Anderson Valley Pinot Noir - Festival Time
One of the world's most food friendly wines is also one of Anderson Valley's renowned varietals. More than half of the 2,247 acres planted in Mendocino County to Pinot Noir is in Anderson Valley. Pinot Noir will be celebrated next weekend at the 12th annual Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival.
"I love Pinot with lamb, stuffed pork loin in the Italian style, Gouda cheese (or other mellow type cheeses, not sharp), and even fish with cream sauces," says Glenn McGourty, the University of California Extension's viticulture advisor.
The grape that is touted as "demanding" for growers and "challenging" for winemakers thrives in the temperate climate of Anderson Valley. From 1968 through the early 1970s, Pinot Noir was planted by Anderson Valley's contemporary winegrowing pioneers including Tony Husch, founder of Husch Vineyards, the late Hans Kobler, founder of Lazy Creek Winery, and Deborah Cahn and Ted Bennett, of Navarro Vineyards. The grape that produces France's famed Burgundy found a compatible domicile in Anderson Valley where the vines are cooled by the ocean breeze, dampened by summer fog and ripened by the sun's keen rays.
The early winegrowers planted Pinot Noir along with other varietals because they "liked the wine" made from the grapes. As the years went on Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley, as well as other regions of the west coast, was favored mainly among wine critics and industry professionals.
Then, in 2004, the movie "Sideways"
debuted and Pinot Noir's popularity soared with everyday wine consumers. According to the Wine Institute, "Pinot sales reached nearly 370,000 cases during the 12 weeks following the release of the movie. It was a 16 percent increase over the previous year. In addition the sales of Pinot Noir produced in the United States increased by 18.2 percent during the same period. And even more interesting "sales of domestic Pinot in California, where the movie is set, increased by a whopping 34.8 percent during the same period."
Long before popular culture discovered Pinot Noir, the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association knew they had a winner. In 1987, the AVWA produced the first Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival. The format has essentially remained the same as its reputation has grown. Tickets for some of the events sell out quickly.
The three-day Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival includes an all-day technical seminar, dinners, wine tasting, music and winery open houses. This year the Friday technical seminar includes discussions on water use, wine and health, native fermentation, microclimate and Pinot Noir, and marketing. Lunch by Ukiah's Zack's Catering includes lamb burgers and "other Pinot friendly foods."
Friday evening, Husch Vineyards is the site of the kick off event, a casual barbecue to pair with Pinot Noir from around California. The Grand Tasting on Saturday is at Goldeneye Winery on Highway 128 near Philo. Of the 40 California wineries participating, more than half are from Anderson Valley.
The Grand Tasting on Saturday is followed by winemaker dinners on the Mendocino Coast. Dinners are at the Little River Inn, the Mendocino Hotel and the Ledford House. Some events are sold out, information is available the AVWA website.
Sunday is the day for open houses at Anderson Valley wineries. You'll find barrel tastings, vineyard tours, reserve wine offerings, music, art, a lot of fun and at a variety of amazing food pairings. Each winery has its own story and unique setting as well as their special Pinot Noir and other wines. They include Baxter Winery, Black Kite Cellars, Breggo Cellars, Esterline Vineyards, Elke Vineyards, Foursight Wines, Greenwood Ridge Vineyards, Handley Cellars, Harmonique, Husch Vineyards, Jim Ball Vineyards, Londer Vineyards, Navarro Vineyards, Phillips Hill Estates, Philo Ridge Vineyards, Raye's Hill Vineyards, Roederer Estate, Scharffenberger Cellars, Standish Wine Company, Toulouse Vineyards and Zina Hyde Cunningham.
One of the participants in the festival, Allan Green, of Greenwood Ridge Vineyards says, "Two delicious items that grow especially well in Anderson Valley are Pinot Noir grapes and a wide assortment of wild mushrooms. Put those together and the possibilities for heavenly combinations are endless." His favorite is a wild mushroom pasta paired with Greenwood Ridge's Pinot Noir he had at the Moosse Cafe in Mendocino "that was out of this world!" I expect wild mushrooms to be on the menu at his winery tasting room.
Pinot Noir aficionados love its diversity. A classic champagne and sparkling wine grape, Pinot Noir makes fabulous bubbly. An all around red wine with berry aromas and flavors that vary from ripe tomatoes and rose petals to black olives and green tea, wild mushrooms to smoky toast, Pinot Noir also makes a terrific pale pink rose tasting of strawberries and violets.
As McGourty puts it, "Pinot Noir is a popular wine because it is subtle and delicate. A good Pinot Noir has great fragrance (you can smell it all over the room when you pour it), light to moderate red color, good acidity, and soft tannins. Anthropomorphically, it is the delicate fair princess to the swarthy dark peasants like Zinfandel or Petite Sirah. Yet they all live in harmony in the wine kingdom of Mendocino (but not in the same household!)"
Head on out to the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival - which by the way supports community non-profits with its auction (more than $140,000 to date) - to check out Pinot Noir's affinity with many food pairings for yourself.
For more information on the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival contact the Mendocino Winegrape and Wine Commission at mendowine.com, the Mendocino County Promotional Alliance at gomendo.com or the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association at avwines.com or by calling 707-895-WINE.
Heidi Cusick Dickerson writes Wine Notes for the Ukiah Daily Journal on behalf of the Mendocino County Winegrape and Wine Commission.