For the love of Pinot!

Andrew P. Vingiello of AP Vin celebrates completion of another crush.

 

 

The fruit of the vine! Wine and wine-making have been around  for thousands of years. Growing up in a family that didn't imbibe, my first experience in partaking of the noble liquid was in the back seat of my friends Dodge Dart on our way through the Santa Cruz mountains heading for the beach. Traveling that winding road drinking Spinada, well, you can imagine how that turned out.

It wasn't until my days in culinary school that my appreciation for fine wine started to grow. I developed a passion for Pinot Noir.

Pinot Noir is a grape originating in Burgundy, France and means "Black Grape".

Although Pinot Noir grapes are dark in color, its style is that of a lighter-medium bodied red wine which makes it very versatile when pairing with food. While pairing perfectly with pork, poultry or beef, I wouldn't hesitate to pair it with fish or lamb. So for those of you wondering what red wine to use for dishes that normally call for white wine, Pinot Noir is an excellent choice.

Growing Pinot Noir grapes can be a challenge. It requires optimal growing conditions of warm to even hot days with cool evenings. That is why such areas as the Anderson Valley in Mendocino County, the Sonoma Coast and the Santa Barbara area make excellent Pinot Noir growing regions.

Because of the stringent growing requirements for Pinot Noir, it is produced  in much smaller quantities, utilizing just the right terroir. For the consumer, this means you  will pay a little more than other red wine varietals.

A couple years back I was driving in the SOMA (South of Market) area of San Francisco and was pleasantly surprised to find a winery named A.P. Vin. My curiosity was perked (a winery in San Franciso?), so I pulled over and "googled" AP Vin. This started my interaction with Andrew P. Vingiello, the winemaker and owner of A.P. Vin. I was able to purchase several bottles of his 2009 Santa Lucia Mountains, Gary's Vineyard Pinot Noir. I did my homework and discovered that Wine Spectator had given it a score of 95. At $48 a bottle I felt like this was a real bargain! The "word" must not have gotten out yet...

Not long after my purchase, Anne (my wife) and I decided we would try a bottle. I poured a sample into her glass and she began to give it a swirl. Sticking her nose in the glass she inhaled and then took a sip. The look of pleasure on her face spoke volumes. Her face lit up as she exclaimed, "Oh, this is really good!"

Now that I had "discovered" A.P. Vin, I became curious to find out what a nice Italian guy was doing, making wine using French grapes in San Francisco of all places.

You can read Andrew's story on his website: http://www.apvin.com/#/People.

Andrew & Brenda Vingiello

This past weekend, Anne and I opened a bottle of Andrew's current vintage, the 2011 Sonoma Coast Kanzler Vineyard Pinot Noir and were pleased to enjoy another excellent wine. Now for the really good news, Andrew still has a scarce few bottles of the 2011 left! Scoop! If you're interested in discovering this  excellent wine for yourself, Andrew has shared this link:  https://www.apvinstore.com/mailinglist/.

Best hurry!

Next time I will be sharing my secrets to home made pizza. You too can make great pizza! Ciao for now!

 

Andrew adding grapes to the crusher.