US Pinot Noir 2015

Thanksgiving, a holiday that really means nothing to me, is when I sell the most Pinot Noir. It’s a grape that has always been lauded as the best pairing with Thanksgiving meals. It’s also one of my favorite varietals due to the different expressions you can find of it throughout the world. One of my favorite quotes in the film ‘Sideways’ is when Miles is trying to explain to Maya his fascination with this grape:

“It’s a hard grape to grow, as you know. Right? It’s uh, it’s thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It’s, you know, not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and thrive even when it’s neglected. No, Pinot needs constant care and attention. And in fact it can only grow in these really specific, little, tucked away corners of the world. And only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it, really. Only somebody who really takes the time to understand Pinot’s potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, I mean, oh its flavors, they’re just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and… ancient on the planet.”

Basically, this is a grape that can’t just be grown anywhere in any climate by just anyone. It’s hard to grow and usually only flourishes in cooler areas. That’s why when my parents gave me a bottle of Old Soul Pinot Noir from Lodi, a California AVA known for being on the warmer side climate-wise I was a bit horrified.

They gave the bottle to me in a brown sack and made me promise not to reveal what it was before I tried it. I even went so far as to open the bottle with my eyes closed so as not to see the cork. When I tried it I was convinced it was Zinfandel or possibly Petite Sirah. When I finally pulled it out of the sack I was shocked that it was Pinot Noir, I hadn’t even considered it as a potential varietal for what was in my glass. That being said, it actually wasn’t a bad wine. Full-bodied, bursting with dark fruit notes and only medium tannins. It just wasn’t Pinot Noir and I found it harder to enjoy after knowing what it supposedly was.

Luckily I’d had a good Pinot earlier that week: Trisaetum Willamette Valley 2015. This is one of my favorite Oregon Pinots, partially because it’s so affordable and just so damn delicious. I hadn’t been able to find it in a while, but Kye brought it home after a shopping spree at Total Wine, and I was thrilled. It’s light to medium-bodied with ripe red fruit notes of strawberry, cherry and raspberry. It finishes with hints of black pepper and nutmeg, a hint of acidity and silky tannins. It’s a truly beautiful example of the best kind of wine this grape can produce and I was more than happy to drink it again.

Michel & Marc Rossignol Volnay 1er Cru Les Pitures 1990

I turn 30 in a month, which is apparently supposed to be some sort of terrible milestone for women (at least that's how it seems to be whenever I’ve heard others talk about their 30^th birthday). I’m sure some people will find the fact that I’m unmarried and childless after three decades on this earth to be something I should be pitied for, but I honestly don’t care what those people think. I’m more worried about what my younger self would think about the path that I (we) have taken.

When I was in elementary school, second grade I think, a teacher had us write a letter to our future selves and seal it inside a hollow walnut that was supposed to be opened when we were 30. Since I’ve never been a patient person, I opened that sucker up when I found it several years ago tucked away with other random grade school stuff my mother refuses to throw away . The only part of the letter I remember now was the hope that I’d have purple hair, and since I’d been in the habit of dying my hair burgundy by then, that was the only prediction that had come true (yes, burgundy counts as purple as far as Adult me is concerned). It was honestly kind of depressing to read because at that time I was in my early 20s, had moved back in with my parents and worked at an incredibly soul-crushing job. I couldn’t help but think that my eight-year-old self would be ridiculously disappointed in us. I suspect I would feel the same sort of guilt if I’d waited to open it until now though. There’s no way the little girl who wrote that note could’ve predicted the sort of unfortunate choices she’d make in life or that the world would be the way it is now and how much all of that would affect her hopes and dreams for the future.*

I did get better with age (thank god) and so did the bottle of 1990 Michel & Marc Rossignol Volnay 1er Cru Les Pitures we opened recently:

This wine is 100% Pinot Noir from Volnay which is located in the Côte de Beaune (a sub-region of Burgundy). Domaine Rossignol has been in the same family since the 16th century and are known to produce wines that age very well. We’d been hanging on to that bottle for over a year now, waiting for the right time before deciding it was now or never. It was light-bodied, delicately perfumed and a bit jammy with notes of red fruit, pepper and violets. Unfortunately, it seems we had hung on to it for a bit too long since after the first glass it proceeded to break down slightly. Still, it was a delicious wine and I doubt my younger self would have been disappointed to know she’d be drinking such “fancy” wine at 29. It really is the little things in life sometimes…

*Though even at 8 years old I was already on the path to becoming the very cynical, sarcastic person I am now, so its not like my hopes and dreams were all that grandiose. At least I'm pretty sure I'd given up on my Doctor Ballerina aspirations by that point...

Tomich Wines 'Duck and Weave' Pinot Noir 2015

After two months of living in an apartment without working AC and fighting with management to get it fixed, we finally moved out. I still can’t fathom why the apartment manager went so out of her way to screw us, other than perhaps some deranged desire on her part to be incompetent and malicious (though I’m not sure why anyone would strive for incompetence, but hey, to each their own). It was a very frustrating and depressing (and HOT) two months, but thanks to great advice from a friend knowledgeable in tenant rights, we (meaning mostly Kye) finally managed to get the issue resolved somewhat in our favor.

It was still a bit sad though, we’d had some good times and some very good wines in that apartment, but now we’re in a much better place and opening some damn decent wines here. One of which was Tomich Wines ‘Duck and Weave’ Pinot Noir from Adelaide in Australia.

Once upon a time Australian wine was all the rage in the US, thanks mainly to the wonderful wines from Shiraz (aka Syrah) they produced. Then, thanks mostly to sub-par exports and somewhat to the flightiness of consumers, they fell out of favor. There are some producers who survived and almost thrived on that, but it’s been a while since I really loved a wine from Australia.

Tomich’s Pinot Noir changed that. It's 100% Pinot Noir sourced from Adelaide Hills in South Australia, which is a great region for Burgundian style wines. It was light-bodied with blackberry and cherry on the nose. The palate has notes of cherry, rhubarb and hints of spice. There’s a bit of gaminess reminiscent of old world Pinot and ends with bright acidity and very soft tannins. For less than $15 it was most certainly a killer Pinot and led me to pick up a few of their other wines (shiraz, rosé, and sauvignon blanc), none of which disappointed. It’s a perfect summer red wine and great with or without food.