Simple Hedonisms

My goal this weekend was to give my Portland guests a wide exposure to the Sonoma Coast/Russian River Valley (RRV) pinot noir experience, so that they could contrast them with Willamette Valley. We had tasted a variety of Pinots previous days, and D-G was on the way to Bodega, where we where headed for the Bodega Festival of Art and Wine.

When we drove up to D-G, I remembered that I had been here once before for the Winter Wineland event. (oops)

Our pourer today was Matt, who was a wealth of knowledge. Many pourers are good at reciting the main features of their product, but they don’t always have a lot of depth. Matt is extremely well versed in wine tasting, wine making, viticulture, and local wineries. I’d have sat around and wine geeked with him for an hour had we time (and my guests not stolen my car keys to move on).

You can also taste the Balletto wines for a $5 fee. The Balleto Pinot is decent for $20, but is widely sold locally, so I skipped their  line up to focus on the  Dutton-Goldfield instead. I certainly enjoy Balletto, and will review them separately another time.

Although we came mostly for Pinot, we also sampled a few other wines being poured.  First was the Gewurztraminer (dry, no residual sugar (RS), which was easy to drink, and not sweet, as promised. Next was their chardonnay. I sometimes skip chards aged in oak and gone through malolactic fermentation (aka ML), as oaky/buttery isn’t my thing, but Matt promised me it was well balanced, and it was. Well made as it was, it just wasn’t my style of chard, although I continue to try and expand my palette (especially for whites).

Finally, we got to the crown jewels and tasted two Pinots, the 06 McDougall and the 06 Devils Gulch. Both were superb examples of Pinot. I don’t always spend $55/bottle in a winery, but I took the McDougall home for the cellar along side my other great Pinots.

I enjoyed the Zinfandel, as well.  Zin isn’t my favorite red varietal, but it seems that I like the Zins that Pinot houses make.

Tasting is normally $10 – a fair price for $55 wines, made in 300 case lots. It’s waived with purchase. Visa Signature card people taste for free, I think.

I experienced two very positive tasting room experiences, impressive since the first was during Passport event weekend, and the room was mobbed. Dutton –Goldfield, is a must stop, especially for you high end Pinot-ho’s. Balleto is there for an added bonus to, must add.

Oh! Apparently this place is dog friendly, as a couple had a gorgeous Great Dane. I will bring Flash along for the next tasting. Kudos for this!

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