This Oregon pinot noir, which retails for $19, was a clear, light red in the glass with slightly sour strawberry fruit and hints of smoke and earth on the nose. Muted fruit flavors and a clean finish made the Red Door Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley (13.5%) an even wine, without any variation to offer.

We paired the Red Door pinot noir with a delicious tikka masala on basmati rice and roasted red peppers on the side. This pinot noir offered decent acidity, making it a good, food friendly wine.

Even still, I came away without a reason not to try this wine again, but there wasn't really a compelling reason why I might buy another bottle. The tie was broken after seeing the marketing hyperbole on the back label:

"Welcome to Red Door Cellars, a portal to Oregon's finest pinot noir and pinot gris...from the finest clonal selection grown on premier vineyard sites."

I understand why producers put this kind of language on the back of their bottle, for there are some consumers out there that will buy this wine for the sole reason that it is "Oregon's finest pinot noir".

The Red Door Cellars pinot noir is a decent wine, especially for its price point. But one's definition of "finest" is clearly debatable here and the embellishment on the back label is off putting.

I look forward to the day when producers focus labels on what's in the wine, where the fruit was sourced, and how it was made. Exaggeration might work with the uninformed, but more and more consumers are seeing this for what it is: spin.