{"id":1207,"date":"2019-11-01T14:18:49","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T21:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/?p=1207"},"modified":"2019-11-01T14:18:49","modified_gmt":"2019-11-01T21:18:49","slug":"see-you-next-tuesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/?p=1207","title":{"rendered":"See You Next Tuesday"},"content":{"rendered":"

What goes with plaid? Your W<\/strong><\/span>est C<\/strong>oast Oenophi<\/strong><\/span>le<\/strong> would be inclined to suggest Scotch Whisky, haggis, and that manliest of sports, caber tossing. But fine wine <\/span>would not have made this list, until Sostevinobile<\/strong><\/span> attended the recent Pinots and Plaid<\/span><\/a> tasting at the <\/span>\"\"<\/span>newly-remodeled Hibernia Bank lobby in San Francisco\u2019s up & coming Tenderloin district.<\/span><\/p>\n

Admittedly, this pairing did not start off auspiciously. My trade pass clearly denoted a start time of 2pm, which included entry to the VIP lounge and a more intimate early hour with the wineries on hand. When I did arrive at the check-in table, however, I was informed that I was only included in for General Admission, and would have to wait until 3pm. I twice attempted to introduce myself and address this matter with event promoter Emily Martin, but she was focused on the extreme demands of posing for an interminable string of Pinterest photos. <\/span><\/p>\n

But capitulating to solipsism was hardly in order for the afternoon, nor would the lack of a basic tasting program deter my appreciation of the many excellent wines on hand. I hadn\u2019t tried using the newest version Pages<\/span> with the latest update of my iPhone; the new iOS 13 makes for a clumsy interfaces when using this application for creating text files. I fumbled my way through tasting the wide array of Pinots from Anne Moller-Racke\u2019s Blue Farm<\/span><\/a>, highlighted by the 2016 Pinot Noir Anne Katherina, her eponymous estate vineyard, before switching to Notes, an .rtf application that enabled me to catalog each of the wines I sampled. <\/span><\/p>\n

Another ludicrous aspect of this event was Martin\u2019s insistence that the wineries hold back their Chardonnays until 45 minutes from closing (having produced numerous events myself, I recognize the advantage of enabling attendees to keep their palates balanced throughout the afternoon, lest they fatigue from a single varietal)<\/em>. Fortunately, many saw fit not to follow this guideline. The 2017 Peugh Vineyard Chardonnay<\/strong> from David Low\u2019s Anthill Farms<\/span><\/a> proved a fortuitous deviation from this edict, a rich, splendid expression of the grape.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to the Sonoma fires and evacuation orders, a number of wineries understandably could not participate. I had been greatly looking forward to Noah Dorrance\u2019s selections from Reeve<\/span><\/a> and was eager to try Adam Lee\u2019s Clarice<\/span><\/a>, his personal successor to Siduri. And, of course, if I had been granted access to the VIP Lounge, Roederer Estate<\/span><\/a> has long been a personal favorite sparkling producer. Still, stalwarts like Peay<\/span><\/a> and Three Sticks<\/span><\/a> proved as consistently excellent as I have come to expect, the former with both the 2017 Scallop Shelf Estate Pinot Noir<\/strong> and the 2017 Pomarium Estate Pinot Noir,<\/strong> while Ryan Prichard, successor to acclaimed winemaker Don Van Staaveren, continued his legacy with two standout bottlings, the 2017 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir<\/strong> and its contrasting 2017 Sonoma Mountain Pinot Noir<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

I go to great lengths to ensure that winemakers at <\/span>Sostevinobile<\/strong><\/span> events allocate enough inventory so all attendees can have the opportunity to experience what they are pouring. How frustrating to find a winery has depleted its stock on hand and already departed before reaching their table (though invariably the shortfall does not reflect the producer\u2019s calculus)<\/em>. As such, it had been quite a while since I last sampled Michael Browne\u2019s Cirq<\/a> and was looking forward to revisiting their wines, but I ponied\u00a0 up to their table just as they finished packing. And as a former wine club member at Williams Selyem<\/span><\/a>, I was eager to rediscover on what I had been missing out lately; when I moseyed over to their table, however, all that remained was their 2017 Pinot Noir Lewis MacGregor Estate<\/strong>. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I fared better with the remaining vintners, starting with Works & Days<\/a><\/span>, the Burgundian sister of Coursey Graves<\/span><\/a>; these wines proved an interesting discovery, with the 2016 Pinot Noir Hill Justice Vineyard<\/strong> the standout among the trio poured here. After decades of furnishing the preponderance of Carneros\u2019 premium Pinot and Chardonnay grapes, Sangiacomo<\/a> showcased its own label here, admirably comporting themselves with their 2017 Roberts Road Pinot Noir<\/strong> and the equally-splendid 2017 Green Acres Chardonnay<\/strong>. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"I would be equally hard-pressed to choose a favorite from the 2018 Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay<\/strong>, the 2017 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir<\/strong>, or the 2016 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley<\/strong> Yountville\u2019s Stewart Cellars<\/span><\/a> featured. Of course, had they been a bit bolder, they might have brought along their 2017 Tartan<\/strong>, a Bordeaux-style Meritage that nonetheless offered thematic consistency. But it does betray my varietal prejudice when I note that my favorite wine of this event was the 2016 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon<\/strong> that Sojourn<\/span><\/a> surreptitiously poured alongside its vineyard-designate Pinots. In close contention, however, were a pair of Carneros wines from Hyde Estate<\/span><\/a>: the 2016 Chardonnay<\/strong> and their wondrous library selection, 2012 Carneros Pinot Noir. <\/strong>Jackson Family Wines highlighted their focused ultrapremium label program with the 2016 Jolie Pinot Noir<\/strong> from Maggy Hawk, their Anderson Valley operations. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Also blending from Mendocino vineyards, Erich Bradley\u2019s Texture<\/span><\/a> excelled with their 2014 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley<\/strong>. Given the proliferation of Pinot regions throughout Northern California, it seemed a more perspicacious event producer would have featured a wide variety of AVAs outside of the Sonoma appellations, like the Santa Cruz Mountains or Santa Lucia Highlands (how Pinots & Plaid did not include Talbott<\/span><\/a> is beyond me)<\/em>. Beyond the latter two aforementioned wines, the sole exception to this myopic focus was the 2016 Pinot Noir Star Mooring<\/strong>, a Willamette Valley selection Ellie Phipps Price\u2019s Dunstan<\/span><\/a> added to her line of acclaimed Durrell Vineyard vintages. \"\"<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Still, the paltry gaggle of plaided patrons in attendance this afternoon probably paid little heed to this oversight and reveled in the opportunity to experience such iconic producers as Gary Farrell<\/span><\/a>, with his members-only bottling of the 2016 Pinot Noir Rochioli Vineyard<\/strong>. For many, I am sure Sebastopol\u2019s Red Car<\/span><\/a> also proved a rare treat, showcasing both their 2016 Estate Pinot Noir Fort Ross-Seaview<\/strong> and a superbly matured library selection, the 2012 Pinot Noir Zephyr Farms<\/strong>. Kosta Browne<\/span><\/a> alum Sam Lando<\/span><\/a> featured a duo of\u00a0 his limited-production wines, the 2017 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir<\/strong> and a compelling 2017 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir<\/strong>. Another highly acclaimed vigneron, John Bucher<\/span><\/a>, also brought a pair of his current releases, the 2017 Pommard Clone Pinot Noir <\/strong>and\u00a0 the 2017 Russian River Valley Estate Pinot Noir<\/strong>. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lacking a tasting room, my San Francisco neighbor, Kutch<\/span><\/a> is a rare treat for the public; here,\u00a0 they did not disappoint, with three routinely excellent Sonoma Coast vineyard designates: their 2017 Bohan Chardonnay<\/strong>, the 2017 Falstaff Pinot Noir<\/strong>, and the 2017 McDougall Pinot Noir<\/strong>. The rest of the tasting featured widely familiar labels, including peripatetic winemaker Ross Cobb<\/span><\/a>\u2019s own brand, highlighted by the 2016 Pinot Noir Diane Cob<\/strong>b<\/strong> from his family\u2019s vineyard. Wells\u00a0 Guthrie\u2019s Copain<\/span><\/a> may now be part of the Jackson Family portfolio, but remains distinctively subtle, as evidenced by both their 2017 Chardonnay<\/strong> and the 2016 Les Voisins Pinot Noir<\/strong>. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is always a pleasure to visit with Ken & Akiko Freeman<\/span><\/a> and to taste through their sundry wines. As it is named, the 2017 Ryo-Fu Chardonnay<\/strong> was indeed a \u201ccool breeze\u201d with which to wind down, while the 2016 Yu-Ki Pinot Noir<\/strong> sparkled. I concluded my tastings with my friend Valerie Wathen, ambassador extraordinaire for Dutton-Goldfield<\/span><\/a>, with both the 2016 Rued Vineyard Chardonnay <\/strong>and their new 2017 Azaya Ranch Pinot Noir<\/strong> serving as an excellent coda to the afternoon. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There are numerous Pinot Noir events throughout the year, of course, including dueling versions of Pinot on the River<\/span><\/a> in Sonoma, this month\u2019s upcoming PinotFest<\/span><\/a>, West of West<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> and World of Pinot Noir<\/span><\/a>. Granted, the largest of these, Pinot Days<\/span><\/a>, has fallen by the wayside, but is there really a need to add yet another? Certainly, a different angle on such an event is necessary to keep it from being redundant, but pairing it to a dilettantish vision for an unrelated fashion display\u00a0 hardly meets this criterion. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I say this as not only an accomplished \u0153nophile but someone known for his sartorial splendor. If somehow there is a Pinots & Plaid II, they may wish to take my picture so you can see for yourself.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What goes with plaid? Your West Coast Oenophile would be inclined to suggest Scotch Whisky, haggis, and that manliest of sports, caber tossing. But fine wine would not have made this list, until Sostevinobile attended the recent Pinots and Plaid tasting at the newly-remodeled Hibernia Bank lobby in San Francisco\u2019s up & coming Tenderloin district. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,16,14,1],"tags":[651,650,339,655,653,670,668,663,671,669,664,661,667,665,662,654,246,652,411,658,659,666,660,656,657],"class_list":["post-1207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cabernet-sauvignon","category-chardonnay","category-pinot-noir","category-uncategorized","tag-anthill-farms","tag-blue-farm","tag-bucher","tag-cirq","tag-clarice","tag-cobb","tag-copain","tag-dunstan","tag-dutton-goldfield","tag-freeman","tag-gary-farrell","tag-hyde","tag-kutch","tag-lando","tag-maggy-hawk","tag-peay","tag-red-car","tag-reeve","tag-roederer","tag-sangiacomo","tag-stewart","tag-talbott","tag-texture","tag-williams-selyem","tag-works-days"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1207"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1222,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207\/revisions\/1222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}