A little hard on this aren't you? This is the tiny, new winery's inaugural Pinot - only 25 or so cases bottled, and I'd guess they had little cash to beef up the label or create a web presence...choosing it to accompany your particular entre (?spicy?)...may have overwhelmed the wine...I was at the winery just before the wine was bottled, directly out of a single barrel...at that point there was a concern that the acid was too bright...(hopefully you will post this)

Thank you for taking the time to purchase and try this wine, our very first and very small release of Pinot Noir. This project is a joint venture between myself, a Sommelier in Portland at Ten 01 and Ken Pahlow, a 14 year veteran of St. Innocent. We are putting this project together on lots of passion and savings, which makes for the development of websites, cards and fancy stationary very slow. The bottling that you opened was a single barrel of Pinot Noir that was released mostly to friends and family to support the purchasing of 2009 fruit. There were some select retailers and restaurants that requested a small amount to also show support for our new label. I apologize for the lack of information on the label, the website will be up in full by January.

Hi Tom and Erica,

Thanks for posting your respective comments on this wine. I do appreciate you all sharing your perspectives here.

In terms of my experience with this wine from a taste standpoint, I encourage you all to read my post, Wine is personal, which will hopefully address your concerns about my subjective palate (and no, the chicken was not spicy).

As to my commentary on the label, it remains inexcusable, whether small startup or established winery, to place a URL on the bottle but not have anything to show for it. It doesn't cost a fortune to launch a site. In fact, there are a variety of free options available toward launching a presence online. And there was a lot of space on that label to tell a story, which adds little, if any, cost to a label.

You will find in reading my other posts that I do expect a producer to connect me to the people, places, and period from which their wine arose. In the absence of this narrative on the label or online, a wine is merely fermented grape juice. For me, I expect something more.

Sincerely,
Thad

Thad,

As someone who is a small winery owner, I respectfully disagree with your assessment of what you think is de riguer for a less than 1 Full-Time-Equivalent winery, and its bootstrap financing.

Also, the last time I looked up a recipe for any kind of 'Jamacian Jerk', it was loaded with spice.

Finally, I know the pH of the wine, and most people would consider a wine with a pH of 3.51 to hardly be "flat due to a lack of acidity". So since your palate can't discern this level of acidity, in this particular case; I question the rest of your tasting note, in this particular case.

I'm sure, as you indicate, that you're an experienced taster with certain expectations, absent which whatever is in the bottle is is "merely fermented grape juice".

But as the name of your blog indicates, wine is personal. And personally, in this particular case, I think you are completely wrong.

Sincerely, Tom Symonette

Hey Tom,

Thanks for extending the dialogue on this topic.

Please know that the Whole Foods Jamaican jerk chicken we dined on with this wine was anything but spicy. As evidenced by the comment posted with their recipe, this style of Jamaican jerk is tame. I have a pretty sensitive palate when it comes to spicy food and on the dozen or more occasions we've had Whole Food's marinated chicken, it's more sweet than heat.

Finally, there is no right or wrong when it comes to one's preferences in wine. Even when considering what might be a technical fault in a wine, subjectivity still reigns as evidenced by my experience in this post on brett. It's all a matter of personal taste.

Sincerely,
Thad

Thad,

I appreciate your even-handedness in posting my comments.

I reviewed the recipe and here's what I found:
6 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

As you say, it's personal taste...I would have had a gewurz with this, and saved the Pinot for salmon broiled in lemon butter...

I note you did not comment on the acidity, which is the main issue that calls into question the tasting note.

And I take it you've softened your stance on the label and website, given that the winery is staffed by 2 part-time people with full-time jobs outside the winery.

Not trying to give you any harder time than you gave my buddy Ken and his partner Erica...again, as you mention, this stuff is personal.

Cheers, Tom

Hey Tom,

We'll just have to agree to disagree here, for my position on how this wine tasted and stance on the lack of a web site remains unchanged.

Regardless, I do appreciate your willingness to share an opinion on this matter.

Sincerely,
Thad

No problem Thad, it was my pleasure and honor to stand up for Ken and Erica's project.

Thank you for posting my comments.

All the best, Tom