My Pinot Moment

Just a quick post on this fine December 9th to help celebrate 'Pinot Moment' day. For me I spent several years in wine no man's land. I liked wine, and would have told you I liked pinot noir, but that really meant nothing. I could not have told you what it was supposed to be, or why I liked it. This hearkens back to my youth. I grew up smack dab in the middle of Oregon's Willamette Valley, turned 18 and headed south. I had no idea for those 18 years what was going on around me. We just were not a wine drinking family, and it all just passed me in a blur. This continued as glass after glass of plonky pinot accompanied the meals of my 20's. Wine lists everywhere (and especially in Southern California) added cheap pinots to appease the newly invigorated Sideways revolution, and I drank right along.


Several times a year I pilgrim back to Oregon to see family, smack my brothers around, or play with the nieces and nephews. On one trip I decided to swing into Amalie Robert Estate for a quick appointment. As I walked through the very familiar hillsides of my childhood it struck me how many times I had driven past vineyards filled with pinot vines, and just took it for granted. I started to get excited to taste what was coming out of the soils near my home. The vineyard tour ended and we began to taste. The winery's Vintage Debut (their simplest and least expensive pinot noir) was my pinot moment. I understood the restraint, the acidity, the velvety feel that makes pinot unique and completely irresistible. I tasted elements of pine and earth, and found it so appealing. I was a convert, and I've never looked back.

What was your Pinot Moment?