07 Aug Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Inman Family Wines 2022 Whole Buncha Love Pinot Noir & Grenache Blend, Russian River Valley & Alexander Valley

Some grape varieties are typically made as single varietal wines and are not blended with other grapes. Other grape varieties are commonly found in wine blends. So, what happens when a typically solo-grape variety is blended with another grape variety? Well, you get the Inman Family Wines 2022 Whole Buncha Love Pinot Noir & Grenache Blend, Russian River Valley & Alexander Valley, the Please The Palate wine of the week.

About

Inman Family Wines specializes in Pinot Noir sourced from their 10.5-acre Olivet Grange Vineyard in the Russian River Valley. But owner and winemaker Kathleen Inman also purchases some fruit from other vineyards. One of these vineyards is Pratt Vine Hill in the Russian River Valley. She has been purchasing all of their Pinot Noir since the vineyard’s beginning in 2013. She was also purchasing old vine Grenache (planted in 1953) from Sceales Vineyard in the Alexander Valley.

2022 was a hot year. The Pinot Noir grapes at Pratt Vine Hill started to raisin before being fully ripe. As a result, it produced a wine that has a high pH (therefore lower acidity) and was higher in alcohol than what Kathleen prefers. That same year at the Sceales Vineyard, Kathleen was one of three people getting Grenache and they had to pick it at the same time. The majority vote of the trio was to pick the Grenache before the heat wave so it came in with a very low pH (and therefore very high acidity).

Tasting Notes

Pinot Noir is a perfect grape variety on its own. It is not normally blended with other grapes (except when being made into Champagne). While it is not typically a blending grape, when you have lemons, you make lemonade. Kathleen took the Pinot Noir with its high pH and blended it with the Grenache with its low pH and the result was a fun and tasty combination. The wine has aromas of strawberries, cherries, and orange peel and on the palate, it has flavors of crunchy red fruits such as pomegranate and tart cherry. There are also spice notes. The wine has crunchy freshness and is perfect with a little chill on it. It is a super drinkable wine and as the label says, there is a “whole bunch” to love about this wine.

Food Pairing

Where To Purchase

The Inman Family Wines 2022 Whole Buncha Love Pinot Noir & Grenache Blend, Russian River Valley & Alexander Valley retails for $73 and is available directly from the Inman Family Wines website.

Meet The Winemaker

Meet Kathleen Inman in a story I had written for California Winery Advisor.

Get to know Kathleen Inman in 30 questions on the Wine Soundtrack USA podcast.