5 Wines To Warm Up Your Weekend

New York has been absolutely freezing. Besides the bone chilling cold and dirty snow pushed to this and that side of the road, it's been funny watching how hailing a cab has gone from an open hand in the air to a fist just for that bit of extra warmth. Remind me why I moved away from Atlanta? In light of this cold weather, it seems like the perfect time to share my top 5 wines from this year's Pinot Days. Pinot Noir is hands down my favorite wine, and one that's perfect to pair with a cold weekend and movie night. 

Tasting Notes:

The Banshee was one of the first wines we tasted at the event and one that stuck out to me. It has a mix of cherry fruits and spices like cloves, cinnamon and vanilla. I got an immediate sense that it would be a really great pairing with duck, and wrote this one down for next Christmas's drinking list! I'd suggest this for special occasions too because it's around $50/bottle.

Tasting Notes:

Belle Glos has been a favorite of mine for a few years now. Not only is the bottle really cool with a waxed top (because that's what matters, right!) but it's a perfect blend of fruity and earthy flavors. It's really fruit forward with a heavy jam taste of raspberry and wild blackberry, but still with a bit of earthiness you'll get from a Willamette Valley in Oregon Pinot Noir. It goes for around $44/bottle, but they have a cheaper option, the Belle Glos 'Meiomi' that's about half the price.

Tasting Notes:

This wine stood out to me because it had a really different blend of flavors. It wasn't overtly fruity or earthly. I got the feeling I'd be a great wine to drink with food since it was high in tannin and acidity. We also learned that it's a good wine to set down for a while, and can last about 10 years without going over the hill. Price - around $40/bottle

Tasting Notes

I loved the label on this wine. The back gave us information about how long the wine was aged in the barrel for and how many cases were produced. It also included flavors on the back, which makes it so much easy to decide if you'll like a wine you're buying on the shelf. I really liked this wine even though it's suggested to be best with food. The acidity in the wine makes it a bit more bitter than some of the jammy pinots we tried. We thought this would be great to pair with quail. 

Pali is a different kind of wine maker than the rest. They buy grapes from well-known vineyards along the West Coast from Sonoma to Willamette to produce artisan wine hence the variety you see above, so tasting notes here is a bit hard. Mostly, this wine is very smooth. The bottles with the vertical Pali label are great for a quality bottle of wine to drink for the week without breaking the bank. Fruity and smooth and around $25.

If you try any of these wines or have had them before. Let me know! Hope everyone has a great weekend and stay warm!! 

Corbin