IPNC Sustainability Without Sacrifice Seminar

Today is the second and last full day at IPNC. It began with two wine seminars indoors and was followed by lunch outside on the lawn. In keeping with the theme of this year's IPNC, the two seminars focused on sustainability in the vineyard and winery. Both sessions were moderated by Andrea Robinson with a panel of special guests commenting on the various wine flights in front of us.

The first session featured Jasper Morris, wine expert and writer, and Dominique Lafon, of the Burgundy estate, Domaine des Comtes Lafon. Dominique spoke about his biodynamic practices in the vineyard and then guided us through a flight of his wines including the '00 Lafon Meursault Desiree (chardonnay) and then the '04, '03, '00 and '97 Lafon Volnay Santenots-Du-Milieu.

It was quite educational tasting through these four vintages of pinot noir from the Burgundy region, for I had never had exposure to this many wines before. By practicing biodynamics in the vineyard, Dominique believes this approach provides "better balance, ripeness, and acidity" to his wines. His wines are certainly bright with acidity, but offer interesting fruit, minerality and earthiness as well. Too bad the flight wasn't paired with food.

The next session featured a larger panel of New World winemakers, with Ted Casteel of Bethel Heights (OR), Michael Dhillon of Bindi (AU), Ted Lemon of Littorai (CA), Nigel Greening of Felton Road (NZ), and Frederic Lefarge of Domaine Michel Lafarge (FR). The flight of wines offered during this seminar included an '05 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Les Mitans, '06 Littorai Sonoma Coast The Haven Vineyard, '06 Felton Road Central Otago Block 3, '06 Bethel Heights Flat Block Reserve, and '06 Bindi Original Vineyard.

It was a lot of fun hearing each winemaker describe how they support sustainability in the vineyard and winery. And it was even better experiencing their wines along the way, hearing them describe each in detail.

After the seminars, we enjoyed a fantastic lunch prepared by several guest chefs from Portland including Jason Barwikowski of Clyde Common, Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon, and Cheryl Wakerhauser of Pix Patisserie. Our lunch was a celebration of pork, with this playing a centerpiece role in the appetizer, entree and dessert:

First
Country style pork terrine with a salad of wax beans, herbs, and mustard vinaigrette

Second
Potato and four tongue (beef, veal, pork, lamb) salad with barbecued ribs

Dessert
Trio of bacon desserts
- Maple syrup crème brulée
- BLT brioche with fresh mint, sliced strawberries, bacon and crème fraîche
- Macaroon cookie with bacon

This was not only an outstanding lunch, but my favorite meal thus far in the weekend. Granted, pork is one of my preferred dishes and all three chefs did an incredible job, especially the creative dessert concoctions from Cheryl.

With lunch came a variety of Oregon pinot noirs with a few chardonnays, pinot gris, and guwertztraminers from this area. Once again, a broad range of tastes to try along with the food, with the pours being a lot more manageable than last night.

Similar to previous meals, the folks I met at my table was the highlight, with winemakers, bloggers, and enthusiasts gathered together. There is no doubt it is the wine that brings folks to IPNC, but it is the people that make this such a fantastic experience.

Pre-IPNC Winery Dinner
IPNC: Day One, Part One
IPNC: Day One, Part Two
IPNC: Day Two, Part Two