Great video. Having lived in the Willamette Valley my whole life, and being in the wine industry, I find so many California Pinots to be over extracted (fruity) and over-oaked. Obviously, there are some that are more restrained, but they tend to cost a small fortune. My top picks in Oregon include Patricia Green Cellars (Jim Anderson), Sequitur (Mike Etzel) and Domaine Drouhin (Veronique Drouhin). A quick note on pronunciation, it’s Will-am-it 🙂
@@drmatthewhorkey Not sure I understand. If you know you're mispronouncing it, why continue to do so? While we're on this topic, there's an R in Pinot Noir. Curious why you choose to pronounce it Pinot Noi?
I used to really like Cali Pinots but as my palate evolved toward "Old World" wines I leaned towards the Oregon pinots for the reasons you mentioned during your video. I like the subtleness of the Oregon pinots, they are not a fruit forward and the body on them is the way a pinot should be: light - medium. I can comment that I have been enjoying BTF pinots for many years and continue to enjoy them.
Some of my fav Pinots: I love the Racines Pinot; Craggy Range (NZ) Te Muna Pinot, fruity w/ more oak than Racines; Fromm Cuveé H Pinot (NZ) lighter w/ fruit & vanilla;; Flying Goat Pinot (Santa Maria), similar to Racines fruitiness, w/ touch of herb ($20!);Pelligrini Olivet Lane Pinot (Russian River), probably my favorite; smooth, cheery-coke, kirsch, hits all the right PN notes!
Great video. Personally my favorite US Pinot comes from extreme Sonoma Coast, though I do enjoy SRH and OR Pinot. I can tell you that Big Table Farms ages really nicely.
Great video! My wife and I visited Willamette last year and then Sonoma this year. I can’t say for certain which I like better but I did pour myself a glass of Small Vines for this video.
My apologies I know this is a PN video but I had to tell you I had a bottle of the 2018 Boscarelli Vino Nobile and oh my, what a wine! Headed back to my local wine store tomorrow to get some more. Thanks for recommending it in one of your videos
I'm from So Ca and I enjoy the Santa Barbara Pinot's because they are fruitier but having lived in the Willamette Valley for 13 years I enjoy those Pinot's as well. I've also have been trying Pinot's from New Zealand and I'm starting to enjoy them as well. But for me I still give the edge to Santa Barbara Pinot Noir's.
Look for vineyards that are in the Van Duzer corridor, a low spot in the mountains, where the cool air comes in from the ocean, such as Freedom Hill, or Momtazi. If you ever make it her give me a shout.
I find both California and Oregon pinot noirs wonderful, but I have to admit I'm partial to one specific winery that makes, at least what I feel, some of the most amazing pinot noirs I've ever had; the name of the winery is La Rochelle, and until recently had their tasting room located in Kentwood in Sonoma County, California. Many of the vineyards they use are from the Sonoma area, but sometimes have some outside there. Regardless, they have so many _stunning_ pinot noirs, and I am so happy to be a member of their wine club. They may be more expensive than many, but the price is WELL worth it, and if one can acquire some of their wines, you should do so!
Yummy. Just a note about pronunciation… Willamette has the emphasis on the ‘a’ instead of the ‘m.’ Sounds like Will-A-mitt. I was there a few months ago and they’re emphatic about the second syllable emphasis 🤓
CA pinots are undoubtedly American, which there'a always a time and place for but the ones from Oregon that I've tried have much more in common with Burgundy in terms of presentation.
Got to be honest. In my opinion the best Pinot are still Burgundian in style. Bright, crisp, red fruits, with either little to no oak or very well integrated , in such, it simply adds to the forest floor. For the most part, that leaves out the more jammy California ones. Other than those like you had mentioned Domaine de la Cote Blooms field. But even some of those from Willamette, I feel have become a little more oaky than in the past. Such as one of my favorites,Eveshamwoods. Which is the one that started me down this rabbit hole of the wine world. At least for my palate. And as always: Enjoy the sunshine held together by water🍷
I prefer Oregon over Sta. Rita Hills generally. However, select producers from Anderson Valley, Russian River, Santa Cruz Mountains, and Sonoma Coast are outstanding and present similarly to Oregon Pinot at times. I have trouble distinguishing those Northern California regions from Oregon in blind tastings. Old vintages of Calera from the Mount Harlan region south of Hollister are impressive, as are old vintages of Mount Eden from Santa Cruz Mountains.
California or Oregon? Yes! I appreciate both and the sub applications offer some interesting nuance. Recently I've been hearing good things about a winery named Lingua Franca so we tried some and really loved it.
I love the trolling of your pronunciation. 😂 pls keep it up. I haven’t tried Big Table but sounds like it’s worth a try. I enjoy Oregon PN so much I sometimes don’t wanna venture into California since I hear it’s much more fruity and bold…but I shouldn’t knock it til I try it.
He could just have a mental block on the correct pronunciation of Willamette. Sometimes when you read a word it comes out mispronounced on how you hear it in your mind and then is mispronounced when you try to say it. When that happens over and over again, this mispronunciation becomes embedded in your long-term memory as the normal way to pronounce the word. He may try to play it off that he is just trolling, but it could be that is just how his brain thinks Willamette should be pronounced. Even when he has consciously tried to slow down and pronounce Willamette the correct way, you could see it was a struggle and didn't sound natural.
Generally I prefer Oregon, the CA ones tend to be to oaky, especially those from Sonoma. Santa Barbara offers very good ones, I agree. But almost universally these wines are expensive. When it comes to value (if such a thing still exists in Pinot Noir), then I have had good experiences with wines from the Monterrey region.
I am on the side of the lighter higher acid Pinot Noirs. My tasting crew will taste a dozen Russian River Pinot Noirs probably summer of 2025. They tend to be a bit spendy and have the reputation of being more extracted. We shall see.
You are truly a wine expert. Please pronounce Willamette correctly. I feel that it’s rude when you don’t. And since you are an expert, it makes sense that you pronounce it correctly.
Hey! Let me give you a lesson on how to pronounce Willamette....here's a phonetic lesson...It's Willamette Damn it! Few things piss us off more. As for the Oregon Pinot you tasted...price aside it is a no-name producer. You're welcome.
@@drmatthewhorkey Fair enough. Come taste some of the long time established producers in the North Valley in and around McMinnville and Dundee. I think you'll enjoy it....😊
Want more Pinot Noir???
Oregon Pinot Noir Blind TASTING: th-cam.com/video/R_F_Yk6bJYw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=lQD0biORPgaAeBXp
California Pinot Noir Blind Tasting: th-cam.com/video/VZHy8cdflrs/w-d-xo.htmlsi=JVAB-nTITUrzG_tK
Great video. Having lived in the Willamette Valley my whole life, and being in the wine industry, I find so many California Pinots to be over extracted (fruity) and over-oaked. Obviously, there are some that are more restrained, but they tend to cost a small fortune. My top picks in Oregon include Patricia Green Cellars (Jim Anderson), Sequitur (Mike Etzel) and Domaine Drouhin (Veronique Drouhin). A quick note on pronunciation, it’s Will-am-it 🙂
Agreed, Willamette nearly every time. Still so domestically and globally underrated. Though my top 3 is Nicolas-Jay, Cristom, and Lingua Franca
He seems to have a problem with that name.
@@whitelightning2291 all good producers. Just love the Cristom “Jessie”.
I mentioned the reason behind mispronunciation of Willamette in previous videos...
@@drmatthewhorkey I do recall your referencing the difficulty in mispronouncing it, however, I don't remember the explanation as to why?
As a life long Oregonian, the way to remember how to properly pronounce Willamette is it rhymes with damn it. It's Willamette Damn it.
Came here to say as much. Grew up in Ashland! :)
I mentioned the reason behind mispronunciation of Willamette in previous videos...
@@drmatthewhorkey Not sure I understand. If you know you're mispronouncing it, why continue to do so? While we're on this topic, there's an R in Pinot Noir. Curious why you choose to pronounce it Pinot Noi?
@@brett327 He likes getting people worked up about it.
@@gooseman480 seems silly and unprofessional.
I used to really like Cali Pinots but as my palate evolved toward "Old World" wines I leaned towards the Oregon pinots for the reasons you mentioned during your video. I like the subtleness of the Oregon pinots, they are not a fruit forward and the body on them is the way a pinot should be: light - medium. I can comment that I have been enjoying BTF pinots for many years and continue to enjoy them.
There are some beautiful “Old Worldy” Pinots in California too :)
Oregon , Domaine Serene is the best i’ve tasted from USA
Good producer!
Some of my fav Pinots: I love the Racines Pinot; Craggy Range (NZ) Te Muna Pinot, fruity w/ more oak than Racines; Fromm Cuveé H Pinot (NZ) lighter w/ fruit & vanilla;; Flying Goat Pinot (Santa Maria), similar to Racines fruitiness, w/ touch of herb ($20!);Pelligrini Olivet Lane Pinot (Russian River), probably my favorite; smooth, cheery-coke, kirsch, hits all the right PN notes!
Very good wines there!
Great video. Personally my favorite US Pinot comes from extreme Sonoma Coast, though I do enjoy SRH and OR Pinot. I can tell you that Big Table Farms ages really nicely.
😮😮😮😮
Great video! My wife and I visited Willamette last year and then Sonoma this year. I can’t say for certain which I like better but I did pour myself a glass of Small Vines for this video.
Small Vines is AWESOME!
My apologies I know this is a PN video but I had to tell you I had a bottle of the 2018 Boscarelli Vino Nobile and oh my, what a wine! Headed back to my local wine store tomorrow to get some more. Thanks for recommending it in one of your videos
Glad you love it!!!
I'm from So Ca and I enjoy the Santa Barbara Pinot's because they are fruitier but having lived in the Willamette Valley for 13 years I enjoy those Pinot's as well. I've also have been trying Pinot's from New Zealand and I'm starting to enjoy them as well. But for me I still give the edge to Santa Barbara Pinot Noir's.
I'm a big SBC fan too
Russion River Pinots for me. I've had many mixed quality from Oregon. The Santa Barbara Pinots are smooth, but a bit blah to me.
Pinot is a difficult grape to get right for sure
Look for vineyards that are in the Van Duzer corridor, a low spot in the mountains, where the cool air comes in from the ocean, such as Freedom Hill, or Momtazi.
If you ever make it her give me a shout.
Niceee!!!
I find both California and Oregon pinot noirs wonderful, but I have to admit I'm partial to one specific winery that makes, at least what I feel, some of the most amazing pinot noirs I've ever had; the name of the winery is La Rochelle, and until recently had their tasting room located in Kentwood in Sonoma County, California. Many of the vineyards they use are from the Sonoma area, but sometimes have some outside there. Regardless, they have so many _stunning_ pinot noirs, and I am so happy to be a member of their wine club. They may be more expensive than many, but the price is WELL worth it, and if one can acquire some of their wines, you should do so!
Oh I don’t know that Winery, thanks for the hot tip
I was drinking my 2022 Blue Canyon Pinot Noir out of Monterey as this video came on. For $15 you can’t beat it
Nicceee
Oregon … Willamette dammit … lol. The 2021 has been an incredible vintage for us. Willakenzie, Gran Moraine are standouts with many others.,
I lovvvee the 21 vintage in WV... I mentioned the reason behind mispronunciation of Willamette in previous videos...
Just remember: it’s pronounced “dammit!” (Willamette).
💪🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Yummy. Just a note about pronunciation… Willamette has the emphasis on the ‘a’ instead of the ‘m.’ Sounds like Will-A-mitt. I was there a few months ago and they’re emphatic about the second syllable emphasis 🤓
I mentioned the reason behind mispronunciation of Willamette in previous videos...
CA pinots are undoubtedly American, which there'a always a time and place for but the ones from Oregon that I've tried have much more in common with Burgundy in terms of presentation.
Wow! Nice statement. I feel that both in Oregon and California producers don’t have to run away from a local style
Got to be honest. In my opinion the best Pinot are still Burgundian in style. Bright, crisp, red fruits, with either little to no oak or very well integrated , in such, it simply adds to the forest floor. For the most part, that leaves out the more jammy California ones. Other than those like you had mentioned Domaine de la Cote Blooms field.
But even some of those from Willamette, I feel have become a little more oaky than in the past. Such as one of my favorites,Eveshamwoods. Which is the one that started me down this rabbit hole of the wine world. At least for my palate.
And as always: Enjoy the sunshine held together by water🍷
Producer is important!
I love DDLC Le Cote and Hirsch (Sonoma) but the Pinot recently that blew me away was tolpuddle from Tasmania.
Tolpuddle showed up on this channel before, brilliant wine!
Thanks for pointing out that not all Pinot Noir wines have low levels of tannins.
Truth!
I prefer Oregon over Sta. Rita Hills generally. However, select producers from Anderson Valley, Russian River, Santa Cruz Mountains, and Sonoma Coast are outstanding and present similarly to Oregon Pinot at times. I have trouble distinguishing those Northern California regions from Oregon in blind tastings. Old vintages of Calera from the Mount Harlan region south of Hollister are impressive, as are old vintages of Mount Eden from Santa Cruz Mountains.
I agree that there are some great producers in Northern California as well. You named some of them!
I love Carneros Pinot for the funk it gives off. Truchard has this earth black tea bot I like.
Wowwww!
Santa Rita Pinot for me, been drinking it long before it was an AVA
Niceee you are an OG
California or Oregon? Yes! I appreciate both and the sub applications offer some interesting nuance. Recently I've been hearing good things about a winery named Lingua Franca so we tried some and really loved it.
Absolutely both are good! And the Lingua Franca Amity Hills was my favorite wine of the year at $50 and 95 points
One of my favorite in Oregon, they have shown up on the channel before!
Ripens early? Is that true? The germans call it spatburgunder, which actually means 'late ripening' burgundain grape.
Definitely ripens earlier than other varietals.
probably because it ripens later than Weissburgunder...
@@drmatthewhorkey Yes of course, that's it thank you
I love the trolling of your pronunciation. 😂 pls keep it up.
I haven’t tried Big Table but sounds like it’s worth a try. I enjoy Oregon PN so much I sometimes don’t wanna venture into California since I hear it’s much more fruity and bold…but I shouldn’t knock it til I try it.
He could just have a mental block on the correct pronunciation of Willamette. Sometimes when you read a word it comes out mispronounced on how you hear it in your mind and then is mispronounced when you try to say it. When that happens over and over again, this mispronunciation becomes embedded in your long-term memory as the normal way to pronounce the word. He may try to play it off that he is just trolling, but it could be that is just how his brain thinks Willamette should be pronounced. Even when he has consciously tried to slow down and pronounce Willamette the correct way, you could see it was a struggle and didn't sound natural.
You should try it!
I mentioned the reason behind mispronunciation of Willamette in previous videos...
Generally I prefer Oregon, the CA ones tend to be to oaky, especially those from Sonoma. Santa Barbara offers very good ones, I agree. But almost universally these wines are expensive. When it comes to value (if such a thing still exists in Pinot Noir), then I have had good experiences with wines from the Monterrey region.
Good call on Monterrey!
For me it’s Oregon all the way. I find it closer to burgundy.
Some producers can achieve this for sure
Wil-AM-ette!
I mentioned the reason behind mispronunciation of Willamette in previous videos...
I am on the side of the lighter higher acid Pinot Noirs. My tasting crew will taste a dozen Russian River Pinot Noirs probably summer of 2025. They tend to be a bit spendy and have the reputation of being more extracted. We shall see.
😮 Sounds like a helluva tasting
@@drmatthewhorkey We do something like this every month. Great tasting crew.
I am no wine geek, but I do prefer Pinot from Oregan over California.
😮😮😮😮😮
haven't even watched but I know Oregon is gonna win
😮😮
You are truly a wine expert. Please pronounce Willamette correctly. I feel that it’s rude when you don’t. And since you are an expert, it makes sense that you pronounce it correctly.
I mentioned the reason behind mispronunciation of Willamette in previous videos...
@@drmatthewhorkey I saw that as I regularly watch your videos and stand by my comment. Cheers! 🍷
Hey! Let me give you a lesson on how to
pronounce Willamette....here's a phonetic lesson...It's Willamette Damn it! Few things piss us off more. As for the Oregon Pinot you tasted...price aside it is a no-name producer. You're welcome.
I mentioned the reason behind mispronunciation of Willamette in previous videos...
@@drmatthewhorkey Fair enough. Come taste some of the long time established producers in the North Valley in and around McMinnville and Dundee. I think you'll enjoy it....😊
I’ve had many of them!
Russian river . Roccioli
Very nice producer