94 Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Palate 93 Points, Owen Bargreen, Wine Critic 92 Points, Billy Norris, Vinous Media 91 Points, James Molesworth, Wine Spectator
Tasting Notes
This wine is rich with aromas of dark cherry, briary fruits, and loamy earth. The smooth, silky palate gains extra depth from the inclusion of roasted stems during fermentation, enhancing the structural tension and spice notes of the wine. Dark fruit flavors lead to a finish graced with notes of licorice, clove, and black tea.
Winegrowing Notes
A unique set of vineyards from ‘The Corner’ of Anderson Valley is located in the hills to the East of Boonville. Anderson Creek and Donnelly Creek, both estate properties, have steep hillsides, aspect, and light gravelly soils that combine to create optimal ripening conditions. These very rugged vineyard sites continuously produce fruit of great depth and character.
Vintage Growing Season
Remarkably cool and late, the 2023 vintage produced wines of singular character and quality. The winter season started wet, with record rainstorms and mountaintop snowfall, leaving aquifers full and vines healthy. A cool spring indicated the later harvest to come, with a late start to budbreak and a long flowering period on the vines that was accompanied by wildflower super blooms. Through mild summer temperatures, the vines set an ample crop load with strong canopy growth. After patient waiting and long hang times, warm weather came at just the right moment in the fall to push ripeness to completion, resulting in wines that are deep, vital, and age-worthy.
Specs
Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir
Appellation: Anderson Valley
Vineyards: Anderson Creek and Donnelly Creek (both Estate)
Clones: Dijon 667, 777, 828, Pommard 115, 114
Aging: 10 months in 35% New French Oak (François Frères)
Alcohol: 14.9%
Winemakers: Megan Gunderson and Alison Frichtl Hollister
What’s Included
2-bottles:
2x 2023 WALT Blue Jay Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley Case:
12x 2023 WALT Blue Jay Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley
WALT Wines is a passion for producing wines of a place – Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Pacific Coast’s most distinctive vineyard sites. Owned by Kathryn Hall, WALT celebrates her parents Bob and Dolores Walt, who first purchased a vineyard in Mendocino’s Redwood Valley in the 1970s. It was there Kathryn found a passion for viticulture and wine. Today, spanning over 1,000 miles, the WALT portfolio of vineyards includes the Sonoma Coast, Anderson Valley, Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Lucia Highlands, and Willamette Valley appellations. Each of its estate vineyards are Certified Sustainable by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.
Hello! Great to hear from you. I’m Jeff, General Manager for WALT. Yes, we’re owned by Kathryn Hall, who makes HALL Wines in Napa Valley. Her parents (Bob and Dolores Walt) got her started in the Mendocino County in fact. It was the Redwood, not Anderson Valley, but she farmed their Walt Family Vineyard following their passing in 1982. When I started working for the family in 2006, we had just made a Walt Wine from that vineyard just for her brother and Kathryn, which was not a wine they produced for sales. Per Kathryn, 'the grapes we farmed there were not of the quality we produce today for HALL, WALT and BACA." But they sold their fruit to wineries, and she learned that she loved being a grower. When she married her husband Craig they decided to buy a home where they could make wine. Initially that was a Sonoma County property, but they fell in love with their home in Napa, and the vineyard adjacent.
@jhkey@klezman Yes it’s very possible, especially in 2023. The vintage started slow and wet. If you recall, this was one of the best winters on record in California for precipitation and snow. I remember helping Alpine Meadows Lifties dig out the Sherwood lift in February so we could get up the backside - no other way out! So what does that mean - well we grapes maturation was way behind schedule, like over a month. I had friends in Sebastopol hills with green berries in late August, and we compared notes. Anderson Creek and Donnelly Creek vineyards (collectively our winemakers Megan and Alison call it our ACDC sites), lie in the southeastern side of the valley just up the hill from Booneville. The hillside is steep! (like black diamond steep), with dijon clones mostly planted throughout until you get to the tip top, which is planted Pommard (UCD-04). The 2023 harvest was very late, with fruit harvested starting Oct. 10th and going as late as Oct. 18th! (like a month later than average). Late fall sugar accumulation was stressful as sugars in September never really got over 20 brix, meaning any rainfall at all would have led to plummeting sugars and noble rot could have proliferated quickly. we brought it in on average around 24 brix, and yes the alc% is 14.9% with pH at 3.7, TA 5.17 g/L and RS g/L 0.18.
@klezman Let’s get down to Stem Roasting. As a process, fruit is hand harvested, hand sorted, de-stemmed then optically sorted Bucher Vaslin. This is where we find the purity and consistency of fruit in Blue Jay. Then a gentleman in our production team who’s worked for the family for 20 years goes batch by batch roasting stems in a New Mexico Hatch Chili Roaster. The process takes hours, but helps us drive texture and freshness into he wine. Texture comes from stem tannins that have been roasted to remove the green, vegetal quality of unripe stems. We ferment whole cluster in a few of our wines, but mostly from the Sta. Rita Hills for our Clos Pepe vineyard where we experience more warmth and the stems are ripe as opposed to the colder northern Anderson Valley. In those vineyards we just send the whole bunch into the tank, and it’s mainly with the Pommard clone planted on the crown of the vineyard.
But back to Blue Jay - we’ve been roasting stems since 2011 with fruit from Anderson Creek. The process followed research with an OSU PhD, where Megan was looking at barbecuing stems. It didn’t work, but surrounding heat on the stem worked, offering all of the love you find with whole cluster, and without the bell pepper. Check out Celfo and his harvest assistant in the above video.
@jhkey@pmarin@WALTGM very interesting. So it’s roasting stems one of those things that many wineries do but few talk about? In the same bucket as watering back or adjusting acidity?
And with a 24 brix harvest sugar that’s a pretty high conversion rate!
I am happy review this nice wine. I generally love Pinot Noir and I generally drink them from the the CA central coast – Santa Rita Hills area. This is an Anderson Valley wine and it decidedly more full bodied than I am used to.
Color: Deep red, almost purple. Pretty in the glass.
Nose: Right when you pour it, you get cherry and something almost like spice cake. There’s also a bit of an earthy, outdoorsy smell in there – kind of like leaves or earth, but in a good way.
Taste: This is a rich, full wine. Lots of dark cherry and blueberry flavors, with some spice that hangs around at the end. There’s also a little bit of a smoky, tea-like quality that I wasn’t expecting but really liked (from what I have read the wine is made with roasted stems in the fermentation process). It’s smooth and easy to drink but is still a full-bodied wine with a high 14.9% alcohol percentage.
The verdict: If you’re looking for a solid Pinot Noir that’s got some depth without being too heavy or complicated, this is a good pick. It’s the kind of wine that works great with dinner (pork or chicken) but is also nice enough to just have on its own. The critics gave it 92-94 points – it’s well-made and a good buy at this price offering.
Santa’s helpers over at Casemates dropped off an early holiday surprise - 2023 Walt Blue Jay Pinot Noir. It’s a well made, medium body Pinot that will appeal to those who like a bit more dark fruit and some earthy tones. This wine will pair well with roast poultry and salmon. Santa would give it a thumbs up and so do I.
Unwrapping the gift, I found this Anderson Valley Pinot shines bright in the glass with clarity and a vibrant ruby color. Its aroma intensity is high with dark cherry, forest berries and a nice earthiness upon PNP. After a bit in the glass, oak and baking spice notes emerged. The bouquet will please those that like their Pinot with a more Old World profile than the bright cherry and cola notes that are more common in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley to the south.
Entry finds a medium level of acidity for a Pinot, with plum, berry and pomegranate on the palate. There was the slightest bit of alcohol on the nose initially, but the wine is nicely balanced despite a near 15% alcohol level listed on the bottle. Tannin is fine and broad in the mouth. I would call this a medium bodied Pinot, maybe a touch over. Anchoring a nice, lingering finish are cooked plum and dark cherry fruit flavors.
Tasted initially with young manchego and sharp pecorino cheeses, the wine paired reasonably with the younger cheese’s creaminess, but seemed to be more in its wheelhouse with the sharper cheese. For me, the body, tannin and taste profile would lend itself to roast poultry and salmon, or with a charcuterie board to get a party started.
Online sources put the bottle at about $40. At case prices it seems like a pretty good value for a premium Pinot. Thanks to Santa for the rattage opportunity and happy holidays to all!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 WALT Blue Jay Pinot Noir - $90 = 19.99%
James Suckling. 92 points. A full-bodied, berry-forward wine with a luscious mouthfeel and plush tannins. Broad and voluptuous with sweet toasted oak in the finish. 9/25
Wine Spectator. 91 points. Plump, soft and friendly in feel, with lightly steeped red and black cherry and raspberry fruit laced with touches of sandalwood and wood spice. A light twinge of briar on the finish adds nice energy. Best from 2026 through 2031. 10,600 cases made. James Molesworth September 30, 2025
Vinous. 92 points. The 2023 Pinot Noir Blue Jay hails from the Anderson Valley. It delivers a dusty, floral, blue-fruited profile with enticing richness and a deep well of minerality. Black-tea-like tannins grab hold of the tongue on the lengthy finish as the Blue Jay leaves behind a mouthwatering touch of citrusy bite. I like the character and distinctiveness here. (BN) 7/25
Owen Bargreen. 93 points. The 2023 ‘Blue Jay’ comes from two sites in the Anderson Valley (mainly Anderson Creek Vineyard) outside the town of Boonville. Wild blackberry and black cherry and shades of gran-cola. They incorporate roasted stems in the blend as this offers refined tannins with bright red and dark fruits, with salty soils and a smooth texture. Drink 2024 - 2034 11/24
The Wine Palate. 94 points. Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, the 2023 Blue Jay Pinot Noir skips out with cheery notes of raspberry pie and kirsch with hints of spice cake, lilacs, and fallen leaves. The full-bodied palate delivers intense red fruit preserves flavors with a racy line and plush texture, finishing long and savory. Lisa Perrotti-Brown
As mentioned $40 seems to be a popular online price but a few $29.99 offers out there as well.
I’m intrigued by roasting the stems, seems a bit gimmicky but what do I know…wonder what percentage etc etc
@kaolis Got to the bottom of the stem roasting above if you want to check it out. No gimmick here at all, it’s a real process in fermentation. It ranges in percentage, but typically we are 10% stem inclusion. The initial research trial was 10%, 25%, 50% and 100% - which was whoa stems too much up at the top, but it gave us a great idea where to take the wine.
@WALTGM
Thanks for the info…so the 10% inclusion, all roasted? I’m to assume this cuts out/reduces any perceptible stemminess which can take otherwise take time to integrate? If that makes sense? Realizing 10% is on the low end of the spectrum anyway.
@kaolis stems are all roasted for Blue Jay. When you dig your nose in you’ll find the steminess, but the goal was to provide texture and freshness, so yes it’s at the lower %.
Thanks to the rats for getting their reviews in so early! I’ve been getting more and more into pinot noir, and I love wine from Anderson Valley. In for a case!
/giphy festive-grateful-scrooge
@gemeinschaft79 fantastic! We make wine from Willamette Valley to Sta. Rita Hills - I call it 1,000 miles of Pinot Noir. We created a mini-movie if you want to check out what our growers and our winemakers have to say about our vineyards.
@gemeinschaft79@WALTGM I am a fan of Willamette Valley PN, the earthy dark complex ones. I particularly like a phrase I heard once “you can taste the dirt they grew in.”
@gemeinschaft79@pmarin we make Pinot noir from Shea Vineyard. It’s under the WALT label. West Hill block fruit get a bit more sunshine. the wine is fabulous, thoughtful, incredible.
Good Morning Casemates community! Really happy to be here and offering one of our most popular wines we make to this great community of oenophiles! Let’s talk it up! I’ll be around today if you’d like to ask questions about the wines, and if you’d like to add any of your own flavor to our WALT Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, Blue Jay.
@rjquillin and @ttboy23 - no need for apologies. I just got up and started the day so the coffee is no in and I’m here for a bit before I head up to the winery. I’m the General Manager for WALT, so think the business side of the winery, but I’ve worked the Hall family for almost 20 years, and I’ve been helping steer the WALT project since 2016. Grew up not in a wine family, but studied science and psychology at Oregon and UCSB (Go Ducks and Gauchos!). First wine that made me get it was Foxen’s Bien Nacido Vinegard pinot noir at a restaurant called Blue Agave in Santa Barbara. Got into the wine scene when Jim Clendenen, Doug Margerum, and Brian Babcock were hanging at the Wine Cask. They would all bring their wines to show restaurants in Santa Barbara, with Bion Rice at Sunstone dining at my restaurant (Pascucci) regularly.
@ttboy23@WALTGM
Just a note; it’s all of the above participation that makes this work. Without it, this, for me (with too much wine and too little storage) would have been a hard pass. All the background, explanations and participation from you changes that in to a reevaluation.
By the way - “Blue Jay” get’s its name from the people we see when we farm this site. Many of you may know that Anderson Valley was fairly cut off from the world, which led to the language Boontling - dialect of English. The citizens of Boonville call themselves “Blue Jay’s,” so it was fitting that we named the wine coming from Booneville after the people who live there. Happy Friday - Bahl Hornin! AV Brewery has a list of words
@WALTGM wow that is cool info. I know Boonville but never knew about this. Hopefully we can get the attention of some linguists/etymologists on this site.
2023 WALT Blue Jay Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley
94 Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Palate
93 Points, Owen Bargreen, Wine Critic
92 Points, Billy Norris, Vinous Media
91 Points, James Molesworth, Wine Spectator
Tasting Notes
Winegrowing Notes
Vintage Growing Season
Specs
What’s Included
2-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$646.50/Case for 12x 2023 WALT Blue Jay Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley at WALT Wines
About The Winery
Anderson Valley Vineyards
Available States
AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Jan 12 - Tuesday, Jan 13
2023 WALT Blue Jay Pinot Noir
2 bottles for $74.99 $37.50/bottle + $4/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $359.99 $30/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Roasted stems?! Is that a thing?
Also, how does a long and cool growing season yield 14.9% alcohol in supposedly one of the cooler spots in California for growing Pinot?
@klezman lol, the math doesn’t work.
@CorTot @klezman
and looking at purchases, they seem associated with Hall; fwiw
@klezman I don’t think I’ve ever seen an Anderson valley PN with that high an alcohol. I didn’t think it was possible!
Hello! Great to hear from you. I’m Jeff, General Manager for WALT. Yes, we’re owned by Kathryn Hall, who makes HALL Wines in Napa Valley. Her parents (Bob and Dolores Walt) got her started in the Mendocino County in fact. It was the Redwood, not Anderson Valley, but she farmed their Walt Family Vineyard following their passing in 1982. When I started working for the family in 2006, we had just made a Walt Wine from that vineyard just for her brother and Kathryn, which was not a wine they produced for sales. Per Kathryn, 'the grapes we farmed there were not of the quality we produce today for HALL, WALT and BACA." But they sold their fruit to wineries, and she learned that she loved being a grower. When she married her husband Craig they decided to buy a home where they could make wine. Initially that was a Sonoma County property, but they fell in love with their home in Napa, and the vineyard adjacent.
@jhkey @klezman Yes it’s very possible, especially in 2023. The vintage started slow and wet. If you recall, this was one of the best winters on record in California for precipitation and snow. I remember helping Alpine Meadows Lifties dig out the Sherwood lift in February so we could get up the backside - no other way out! So what does that mean - well we grapes maturation was way behind schedule, like over a month. I had friends in Sebastopol hills with green berries in late August, and we compared notes. Anderson Creek and Donnelly Creek vineyards (collectively our winemakers Megan and Alison call it our ACDC sites), lie in the southeastern side of the valley just up the hill from Booneville. The hillside is steep! (like black diamond steep), with dijon clones mostly planted throughout until you get to the tip top, which is planted Pommard (UCD-04). The 2023 harvest was very late, with fruit harvested starting Oct. 10th and going as late as Oct. 18th! (like a month later than average). Late fall sugar accumulation was stressful as sugars in September never really got over 20 brix, meaning any rainfall at all would have led to plummeting sugars and noble rot could have proliferated quickly. we brought it in on average around 24 brix, and yes the alc% is 14.9% with pH at 3.7, TA 5.17 g/L and RS g/L 0.18.
@klezman Let’s get down to Stem Roasting. As a process, fruit is hand harvested, hand sorted, de-stemmed then optically sorted Bucher Vaslin. This is where we find the purity and consistency of fruit in Blue Jay. Then a gentleman in our production team who’s worked for the family for 20 years goes batch by batch roasting stems in a New Mexico Hatch Chili Roaster. The process takes hours, but helps us drive texture and freshness into he wine. Texture comes from stem tannins that have been roasted to remove the green, vegetal quality of unripe stems. We ferment whole cluster in a few of our wines, but mostly from the Sta. Rita Hills for our Clos Pepe vineyard where we experience more warmth and the stems are ripe as opposed to the colder northern Anderson Valley. In those vineyards we just send the whole bunch into the tank, and it’s mainly with the Pommard clone planted on the crown of the vineyard.
But back to Blue Jay - we’ve been roasting stems since 2011 with fruit from Anderson Creek. The process followed research with an OSU PhD, where Megan was looking at barbecuing stems. It didn’t work, but surrounding heat on the stem worked, offering all of the love you find with whole cluster, and without the bell pepper. Check out Celfo and his harvest assistant in the above video.
@klezman @WALTGM thanks for the explanation!
@jhkey @klezman my pleasure. Love this wine, keep the questions coming!
@jhkey @klezman @WALTGM
Love all the technical and historic winemaker information.
@jhkey @pmarin @WALTGM very interesting. So it’s roasting stems one of those things that many wineries do but few talk about? In the same bucket as watering back or adjusting acidity?
And with a 24 brix harvest sugar that’s a pretty high conversion rate!
WALT Blue Jay Pinot Noir 2023 – Anderson Valley
I am happy review this nice wine. I generally love Pinot Noir and I generally drink them from the the CA central coast – Santa Rita Hills area. This is an Anderson Valley wine and it decidedly more full bodied than I am used to.
Color: Deep red, almost purple. Pretty in the glass.
Nose: Right when you pour it, you get cherry and something almost like spice cake. There’s also a bit of an earthy, outdoorsy smell in there – kind of like leaves or earth, but in a good way.
Taste: This is a rich, full wine. Lots of dark cherry and blueberry flavors, with some spice that hangs around at the end. There’s also a little bit of a smoky, tea-like quality that I wasn’t expecting but really liked (from what I have read the wine is made with roasted stems in the fermentation process). It’s smooth and easy to drink but is still a full-bodied wine with a high 14.9% alcohol percentage.
The verdict: If you’re looking for a solid Pinot Noir that’s got some depth without being too heavy or complicated, this is a good pick. It’s the kind of wine that works great with dinner (pork or chicken) but is also nice enough to just have on its own. The critics gave it 92-94 points – it’s well-made and a good buy at this price offering.
Santa’s helpers over at Casemates dropped off an early holiday surprise - 2023 Walt Blue Jay Pinot Noir. It’s a well made, medium body Pinot that will appeal to those who like a bit more dark fruit and some earthy tones. This wine will pair well with roast poultry and salmon. Santa would give it a thumbs up and so do I.
Unwrapping the gift, I found this Anderson Valley Pinot shines bright in the glass with clarity and a vibrant ruby color. Its aroma intensity is high with dark cherry, forest berries and a nice earthiness upon PNP. After a bit in the glass, oak and baking spice notes emerged. The bouquet will please those that like their Pinot with a more Old World profile than the bright cherry and cola notes that are more common in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley to the south.
Entry finds a medium level of acidity for a Pinot, with plum, berry and pomegranate on the palate. There was the slightest bit of alcohol on the nose initially, but the wine is nicely balanced despite a near 15% alcohol level listed on the bottle. Tannin is fine and broad in the mouth. I would call this a medium bodied Pinot, maybe a touch over. Anchoring a nice, lingering finish are cooked plum and dark cherry fruit flavors.
Tasted initially with young manchego and sharp pecorino cheeses, the wine paired reasonably with the younger cheese’s creaminess, but seemed to be more in its wheelhouse with the sharper cheese. For me, the body, tannin and taste profile would lend itself to roast poultry and salmon, or with a charcuterie board to get a party started.
Online sources put the bottle at about $40. At case prices it seems like a pretty good value for a premium Pinot. Thanks to Santa for the rattage opportunity and happy holidays to all!
@cyclensip Happy Holidays to you too!
@WALTGM
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 WALT Blue Jay Pinot Noir - $90 = 19.99%
Someone say critics??
James Suckling. 92 points. A full-bodied, berry-forward wine with a luscious mouthfeel and plush tannins. Broad and voluptuous with sweet toasted oak in the finish. 9/25
Wine Spectator. 91 points. Plump, soft and friendly in feel, with lightly steeped red and black cherry and raspberry fruit laced with touches of sandalwood and wood spice. A light twinge of briar on the finish adds nice energy. Best from 2026 through 2031. 10,600 cases made. James Molesworth September 30, 2025
Vinous. 92 points. The 2023 Pinot Noir Blue Jay hails from the Anderson Valley. It delivers a dusty, floral, blue-fruited profile with enticing richness and a deep well of minerality. Black-tea-like tannins grab hold of the tongue on the lengthy finish as the Blue Jay leaves behind a mouthwatering touch of citrusy bite. I like the character and distinctiveness here. (BN) 7/25
Owen Bargreen. 93 points. The 2023 ‘Blue Jay’ comes from two sites in the Anderson Valley (mainly Anderson Creek Vineyard) outside the town of Boonville. Wild blackberry and black cherry and shades of gran-cola. They incorporate roasted stems in the blend as this offers refined tannins with bright red and dark fruits, with salty soils and a smooth texture. Drink 2024 - 2034 11/24
The Wine Palate. 94 points. Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, the 2023 Blue Jay Pinot Noir skips out with cheery notes of raspberry pie and kirsch with hints of spice cake, lilacs, and fallen leaves. The full-bodied palate delivers intense red fruit preserves flavors with a racy line and plush texture, finishing long and savory. Lisa Perrotti-Brown
As mentioned $40 seems to be a popular online price but a few $29.99 offers out there as well.
I’m intrigued by roasting the stems, seems a bit gimmicky but what do I know…wonder what percentage etc etc
fwiw
@kaolis Got to the bottom of the stem roasting above if you want to check it out. No gimmick here at all, it’s a real process in fermentation. It ranges in percentage, but typically we are 10% stem inclusion. The initial research trial was 10%, 25%, 50% and 100% - which was whoa stems too much up at the top, but it gave us a great idea where to take the wine.
@WALTGM
Thanks for the info…so the 10% inclusion, all roasted? I’m to assume this cuts out/reduces any perceptible stemminess which can take otherwise take time to integrate? If that makes sense? Realizing 10% is on the low end of the spectrum anyway.
@kaolis stems are all roasted for Blue Jay. When you dig your nose in you’ll find the steminess, but the goal was to provide texture and freshness, so yes it’s at the lower %.
Thanks to the rats for getting their reviews in so early! I’ve been getting more and more into pinot noir, and I love wine from Anderson Valley. In for a case!
/giphy festive-grateful-scrooge
@gemeinschaft79 fantastic! We make wine from Willamette Valley to Sta. Rita Hills - I call it 1,000 miles of Pinot Noir. We created a mini-movie if you want to check out what our growers and our winemakers have to say about our vineyards.
@gemeinschaft79 @WALTGM I am a fan of Willamette Valley PN, the earthy dark complex ones. I particularly like a phrase I heard once “you can taste the dirt they grew in.”
What is your Oregon label?
@gemeinschaft79 @pmarin we make Pinot noir from Shea Vineyard. It’s under the WALT label. West Hill block fruit get a bit more sunshine. the wine is fabulous, thoughtful, incredible.
Good Morning Casemates community! Really happy to be here and offering one of our most popular wines we make to this great community of oenophiles! Let’s talk it up! I’ll be around today if you’d like to ask questions about the wines, and if you’d like to add any of your own flavor to our WALT Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, Blue Jay.
@WALTGM
Since this appears to be your first time, and while we get you your grapes badge, you mind introducing yourself and function at the winery?
@rjquillin and @ttboy23 - no need for apologies. I just got up and started the day so the coffee is no in and I’m here for a bit before I head up to the winery. I’m the General Manager for WALT, so think the business side of the winery, but I’ve worked the Hall family for almost 20 years, and I’ve been helping steer the WALT project since 2016. Grew up not in a wine family, but studied science and psychology at Oregon and UCSB (Go Ducks and Gauchos!). First wine that made me get it was Foxen’s Bien Nacido Vinegard pinot noir at a restaurant called Blue Agave in Santa Barbara. Got into the wine scene when Jim Clendenen, Doug Margerum, and Brian Babcock were hanging at the Wine Cask. They would all bring their wines to show restaurants in Santa Barbara, with Bion Rice at Sunstone dining at my restaurant (Pascucci) regularly.
@ttboy23 @WALTGM
Just a note; it’s all of the above participation that makes this work. Without it, this, for me (with too much wine and too little storage) would have been a hard pass. All the background, explanations and participation from you changes that in to a reevaluation.
@WALTGM
Got me.
/giphy flickering-bountiful-lore
@rjquillin @WALTGM got me too!
/giphy little-generous-oranges
By the way - “Blue Jay” get’s its name from the people we see when we farm this site. Many of you may know that Anderson Valley was fairly cut off from the world, which led to the language Boontling - dialect of English. The citizens of Boonville call themselves “Blue Jay’s,” so it was fitting that we named the wine coming from Booneville after the people who live there. Happy Friday - Bahl Hornin! AV Brewery has a list of words
@WALTGM wow that is cool info. I know Boonville but never knew about this. Hopefully we can get the attention of some linguists/etymologists on this site.
Just went down the rabbit hole of Boontling phrases - that was fun!
Got a notice from UPS that delivery is scheduled for tomorrow, but my order page indicates still processing.
Believe UPS, not the CM that frequently has delayed updates
@rjquillin Agreed.