Better Together, Vintage After Vintage

Before a single bottle of the upcoming Pinot Noir vintage hits tasting room tables, something remarkable happens behind the scenes in the Dundee Hills: our winemakers gather to taste each other’s unreleased wines, share ideas, and evolve their craft.

This is the DHWA Technical Tasting, an exclusive event created for Dundee Hills winemakers and production teams to learn from one another and collectively shape the next vintage’s story.

• DID YOU KNOW? Blind tastings aren’t just for the Pepsi Challenge.
  Each participant brings a bottle of their upcoming Pinot Noir release, which is then hidden in a brown paper bag and poured blind. With no knowledge of who made the wine or the techniques used, winemakers must set aside preconceptions and assess each pour purely on taste.
• DID YOU KNOW? Even the most seasoned winemakers are still eager learners.
  Wines are only revealed after discussion. This encourages honest, unbiased feedback and leads to thoughtful questions once identities are known. “When did you pick?” “What fermentation method did you use?”

Each winemaker faces the same growing conditions as their peers, but their approaches vary. Someone may have tested a new technique while another returned to a once-abandoned process with better results. Now, they get to share those outcomes and the wine that resulted with peers who speak the same language of craft and quality.

“I’ve always enjoyed participating in the technical tasting,” said Mark LaGasse, winemaker at Holloran Vineyard Wines. “It can be difficult to get out of the cellar (and away from the bottling line!) to taste and hear others’ perspective on the vintage. The technical tasting is an opportunity to do just that in a compact setting and format. I find great value in learning what other wine makers are up to and hearing their thoughts on what worked and what didn’t.”

There’s real value in learning from other professionals who are just as committed to making exceptional wine.

• DID YOU KNOW? Collaboration outweighs competition.
  This tasting isn’t about finding the “best” wine. Instead, it’s about identifying the vintage’s common threads and overarching characteristics that emerged across the AVA’s 6,490 acres. Each wine is distinct, but Mother Nature always leaves her signature.
• DID YOU KNOW? You’ll hear echoes of this tasting on your next visit.
  The insights developed here help winery teams speak about the vintage with clarity, from broad regional themes to the nuances of their own labels.

No matter how many vintages our winemakers have under their belts, they know one thing to be certain: no one has all the answers. This technical tasting pushes the craft forward as they share, question, reflect, and adapt together.