Two Rivers, One Lake
TASTING NOTES:
2015 King Estate Kennel Pinot Noir - “The deep garnet color in the glass hints of ripe flavors to come – of strawberry, blackberry, clove, forest floor, even cola and chocolate. Round, grippy tannins up front give way to a mid-palate with layers of ripe fruit and earth with refined yet lengthy tannins on the finish.” (AbV 14.5%)
100% Kennel Vineyard Pinot Noir
2016 King Estate Pfeiffer Pinot Noir - “On the nose, black cherry and blackberry are complemented by toast, clove and rose petal. This is a medium-bodied wine with a balanced structure that lingers on the palate in a pleasing finish. Enjoy now and until at least 2030.” (AbV 13.5%)
100% Pfeiffer Vineyard Pinot Noir
BARRELS: French oak.
PAIRS WITH: N/A
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Kennel
Kennel — the surname of fifth-generation farmer Jeremy Kennel, whose vineyard supplies this wine — is also, coincidentally, an ordinary English word for a dog house, and it turns out that word has been living a secret double life for centuries. “Kennel” meaning a place for dogs comes from Old French chenil, which traces back to Latin canis, “dog.” But there’s a second, totally unrelated “kennel” in English — the one that meant a street gutter or open drain, common in Middle English texts describing filthy medieval roads. That one comes from canalis, Latin for “channel,” the same root that gives us “canal” and “channel” themselves.
So you’ve got two words, spelled identically, pronounced identically, that fused together in English by pure accident — one born from “dog,” the other from “channel,” meeting in the middle like strangers who happen to share a name. Linguists have a term for this: it’s a doublet collision, though “coincidental homograph” gets thrown around too. Either way, it’s a good reminder that a lot of what feels like meaning in language is really just two unrelated rivers running into the same lake.
ICYMI, you have two choices:
- Worried Summer heat might get to your wine before your wine gets to you? Order from the sale linked here, and we’ll get it to you at a cooler time of year!
- Want it shipped now? Every package during the summer will have protected temp control ground shipping for much of the country that takes longer but will ensure safe delivery. Expect up to two weeks for delivery. Now through the September 12th offer.
