pinot noir has become a taste bud. i have sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and pinot noir tucked away somewhere on one of the sides.

this was a pretty serious event, so i thought i’d break it up into three different parts over the next few days. part one will cover my experience as a novice taster, part two some producers i found interesting, and part three a few wines i found that are affordable and killer.

part un – part deux – part trois

part un: diary of a newb

i’m pretty new to organized tastings. i think i had only been to two before this year, although i’ve attended plenty of “tastings”…err…wine orgies before, which pretty much included just a bunch of wine and no spitoons. this event was quite a bit different, obviously…welcome to pinot days

i met up with dave of cheap wine finder just after the trade tasting opened at eleven, the bus was running late so cta effetively robbed me of twenty minutes of pinot noir (i’m demanding retribution.) i picked up my complimentary glass, and a bottle of fiji water. i don’t think you can find this much fijian water outside of fiji, it was all over the place.

thirst quencher

thirst quencher

the tasting was open only to trade from 11 to 1, and things really didn’t pick up until about two. so it was pretty intimate, with lot of time to talk with the winemakers and representatives for a few hours.
one thing i learned, i know shit about wine. although i didn’t think i was a master of wine or anything, but geezus, i should start a blog about pez or something. at one point i unwittingly entered a conversation with merry edward’s husband, ken coopersmith, and received a little lesson on brix levels and harvesting times. that was pretty much b.a.

i also learned palate fatigue first hand. i hit a stretch in the middle island table where everything was a huge 14+% abv, and after about five or six producers my mouth was shot. luckily it was pretty late and i had hit pretty much everyone by that time.

there were quite a few german pinot’s as well at candid wine’s booth and the aptly named, wines of germany. their pinot’s, or spätburgunder, have a very distinct funk, kind of like food left in a fridge a little too long. i promise you it’s not a bad thing…my notebook

candid also poured a couple blanc de noirs that were quite refreshing after a few hours worth of big alcoholic reds. morgan poured a stainless-steel fermented chardonnay that was delicious, although decidedly not pinot. whatever.

it was a great experience overall, got a real grasp of how broad the flavor profile for pinot noir can be, met some really cool producers, and i also learned i need to take legible notes and more pictures. everyone like a good picture.

stick around for part deux: awesome people making awesome wine.