The 2009 Cold Heaven Make Peace Pinot Noir is a blend of 2 different Pinot Noir vine clones from (50%) Sta. Rita Hills and (50%) Santa Maria Valley AVA’s of Santa Barbara County, California. The wine is aged in French oak barrels, this is a small production, handmade Pinot Noir. The color is a combination of…
Read MoreThe 2008 Manuel Olivier Bourgogne Pinot Noir is sourced from grapes grown in the Cotes de Nuits sub-region of Burgundy, France. This is the entry level Pinot Noir for Manuel Olivier, an up and coming Burgundy winemaker. The label says, “Mis en Bouteille par Manuel Olivier”,(meaning bottled by Manuel Olivier, not grown by) which indicates…
Read MoreThe Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Edna Valley Pinot Reserve is 100% Pinot Noir, cellared and bottled by DNA Vineyards. DNA Vineyards is a project by winemaker Dennis Patton and they are responsible for some of Trader Joe’s best exclusive wines. The term “cellared and bottled” legally indicates that the listed winery aged the wine before…
Read MoreThe 2009 Vampire Vineyards Pinot Noir is sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. Vampire Vineyards is an actual Winery the label indicated they produced and bottled this wine, which legally means they crushed, fermented, aged and bottled at least 75% of this Pinot. Their website has tons of information on Vampires,…
Read MoreThe 2009 Pennywise California Pinot Noir is 94% Pinot Noir and 6% Syrah of which 60% is sourced from a single vineyard in the Clarksburg AVA, 30% from the River Junction AVA (a very cool section of the Central Valley) and 10% from the Monterey AVA. Pennywise is one of Don Sebastiani & Sons labels,…
Read More2007 Yamhill Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir is sourced from McMinnville and Willamette Valley AVA’s in Oregon. As the extraction factor in Pinot seems to reach ever higher peaks of density, I find myself wondering what on earth has happened to the glorious feminine side of this grape. The masculine style of this varietal is becoming rapidly…
Read MoreThe 2009 Three Knights Los Carneros Pinot Noir is a Trader Joe’s exclusive ($8.99), produced by Bronco Wine Company, the makers of 2 Buck Chuck and many other Trader Joe’s labels.There is no actual Three Knights Winery and Bronco Wines makes their wines as inexpensively as possible, so they don’t spend money on information on…
Read MoreThe 2010 Araucano Pinot Noir is 100% Pinot sourced from several cool weather vineyards in the Curico, Maipo, Maule, but mainly from the Lolol growing regions in the Central Valley of Chile. The Pinot Noir vines in this area are relatively young, the average age of the vines is 7 years old (it takes 3…
Read MoreThe 2009 Trader Joe’s Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir sells for $9.99, at least 85% of the grapes are grown in the Carneros AVA of California and the alcohol content is 13.9%, is about all I know for sure about this wine. This is a Trader Joe’s negociant wine, so who grew the grapes and who…
Read MoreThe 2009 Underwood Cellars Oregon Pinot Noir is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from 3 wine AVA’s (82% Umpqua Valley, 10% Willamette Valley and 8% Rogue Valley) in Oregon. The Umpqua Valley is a cool weather growing area, the Rogue Valley is the highest elevation and is the warmest growing area and the Willamette Valley has…
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