2019 Fog & Light Limited Production Pinot Noir, Monterey, California
Tasting Notes
The 2019 Fog & Light Pinot Noir is as tantalizing and enigmatic as its name. Aromas of black cherries, plums, and crushed violet on the nose are followed by subtle notes of vanilla and a touch of spice. Enticing and complex flavors of red raspberries, ripe blackberries, and a hint of cola dance across the palate. A soft mouthfeel is framed by beautifully integrated tannins, balanced acidity, and a lingering, velvety fruit finish.
Monterey - California
The Fog & Light vineyards are situated along the coastal mountain ranges of Monterey, California. It is in this exceptional place that the cool maritime fog funnels into the valley each night. Then, the glorious light of California sunshine softens it away until the afternoon, when the winds sweep down from the northwest and the cycle begins anew. Upwelling drives the cycle of weather that shapes our unique terroir. The deep, frigid waters of the Pacific Ocean are pulled to the surface of the Monterey Bay which cools the marine air that hovers over the Monterey coast and sends the wind howling down the Salinas Valley.
Winemaking Notes
Temperamental and delicate, the Pinot Noir grapes are harvested at optimum ripeness in early morning hours before the vineyard warms, to preserve the silky quality that is characteristic of these grapes. Upon arrival to the winery, the grapes are destemmed and fermented in open top containers which allow gentle “punch downs” of the firm cap of grape skins that forms. At dryness, the wine is pressed into stainless steel tanks for settling, then racked cleanly for oak aging.
Specs
Vintage: 2019
Appellation: Monterey
Aging: French oak for 12 months
Alcohol: 13.5%
What’s Included
4-bottles:
4x 2019 Fog & Light Limited Production Pinot Noir, Monterey, California
Case:
12x 2019 Fog & Light Limited Production Pinot Noir, Monterey, California
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $300/case MSRP
About The Winery
Fog & Light Winery
The Fog & Light Winery is focused on sustainability. Fog & Light’s estate vineyards are officially certified by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA). The winery is 100% powered by a wind turbine that also provides 125 homes in the surrounding area with renewable energy. The winery is also SIP Certified, HACCP Certified, Global GAP Certified, and has been awarded the Green Medal for Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership.
Vineyards
The Fog & Light vineyards feature 100% drip irrigation that dramatically lowered the water requirements. Cover crops are planted to naturally improve soil health, prevent erosion, control vine vigor, discourage weeds, and promote sustainable health in the vineyard. The vineyards also follow an integrated pest management strategy that harnesses beneficial insects to control pests. The vineyard has over 250 owl boxes that naturally control destructive rodents.
I was lucky enough to be chosen as a rat for this bottle, and especially lucky that it even made it’s way into my hands (wrong address, UPS customer service that won’t let you talk to a real person, and an amazing delivery person that decided to try twice in one day). Anyways this is a solid daily drinker!
Visually this is a magenta Pinot with great clarity.
It had a very subtle nose. Luckily I didn’t get any alcohol or negative notes, but I also didn’t get much else. Maybe a little strawberry?
On day one I wrote ripe strawberry and blueberry, kinda low acid and a medium length finish. My partner said she predominantly tasted cherry. I roasted a chicken with tomatoes and red wine vinegar, and it paired pretty well! I thought the food brought out some toasty notes from the oak aging.
Day two was actually a little better! The wine is still very smooth, but I noticed a little vanilla and white pepper to go with the fruity flavors, definitely a little more interesting tonight. I did butter poached cod with turmeric and fresh corn, another solid pairing!
I think this would be a great daily drinker you could confidently pop open with whatever you cook for dinner. Pinot is a safe pairing and this one is no exception. Definitely brings a lot to the table at the 10.00 mark.
Thanks for another chance to try a bottle!
@CruelMelody Thanks for the great review. It sounds like the food pairing really helped, as well as 2nd day testing. By the way sounds like delicious cooking!
Though this doesn’t sound like what I crave in a Pinot Noir, it does sound like a great “default” PN good with food and easy to serve. Probably much better than any “grocery store” $10 PN, and certainly worth to have some laying around at this price, except I have too many cardboard wine boxes (largely full) already laying around everywhere.
This looks remarkably like belle glos in fact the Vivino offer actually says this is a grocer bottling they (grocer) backed out on. Any truth to that? A belle glos wine at $10 would be incredible
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2019 Fog & Light Pinot Noir - $60 = 33.32%
Thanks to Alice’s good heart here I am again ratting out today’s offering.
First, about my taste and preferences: I prefer wines with low acidity and low wood, where the fruit can shine in all its glory, without being overprocessed and overpowering. Old world reds are a good bet for me.
This bottle is, simply, gorgeous. A classic Pinot Noir bottle with a very tasteful cream color label, printed in black and red. Very stylish, almost French-type of wine label aesthetic.
It’s not the only thing French this wine tries to convey though, and the label and wax cork cover demonstrates that. It is a classy bottle, with its label and wax. A little surprised, though, that the actual cork was a composite. Nothing against them: it was just aesthetically odd, and a little bit of a give-away for the wine.
I chilled the bottle a bit, because when it arrived here we had a first wave of very hot days. I left the bottle in a normal fridge for two hours, then took out for one hour before popping it open.
I tasted it with my partner and two friends: two out of four are big red wine lovers. Here’s our collective notes.
Open and Pour: being a 2019 we thought that it didn’t need to breath much. We opened the bottle and pour two glasses. Recorked the bottle and let those two glasses breath for fifteen to twenty minutes. We then pour two more glasses and compared the two – one poured 20 minutes earlier and one just poured. Even just 20 minutes is such a blessing for the wine: the breathed wine was way more open and the whiff of alcohol you get in the just poured one is gone to leave space to red cherries, lots of raspberries and cranberries, red currant, a hint of leather, and one person got some red ripe plum.
A garnet color with transparency was a surprise for everybody, being the wine this young.
Mouth: the raspberry is coherent with the nose: very present and almost dominant. A bit of bubblegum and vanilla. Tannins are very smooth, and acidity is present, at times even too present for my palate. It’s a clear CA central coast Pinot Noir, with a lighter body and accented acidity, boosted raspberry and a bit of spice. This is not a particularly deep or complex wine: it is an easy drinking red perfect for a summer grill. In fact, having tasted the wine, we decided to fire up the grill and put on some burgers and other mixed grilled meats and cheeses – a couple of ribs, a toma and a halumi, and a few beef hot dogs. Zucchinis and red peppers sizzled along.
It was a good call: the Pinot proved itself a good companion with the fats, clearing the mouth with its acidity.
It’s – I’m quoting here one of the mates tasting this with me – a “non offensive Pinot”. Nothing sensational, but definitely pleasant with the right food. It would work well with a grilled salmon as well.
Price wise: the bottle looks fantastic and expensive; the content does not deliver in comparison with the beauty of the bottle, but it is a solid daily drinker, especially at this low price.
If we were buying in a store, we agreed on a price range – just looking at the bottle – of between 15 and 20 bucks. After tasting it, we lowered out estimates to 12-15 dollars.
At 10$, this is a solid crowd-pleaser for the upcoming grilling nights, mask-free for those vaccinated!
@pete0744@salpo same winery. I have yet to find anything interesting or particularly good from them. And I’ve been to their Carmel by the sea tasting room and tasted through everything.
@pete0744@pupator@salpo I’m one that thought the D7 “wasn’t that bad,” it was ok for a “gonna go grab some leftovers and have some wine” thing. Yeah but I wouldn’t intentionally buy more of it!
Regarding this and salmon pairing, it’s true that Pinot Noir is actually a good pairing for salmon, depending on the PN of course.
Right now the Copper River salmon, flown in daily from Alaska, is available here in the Pacific Northwest. First came in 1-2 weeks ago. It’s currently $30/lb (for filet). Sometimes the price drops a bit however the run is short-duration and then it just drops off the market. Not sure if I will get any. If I did pick a PN to have with $30 fish, though, I’d probably pick something “better”
@pete0744@pmarin@pupator God forbid I criticize other rats on their job! It is actually quite hard to strike a balance between objectivity and personal taste. As I said, the District7 is not all that bad after all - I frequently frame it as the cheapest PN on the menu by the glass at a normal bar. It’s inoffensive, honestly, for most casual wine drinkers.
Neither that nor this are a good pair for a 30$/lb salmon for sure. But for a farmed salmon - or even wild caught at around 10$/lb is a decent pair. It is though a killer for big grilling parties (not those hold by you wine connoisseurs, though!). Most people will be happy, and it will not get everybody instantaneously drunk (13.5% is not too bad). It has a good acidity for holding up to fatty meats, so it will work for that purpose flawlessly (and you won’t be fainting if another bottle is opened).
Great discussion, though! Thanks to all for the input (and your rattages, which I enjoy A LOT! I guess I need to be a better reading-through-the-lines buyer from now on )
@pete0744@pupator@salpo I am so glad I am not the only one who was fooled by district 7. I have been hesitant to try any of the casemates wines recently after having been burned. District 7 and Onesta Red Blend have scarred me. I can’t even give them away in good conscious. I might have pulled the plug on this but I hate the wax.
@pienka@pupator@salpo to be fair because of the pricing I don’t think I’ve ever been “burned” on this site. 12 bottles of wine for 100-150$ ?!? My expectations are set appropriately relative to the price. I would genuinely love to see some higher brow wines here tho and I’d gladly pay for them.
@pete0744@pupator@salpo True true. When I say burned, I mean my heart, not that the value isn’t there. I just had much higher expectations based on the reviews and the reality didn’t mean my expectations. I love the site that brings me Pedroncelli. Thanks Casemates!
@pete0744@salpo tap water used to rinse out an empty bottle is better than District 7. Every glass tastes like a campfire (and not in a good way). I’m considering throwing away the 10 bottles I have left!
@pete0744@pienka@pupator@salpo “Onesta red blend”…is that the Mentida red blend you are referring to? We love all the Onesta red (that we’ve tried) in this household! I mean for the case price of $8.33 / bottle it’s a fantastic QPR, IMO.
@DanOR better than the toxic lead ones. Not sure if that was to help protect health of consumers, or more likely just the raw cost of the metal started to be worth more than plastic “foil.”
@DanOR@salpo I think that is true… I was mostly joking about saving the cost of metal. I do remember when it was a big news story (might even be late 70s – I wasn’t of “drinking age”) I remember my parents buying wine in stores and opening a bottle at dinner and I remember some discussion about always wiping the top of the bottle first to remove whatever “contamination” you could.
Specs look good on this one, especially at that price. Anyone in Sacramento looking to go half on a case? I’m actually running out of space in the cellar.
I live in the Willamette Valley and it hurts my sensibilities to buy pinot from anywhere except my own backyard, but the “cellar” is getting disturbingly thin and $10 a bottle seems pretty decent, so needs must as the devil drives or some such nonsense.
@CraigDanger Most wines made for Aldi have a unique back-label format with a line showing dry … semi-dry … sweet spectrum and an arrow where that wine falls on the line. But they do sometimes get closeouts which might be unique. Aldi is basically center/east USA.
In the West we have Grocery Outlet which sometimes gets clearance wines which can be very good (winery was sold, or label changed, or last few cases too small for major retailer). But in recent years more wines seem to be “made for them” even thought it’s not clear on the label (not like with the Aldi spectrum). But I see the same Meh wines there year after year, which are not bad but basically what they’re worth.
@blandoon, I agree that a Willamette valley PN is hard to find at $10. In past years I have found some good Oregon PN there in the <$12 range, but it’s hit-or-miss. A few years ago they had A-to-Z PN in half-bottles for $4.99/btl, which is basically $9.98 for 750ml. A-to-Z is a mainstream brand often sold at Costco. But for $10/btl I though it was good and bought a case or two of the half-bottles. That was a nice find but I haven’t cruised the Oregon Grocery Outlet’s lately. (Driving to Lincoln City there are about 4 I pass by, and sometimes stopped at one or two of them). Some were better than others in terms of wine selection which is up to the store’s “wine guy.” Newport Oregon in particular had a really good wine guy, FYI. This was a few years ago.
EDIT to clarify by “good Oregon PN” I don’t mean something on the level of the ultra premium ones. Which are definitely my favorite. It’s hard(impossible?) to fine anything in that class for under about $30.
@bunnymasseuse@LincolnMics@thrillhouse74 Yeah I found that reference before I posted an inappropriate response of my own, (because the mask-less thing was mentioned in a review) but still, IMHO there’s no doubt that the “stay your ass at home” either was intended to be tongue-in-cheek to the point we didn’t get it, or maybe someone really not familiar with our general level of civility here (though we may swear here occasionally, not in a way insulting a group of people that for the most part have been living very safely for over a year, and yet still some had friend/relatives that died from COVID.)
@pmarin P.S. This was a picture of a cherry tree in my yard this AM. that’s the main reason I posted it; I was so happy about what looks like an amazing cherry harvest (what I can reach anyway) this year.
2019 Fog & Light Limited Production Pinot Noir, Monterey, California
Tasting Notes
The 2019 Fog & Light Pinot Noir is as tantalizing and enigmatic as its name. Aromas of black cherries, plums, and crushed violet on the nose are followed by subtle notes of vanilla and a touch of spice. Enticing and complex flavors of red raspberries, ripe blackberries, and a hint of cola dance across the palate. A soft mouthfeel is framed by beautifully integrated tannins, balanced acidity, and a lingering, velvety fruit finish.
Monterey - California
Winemaking Notes
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $300/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Jun 21 - Friday, Jun 25
Fog & Light Pinot Noir
4 bottles for $59.99 $15/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $119.99 $10/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2019 Fog & Light Pinot Noir
Love the note on owl boxes…
I was lucky enough to be chosen as a rat for this bottle, and especially lucky that it even made it’s way into my hands (wrong address, UPS customer service that won’t let you talk to a real person, and an amazing delivery person that decided to try twice in one day). Anyways this is a solid daily drinker!
Visually this is a magenta Pinot with great clarity.
It had a very subtle nose. Luckily I didn’t get any alcohol or negative notes, but I also didn’t get much else. Maybe a little strawberry?
On day one I wrote ripe strawberry and blueberry, kinda low acid and a medium length finish. My partner said she predominantly tasted cherry. I roasted a chicken with tomatoes and red wine vinegar, and it paired pretty well! I thought the food brought out some toasty notes from the oak aging.
Day two was actually a little better! The wine is still very smooth, but I noticed a little vanilla and white pepper to go with the fruity flavors, definitely a little more interesting tonight. I did butter poached cod with turmeric and fresh corn, another solid pairing!
I think this would be a great daily drinker you could confidently pop open with whatever you cook for dinner. Pinot is a safe pairing and this one is no exception. Definitely brings a lot to the table at the 10.00 mark.
Thanks for another chance to try a bottle!
@CruelMelody Thanks for the great review. It sounds like the food pairing really helped, as well as 2nd day testing. By the way sounds like delicious cooking!
Though this doesn’t sound like what I crave in a Pinot Noir, it does sound like a great “default” PN good with food and easy to serve. Probably much better than any “grocery store” $10 PN, and certainly worth to have some laying around at this price, except I have too many cardboard wine boxes (largely full) already laying around everywhere.
@pmarin yeah we’re spoiled with williamette valley Pinot for sure. But we’ll never find one for 10 bucks
This looks remarkably like belle glos in fact the Vivino offer actually says this is a grocer bottling they (grocer) backed out on. Any truth to that? A belle glos wine at $10 would be incredible
@pete0744 it’s by Schied.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2019 Fog & Light Pinot Noir - $60 = 33.32%
/giphy eerie-carnivorous-grasshopper
Thanks to Alice’s good heart here I am again ratting out today’s offering.
First, about my taste and preferences: I prefer wines with low acidity and low wood, where the fruit can shine in all its glory, without being overprocessed and overpowering. Old world reds are a good bet for me.
This bottle is, simply, gorgeous. A classic Pinot Noir bottle with a very tasteful cream color label, printed in black and red. Very stylish, almost French-type of wine label aesthetic.
It’s not the only thing French this wine tries to convey though, and the label and wax cork cover demonstrates that. It is a classy bottle, with its label and wax. A little surprised, though, that the actual cork was a composite. Nothing against them: it was just aesthetically odd, and a little bit of a give-away for the wine.
I chilled the bottle a bit, because when it arrived here we had a first wave of very hot days. I left the bottle in a normal fridge for two hours, then took out for one hour before popping it open.
I tasted it with my partner and two friends: two out of four are big red wine lovers. Here’s our collective notes.
Open and Pour: being a 2019 we thought that it didn’t need to breath much. We opened the bottle and pour two glasses. Recorked the bottle and let those two glasses breath for fifteen to twenty minutes. We then pour two more glasses and compared the two – one poured 20 minutes earlier and one just poured. Even just 20 minutes is such a blessing for the wine: the breathed wine was way more open and the whiff of alcohol you get in the just poured one is gone to leave space to red cherries, lots of raspberries and cranberries, red currant, a hint of leather, and one person got some red ripe plum.
A garnet color with transparency was a surprise for everybody, being the wine this young.
Mouth: the raspberry is coherent with the nose: very present and almost dominant. A bit of bubblegum and vanilla. Tannins are very smooth, and acidity is present, at times even too present for my palate. It’s a clear CA central coast Pinot Noir, with a lighter body and accented acidity, boosted raspberry and a bit of spice. This is not a particularly deep or complex wine: it is an easy drinking red perfect for a summer grill. In fact, having tasted the wine, we decided to fire up the grill and put on some burgers and other mixed grilled meats and cheeses – a couple of ribs, a toma and a halumi, and a few beef hot dogs. Zucchinis and red peppers sizzled along.
It was a good call: the Pinot proved itself a good companion with the fats, clearing the mouth with its acidity.
It’s – I’m quoting here one of the mates tasting this with me – a “non offensive Pinot”. Nothing sensational, but definitely pleasant with the right food. It would work well with a grilled salmon as well.
Price wise: the bottle looks fantastic and expensive; the content does not deliver in comparison with the beauty of the bottle, but it is a solid daily drinker, especially at this low price.
If we were buying in a store, we agreed on a price range – just looking at the bottle – of between 15 and 20 bucks. After tasting it, we lowered out estimates to 12-15 dollars.
At 10$, this is a solid crowd-pleaser for the upcoming grilling nights, mask-free for those vaccinated!
@salpo
“After tasting it, we lowered our estimates to 12-15 dollars.”
LOL.
Wonderful rattage thank you for your thorough nature.
@pete0744 Thanks Pete0744! I prefer a honest rattage than finding myself with a case of District7, for instance
@pete0744 btw, this is better than the District7
@salpo 𝑨𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍, 𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒂. 𝑵𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆, 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒙. 𝑵𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒖𝒕.
@pete0744 @salpo same winery. I have yet to find anything interesting or particularly good from them. And I’ve been to their Carmel by the sea tasting room and tasted through everything.
@CorTot @pete0744 ouch
@PaleMongo thanks! The tab was begging to be pulled, though
@salpo hahahah. Guilty. Though fortunately I just serve it to the neighbors.
@pete0744 the District7 you serve to the neighbors? Man, you must hate them!
Btw, I’ve been to harsh with the District7 : it’s not too bad after all
@salpo it’s not too good either
the Metz is much better and still quite far from good.
@pete0744 amen to that!
@pete0744 @salpo it’s pretty bad. (The District 7, that is. Haven’t had this.)
@pete0744 @pupator @salpo I’m one that thought the D7 “wasn’t that bad,” it was ok for a “gonna go grab some leftovers and have some wine” thing. Yeah but I wouldn’t intentionally buy more of it!
Regarding this and salmon pairing, it’s true that Pinot Noir is actually a good pairing for salmon, depending on the PN of course.
Right now the Copper River salmon, flown in daily from Alaska, is available here in the Pacific Northwest. First came in 1-2 weeks ago. It’s currently $30/lb (for filet). Sometimes the price drops a bit however the run is short-duration and then it just drops off the market. Not sure if I will get any. If I did pick a PN to have with $30 fish, though, I’d probably pick something “better”
@pete0744 @pmarin @pupator God forbid I criticize other rats on their job! It is actually quite hard to strike a balance between objectivity and personal taste. As I said, the District7 is not all that bad after all - I frequently frame it as the cheapest PN on the menu by the glass at a normal bar. It’s inoffensive, honestly, for most casual wine drinkers.
)
Neither that nor this are a good pair for a 30$/lb salmon for sure. But for a farmed salmon - or even wild caught at around 10$/lb is a decent pair. It is though a killer for big grilling parties (not those hold by you wine connoisseurs, though!). Most people will be happy, and it will not get everybody instantaneously drunk (13.5% is not too bad). It has a good acidity for holding up to fatty meats, so it will work for that purpose flawlessly (and you won’t be fainting if another bottle is opened).
Great discussion, though! Thanks to all for the input (and your rattages, which I enjoy A LOT! I guess I need to be a better reading-through-the-lines buyer from now on
@salpo BTW, I saved a glass for day 2. Not much changed in my opinion. The wine was pretty much the same, even just leaving it corked on the table.
@salpo I actually forgot to cork it overnight… It was less fruity and more oaky which I liked
@pete0744 @pupator @salpo I am so glad I am not the only one who was fooled by district 7. I have been hesitant to try any of the casemates wines recently after having been burned. District 7 and Onesta Red Blend have scarred me. I can’t even give them away in good conscious. I might have pulled the plug on this but I hate the wax.
@pete0744 @pmarin @pupator @salpo
Hmmm so does it get better if the salmon is only $10 a pound?
@pienka @pupator @salpo to be fair because of the pricing I don’t think I’ve ever been “burned” on this site. 12 bottles of wine for 100-150$ ?!? My expectations are set appropriately relative to the price. I would genuinely love to see some higher brow wines here tho and I’d gladly pay for them.
@pete0744 @pupator @salpo True true. When I say burned, I mean my heart, not that the value isn’t there. I just had much higher expectations based on the reviews and the reality didn’t mean my expectations. I love the site that brings me Pedroncelli. Thanks Casemates!
@salpo Ha… I missed that tab. That’s cheating! Why wax with a pull tab. Might as well use screw-ons.
@pete0744 @salpo tap water used to rinse out an empty bottle is better than District 7. Every glass tastes like a campfire (and not in a good way). I’m considering throwing away the 10 bottles I have left!
@firstgeer @pete0744 @salpo
harsh!
@pmarin I may have gotten a bad case, but every sip tastes like ash and smoke.
@firstgeer @pmarin that’s hysterical. Not for you but the description.
@pete0744 @pienka @pupator @salpo “Onesta red blend”…is that the Mentida red blend you are referring to? We love all the Onesta red (that we’ve tried) in this household! I mean for the case price of $8.33 / bottle it’s a fantastic QPR, IMO.
@pete0744 @pienka @pupator @TimW funny story on that onesta. I really wanted to try it, and ups (or fedex?! ) lost the case!
Wax capsules are the devil’s work
@DanOR better than the toxic lead ones. Not sure if that was to help protect health of consumers, or more likely just the raw cost of the metal started to be worth more than plastic “foil.”
@DanOR @pmarin are they still using the lead ones? I thought they were outlawed in the '80s
@DanOR @salpo I think that is true… I was mostly joking about saving the cost of metal. I do remember when it was a big news story (might even be late 70s – I wasn’t of “drinking age”) I remember my parents buying wine in stores and opening a bottle at dinner and I remember some discussion about always wiping the top of the bottle first to remove whatever “contamination” you could.
Specs look good on this one, especially at that price. Anyone in Sacramento looking to go half on a case? I’m actually running out of space in the cellar.
I live in the Willamette Valley and it hurts my sensibilities to buy pinot from anywhere except my own backyard, but the “cellar” is getting disturbingly thin and $10 a bottle seems pretty decent, so needs must as the devil drives or some such nonsense.
/giphy gorgeous-solid-ink
Why do I feel like this is Aldi trying to get on Sea Smoke’s corner? Blink twice if you can confirm this is an Aldi wine.
@CraigDanger Most wines made for Aldi have a unique back-label format with a line showing dry … semi-dry … sweet spectrum and an arrow where that wine falls on the line. But they do sometimes get closeouts which might be unique. Aldi is basically center/east USA.
In the West we have Grocery Outlet which sometimes gets clearance wines which can be very good (winery was sold, or label changed, or last few cases too small for major retailer). But in recent years more wines seem to be “made for them” even thought it’s not clear on the label (not like with the Aldi spectrum). But I see the same Meh wines there year after year, which are not bad but basically what they’re worth.
@blandoon, I agree that a Willamette valley PN is hard to find at $10. In past years I have found some good Oregon PN there in the <$12 range, but it’s hit-or-miss. A few years ago they had A-to-Z PN in half-bottles for $4.99/btl, which is basically $9.98 for 750ml. A-to-Z is a mainstream brand often sold at Costco. But for $10/btl I though it was good and bought a case or two of the half-bottles. That was a nice find but I haven’t cruised the Oregon Grocery Outlet’s lately. (Driving to Lincoln City there are about 4 I pass by, and sometimes stopped at one or two of them). Some were better than others in terms of wine selection which is up to the store’s “wine guy.” Newport Oregon in particular had a really good wine guy, FYI. This was a few years ago.
EDIT to clarify by “good Oregon PN” I don’t mean something on the level of the ultra premium ones. Which are definitely my favorite. It’s hard(impossible?) to fine anything in that class for under about $30.
Mask free for everyone how about that, if you don’t like it stay your ass home howbout.
Copped a case.
@LincolnMics Don’t really understand this comment. Why are we virtue signaling about masks on a wine forum?
@LincolnMics @thrillhouse74 Have to agree with Thrill here, seems out of line with our site here and the manner in which we post!
@bunnymasseuse @thrillhouse74 weird
@bunnymasseuse @LincolnMics @thrillhouse74 Yeah I found that reference before I posted an inappropriate response of my own, (because the mask-less thing was mentioned in a review) but still, IMHO there’s no doubt that the “stay your ass at home” either was intended to be tongue-in-cheek to the point we didn’t get it, or maybe someone really not familiar with our general level of civility here (though we may swear here occasionally, not in a way insulting a group of people that for the most part have been living very safely for over a year, and yet still some had friend/relatives that died from COVID.)
@LincolnMics
So there.
@pmarin you still wearing that thing?
@LincolnMics yep. Went to a grocery store this AM and slapped that thing on. Around here still a bunch of people doing that.
To lighten the tone a bit…. I’m not always sure I like it when “red cherries” is the dominant flavor in a PN. Here is what I like in red cherries.
@pmarin P.S. This was a picture of a cherry tree in my yard this AM. that’s the main reason I posted it; I was so happy about what looks like an amazing cherry harvest (what I can reach anyway) this year.
@pmarin we just finished our peach harvest yesterday. Probably got about 45 pounds off the tree this year. Kind of nuts.
Really enjoying this. Especially the next day. Delicious!