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Another new adventure: Our good friend Glenn invited us over to his house recently for dinner. We had been trying to do this for a while but schedules were always a bit off. He and I have had many conversations about Pinot Noir and he said he wanted to have us over so he could show me some interesting Pinots. The stars finally aligned and we made this adventure happen.

A Wine Dinner Adventure

First off, Glenn works at a local winery and is an absolute master at hospitality and human interaction…in my book this dude is top shelf!! He invited his neighbors over for this dinner too, so there were a total of five of us and he’s obviously good at matching personalities up because we hit it off wonderfully with his neighbors, Rhonda and Howard. It was amazing how quickly all five of us jumped right in to conversation and some relatively deep stuff. This is my absolute favorite thing about wine, the social lifestyle that comes with it.

This ended up being an overall wine experience versus strictly about Pinot…and wow, what an experience. Here are the wines we had:

• 2007 Domaine Carneros Taittinger Sparkling

• 2011 Habit Chenin Blanc (Jurassic Park Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley)

• 2000 Akarua Pinot Noir (New Zealand)

• 1990 Porto Niepoort Colheita (port wine, aged in wood and bottled in 2003)

• 1971 Bas Armagnac (obviously not wine, but oh soooo good)

This is one of those times where I honestly believe all the above were VERY nice, but it was the experience of being able to enjoy these with Annie, our good friend Glenn, and new friends Rhonda and Howard. This was a complete experience, one we will not soon forget and thankfully we never have to forget because it’s right here now, on this blog!

I will make a couple of side notes, the Pinot Noir was poured without me knowing what it was. My initial guesses were a blend of some sort that included Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah and I thought it was older. So I was on track with it being aged but was obviously way off base in the varieties I suggested. My Pinot experiences are based mainly in Santa Barbara County, Monterey County, and some from Washington and Oregon…so this one from New Zealand really opened my mind to what other Pinots in the world can be like.

It is this kind of experience, that I obviously really enjoy, we can drink the same stuff every day, but to me having a glass of wine like this is like reading a new book or traveling to a new place. It opens your mind, it educates you, it broadens the possibilities…simply put, it’s freakin’ awesome!! I want to thank Glenn again for the wines he opened, awesome night with great people, great wine, and great food…these are the best moments in life! Cheers!!