Gone Walkabout, Pinot Walkabout

In the Aboriginal cultures of Australia, the term walkabout refers to a rite of passage. When males reach adolescence they step outside of their daily routines to honor and follow their family's ancestral customs and history. Young men would live and wander the outback for as long as six months as they traced their ancestor's stories or "songlines."

IPNC, which has become an annual rite of passage for Northwest Pinot Noir fanatics, has finally come to its senses and is allowing us the opportunity to celebrate Pinot Noir more than once a year starting on May 1st with the Pinot Walkabout: The People's Pinot Event. The Pinot Walkabout brings Oregon Pinot Noir literally to the streets. Or at least very near to the streets, as they'll be inside various restaurants on Portland's Eastside. (Actually taking Pinot out on the street could result in an open container citation.)

Portland's Beaker & Flask Noble Rot and Simpatica will each be hosting five Willamette Valley wineries pouring Pinot Noir for a very limited 100 ticket holders. Participants will receive an assigned starting place with their ticket and will stroll, saunter, swagger and or strut to each location to sample and savor Oregon's finest contributions to the world's palate.

IPNC has also partnered with Portland's Pedi-Cabs for those less inclined to the actual Walkabout portion of the event, for you it would be the Pinot-Sit-While-Someone-Else-Pedals-About. Tickets can be had HERE.

Participating wineries include: Adelsheim Vineyard, Amity Vineyard, Archery Summit Winery, Bethel Heights Vineyard, Elk Cove Vineyards, Erath, The Eyrie Vineyards, Lemelson Vineyards, Ponzi Vineyards, R. Stuart & Co., REX HILL Vineyards, Sokol Blosser Winery, Soléna Estate, Stoller Vineyards, Yamhill Valley Vineyards

Pinot Noir is for the Children

You’ve heard me say it a million times, there’s nothing like Oregon Pinot Noir. Nothing. It’s a thing of beauty, complexity, elegance and strength all wrapped into one, granting you magical access to the soil, wind and spirit of the Willamette Valley. When it’s done well it can be a religious experience and when done poorly it’s still hard to screw up. If there’s a downside to Oregon Pinot Noir, it’s that there’s a drinking age.

Thankfully though, IPNC (the best tasting event on this mortal coil) has teamed up with Hot Lips Soda to make Pinot Noir Soda, which means that now you can supply Pinot to the younger generation. In what is probably the most earth shattering invention for the children since the Weebles, which wobble, but don’t won’t fall down, IPNC and Hot Lips Soda have struck gold. There is a rumor afoot that this soda will make children smarter, taller and more eloquent.


Fruit for this first release of Pinot soda comes from Archery Summit and Rex Hill wineries and comes from 2010’s tempestuous growing season. This lovely beverage was brewed in McMinnville, home to the annual mecca that is IPNC. What this earth shattering development means is that the wild-eyed youth clamoring for terroir-driven Oregon Pinot can now have their way, because Pinot Noir soda has finally arrived. Punk ass Willy Wonka has nothing on Hot Lips Soda. Booyeah.



The Hot Lips/IPNC Pinot Noir Soda will make its debut at IPNC 2011. If you didn’t have a reason to go before, now you do. And you don’t need a babysitter.

Spend Quality Time with R. Stuart & Co. Winery

If you're reading this blog you obviously have great taste, and chances are good that you've visited a tasting room before. Some of them are sparse and warehouse-y, and some are very beautiful and welcoming. The goal of any tasting room is to get you to taste their wine, you can usually tell this from the name, tasting room. However, if you've been to a lot of tasting rooms, as I have (don't judge), you have probably seen some patrons walk into a tasting room with preconceived notions. These patrons might begin and end with one type of wine; they either love or hate red or white and so don't taste through the whole flight. They throw back their "tastes" much like one might throw back shots of vodka and then in the words of Jay Z, "On to the next one." Wine is purchased (or not) and you may hear a well informed question now and again.

Most people will tell you, though, and I completely agree, that wine is about relationships. It's a drink to be shared among friends over dinner, to accompany a conversation or for a special occasion. Many of us tend to buy wine we’ve had good experiences with, or wine that a friend has recommended. The wine bar at R. Stuart & Co. Winery is all about relationships. It’s more a bar or cafe setting, and feels cozier than what you'll typically find in a tasting room. For us, it was the setting for the beginning of another great wine relationship.

Gwynne and I were cooling our jets after a bicycle ride through the beautiful rolling hills of Willamette Valley. Between lunch and the IPNC Passport to Pinot, we were checking out bucolic downtown McMinnville. A chance communication over Twitter and lucky wandering found us outside the doors of R. Stuart Wine.

When we introduced ourselves and had a seat at the bar to taste their wine, Maria Stuart (one of the owners and wife of winemaker Rob, who is the R in R. Stuart) recommended we join a group sitting at a nearby table instead. At the table were Rob, Christina Collado from Cubanisimo Vineyards and her husband. Maria Stuart, of course, and Kathy Joseph from Fiddlehead Cellars in California.

As the scene unfolded, we found that we were in for a real treat; in addition to their standard tasting flight, Rob ran us through the paces. We started with one of the most unique wines I've ever had in the Northwest: R. Stuart's Vin Tardive. The Vin Tardive is made from Pinot Gris and this wine runs totally counter to your expectations. Reminiscent of the Vendage Tardive of France's Alsace region, this late harvest fruit and skinny little bottle have you expecting sweetness on the palate. Au contraire, mon frère (ha!). The acidity on this wine makes it a wonder to behold and wonderful to drink, perfect paired with cheese or the sformato recipe Rob and Maria included on their website. Rob is still working to perfect this little number but I recommend it highly. It’s a delightfully unique example of a very balanced late harvest wine.

As we tasted through the Pinots, the conversation wandered mightily; from wine to area rugs, from transporting wine to California in a refrigerated truck to commerce. One of the highlights was the opportunity to taste two single vineyard Pinots that are planted right next to each other. The Ana Vineyard Pinot butts up against Weber Vineyard, no more than a "tractor's width" from one another but planted nearly 10 years apart. These wines are a fascinating study in the difference that older vines can make. Ana, planted in the mid 70s, and Weber, planted in the mid 80s, show some similarities - both had an element of spice. Gwynne and I both found the younger vines to be a bit rounder and exhibiting darker fruit elements. If you ask me for a good reason why it's easy to become a bit of a geek about the nuances in wine, I would hold these two bottles up as an example.


Rob tasted us through the Temperance Hill next and we were just over the moon about it. With amazing acidity, owing to its 750 to 800 feet of elevation, this wine hints at a smokiness and darker bold fruit. This is (yet another) example of why I can't really get too much Oregon Pinot, and we took a couple bottles of this home with us.

R. Stuart makes such a wide range of Pinots at a variety of price points and they're all worthy of your consideration. Given the diversity and Rob's philosophy of showcasing the fruit and hence the site, you're very likely to find something that speaks to you. If you're lucky you'll have the opportunity to speak to Rob and Maria about what makes Pinot - and the wine community here in the Willamette - special to them. What it kept coming back to were the people and the relationships. As we left R. Stuart for IPNC, we felt just a little bit closer to the wine community here in McMinnville and we understood just a little bit more what makes it such a unique place.

The Passport to Pinot; A tale of Reunion & Discovery

Traffic through Portland aside, going back to the Willamette Valley is always a joyous occasion for me. I savor the opportunity to reconnect with old friends like Sheila & Nick Nicholas of Anam Cara Cellars and I always eagerly look forward to making new friends, finding new wine gems and enjoying the people & the Pinot of the gorgeous Willamette Valley.

Gwynne and I packed up our car early Saturday morning and prepared to crash the campus of Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, which has played host to the International Pinot Noir Celebration every summer for the last 24 years. We scored a room in one of Linfield's very satisfactory dormitories, which, I might add, had fantastically convenient proximity to the Grand Tasting, Passport to Pinot.

In the run-up to Sunday's Passport to Pinot event, there were lots of wines, vineyard visits and excellent food and you'll get to read about all of that. I want to focus on Passport to Pinot because that was the event that prompted our trip to McMinnville. Gwynne and I are both madly in love with Oregon's incomparable Pinot Noir and so the opportunity to sample much of the wine that was poured over the four days of the IPNC events was a siren call we couldn’t refuse.

The IPNC is four intense days of seminars, blending workshops and pairings stretching from Thursday to Sunday morning. The Passport event, held Sunday afternoon, reprises the Al Fresco tastings from Friday and Saturday, and so typically has different attendees. It’s a great offering of a more affordable tasting opportunity for the newcomer or the slightly less dedicated fan of Pinot. Passport also allows the wineries highlighted during the Al Fresco tastings to showcase their wines to a wider audience.

The Passport to Pinot was beautifully situated in the Oak Grove at Linfield College. Each attendee was given a Riedel Oregon Pinot Noir glass and invited to have at it, giving us an opportunity to taste Pinot from approximately 60 wineries pouring at the event in two shifts. While Oregon was the most well-represented region, there were wines from all over the world. It is, after all, the International Pinot Noir Celebration. Tending toward regionalism as I do, I was very pleasantly surprised by some amazing Pinots coming from Argentina, Austria, and Canada.

We ran into Sheila and Nick early on in the afternoon, and Sheila introduced me to Cole Danehower. Cole is the author of Essential Wines & Wineries of the Pacific Northwest and Northwest Palate Magazine. Cole & I got into a disagreement about Canadian wines when he told me there was some really good wine coming out of Canada. I confess that later in the day, I came to eat, or rather drink my words after I tried the Pinot Noir from Tantalus. A few hours later I sauntered up to Cole and said, "Cole, I do believe some humble pie is in order." Humble pie goes great with Pinot, Canadian Pinot especially.

I was really taken by some of the Pinot Noir coming out of California is well. (That's a sentence I never really thought I'd write. Geez.) The wines of Carneros and Santa Rita Hills were especially nice. Santa Rita Hills is a little cooler and so I think that helps them out quite a bit.

Another surprise, and the winery with the longest line was Bodega Chacra, an Argentinian Pinot producer. The Pinot from Bodega Chacra was an ‘09 and I found it very understated. The guy pouring the wine however was very handsome, and so maybe that's why there was such a long line?

I still defer to Oregon for my Pinot Noir, and today was no exception. The Eyrie Vineyards ‘07 Estate, aka The Godfather, was really showing beautifully and it's not even released. I always find the wines of Anam Cara to be very much to my liking in any crowd. It was a pleasure to try the Roco Pinot, and I had a great time talking with Rollin Soles about our screw cap chat on Grape Encounters Radio.

It was nice running into other wine bloggers like Tamara from Sip With Me, and Allie from My Wine Words. The Passport to Pinot was a great event that also included an excellent spread of Oregon, specifically Portland, eateries. Restaurants, bakeries and caterers making a wide variety of food options that went well with this wide variety of Pinot Noir. There were some great bites from Bunk Sandwiches, Ken's Artisan Bakery (with canelé that won Gwynne's heart quickly) and Two Tarts Bakery (which also won Gwynne's heart with amazing macaroons, notice a theme).



Passport to Pinot is a great way to cram some of the amazingly rich experiences that make up the IPNC week into one day, with a much more approachable price tag. The event is as tasteful, or dare I say classy, as any tasting I've been to. Next year is the 25th year of IPNC, maybe it'll be my second. ( Tickets are already available.)

The World Needs Pinot: The International Pinot Noir Celebration

There was a song that I remember from, well, from a long time ago, and the lyrics are "what the world needs now is love, sweet love, that's the only thing that there's just too little of" and how love might cure all the world's ills. I like to think of myself as an optimist, but in this case I think the singer got it all wrong. Certainly, the world could use some more love, but I think the world would wildly benefit from more delicious earthy, complex and delicate Oregon Pinot Noir. Hell, we all could.

To that end witness the 24th Annual International Pinot Noir Celebration July 23 through the 25th 2010, billed as "Three days of Revelery in Oregon Wine Country." The person responsible for this phraseology is obviously highly talented in the art of the understatement. McMinnville, Oregon is going to be host to a proverbial orgy of the palate. (I am in no way implying that there will be an orgy, so get your mind out of the gutter. However, I am looking forward to seeing the blog's keyword search results spike in new and interesting ways.) There will be no shortage of incredible eats (50 NW chefs) as the weekend progresses through an array of amazing food and Pinot pairings(65 local and international wine makers). The Grand Dinner will highlight Northwest cuisine sourced from local farmers and up and coming culinary talent. A series of courses will be paired with specially selected Pinot Noir. The Northwest Salmon Bake will be a feast the likes of which you will not ever see again, unless you come back, or you get a White House invite. The visually dramatic Northwest tradition will be accompanied by what is described as "an extravagant" buffet that will include cellared Pinot Noirs from around the world. This event will take place on July 24th. That day, the world will be getting a lot of what it needs, and by my estimation we should see some swings in world peace, political turmoil and maybe even my Pittsburgh Pirates be on a winning streak.


photo by Andrea Johnson

Peppered throughout this culinary decadence will be seminars by winemakers and chefs, vineyard tours and luncheons, an opportunity to speak with and about wine media, and barrel making demonstrations. The weekend will wrap up with a more public event, and the one I'll be attending, the Passport to Pinot. Passport to Pinot is described as a "pocket version of the three day weekend" wherein you'll get to sample some 60 of the Pinot Noirs that have been poured throughout the weekend, as well as food prepared by some of the chefs that have been highlighted throughout the event, 12 of them, to be exact. The $125 price tag gives you the more approachable opportunity to sample what the $975 Full Weekend experience might have been like. Tickets for both are available here.

Besides the fact that you are essentially given an IV of Pinot Noir and some tasty treats from Oregon's best culinary talent, you're also contributing to a great cause. Salud, is an organization that works to provide health care for the vineyard workers who do a tough job for all this Pinot Noir that we get to enjoy. Proceeds from the event, as well as other auction and donation opportunities will go to assist the organization that works closely with the Oregon medical community to get care to the vineyard workers and their families. So buy your tickets, support a great cause, and enjoy some of the best Pinot Noir in the world.