Fred is quite a character ... as you can probably tell from the labels, but he and his son Jamie make some very nice wine. Really, their philosophy is always to stand back out of the way and let the grape express itself, so I've always wondered a bit about how differently the Zero Manipulation is handled, but I suppose it gives them an opportunity to express the philosophy. They are also really nice folks, should you be in the area.
My most mind-blowing deal from Peterson was a Pinot Noir which he made in 1998. After it was bottled, he decided he didn't really like it very much and so didn't release it, but, since it was already bottled, he couldn't sell it in bulk, so he just stuck it in a corner. About year or two ago he decided he needed the room and so started putting it out in the tasting room for $2 a bottle! I figured that anything Fred made was probably worth drinking at that price and bought a case. It wouldn't win any prizes in a Pinot contest because it is Pinot made in the style of a Zin, i.e., probably hot ferment instead of cold, lots of extraction, etc. But, you know, after you have opened the evening with the premium wine of the day, it is ultimately quite drinkable and better than lots of things 5 and 10 times more expensive. We grabbed two more cases I think and then one night we were thinking what an incredible bargain it was and so I contacted them and told them that I would buy the remaining 8 cases, if they still had them. Well, they had discovered another pallet, so I got 10 and an additional discount bringing them down to $1.67 a bottle!
Wish that sort of thing happened more often! |
