Wine Not Whine Blog by Holly shaw

I’m like a kid in a candy store. There were no tears on my end, only utter and pure glee. I get FOUR DAYS of child-free bliss. I’m attending an event where CHILDREN ARE NOT ALLOWED. Neither are pets, strays and other animals. Wine, wine and more wine.

I have begged my way into the IPNC this year. What is IPNC? International Pinot Noir Celebration. It is an annual event in McMinnville, Oregon dedicated to the love of Pinot Noir, and children are not allowed (in case you missed that detail). I didn’t have a problem with this rule, although my daughter would have liked to be the exception; she was willing to be my sidekick. Instead I invited my friend Traci, my Pinot-loving wing woman. Traci is not only a friend, she is a kick-ass photographer. http://www.tracigiles.com

First things first, I explain to Traci that she needs to learn the fine art of “spitting”. Her eyes widen, as she inquires politely, “there is an art form to this?” (The short answer is yes. In short one must propel the wine out of the teeth with a strong but not too strong burst of air much the same as children spitting chlorine water at one another in a pool–gross–and must dispose of said wine into designated disposal vessel without splashing or spitting into one’s own eye. Which happens a lot actually.) I also tell Traci to drink plenty of water and eat all her meals because sister, we have so much wine to taste. Thumbs-up: she’s ready. We arrive sleepless, (flight delays), but nothing a mother can’t handle. What’s sleep?

Day One: The event kicks of with a very snarky Sam Neill (If you know me, I love me some snark. It accompanies wine well!) of Two Paddocks winery who referred to Sauvignon Blanc as “bitch diesel” all while touting the attributes of Pinot Noir. Sam brings a little Hollywood to the event, as a successful actor and now vineyard owner in New Zealand. These 800 plus are here to celebrate what makes Pinot Noir so special, so specific and such an art form within the wine making culture.

I call it the X factor.

This is not an industry event or one that is specifically for wine makers and wine buyers to mingle and buy/sell. In fact, you can’t buy wine here at all, you can only enjoy it. This is an event that is open to the public, and as such it’s a very special opportunity for wine makers to mingle with wine drinkers, to talk about their craft, and expose wine drinkers (that’s us–yay!) to the beauty and complexity of what they do to create the wines that end up in our homes. The event stretches over three days, kicking off with breakfast and ending in a Champagne Celebration Brunch. Depending on the ticket you buy (we had the big ticket!) your meals are included and each meal is a culinary creation in itself with over 100 local chefs preparing Pinot-paired masterpieces.

There are multiple break out groups at IPNC, and each group is assigned either a “class” or a winery tour each day. I’ll try to highlight my fav’s.. For Traci and me, our first stop on day one was Tasting the Stars; Champagne & Sparkling Wine moderated by Patrick Comiskey, senior correspondent for Wine & Spirits Magazine. It started with Scott Anderson the wine maker from JVineyards explaining the process of Methode Champenoise. This was very well explained, detailing how the traditional method of Champagne is made, and also the care and expense that is taken to make it (more on this in another post next week). Whether sparkling wine or Champagne, the important part is how the wine is made. Back up, I’m not sure you heard what I said: Champagne. 9:00 am? Absolutely–it’s better than the normal 9:00 am routine which consists of frantic yelling (me) and constant whining (kids), then Starbucks and again more yelling and whining and basically repeat again and that’s it. I might have missed everything they said just enjoying the fact I was talking about and drinking Champagne so early in the morning. The whole wonder of my weekend away was just setting in at this point, but I gathered my wits and realized that I was an adult and I needed to pay attention. All the while Traci gleefully sipped and spit like a champ next to me. I want to highlight here that Bryan from Fat Cork is a really great resource. www.fatcork.com sells grower Champagne to consumers. Grower Champagne tends to be referred to as more artisanal, as it is typically grown at a certain estate, rather than grapes sourced from different sites, while big Champagne houses tend to turn out the same Champagne year after year. Check out his website!! Also, a big shout out to Scott of JVineyards who is the sparkling wine maker there, he gave a very detailed yet fun explanation of the process of Methode Champenoise. #learnedalot #scottwasawesome

Lunch that first day was “lunch with a winemaker” on the grass under ancient and mossy oak trees. Again, we scored after having haphazardly sat down with Erik Kramer the wine maker of Domaine Serene Vineyards. The wine he brought was delicious but the company ever better. Our deep respect and appreciation to the amazing chefs and hello to our new French and American friends with whom we lunched under the oaks! The Domaine Serene Chardonnay (2012) was a perfect Chardonnay; crisp, mouthwatering and delicious. We also sampled Domaine Serene’s Pinot Noir, and Pinot Noir from JVineyard. I loved them both, different examples of well made Pinot. Domaine Serene had that earthy, subtle, and quality taste while JVineyards was more fruit forward, fuller bodied but equal in quality and art. (I included links at the bottom of this post for all of the wines I’m recommending.)

After rolling ourselves out of lunch we landed at the University of Pinot for a discussion of “Does vine age matter?” An impressive panel of Winemakers included Michael Etzel of Beaux Freres, Ben Casteel and Mimi Casteel of Bethel Heights Vineyard and Adam Campbell of Elk Cove and Luisa Ponsi of Ponsi Vineyards, talked and presented barrel samples of wine for old and young vines. From a personal perspective, we were not exactly comparing apples and apples, the old vines and new vines were not planted in the exact same place. Even though there was much talk about how old vines are really better than younger vines, there are many examples of young vines producing the best wine of the century. It was very telling to taste the differences, having 8 glasses of varying aged wines to sip and compare. So, bottom line, yes old vines are great and they have history but sometimes the young ones can surprise you. Kinda like being a parent, sometimes the little ones can surprise you with a little spice and depth, even with young age. Great overall perspective! Thanks moderators.

Dinner arrives quickly and Traci and I find ourselves surrounded by happiness, string lights, amazing food and Pinot. We have landed again at the best table ever and hereby make what will be friends for life: Robert and Maria Faust, Allan and Sandra of Boyd Vineyards, Collin aka the kid with the salt (Jacobson salt and seriously you have to try this stuff) and Micheal of Beau Freres Vineyards. I cannot begin to recall all the amazing wines we had at the table and being shared with us by other tables (shout out Ted and Tom from Alabama, 2nd largest Oregon PN market in US). It was a good night, followed up by a late night visit to R.Faust tasting room for a little toast to celebrate a new friendship with the amazing Bubbly, an R. Stuart sparkling wine.

Day Two: Day two was our group’s turn for a vineyard tour. As our guide, we had the captivating Lynn from Penner-Ash Vineyard who gave us a highly entertaining and informative tour bus ride to Alexana Vineyard in Willamette, Oregon. Vineyard tours are always amazing, walking around a vineyard and seeing the actual reality of grape to bottle is always inspiring. Alexana’s Rose’ of Pinot Noir 2012 started our tour and we learned that harvesting will be happening early this year. We had a quick seminar on the different clones used at this vineyard with a quiz on which wine was what. A panel of 4 winemakers explained what clone gave certain flavor profiles and we were left to guess as to which wine was which. My new friend (not Traci since she foolishly didn’t agree with moi), Nicolos, and I nailed the quiz, guessing 4 out of 4 baby! . . . we beat some of the winemakers! But I don’t mean to brag *cough-cough*. Lunch that day was served at the winery and we were able enjoy the wines produced right there at the vineyard, and some others as well. Another al fresco tasting with our new friends Chris and Tony while Traci toured the facilities and barrel room with the wine maker and decided she wants to sell her possessions and move to Oregon to make wine. I tried to taste as much as I could in a short amount of time.

IPNC is maybe best known for the Annual Salmon Bake which is basically A LOT of salmon baking on a fire pit with a lot of people looking for wine. We might have been some of those people. The fire-pit was impressive and I was happy to not have my smallest curious (and accident prone) child with me for this event. My last blog referred to this event as “running of the bulls” because the event kicks off with a long line akin to a rock concert or sporting event. The food served on this night was buffet style, there was live music and the wine was flowing. Another great night of laughter and friends ended with meeting yet another new friend, wine maker Herve Kerlann from Burgundy, France.

Traci and I had to miss the Champagne brunch on the last day to get back to our reality of runny noses, almond butter toast and googling “how to remove gum from fabric” (seriously, how can one child manage to “gum up” four articles of clothing in three days without mom around? Please send advice). But it looked fabulous with a parade and homemade flash frozen ice cream (can’t believe I missed that one) and lots and lots of Champagne. Tired, full and happy, we hugged and said our goodbyes at the gates and flew home with dreams of Pinot Noir dancing through our heads. IPNC was an event for everyone and if you are looking for a wonderful wine weekend away, please consider it for next year. I suggest you plan to arrive at least a day before to familiarize yourself with the Portland and McMinnville areas, and plan several days after, if you can, to further explore. You will be full of knowledge and will want to poke around a bit more to seek out your favorite vineyards. And definitely bring your camera or, you know, bring your photographer. www.ipnc.org

Links

My overall winery recommendations: (Oregon)

Domaine Serene (tasted the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir)www.domaineserene.com

R. Stuart http://www.rstuartandco.com

Bergstrom http://www.bergstromwines.com

Domaine Drouin http://www.domainedrouhin.com/en/

Bethel Heights http://www.bethelheights.com

Cristom http://www.cristomvineyards.com

California: JVineyards www.jwine.com

France: Domaine Lucien Jacob, Herve Kerlann, and Domaine Nudant (Spectacular)

South Africa: Hamilton Russell Vineyards http://vineyardbrands.com/Aspx/Producer.aspx?id=hamiltonrussell

New Zealand: Two Paddocks http://www.twopaddocks.com