We are often asked where the best Pinot Noir in the US comes from, and although on a bottle to bottle basis it is hard to pinpoint a single location, one can look at all of the French families and wineries who have bought vineyards and built wineries in Oregon to realize that it has the greatest potential. The juxtaposition of a wine from Burgundy and one from Oregon from two arms of the same family gave us an opportunity to discuss the differences between Oregon and Burgundy.
Read MoreWine Of The Week
We are both glad that I didn’t let my early disappointment with Viognier scar me for life. It would be as if I’d gotten my heart broken in seventh grade and decided I could never love again. If that were the case, I could not have fallen in love with the bottle of Maison Les Alexandrins Condrieu Blanc 2016 that we opened with dinner earlier this week.
Read MoreWINE OF THE WEEK
Champagne Palmer & Co. Rosé Réserve pairs easily with simple-to-serve food such as charcuterie and cheese platters or Thai take-out. It is also ideal with pasta and cream sauce or herb-roasted chicken. It’s terrific for a small party or a candlelit table for two.
Read MoreWINE OF THE WEEK
As prices for wine from Bourgogne spiral out of the reach of mere mortals, it is comforting to know that we can still satisfy our Burgundy cravings with well-made bottles from appellations that do not fetch the exorbitant amounts of those from more prominent terroir or producers.
Read MoreWINE OF THE WEEK
If you think your walk to the office was bad today, consider for one moment the poor vineyard workers in Canada, Germany, and Austria who have to stand in a frozen vineyard, knee-deep in snow, fighting off ravenous birds while trying to wield pruning shears through heavy gloves.
Read MoreWine Of The Week
Not that we are folks who sit back and watch anything…but January is prime sports viewing season. You’ve got NFL playoffs, NHL hockey, and NBA and NCAA basketball all happening at once. It’s a great time of year to become acquainted with The Calling Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.
Read MoreWine Of The Week
“I am not drinking any f*** Merlot.” Don’t be an Idiot—like that guy in Sideways!
Read MoreWine of the Week
Small Vines Estate Cuvée Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2015
We are starting something new here on World Wine Guys: We will be posting our Wine of the Week and then sharing the love on social media.
Our premiere Wine of the Week is Small Vines Estate Cuvée Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2015, which we enjoyed on our visit to the tasting room and winery on Monday. Small Vines founders Paul and Kathryn Sloan showed off their organically farmed estate vineyards and then took us through a tasting of their current release Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. While they were all beautiful wines—and we don’t use the term lightly—when we looked back at our notes we realized that the Estate Cuvée PN is the wine we were both most rapturous about. We’re not giving points out for our wine of the week, but believe us, if you come across a bottle of Small Vines you should definitely make it your own.
Small Vines Estate Cuvée Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2015: A nose of black cherry, violet and talc gives way to flavors of black cherry and pomegranate with a hint of smoke and a satisfying sense of earthiness. There is a hint of orange zest on the smooth, acid-tinged finish.
Small Vines is mainly available directly from the winery, but you will find it in some of the country’s best restaurants, including The French Laundry, Eleven Madison Park, and Single Thread Farms in Healdsburg, each of which has three Michelin stars. Find out more at Small Vines.
Paul and Kathryn Sloan in their Small Vines tasting room.