Don's Gillette's Weekly Wine Blog
Weekly musings from our store's resident wine guru
Don has over thirty years experience in the wine industry. For the last eighteen years his attention has been focused on the growing local industry. Don has a large following of customers who search out his opinions (never in short supply!) on new releases and on what's currently most distinctive on our shelves. Others seek his insights on wineries and trends that are still under the radar. Check back here each week for Don's latest thoughts on various wine-related topics. Read Don's full bio...
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Days of Heaven, Days of Pinot
Sunday, July 1st, I am busy, so don't call. I have a date with about 200 Pinot Noirs. Last year events conspired to keep me and the object of my desire apart, but this year I am determined.
Although our January weather lacks the magnetic appeal of that in Hawaii or the Bahamas, we still enjoy a steady influx of wine enthusiasts each year to attend Zap. Zap is the Worlds biggest Zinfandel symposium and this years gathering was its 16th. Zap fills two large halls and over 250 wineries participate.
Had a comparable Pinot Noir event been staged sixteen years ago, it would have been a pretty lonely affair and most of the participants would have been acquainted. "Pinot Days", although about to celebrate its 3rd birthday, is well on its way to rivaling Zap in scale and importance.
More than one hundred and fifty wineries will pour, often showing multiple bottlings. They will come from north and south, and many will meet for the first time. Despite Mark Twain's cautions about our July weather, knowledgeable "Pinot-loving" tourists will also pack the hall; stretching the very same space Zap occupied last January.
The rapid development of Pinot Days is attributable partially to the recent rise in the grapes' production and popularity, but mostly is due to the extremely high quality of the wines that have been presented during the first two events. Zap, in contrast, is typically a showcase for entry-level winemakers and many more who are personally dedicated to a distinctly "rustic" style. Those who have participated in Pinot Days thus far, have been a more seasoned crew, after a more sophisticated, if harder to achieve, goal.
Although old hands like Rochioli or Williams-Selyem were not in attendance, last years Pinot Days roster read like a "who's who" of great emerging Pinot Producers and was the coming-out party for some. My plan this year, is to quickly visit new entrants that I expect to be outstanding; followed by stops at the tables of all my favorite people; then to plod through the rest, with an ear out for rumors of anything new and spectacular.
I am especially curious about the upcoming products from Benovia, Ladd, Thorme and a few other new guys. I don't know if the 2006 Pinots from Halleck, Dutton-Goldfield or Russian Hill will be ready yet for pouring, but all were spectacular in barrel and I can't wait to try them again. My best stop might prove be at Chasseur, Freeman, Tantara, Halleck, or... who can tell?
I have to give the majority of praise for this event to its organizers at the Bay Area Wine Project, including Steve Rigisich. Steve, along with Mark Ketcham and winemaker Michael Browne (of Kosta-Browne) are involved together in producing Ketcham Pinot, a label to watch. Steve and company have done a particularly brilliant job of convincing outstanding producers -- whose Pinots would quickly sell out without this exposure -- to remain committed to the event.
At this point, if you can get out here to attend, tickets are still available. Just log-on to http://www.pinotdays.com, or call 415-408-3360. Any reader who has wondered what all the fuss is about concerning California Pinot Noir should check out this event, it will open up your eyes.