There’s Something About Pinot

Posted by Tom Wark on Feb 16, 2012

I love Pinot Noir events primarily because I love Pinot Noir.

There is something about the Pinot producer too that sets them apart from other winemakers. There is an arrogance I like. Maybe it comes from them working with one of the more difficult grapes to control. Maybe it's because there seems to be an additional air of intellectualism behind the grape. It's often more subtle and it takes a keener vocabulary and sharper set of senses to really wrap your words around the wine when trying to describe it.

It's these factors and other reasons that get me excited about World of Pinot Noir in Pismo Beach. Set this year for March 2-3 a the Cliffs Hotel, the event is now in its 12 year. On the West Coast there are a number of Pinot events ranging from Pinot On the River to the International Pinot Noir Celebration to Pinot Days and World of Pinot. They are all different.

World of Pinot doesn't have the summer camp character that you get at IPNC. Nor does it possess the backyard-with-friends quality of Pinot on the River. What it does possess is a spectacular location and a diverse set of producers from large to small, old school to new school, and a certain intellecutal rigor that I like very much.

I'm most excited this year attend the "Natural Winemaking: Highest Respect or Neglect" seminar happening on Friday morning. Here's the description of the event:

"One of the more debated winemaking topics currently in the media is the Natural Winemaking movement, but what does that mean? We’ll explore and taste the full spectrum of this bell-shaped curve from panelists who believe in total “naked” wines with absolutely no intervention from the winemaker to those who use whatever modern techniques they believe will make their wine shine. The middle ground will be defended by those who believe in some of this and some of that, and everyone will work to define how the word “natural” fits into a wine’s profile."

I've been a fairly strong critic of the way "Natural Wine" is marketed with its subtle suggestion that the wines are better than all others and its often not so subtle suggestion that non-Natural wines are all "spoofalated". Furthermore, I believe the very term "natural" is fraudulent. However, the wines are interesting and those I've had have been good and proper. But this kind of topic is just the thing for a gathering of Pinot producers who I do think tend to bring a more philosophical and intellectual perspective to their winemaking and the way they think about it.

Among those debating the issue will be Bradley Brown (Big Basin Vineyards), Peter Cargasacchi (Cargasacchi Wines), Alice Feiring (author, "Naked Wine"), Nathan Kandler (Thomas Fogarty Winery), Scott Kelley (Estancia Winery), Brian Maloney (DeLoach VIneyards), Clark Smith (Wine Smith Wines) and Joe Wright (Left Coast Cellars).

On Saturday I'll play some golf with other winemakers and attendees at the Avila Beach Golf Resort. Then it's back for the second of two Grand Tastings of Pinots, the first one happening on Friday.

World of Pinot provides a number of other seminars and wine dinners for participants. But the highlight is all the wineries that are pouring. Just under 200 brands will be showing off their Pinots at the event, hence the necessity of have two Grand Tastings to separate them out.

The event is of course open to the public and the trade. Highly Recommended!