Video: Cristom Vineyards - 2018 Vintage Harvest

In September of 2018, while enroute to the Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, I found myself at Cristom Vineyards during harvest of their 2018 Vintage. The fruit was coming in from one of the estate vineyards that produces the delicious Mount Jefferson Cuvee Pinot Noir.  The harvest was bountiful, in fact, it was much more abundant than anyone was expecting.  With an intern down with a minor injury, I jumped on the sorting table to help out. 

I also had time to shoot a short video.  Enjoy.

For more great videos, check out the Understanding Wine with Austin Beeman podcast or my YouTube Channel

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Advice for New Pinot Noir Drinkers. Mac McDonald of Vision Cellars Interview: Part Six

This the sixth part of my video interview with Mac McDonald of Vision Cellars.  In this segment, Mac McDonald speaks about what he would tell brand new drinkers of Pinot Noir. Hint: It is kind of like buying fish.

• The first part of the interview is here.  "From Rural Texas to Napa Valley Wine Country."

• The second part of the interview is here.  "How (and Why) to Grow Pinot Noir."

• The third part of the interview is here.  "What Makes Sonoma Pinot Noir Special?"

• The fourth part of the interview is here.  "What Does Wine Mean to You?"

• The fifth part of the interview is here. “Pairing Diverse Foods with Pinot Noir.”

Please enjoy this quick two minute video or read the transcript underneath it. 

This is Episode #60 of Understanding Wine with Austin Beeman.

Mac McDonald:

Well, I would say try blindly. I don't necessarily say just look at price points on anything. I think you get together with some friends or if you have a wine tasting opportunity to come in and taste some.

Because you may say, well, you know what? I don't like Vision Cellars Pinot Noir. That doesn't mean you don't like Pinot Noir. You just don't like Vision Cellars Pinot Noir.

It's like prime rib. You like prime rib but you say, I'll make you a prime rib and you say, well, I don't like that. Well, you don't like the way I prepare it, but that doesn't mean you don't really like it some place else.

I think wine can be the same way. You need to be able to taste a variety of wines and not be so concerned about the price points of them, just the enjoyment. Then you find out the flavors you like. You find out the wine makers that you like because we have a tendency to do a little different things with our wine just like you do if you go out to a restaurant.

You may go to one restaurant and one store, you buy fish. Say you go to a market, you buy fish. Well, you may not like buying fish from that market but you like buying it from the other one. It's the same thing I think in wine as a comparison.

So I would say definitely try a variety of tasting. When there's an opportunity to taste Pinot Noirs, go out and taste them from different producers. And then that way you find your own style that you like.

But never stop experimenting. Never, ever stop experimenting.

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Pavlov's Pintxos: La Maison du Pata Negra in Bordeaux's Marché de Capucines

It is pintxos of foie gras, seared duck breast, and jamon iberico at an amazing market stall in Bordeaux.

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When the bell chimed, the frenchmen moved quickly.  The petite glasses of Bordeaux Clairet   dropped to the table, conversation stopped, and the tiny market restaurant was filled with sounds of chairs being pushed backwards.  The bell meant that the methodical chefs of La Maison du Pata Negra were releasing their newest hot Pintxos.   Foie Gras or seared Duck Breast? 

Either way, I was scrambling to that counter as well.

You may not immediately know why I say "Pintxos" instead of the more common "Tapas."  Other than the obvious joke with alliteration, pintxo (the basque word) means a tapas held in place with a toothpick.  Which is, I will agree, a very handy way to present these - sometimes messy - bites of deliciousness.  While you won't see toothpick in most of the pictures, rest assured that they were present.

La Maison du Pata Negra - named for the superb Jamon Iberico of Spain - pulsates with energy that surpasses that of the surrounding Marché des Capucins in Bordeaux, France.  You could probably guess that a food market in a southern french city would have a selection of amazing stalls to eat at, as is indeed the case, but this place stood out.

For one thing, there was a line for the few small tables on offer.  Many people were eating while standing up, something that should have been 'interdit' for the French.  The faces were lit with a kind of radiant excitement that the French reserve for beautiful women, and exceptional meals.

The game here is simple.  The pintxos are laid out on little plates and you select what you want, taking it directly with the colored toothpicks.  Each color represents a different price ranging from approx 2-5 euros each.  At the end of the meal, what you pay is based on the number of sticks you have collected.  It is easy to feast here for about the same price as a 'menu du jour' in a mediocre tourist restaurant elsewhere.

An award on the wall - easy to miss in the excitement - shows that La Maison du Pata Negra has received honors by the French government for their support and protection of the Jamon Iberico.  That Pata Negra does influence most of the pintxos that are available, but there are other options available.  However, I wouldn't come to a place called the House of Famous Ham, if I didn't want to eat said Ham.

There is perhaps no better place than France to sit for a leisurely lunch.  I recommend that experience whole-heartedly, but a loud, chaotic, market stall has its own set of pleasures.  The flavors, the aromas, the decadence of La Maison du Pata Negra make this a hidden gem that is far from the tourist trail.

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• La Maison du Pata Negra

• Place des Capucins

• 33800 Bordeaux, France