![]() I was enchanted by the Samsara 2019 Rancho La Vina Pinot Noir. I stopped by and tasted through the four Pinot Noirs he and the Szkutaks chose to share. After about 30 minutes of meditation and quiet, I headed into the grand tasting.īrady was already there, setting up the Samsara table. Anticipating that I’d be on my feet for quite a while, I stepped away from the proceedings momentarily, claiming a seat under the sun with a clear view of the Pacific. There are two large grand tastings during the WOPN weekend, one held on Friday and one on Saturday, each running from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Rita Hills appellation of Santa Barbara County, and at the restaurant I ran into Santa Barbara legends Gray Hartley (winemaker, Hitching Post Wines) and Kathy Joseph (winemaker, Fiddlehead Cellars). The Angel Oak repast featured wines from the Sta. ![]() While I headed to a lunch at the Bacara’s Angel Oak, an eatery that sits atop a cliff wall above the ocean, Brady instead had to assume his position behind a table at the same eatery, pouring wine for lunchgoers. ![]() He seemed excited to be there, and the three of us toasted to our good fortune at drinking fine Pinot Noir in such a lovely setting.īy midday, we were hungry. We sat next to James Robinson, a Pinot Noir fan from San Diego who was attending WOPN for the first time. It was a great way to start the morning, as Brady and I both shared an affection for the wines poured. Instead, they were a revelation of balance and elegance and mirrored the storied Brewer-Clifton wines in many aspects, ranging from aromatics to texture to structure. I’m embarrassed to say I expected the Giant Steps wines to be impossibly saturated and big. Isle, who is perhaps best known for his appearances on the Today Show and his work as Executive Wine Editor for Food & Wine Magazine, led a lively, often humorous session with Brewer and Hetzel, who spoke of the ephemeral connections between the wines of Giant Steps (Yarra Valley, Australia) and Brewer-Clifton (Santa Barbara County). Led by the inimitable Ray Isle, the seminar featured winemaker Greg Brewer and Master Sommelier Nick Hetzel. We met early Friday morning, the first official day of WOPN, and attended the “Giant Steps + Brewer-Clifton” seminar together. It was a brief contract and I lost touch with the brand, though Brady and I remained friends and would occasionally run into each other, catching up on music and live shows, our mutual obsession. About six years ago, I was briefly a consultant on the Samsara project, when owners Joan and Dave Szkutak acquired the brand from founder and former owner Chad Melville. I phoned up winemaker Matt Brady of Santa Barbara’s Samsara Winery and asked if he minded if I tagged along. I’ve attended WOPN before, but this time I thought it would be fun to shadow a winemaker to get a sense of how they experience this bustling weekend. In addition to chatting with customers old and new, the wine media, distributors, retailers, and restauranteurs all weekend long, the winemakers, winery owners and their staffs also have to man tables where they pour wine for hundreds of people for hours at a time. Wine producers attending WOPN gear up for a physically taxing three days when they agree to participate. If being surrounded by hundreds of wine lovers for a long weekend seems exhausting to you, you’re probably in the wine business. Now in its 23rd year, The World of Pinot Noir (or WOPN – pronounced whoppin’ – as it’s more commonly known) continues to be one of the most popular wine events in California, well-attended by wine fans and industry insiders alike. They were there to taste and learn about Pinots from around the world: Chile, France, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, and the United States. The BMP21-PLUS Label Printer is a trademark of Brady Worldwide, Inc.“Wine can be a better teacher than ink, and banter is often better than books.”Įarlier this month, hundreds of Pinot Noir enthusiasts descended upon the Ritz-Carlton Bacara resort perched on the Goleta coastline of California’s Santa Barbara. Finding the right label to get the job done is easy. Wire makers, cable flags, all-purpose vinyl, self-laminating labels, nylon cloth - you name it. This printer also takes advantage of Brady's reliable material offering. With smart automatic formatting, all you need to do is drop a label cartridge in, type and print. Whether you're in a server room, servicing a breaker box or organising your workplace, you can count on the BMP21-PLUS labeller to get the job done. The BMP21-PLUS portable label printer takes on the toughest labelling jobs in the field.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |