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PURPLE FEATURES
(Well, almost….) Word association: winemaker….______ fill in the Blanc. To free associate, when one mentions the profession "winemaker", might conjure up thoughts of a little old guy with cracked hands and a weather-beaten face with patient eyes. Now let’s try adding some adjectives: California winemaker…._______ (fill in the Rosé). One might think of redwood hot tubs and Chardonnay. Maybe that is a little closer to the truth, but how about this: California Pinot Noir winemaker….______ (fill it in with red ink please). This may be summed up with passionate, wild, nutty, unpredictable and prone to wearing outlandish clothing. He, or she, probably drives something racy or a chariot designed for quick, deep-wilderland getaways, but the key, and most appropriate word, is passionate. Pinot Noir winemakers are, as a rule and a breed, passionate about what they do. You have heard about what a harsh mistress Pinot Noir can be (I’m going to stick with the male side since this is my perspective). Pinot Noir is the most capricious of grapes. Winemakers talk about how a gentle, sweet grape like Pinot Noir can just turn on you. You have been living with the wine in the cellar for 5 months and think you know each barrel intimately, when WHAM, overnight the vinous Venus becomes this unrecognizably hideous Hydra. Pinot can go from sleek and voluptuous to fat, bloated and flabby in a single week, usually the week before you want to put in the bottle. Do you wonder why so many male Pinot winemakers grow facial hair? They’re trying to compensate for what they are losing on the pate. Or so the story goes. OK, so the title is a come-on, but I stand before you admitting that all of the above can be true , and sometimes is. But there is a kinder, gentler side to Pinot that goes far that goes overlooked far too often by my viniferous brethren. We LIVE and BREATH wine with passion; we talk about the wine as if it were some kind of an oenologically anthropomorphic reincarnation of Elvira, so why don’t we treat the wine as if it were a lover? To state my case I’d like to ask all of you winemakers out there(real, imagined, or armchair) when was the last time you did something really major involving your wife/husband/s.o. without discussing it first. You may not ask directly, but you certainly pay attention to all those cues that fall in to the non-verbal category. Everybody has a sweet spot, Pinot Noir too. Ignore it, and you are destined for either a short or stress filled relationship, or both. Humble yourself before your lover. Ask her (again from the male perspective) what are her wants and needs. Live in the presence of your lover’s needs. Pinot Noir is sweet and gentle, expressive and giving, if we only spend the time and energy to meet her halfway. The rewards are phenomenal, the pleasures great. Just be there. Now, that being said, some people will consider that I have been too long on The Ridge to talk like this, but, hey, I am a happy wineman. The wine will reflect the relationship. Now if only I can apply this to something other than a wine barrel filled with pinot Noir. I hear Cab is easy…. Imbibe (and Vint) With Honor, A. Nosmic
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