Escaping the Rain at Palm Springs Pinot Fest

On Tuesday morning, I didn’t get to walk Globgor, which meant I needed to make right by the little guy. So, I was walking in a mixture of rain and incredibly wet snow when another person crossed paths with me running. I made eye contact and said, “Hi,” as I do to everyone, and this person stopped running to start talking with me. I was a little surprised, but why not take a minute to speak with a stranger in the cold with a wintery mix falling from the sky? The thing is, this person wasn’t a stranger. I didn’t recognize it was Shane from Alexana at first. But I was pleasantly surprised to catch up for a few minutes, and I was so glad he stopped!

It is a crazy small world we live in, and you never know who you will run into on a random late Tuesday afternoon.

The world of oysters is fascinating to me, and if you’re also curious, Wine Enthusiast has an excellent oyster guide.

I am glad other people are learning about Antiquum’s Grazing Based Viticulture on Jancis Robinson’s website.

Analemma published its 2022 Impact Report.​

This event is also in the Event’s newsletter, but I heard about the Indie Wine Mixer this past weekend while at the Chardonnay Celebration. It is happening over Memorial Day weekend, and everyone needs to know about it! There will be some fantastic producers in attendance, and if you are not in Italy, over the weekend is a must-go!

The Portland Spirit is doing some fun wine events you should check out!​

If I mention two events today, I have to add a third! Corollary is having their Spring release pickup at HiFi in Mac on April 2nd. If you haven’t tasted their wines yet, this might be your only chance this year since they don’t have a tasting space right now.

A couple of minor changes are occurring at Sokol Blosser​

Back in October, I heard of a wine event called Palm Springs Pinot Fest being held in January. So, knowing I would need some much-desired sun, I planned a nice little getaway to explore some California Pinots.

Pinot Fest has many events with options to pick and choose which events you want to partake in. Overall, there is lunch on Friday, the Grand Tasting on Saturday, and a couple of dinners Saturday night. I attended the Saturday lunch and the Grand Tasting.

I wasn’t the best planner Friday morning. I knew the lunch started at 11:30, and I thought all events were on-site at The Westin in Palm Springs. I had a pleasant and leisurely morning soaking up the sun and the blue skies. Around 10:30, I started to get my head around the event and noticed the lunch was at a Country Club instead. I panicked but noticed the event was only 1.5 miles away.

Walking to the Country Club, my bald head was soaking up the Vitamin D like something fierce, and when I saw the event being held outdoors, I couldn’t have been happier. I admit my little introvert self was a tad intimated not knowing any of the wineries or anyone else at the event. But, I took a big ‘ole gulp, put my big boy pants on, and dove into a great event.

Looking around, I wished Oregon had events like this outside. There were about 15 tables in the center, with 12 wineries bordering the perimeter. The participating wineries were part of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, known for those cooler winds coming off Monterey Bay in the afternoon. It sounds a lot like the Van Duzer Corridor. With cooler temps and long hang times, grapes are harvested in late September or early October.

If you are curious, maybe check out a recent article on Jancis Robinson titled “Santa Lucia Highlands - small but mighty” by Alder Yarrow.

There is some great history in the Santa Lucia Highlands and fabulous stories. One of the stories I adore is Dan Morgan Lee from Morgan Winery. Walking up to him, I appreciated he was wearing an Apple Watch on one arm and an authentic watch on the other. So I walked up to him and shared my struggle gathering data from my Apple Watch while also wanting to wear my genuine watch. He has been making wine for over 30 years. Early in his career, he talked with a banker about getting Morgan Winery off the ground, and eventually, the banker became his wife.

I finally got to taste wine from Walt and chatted with their winemaker, Alison Frichtl Hollister, who grew up in the Willamette Valley. I spent most of my time at Wrath’s table exploring their Pinot Noirs. I liked their 2019 Cortada Pinot Noir the most.

Before I could taste all of the wine, it was lunchtime buffet style. One of the benefits of not knowing anyone at the event is everyone talks to one another. One person was celebrating a birthday, another was the former police chief of Olympia, Washington, and a couple used to live in Salem. I chatted with the Salem couple and explored the differences between Oregon and California Pinots. The three of us agreed Wrath was the clear favorite for the afternoon.

After lunch, I explored Palm Springs. I won’t bore you with my touristy details, but I will tell you one tidbit before getting to the Grand Tasting. For dinner, I had deviled eggs with caviar on top, and I am pretty darn sure there is no way I will ever eat a plan deviled egg ever again. The extra saltiness gave me a whole new appreciation of the deviled egg.

Before I dive into the Grand Tasting on Saturday, I want to paint a picture of what I had in my head for this event. For example, I was at Oregon’s Chardonnay Celebration Grand Tasting last weekend. There were 56 wineries, with most of the wineries in two rooms and some out in the main hall area of the Allison. It was a little crowded at times, and being in the rooms, it got a tad warm. I would guess there were a few hundred people. Not overly crowded, and it didn’t set off my introverted flight response to get the heck out of dodge.

The semi-crowded nature of the OCC was my expectation. When I talked with the organizer, he didn’t want it to be like other events where people go around getting poo-faced. So, when I opened the door for the Grand Tasting, I wished K-Mart was still around because I “shipped my pants”. It felt like I was walking into a vast technical hall with rows upon rows of wineries. It was glorious to have so many choices and daunting simultaneously. I didn’t know where to start.

Being the excellent engineer I am, I went all the way over to the right side of the room and started at the first winery. Before I could systemically check off the second row of tables, my introverted self needed to get away from all of the people. I grabbed some food and went to the lobby with fellow introverts who also needed to regroup.

With some food and regrouping, I was ready to conquer the Grand Tasting, and I talked to as many wineries as possible. It’s tough to get a sense of story and people with 72 wineries in about 5-ish minutes if you are lucky.

I got to see Dan Morgan Lee again, along with his wife. His 2019 Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah was scrumptious! I talked with Alex and Bree from Kanzler for a teeny bit. After getting through 4 rows of tables, I needed to explore the other side of the room. I was surprised to see a jewelry counter setup selling jewelry, but it garnered very little of my attention as I needed to explore more.

There were some great wineries over here, also. After talking with Croix, I ran into a winemaker walking around promoting his brand and wines. He didn’t have a table, but his name, Jason Moore, caught my attention. I will never forget the interaction because my high school best friend has the same name. It amazes me all the time with our quirky interactions and how they relate to us in some fashion.

The Grand Tasting ended around 5:30. I needed food, but more importantly was a mezcal-based cocktail. I didn’t realize it would be all fruffy, but it was a refreshing change from all of the Pinot Noir. After the beverage and some food, my introvert batteries were spent, and glad to let my head crash hard on some soft feather pillows calling my name.

Looking back on the event a little over a month later, I am glad I went! Getting away from Portland’s wet and rainy winter to enjoy Palm Springs's sunny 70 degrees was uplifting on every level possible! Exploring wineries and regions I had never experienced before was equally enjoyable. I am going to dive way deeper into the Santa Lucia Highlands region. I want to know more about Dan Morgan Lee’s backstory. I want to know what makes this AVA tick.

I have this event on my calendar for next year. Palm Springs was a blast to explore in the sun, and now I know what to expect for the Grand Tasting. I know thinking ahead to February 2024 is a lot to ask, but the sooner you plan, the better prices you can get for airfare and lodging! I suggest visiting the Palm Springs Pinot Fest website and signing up for their newsletter to get date announcements. Heck, could you imagine getting Pinot Fest tickets for Christmas? Sounds fabulous to me! The event's organizer is David Fraschetti, and when you see him next year, tell him, “A.J. sent me!”

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With Gratitude,

A.J.

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PS - If you are visiting Palm Springs and need good restaurant recommendations, hit that reply button, and we can talk!