Tag: Pinot Noir

Diageo Founders Club Black Tie Gala

Years ago we purchased Chalone Wine Group stock so that we could participate in their annual summer picnics. They were a fun affair in the vineyards of Chalone outside Soledad near the Pinnacles. A large tent was pitched, wines from all of the Chalone Wine Group were available to taste and an excellent lunch was served. They were always themed […]

2006 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir “La Bauge Au-dessus”

This Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir from the Santa Maria Valley has a light ruby, semi transparent color and a smokey, earthy nose. It has flavors to match the nose, earthy and smokey with tart fruit. There are moderate tannins and good acidity. The body is light with a moderately long finish of both flavor and tannins (alc 13.5%) The […]

2004 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Jerusalem Hill Vineyard

This wine from Oregon’s Domaine Serene’s Jerusalem Hill Vineyard was a light ruby color. There was a minimal nose of blackberries and smoke, decanting would probably bring out the nose more. There was a lot of fruit, fairly big wine with some smokiness, very flavorful. The tannins were smooth with good acid and a medium length finish.

Food and Wine on Thursday Night

Our Thursday night wine tasting was a food and wine pairing. Gail invited Marianne McCarroll of Marianne’s Pantry to make three dishes to compare with the wines. We tasted two different wines with each of the three appetizers Marianne prepared. Our mission for the evening was to decide which wine paired better with each appetizer. Each wine was tasted blind, […]

PullThatCork Thanksgiving

We usually host Thanksgiving at our house but one of my sisters wanted to host it this year so we all went to her place in Soquel. This allowed some of our other relatives who don’t usually make it to attend since it wasn’t so far to drive. However, it made it impossible for Nancy’s mom to go because it […]

2010 Napa Bus Trip (part 2)

We started our tasting at Turnbull Wine Cellars in the Reserve tasting room. In addition to rows of wine barrels, there is a photo exhibit which features more than 70 photos, mostly black and white, taken between 1903 and 2000. To see a small sampling go to their website and look in the News and Events section.

Dinner with Acacia

We had our weekly dinner with Dave on Tuesday this week. Nancy made spaetzle with some sausage on the side. She also roasted some beets and cooked the greens. I don’t care for the beets but I will eat the greens while both Nancy and Dave like the beets, too. To accompany the meal I chose an 2006 Acacia Pinot […]

Napa Valley Wine Trip Part 2

After Tasting all the wines at Provenance we decided we wanted to get some food before tackling any more wine. Also, having spent 2 hours at Provenance it was past lunch time so we went down the road a mile or two and stopped at the Rutherford Grill. They said it would be an hour wait and it had started […]