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[TN] '05 Pepperwood Grove PN

Tonight I was preparing Ian Hoare's salmis de cuisses de canard recipe, which calls at one point for a bottle of red wine to be added to the sauce. Browsing my local grocery for a decent cooking wine, I came across:

2005 Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir ($5.99) color: light garnet nose: vibrant cherryish fruit, a hint of oak palate: light fruit, good acid balance, clean finish

Recalling Dale's positive note on a previous vintage of this wine, I decided to give it a flyer. Of course, one should never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink, so a glass was consumed with a sandwich (my dinner) for exploratory purposes only ;-) and a very nice surprise awaited me. Whatever expectations I had for it were easily exceeded by the this varietally correct, light and enjoyable Pinot Noir for the very attractive price of $6. Most impressive was the judicious use of oak, which was present enough to impart a roundness to the wine, but in the background enough that the fruit was its primary characteristic. Quite honestly, this was as appealing as many basic PNs twice its price.

Mark Lipton

Reply to
Mark Lipton
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Was this from California? I had liked a previous vintage (and an earlier vintage of their Syrah). But grabbed a bottle of the '06, which turns out to be from Chile, thought it quite unattractive.

Reply to
DaleW

I took a closer look at the label this morning when I tossed the bottle out. It was an '06, not an '05 as I reported. And it was listed as "prodotto di Pavia" which was confirmed on the back label, which informed us that these grapes came from Lombardy, S. of Milan. So, it was actually the best Italian Pinot Nero I've ever had (which tells you how many Italian PNs I've had :))

Mark Lipton

Reply to
Mark Lipton

OK guys, I'm confused. You're saying that a "Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir" might come from CA, Chile, Italy or perhaps Botswana if the grapes are cheap? (OK the latter is probably tough to grow pinot.)

In what way is this form of labelling superior to telling us the region, and field where it was grown? ;)

-E

Reply to
Emery Davis

Huh?? Consider them a negoce, Emery, since that is what they essentially are these days. Other examples are "Rex Goliath 47 lb Rooster," a former QPR favorite that is now labeled as "product of Chile," and the Ravenswood Vintner's Select Shiraz (S Aus). All that's happened is the expansion of the typical negoce model to a global one. Moreover, these wines are labelled with a region, or at least mine was: it's a product of Pavia, right? ;-)

Mark Lipton

Reply to
Mark Lipton

Emery, I'm not sure that anyone was claiming that this was a superior form of labelling (and it does say where it is grown).

Here's my take on it: Pepperwood Grove (not sure if this is an independent company or a part of a conglomerate) started out as a label for what would be termed negociant wine in France. They bought grapes and/or wine, Sold wines in the $5-7 range, I've seen Zin, Syrah, PN. I thought a couple vintages of the Syrah were pretty decent for a $6 price tag. Mostly labelled "California". Basically the equivalent of Mouton-Cadet, Sauvion Vouvray, Jaboulet Cotes du Rhone.

This segment of the market expanded a lot over last 4-5 years.Charles Shaw, Rex Goliath, and quite a few others. I have nothing against negociant wines, but in a competitive market probably harder to get good grapes/juice, Because sources change, even more variability than normal vintage.

Apparently as competition for CA grapes grew, PG started looking outside US. So has added pinot for Italy (ok according to Mark) and Chile (not so good according to me).

PG is a brand, plain and simple. Had a decent rep for its price point, we'll see if they can keep it.

Reply to
DaleW

Apparently I accused you fellows of espousing varietal labelling, such of course was not my intent.

I was just amused by the fact that when we lived in CA we occasionally bought PG and I considered it a good value for a CA wine. That was the association in my mind, I probably wouldn't have looked beyond at the fine print. I wasn't even aware this was a negoce wine although I suppose the name might have given it away. I guess I was chuckling because "we" often think varietal labelling is clearer, even though the PG Pinot you buy today may come from a different continent than the one you bought last year! (Yes I understood the PG identifies it).

-E

Reply to
Emery Davis

Gotcha, Emery! For the record, PG, along with Smoking Loon and other, lesser known labels, is a label of the Three Loose Screws division of Don Sebastiani and Sons, a negoce firm. It seems to me that they're doing an acceptably good job of trying to provide drinkable wines at lower price points. If our economy goes further South than it already has, these brands will probably see major growth.

What I don't know is what distinction, if any, Don and Sons

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draws between e.g. Smoking Loon and PG. Perhaps PG is now the "foreign" negoce label at that price point, whereas Smoking Loon is domestic. I dunno.

Mark Lipton

Reply to
Mark Lipton

This may explain why Pepperwood Grove tastes different to me almost every time. I had not payed attention to the sourcing. I will now but for $6 wine that I mostly use for cooking and taste first it is hard to go too wrong.

Reply to
Lawrence Leichtman

Except that I never like Smoking Loon even at its bargain price.

Reply to
Lawrence Leichtman

They make a decent Viognier. Very crisp, with a hint of oak but not too much. Very drinkable as a daily white go-to wine.

Kevin

Emery, I'm not sure that anyone was claiming that this was a superior form of labelling (and it does say where it is grown).

Here's my take on it: Pepperwood Grove (not sure if this is an independent company or a part of a conglomerate) started out as a label for what would be termed negociant wine in France. They bought grapes and/or wine, Sold wines in the $5-7 range, I've seen Zin, Syrah, PN. I thought a couple vintages of the Syrah were pretty decent for a $6 price tag. Mostly labelled "California". Basically the equivalent of Mouton-Cadet, Sauvion Vouvray, Jaboulet Cotes du Rhone.

This segment of the market expanded a lot over last 4-5 years.Charles Shaw, Rex Goliath, and quite a few others. I have nothing against negociant wines, but in a competitive market probably harder to get good grapes/juice, Because sources change, even more variability than normal vintage.

Apparently as competition for CA grapes grew, PG started looking outside US. So has added pinot for Italy (ok according to Mark) and Chile (not so good according to me).

PG is a brand, plain and simple. Had a decent rep for its price point, we'll see if they can keep it.

Reply to
Capt. Courageous

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