Please The Palate |

A Retrospective Tasting with Cantina Terlano – Including a Wine from my Birth Year

It's not often that I get to taste a wine from my birth year. But, at a retrospective tasting of Cantina Terlano wines from Alto Adige, I got to go back almost 50 years and taste beautiful wines from 1971, 1983, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2002 and 2015. If you didn't think white wines like Pinot Blanco could age, you are mistaken. The ability of these wines to age is extraordinary. Relive my retrospective journey that I wrote about in the Napa Valley Register and share here.

It is not every day that you get to sit down and taste a retrospective vertical of wines going back almost 50 years, which also includes a wine from your birth year. But I had the privilege and pleasure to do that at TexSom with Cantina Terlano from Alto Adige.

And to top it off, this retrospective vertical tasting was of Pinot Blanco, a white wine. Yes, white wines with age.

12 November, 2019

Three C’s – Cinsault, Carignan and Criolla

Tired of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon? Looking for something different? Unique? Slightly obscure? Try one of the other wines that start with the letter “C” – Cinsault, Carignan and Criollo....

05 November, 2019

Willamette Valley’s other varietals

Of course when you think about the Willamette Valley in Oregon, you likely think of it as a land of Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir definitely reigns in the region and as a likely partner, Chardonnay is also planted and well-regarded in the Willamette Valley. But, the Willamette Valley is far more diverse than you might think it is and there are a number of producers who are working with other grape varieties and these grapes are well-suited to the region. I explored some of these grapes in my column in the Napa Valley Register, which you can read here.

Say ‘Napa’ and people think Cabernet Sauvignon. Say ‘Burgundy’ and people think Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Say ‘Piedmont’ and people think Nebbiolo. Say ‘Oregon’ and people think Pinot Noir.

It is easy to think of the Willamette Valley in Oregon as one large Pinot Noir-producing region. After all, of the 24,436 acres* of vineyards, 16,536 acres* are planted to Pinot Noir. At the same time Pinot Noir was planted in the 1970s, Chardonnay was also planted. The Willamette Valley shares the same latitude as Burgundy, so it makes sense that if Pinot Noir is suited for the Willamette Valley, so is Chardonnay. However, there are only 1,941 acres* planted to Chardonnay.

29 October, 2019