Plenty of Pinots to please particular palates

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I really need to stop saying it.

I do it all the time in this column, and then I’m forced to qualify.

So I’m going to do my level best to stop prefacing certain statements with the following: "I generally don’t like (insert varietal or country of origin) wines, but ..."

And it’s the ‘but’ that’s the problem. Because if I generally don’t like something, except for this time, and that time, and the other time, well, the ‘generally’ doesn’t really fit any more.

So again, I’ll try to wipe that phrase from my wine-writing vocabulary and just focus on the positives in a specific beverage.

There’s no guarantee I’ll succeed. In fact, I can almost promise I won’t. But I truly am going to try.

Because lots of wines have lots to offer. And just because I haven’t, ‘generally speaking,’ liked Sauvignon Blancs or Pinot Noirs or Italian or Spanish wines in the past doesn’t mean I won’t like one now. They’re all somewhat different. And I shouldn’t dismiss something I might try now based on what I’ve had in the past, because by prejudging, I could well be doing myself out of a superb taste experience, or at least tainting the tasting before it even takes place.

So (I hope) no more. I’m going to take a deep breath and dive in, nose first, taste buds to follow.

Bring on that Sauvignon Blanc — I’ll taste it happily. Hit me with your Pinot Noir. I’m as open-minded as the Dalai Lama. Invite me to an Italian wine night. Va bene con me! Spanish wine? Muy bueno! Pour me a glass!

This was an attitude I attempted to take with me to the Winnipeg Wine Festival in early May. In fact, I specifically sought out many wines of which, historically, I have not been fond. And as one might suspect, I DID find some to like along the way.

For reasons I can’t explain — well, yes I can. I was about to say I was very much intent on trying Pinot Noirs, and I had no idea why. But now I do! I love Pinot with salmon and with veal, so I was in search of more to choose from. I wrote recently about the Mirassou Pinot Noir from California, which has a hint of cherry, a fair dose of vanilla, a smattering of earthiness, and just a hint of sweetness. It was light-bodied, again not usually my favourite thing (Blast it! I’ve GOT to quit saying that) but it only costs $12.99 at the Liquor Mart. And the flavour was very nice, both on its own or with the aforementioned dishes.

(In the same column, I also mentioned the Blue Grouse Pinot Noir from Vancouver Island — it was $35 a bottle in Victoria in May of 2011, and was so spectacular it made me weak in the knees. But we can't get it here, and the cost is certainly prohibitive, at least for regular consumption, so for general purposes, the Blue Grouse is not really up for consideration.)

But the Pinots I liked at the Wine Festival were a delightful change of taste for me, and I hope to continue with this open-minded — or open-palated, if you will — attitude for some time to come. I quite enjoyed the Essenze Pinot from New Zealand last year, which it sells for $21.95. With a bouquet of cherry and red berries with a hint of flowers, it offered pretty much the same in taste. "Very sippable" was the note I made about this particular beverage.

There were other Pinots I tried at the Winnipeg Wine Fest that were pleasant, but that were ultimately not listed by the MLCC. One that was, however, was the Coyote’s Run Estate Winery Red Paw Pinot Noir from the Niagara region, which picked up a gold medal at the Ontario Wine Awards this year. It was recommended to me by an MLCC product ambassador and a product consultant from Winnipeg. While I wasn’t struck by it, both MLCC folks were more than enamoured with its mushroomy qualities at the Festival, and so, it seems, were the event patrons, as it’s now been listed for this province at $26.99 a bottle. (Stuff from the show often takes up to six months to arrive, so while you can keep your eyes peeled for this particular product, don’t expect it any time soon. Being a Canadian product, though, it may well be here long before the new overseas acquisitions. But I’m only speculating.)

However, I was knocked out by the Wagner Family of Wine Belle Glos Meiomi Pinot Noir from California. While I like full-bodied, big wines with some edge, the Belle Glos Meiomi was none of those things. But it was, I thought, a bit deeper than most Pinots, and instead of tasting of dirt, like I find so many of them do, this was earthy, sure, but gently so. And it had little or no edge at all. While it was chock full of typical Pinot flavour — cherry, red fruit, etc. — it was really subtle, really soft. I figure some Pinot lovers might think that, despite its depth of flavour, its delicacy makes it a tad wussy.

But I loved it. I really did. It’s the first Pinot — and it sells for $24.99, so this is a big deal for me — about which I didn’t hesitate when I noticed it, quite by accident, on the Liquor Mart shelf. I wasn’t shopping for it, but once I saw it, I grabbed — grabbed! — a bottle and made my way to the till.

This is a Pinot I figure is well worth the money. And because of its approachability, I think might change the minds of other folks who perhaps aren’t usually crazy about Pinot — folks, of course, who are not at all like me. Since I’ve reformed. At least temporarily.

Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition June 2, 2012