Movie, Company, Cheese, Crackers, and of course, Wine!

Those of you who have read many of my posts, you know that I like to start my week off with a glass of wine at 8pm on Sundays, and this particular Sunday was no different. The time was 7:30pm and I opened my bottle of wine. I had invited Ryan, a former student of mine, over to enjoy this recently procured bottle and to hear about how his Spring Break.

While the wine was breathing, I cut and plated some Tillamook cheddar and pepper-jack cheeses, with some garlic Triscuits. When I poured the wine, the first words out of Ryan's mouth was, "That's good!" Ryan was enjoying the flavor of the pinot noir that was in front of him. With a rich color, oak-filled and spicy flavor, and an enjoyable nose, it would be hard to not find this wine good. This is not a big red wine, but rather a "regular" pinot noir that I enjoyed the moment it first hit my tongue, and I knew Ryan would enjoy it as well.

Over the last nearly two years, Ryan and I have talked about wine. What is good wine, what is bad one, and what makes it that way. We have talked about wines that we enjoy and ones that didn't sit well either of us. This particular evening, Ryan told me about some of the wine he had while in Seattle with his girlfriend over this last Spring Break. We continued to enjoy the wine, cheese, and crackers, and decided to put a movie in the background, so on went "The Talented Mr. Ripley." But then Ryan asked how I come about this particular bottle of wine. I re-told the story of Josh and I from just the week before.

Josh did a great job of telling you how we ended up at Belle Vallee, but I have to say, when I walked into the tasting room, I kind of just thought it was the place that I was meant to be at that exact moment. I know it's a bit odd to say about wine and a tasting room, but it was perfect. From the enthusiastic conversation I got the chance to observe Aubrie and Josh having, to the ambiance of the tasting room with its various maps of Oregon growing areas, it was a great experience.

This 2007 pinot was the first one Aubrie poured for us, and everything about it was so amiable, that I knew I would minimally be leaving with at least one bottle of it. Knowing how much I enjoyed it made me realize that this would be a good wine to catch-up with Ryan over. I did subsequently leave Belle Vallee with four bottles of wine, and I will do my best to write about all of them here on the TOWB. But this is a pinot you should go out and secure, you will not regret it!

As for this particular Sunday, it was a great way to start the week.










Until next time...