Pinot Noir Archives - Hungry Travelers

Pinot Noir

A Pinot Noir that turns expectations sideways

Posted on July 17, 2023July 17, 2023 by Pat and David

We confess to being skeptical when we first heard about Crossbarn 2021 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Need a summer red for fish? Check. Need a summer red for spicy cold salads? Check. Need a wine that plays well with burgers or steak? Check. Need a summer red to sip on the back porch as the sun sets and the fireflies come out to do their darting dance? Check. That would be a red that seems too good to be true. So we got our hands on some of this alleged miracle wine and put it to the test. (Spoiler alert: It passed.) Roughly 20 years ago, the wine-soaked, bittersweet buddy movie Sideways nearly wrecked California Pinot Noir. On one hand, hordes of moviegoers began drinking...Read More

Clean-crafted wines show their mettle

Posted on September 6, 2022August 31, 2022 by Pat and David

We're suspicious of food or drink that purports to have certain health benefits. The recent boom in ‶clean wine″ is a case in point. From the marketing, we expect every low-fat vegan bottle to arrive rolled up in a yoga mat. That's not wine. But in the world of clean wine, there's a refreshing alternative that seems well-grounded in both taste and science. Scout & Cellar (scoutandcellar.com) is a 5-year-old company that makes and markets wine that comes with what they call a Clean Crafted Commitment®. It's their registered trademark. They apply it to wine that's grown with no synthetic pesticides, vinified without synthetic additives or added sweetener, then lab tested after bottling to confirm that nothing untoward snuck in. Many of the wines carry...Read More

Knotty Vines: overachieving everyday wines

Posted on July 9, 2022July 7, 2022 by Pat and David

Courtesy Rodney Strong Wines If ‶Knotty Vines″ sounds familiar, you might be a fan of old-vine Zinfandel from Rodney Strong Wines. A zin pioneer, the Sonoma producer created the name for its wines made from its oldest vines. The company has now resurrected the name as an umbrella for a new line of modestly priced wines aimed squarely at millennials. Moreover, they've put the company's resident millennial winemaker, Olivia Wright (at right), in charge of making them. Wright explained that Knotty Vines was conceived to be an approachable and affordable entry point for new wine consumers. ‶It's a challenge for the whole industry,″ she said. ‶So I talk to family and friends about what they like. The word I hear a lot is 'smooth,' which...Read More

Pennsylvania wine begins to hit its stride

Posted on November 4, 2019October 1, 2019 by David

William Penn must be smiling somewhere. With more optimism than horticultural knowhow, the Quaker son of an English admiral planted a Philadelphia vineyard of French wine grapes in 1683. They soon died off, and what wine Pennsylvania made until the 20th century was largely vinted from native labrusca grapes. There are accounts that some Pennsylvania wine was well-received in London in the 1760s, but the correspondent might have been merely polite. There's no longer any need to cut Pennsylvania wine special slack. I spent part of a week in September touring nine outstanding wineries in eastern Pennsylviania. While these nine represent just 3 percent of the Keystone State's wineries, they demonstrate that Pennsylvania has the potential to make major league wines that can compete with...Read More

Contour Pinot Noir hits sweet spot for casual red

Posted on September 16, 2019September 3, 2019 by Pat and David

When the calendar advances to September, our appetites go “click.” Immediately we start craving fall dishes that cry out for red wine. So we're already on the hunt for this year's house red. Ideally, we want a bottle with the fortitude to stand up to fall flavors—at a price suitable for everyday drinking. And because we usually drink white wine, we'd like it to display soft tannins and restrained alcohol. Give us this day our daily red. Contour Pinot Noir 2017 is a contender this year. This vintage tones down the high alcohol of previous years, coming in at 13.8%. That's still nearly two points higher than an entry-level negociant Burgundy, but it does add a nice sweet note. (Around 14%, alcohol can masquerade as...Read More

McCall Wines reflect a clean and lean approach

Posted on July 9, 2019July 6, 2019 by Pat and David

Russell McCall has been growing wine grapes on his family farm—and the adjacent Peconic Land Trust property—since the 1990s. But he didn't release a wine under the family name until 2007. Everything about McCall Wines (22600 Main Road, Cutchogue, NY; 631.734.5764; mccallwines.com) suggests patience and long-term planning. The sandy soils of the south end of the original vineyard are planted with four clones of Pinot Noir. At 11 acres, it's one of the largest such vineyards on the east coast. McCall planted Merlot in the dense, clay-rich soils of the other 10 acres of the family vineyard. In 2011, he acquired and rehabilitated the adjacent North Ridge vineyard that had been planted in 1983 with Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon—providing the winery with true...Read More

Gruet sparkling wines just keep getting better

Posted on September 26, 2018September 26, 2018 by Pat and David

We've been drinking Gruet wines for about 25 years now, and we hope to keep drinking them another 25. That would be something to celebrate—which is appropriate for an American winery that produces sparkling wines that rival good Champagne. Quality can always be had at a premium price, but entry-level Gruet Brut starts at $15. That's hard to beat, even if you step down to bulk-process California sparklers. The top of the line—a grand rosé that sits three years on the lees—is only $39. (Those are winery prices.) When we're in Gruet country, we always try to stop at the Albuquerque tasting room (8400 Pan American Freeway NE, Albuquerque; (505) 821-0055, gruetwinery.com). For one thing, this space has the full line of Gruet wines, including...Read More

Moshin calculates exceptional biodynamic Pinot Noir

Posted on January 3, 2018February 23, 2018 by Pat and David

You could say that Rick Moshin (above) is a calculating fellow. Before the proprietor and winemaker at Moshin Vineyards (10295 Westside Road, Healdsburg, 707-433-5499, moshinvineyards.com) got into the business, he was a math instructor at San Jose State. The skills have served him well. He keeps the big picture of winemaking in his head like a blackboard full of calculations while still managing to pay attention to every detail. His wines are like elegant solutions to complex problems. They have a kind of Pythagorean grace. “Biodynamic is the wave of the future,” he said when we visited him in November. He's not doctrinaire about it. The most important principles, he believes, are those that treat the soil like a living organism that constantly recycles whatever...Read More

Thomas George evokes Burgundy in Russian River

Posted on December 22, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

Westside Road in Healdsburg is the cool end of the Russian River Valley. That's just fine by Thomas and George Baker, founders of Thomas George Estates Winery (8075 Westside Road, Healdsburg, 707-431-8031, thomasgeorgeestates.com). When geography gives you cool vineyards in this part of Sonoma, you focus on the stars of Burgundy: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Since launching the winery in 2008, the Bakers have assembled four select vineyards to grow both varietals. These small-lot artisanal wines tend to spotlight individual vineyards, although the winery does make one blend from each grape. The winery tunnels into the hillside beneath the Baker Ridge Vineyard. Although the operation does have some stainless steel tanks and oak barrels, the dominant vessels are concrete eggs. The vessels have been gaining...Read More

Comstock embodies Sonoma wine country living

Posted on December 8, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

The success of the 2004 film Sideways made California Merlot unpopular for a while. But the dip in that red's reputation might have made helped clear the way for the winery and tasting room at Comstock Wines (1290 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, 707-723-3011, comstockwines.com, tastings $20-$50). The photo above looks out the back of Comstock's tasting room to old Merlot vineyards. (That's a blue heron flying over the vines.) Many more vines were sacrificed to clear ground to build the winery, tasting room facility, and wine club residence. But not too many. Founded in 2012 using much older vineyards, Comstock still makes an outstanding Merlot that shows the restraint of the cooler Dry Creek Valley climate but bursts with black currant and violets. Currently producing...Read More