Arancio, Pinot Noir, 2009

White or Red: Red

Grape(s): Pinot Noir

Origin: Sicily

Vintage: 2009

Price: Cheaper than $10

Overall:

Arancio is awesome. Ripe, juicy plums steal the show in this medium bodied wine. Sense of sophistication with a real serving of fruit in the scent. In the world of Pinot's this one is a tad heavier than some of the others we've posted but it gives it this solid, unflappable structure. The longer it sits in the glass the better.  Absolutely.

How I found it:

Funny how the role of marketing plays into our minds- consciously and subconsciously.

Here's the story...   Went to a nice italian restaurant in Plymouth, MA. I just so happened to order a Pinot Noir called Acrobat- the well-schooled bartender quipped "thats our most popular Pinot"! Generally, I'm not afraid of responses like that but if I had my druthers I'd always prefer to find the dark horse. Nonetheless I was given a taste: Not good.   The barkeep noticed my grimace and lunged for a different bottle- Arancio. "Ah, much better", I mentioned, she totally agreed.

I sat and thought why I was drawn to the Acrobat on the menu- well, with the little knowledge I have, I summarized that Pinot Noir from Oregon spells success - plus it's like super trendy right now. Wrong. Wine is so subjective and no one formula, vintage, grape, blend or region is guaranteed to consistently perfect - after all mother nature is at play here and recent years have been anything but predictable .  It IS a very complex process!

I now think of wine more like art - your absolutely entitled to your preferences and it's possible to be wrong in the midst of a crowd but right for you. So stand up for yourself- and if you don't care for it say it aloud - So the takeaway?  All Pinot's from Oregon, like we've been marketed to think, are not great!

Be your own man or women. Stand up for what you believe in life AND in wine.