Around The World With The Chosen One!

“There is more to life than Pinot Noir, but not much more!”

No wine has captured the imagination of winemakers & wine lovers like Pinot Noir.

Despite its finicky nature --  Not too hot, Not too cold, Not too wet, Not too dry, Not too sandy, Not too dense… 

Winemakers have embraced the challenge of cultivating this exciting & transcendent grape & its profound ability to express a distinctive sense of place. Pinot Noir’s soft & seductive textures have the broadest & most complex flavor profiles of any wine. A great Pinot Noir has layers upon layers of subtle nuances that constantly provoke our tasting awareness, appealing more to our heart than our head.

Pinot (meaning “pine” –- a reference to the pine cone shaped clusters of grapes) Noir (meaning “black”) may have originated & developed along the Nile River many many centuries ago & meandered & spread throughout the Mediterranean region.

The grape earned its reputation for producing extraordinary wines in Burgundy going back to the 14th century. Although the consensus is that Burgundy is the benchmark for great Pinot Noir, today there are producers from almost every wine region embracing the challenge of making great wine from “the chosen one”!

Join us this Friday, September 11th, from 4:30-6:30pm at The Local & Saturday, September 12th from 10:30-2:30pm at the Outpost inside 5th Quarter in Waitsfield, where we’ll take you on a global tour of some of our favorite Pinot Noir! “A sip of Pinot Noir is worth a thousand words!”

Ulrich Stein is often referred to as a “joyful rebel” or “ charismatic activist” among his winemaking peers in the Mosel. Who would plant red grapes in the Mosel, defying a 2000 year tradition of growing white grapes exclusively?! Not many of the Mosel growers have had the nerve to follow Ulrich but they certainly love & appreciate his adventurous spirit & charisma! Not only did he plant Pinot Noir, but he chose to plant two Bordeaux varieties -- Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot -- to integrate with the Pinot Noir to create a totally stand alone rosé style. 

Ulrich’s rosé is made up of 80% Pinot Noir & a 20% blend of Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot.

The grapes are directly pressed & go through a saignee process before fermenting in stainless steel tanks. The wine is truly unique -- bright, refreshing, & salt tinged with a “snap, crackle, & pop” vibe!

“Great Pinot Noir is like sex in a bottle!”

Owners & winemakers Arabella Hall & Blair Trathen, having grown up in Martha’s Vineyard & New Zealand respectively, naturally gravitated to cool climate viticulture when pursuing their own vineyard site after years of working with other wineries. They settled in the Willamette Valley in 2009 creating Trathen Hall.

They selected the iconic La Colina Vineyards where they source their fruit for this wine. Located in the Dundee Hills where they own a block of Pommard Clone vines that sit strategically at 500 feet in elevation & superb southern exposure, the grapes produced are a beautiful integration of tannin & fruit. Their wine is 100% Pinot Noir bursting with aromatics of raspberries & spice. There’s a touch of appealing over ripeness along with Dundee earth notes. Brawny, elegant, & rustic all at once -- an amazing expression of Willamette terroir!

“Pinot Noir is afternoon sunshine through stained glass.”

Jean-Paul Brun’s estate is located in Charmay in southern Beaujolais where the Gamay grape reigns supreme. The clay limestone soils here are friendly to Pinot Noir as well & Jean-Paul planted 5 hectares back in 1991.

Classified as a Bourgogne AC & vinified in the traditional Burgundian method – grapes hand picked & de-stemmed, fermented with native yeasts, no added sulfur, & a 3 week maceration in concrete vats – Jean-Paul crafts his Pinot Noir with the same precision as his Gamay & lets the terroir do the talking!

The wine defines classic Burgundian charm -- light bodied with delicate floral notes & aromatics, silky textures, earthiness & a mineral edge. The palate resonates with flavors of mushrooms, clove, cherries, & raspberries. Clean, elegant, & refreshingly restrained!

“Champagne makes you think of silly things, Bordeaux makes you talk about them, Pinot Noir makes you do them!”

Koehler-Ruprecht is one of the founding father wine  estates in Germany renowned for their ageworthy dry Rieslings, Pinot Noir, & Chardonnay. These are extremely old school wines that are made trocken (dry) long before dry was trendy!

This historic site was managed by the legendary & larger than life Bernd Philippi & turned into the good hands of Dominik Sona in 2011.  Their Pinot Noir is sourced from grapes grown in 3 prime locations in Kallstadt where the vineyards are between 40-50 years old.

This wine is barrel-aged for 18 months but shows very little oak evidence. No other German wines can compare to wines from Koehler-Ruprecht! This wine will thrive with some bottle aging & has all the hallmarks of great Pinot - cranberry & cherry notes, earthiness & racy acidity!

“If you drink no Noir, you drink Pinot Noir!”