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Dinner On The Deck with Pinot Noir

Tuesday, July 19th

Last week the staff at Claiborne & Churchill came together for a fun evening. Clay & Fredericka hosted a Dinner on the Deck at their home. This evening under the stars was filled with some great wine, great food, and great company. We all enjoyed the opportunity to spend time together outside the winery. This event was dedicated to one of our favorite varietals, Pinot Noir.

Coby, our winemaker, led a tasting challenge.  Similar to a party example in our last blog post, we had to match the bottle of wine to the wine region provided. The regions to pick from were: Oregon, Santa Barbara, New Zealand, Burgundy, Sonoma, and San Luis. We had a great time and were truly stumped at some of the pairings.

2014 Marlborough Pinot Noir

Winery: TWR – Te Whare Ra

Region: New Zealand

This wine is a mix of two different vineyards in New Zealand. Harvest was in March of 2014 after what they call a “textbook summer.” It spends 11 months in French oak with 796 cases produced.

2012 Chorey-lés-Beaune

Winery: Tollot-Beaut

Region: Burgundy

The winery produced two cuvees that will be merged to form a blend the January before it is bottled.

2014 Pinot Noir

Winery: El Lugar

Region: Santa Barbara

The fruit for this wine is from Santa Maria and uses two clones: Pommard & Martini. It was harvested in August of 2014 and it spent 11 months in French oak barrels. It was bottled nearly a year later and 164 cases were made.

2012 Russian River Pinot Noir

Winery: Alysian

Region: Sonoma

This wine was made of six different clones from five different vineyards, which are all Russian River vineyards. Then, it spent fourteen months in barrel with about 30% of that being new French oak.

2013 Select Pinot Noir

Winery: Brick House

Region: Oregon

This ‘Select’ wine includes fruit from all of this winery’s Pinot Noir clones and blocks. After spending 15 months in neutral French oak, this wine was bottled in February 2015. They produced 535 cases of this barrel select wine.

2014 Classic Estate Pinot Noir

Winery: Claiborne & Churchill

Region: San Luis Obispo

The Estate Twin Creeks fruit included three clones: #113, 2A, and Martini from the Edna Valley. After harvesting September and early October 2014, it aged for 10 months in 35% New French Oak. This 29 barrel blend then was bottled in August 2015 making 787 cases.

All of the staff had a great time trying to match up these delicious Pinots with the region they originated from. After this tough test, we enjoyed a number of other great Pinots with dinner. Pinot Noir has had a home at Claiborne & Churchill for decades and we loved getting to see how other regions are utilizing this amazing grape.

Host a Wine Themed Party!

Tuesday, July 5th

Looking to do some entertaining this summer? We have all the details on how to host the perfect wine party!

Wine Tasting Party:

This is sure to be a fun night trying out a variety of red, white, and dessert wines. Start off the night by making sure everyone knows the right way to taste! To get the best sample, make sure to swirl, sniff, sip, swish, and swallow or spit. Then get to tasting! We suggest having two white, a rosé, three reds, and a dessert option. Even consider taking your party to the next level with printed wine tasting card from Club W here to track your tastings! Compare your favorites to your friends’ picks! Enjoy your top picks with some food to celebrate the rest of the evening.

Blind Wine Tasting Party:

Put your wine tasting knowledge to the test against your guests!  See who is the wine expert of your party! Pick a few varietals to highlight that are either all red or all white. Or, have two rounds: the white, then the red! Cover the bottle and give them a number to keep them straight. Then print out descriptions about the wines to help them guess the varietal. Don’t forget to find the corks so no one can cheat! Can your guests watch the wines up correctly? Maybe get come little gifts for the winners!

Wine Pairing Party:

You can find so many things to pair with wine! Get your friends together to try some of them out. Using a paper tablecloth makes it easy to label all the food and show what wine it should be paired with. It may be hard to figure out what pairings to use with all of the options, but our favorite is pairing the wine with cheeses, meats, and other easy finger foods! This doesn’t take much prep leaving you plenty of time to spend with your guests. For dinner, you could also have a casual evening with a wine and pizza pairing! What about dessert? There are plenty of options for that as well. End the night by pairing wine with some sweet treats like, candy or chocolate!

Wine Art Party:

Art bars have become increasingly popular in the last few years. Guests are able to spend time together with a glass of wine while they follow the instructor to make their own work of art. Why not have your own art bar for a night? Get creative! Invite your friends over for a night of wine, art and fun. With some canvases, brushes, and paint, you are on your way to becoming Picassos! Easels can be expensive but you can make your own out of unused pizza boxes. Check out how here!

We may be biased, but we think the best party is a party centered around wine! Try out some of these parties with your friends!