At the end of July, I was lucky enough to attend the International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. The 27th annual event was held over three days with many activities, including lectures, guided tastings, winery tours and a salmon barbecue. Lectures covered subjects in geology, history, chemistry, and geography. This was a major meeting of the minds of those in the wine and food world. I had tickets to the Sunday “Passport to Pinot” tasting and it was held at an excellent outdoor venue – a large grassy area beneath towering oak trees. There were seventy vendors there from Argentina, BC, California, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Oregon and Washington.
The afternoon was split into two halves with thirty-five wineries pouring their wines during each half. It was an extremely well organized event – a wide, open area with sampling tables arranged alphabetically around the outer perimeter. After every three tables there was a food station offering an amazing variety of delicacies from charcuterie, cheeses, cookies, paella, pate, pizza, ribs, salad wraps and terrine along with many vegetarian options as well as coffees and teas, all from twenty chefs from the Pacific northwest. Some people mingled and sampled as they went from station to station while others got a glass of wine, some food and then sat down under umbrellas and chatted with friends.
Of the wines I tasted, and no, I did not taste all of them by any means, I found all of them to be good, some very good and only a few to be excellent. Of course, the best ones were quite pricey. Some of my favourites included:
Akarua Bannockburn, New Zealand
Brittan Vineyards McMinnville, Oregon
Byron Santa Maria, California
Colene Clemens Vineyard Newberg, Oregon
Domaine Drouhin Oregon Dundee, Oregon
The Donum Estate Sonoma, California
Hyland Estates * Dundee, Oregon
Joseph Drouhin Beaune, France
La Follette Wines Healdsburg, California
Maison Marchand-Tawse * Nuits-Saint-Georges, France
Mission Hill * Kelowna, BC
Navarro Vineyards Philo, California
Peay Vineyards Annapolis, California
Siduri Wines * Santa Rosa, California
Stoller Family Estate Dayton, Oregon
Talley Vineyards Arroyo Grande, California
Walter Scott Salem, Oregon
(these * were the best of the best)
Besides being a lover of Pinot Noir, I wanted to attend this event to compare the many good Pinots of BC to those from around the world. My overall impression was that BC is second to none when it comes to good Pinot. I was glad to see Mission Hill representing BC with their 2012 Martin’s Lane Pinot (it was the 2011 that won the International Trophy for World’s Best Wine, as well as the Regional Trophy for Best Wine award in London last year), which was very good indeed. If you visit their winery, don’t be surprised by the exclusive label for Martin’s Lane, which looks nothing like their other Mission Hill labels.
The good news is, if you are a big fan of Pinot Noir, like I am, you don’t have to travel to Oregon to get your hands on some good ones. Check out what BC has to offer; you’ll be impressed. Among many others, you might like to try:
Cassini
Cedar Creek
40th Parallel
Howling Bluff
Meyer Family
Moon Curser
Quail’s Gate
Stoneboat
