photos to see a larger version. [Read more →]

Tags: Pinot Camp, Willamette Valley // Add Comment »

Day One: Sunday, June 22

The 270 “campers” were divided up into 6 different groups…based on hotel locations. There was a bus for each group, and a coordinating color assigned to each. I was with the green group/bus. Group psychology took its natural course and rivalries from one bus towards another bus took shape. For some reason the purple group envied the green bus and didn’t hesitate to graffiti our bus with anti-green sentiments. Of course, we members of the green group felt obligated to return in-kind. After all, we were the “Mean-Green-Drinking Machine”. These rivalries continued throughout the entire camp. [Read more →]

Tags: Pinot Camp, Willamette Valley // Add Comment »

Day Two: Monday, June 23

Workshop 4, was a multi-flight blind tasting and interactive discussion of white wines. This event was held at Bethel Heights Vineyard. The 1st flight featured a spectrum of Chardonnay styles produced in Oregon. The 2nd flight was a tasting and discussion about perceptions of Pinot Gris vs. Pinot Grigio. Wineries in Oregon are now allowed to use “Pinot Grigio” on their labels and the winemakers were “all ears”  when listening to the perspectives of wine-buyers from across the country. Finally, the third flight, focused on non-Chardonnay wines being produced in Oregon. [Read more →]

Tags: Pinot Camp, Willamette Valley // Add Comment »

Day Three: Tuesday, June 24th

The final day of Pinot Camp had everyone going in different directions. There were various events that we were able to choose from. Most attendees selected from one of the seven morning events and then attended one of the six different evening events. There were two all day events. I chose an all day event, which was Deep Sea Fishing with Willamette Valley Vineyards and Z’ivo Wines. There were about 20 people in this group. We enjoyed a wonderful, scenic drive to our coastal destination of Newport Bay. [Read more →]

Tags: Pinot Camp, Willamette Valley // Add Comment »

The most coveted bottle of wine in history was purchased at auction for $156,000 on December 5, 1985. Who bought it? What made this bottle so special? Where did it come from? Why was there so much controversy surrounding it? [Read more →]

Tags: Book Review // Add Comment »

 While twist-off bottle caps for wine are increasing in popularity, the rest of us die-hard romanticists still enjoy doing it the old fashioned way.  

I think it is somewhat empowering to be able to extract a piece of cork from a glass bottle without it shattering or spilling its contents, I think it gives people a sense of accomplishment that they don’t get from twisting off a tin enclosure.   [Read more →]

Tags: Cork vs. Screwcap // Add Comment »

Rumor has it that Amazon.com will be entering the wine business in the near future.  I wish them luck, as this will be a difficult undertaking.  [Read more →]

Tags: Wine Humor, Wine News // Add Comment »