2008 Pali Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir (Screwcap)

Pali Wine Co. gets its name from the hometown of the founders, Pacific Palisades, an elegant suburb in the hills above Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. Tim Perr and Scott Knight wanted to make artisanal Pinot Noir, and in 2005 they began producing wine in rented space in Lompoc. In 2007 they built a new facility in Lompoc, and today they produce about 20,000 cases a year, primarily Pinot Noir with some Chardonnay. Aaron Walker is winemaker and grapes are sourced from Santa Barbara County and Sonoma County. The wines are sometimes named for beaches off the southern and central California Coast, such as Huntington Point and Riviera Point.

Willamette Valley AVA was established in 1983, and it is the oldest appellation in Oregon. Oregon’s modern wine industry began in the Willamette Valley in the 1960s when artists, vagabond winemakers, and U.C. Davis oenology graduates looking for new territory started their own, small, off-the-grid wineries. The appellation is the state’s largest, and it extends 175 miles from Columbia River on the Washington/Oregon border to just south of Eugene, near central Oregon. The Willamette River runs through the area, helping to give the appellation a mild year-round climate. There are six smaller sub-appellations within this AVA, but altogether the Willamette Valley has the largest concentration of wineries in Oregon, as well as the majority of the state’s most famous producers. Pinot Noir is king here, followed by Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Riesling. To most admirers of Oregon Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley offers the most distinctive wine choices in the state.

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.