Stoller Family Estate 2022 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
Where delectability, value, and availability collide
Some of my favorite wine grapes sit on the fringes of the wine mainstream. Petite Sirah comes to mind. You’ve certainly heard of it and likely even tasted it, but you probably don’t drink it regularly. If you do, let me know, we should talk. Others like Charbono, sit so far from the mainstream, they aren’t even fringe.
But to balance things out, one of my other favorite grapes is Pinot Noir. That’s about as mainstream as it gets. There are probably more words spoken and written about Pinot than any grape. It inspires passion. Some can only get fiery about Pinot from a single region, say Burgundy. Not me, I enjoy well made Pinot Noir from many regions of the world. One of the things that gets me fired up is good Pinot at a friendly price, that’s also easy to find. Don’t get me wrong, when I can, I’ll drink high end, low production, single vineyard Pinot all day. But that’s just not practical for 99% of wine lovers on the regular, if at all. So to me, that means, dependable, affordable, and readily available Pinot is supremely important. Guess what, I’m here to talk about one of those.
Stoller Family Estate 2022 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($25)
It’s composed of Pinot from sites chosen around Willamette Valley that represent the vitality and standard of the region.
Everything about the wine hits with immediacy. Bing cherry aromas and flavors, baking spices and darker, deeper cherry notes which drive the above average finish. It’s all framed with refreshing acidity. All the things I’m looking for in a Willamette Valley Pinot, that represents the region, are here.
I paired it with Rancho Gordo Cannellini Beans over Polenta. I prepared the beans with bell pepper, shallots, garlic, thyme and red pepper flake from Penzeys. The polenta was cooked simply with a bit of Pecorino Romano. This medium bodied wine worked wonderfully with the creaminess of the beans, texture of the polenta, and myriad overall additional flavors from the spices and cheese.
If you’re looking to find out what Pinot from Willamette Valley is all about, this is a terrific primer. With more than 30,000 cases produced, it’s widely available, and at a suggested retail price of $25, there’s a ton of value in the bottle. Go grab some, your taste buds (and wallet) will thank you.
Thanks for the recommendations. Willamette Valley Pinots are among my favs. And my mouth is watering from your polenta recipe. 😋