Oregon Pinot Value?

I'm on a serious Oregon Pinot kick while in the planning stages of our trip up there later this summer. We've been experimenting with everything from The Rogue Valley to Willamette and back, with very mixed results. So far my favorite has been the 2009 Adelsheim ( Mike's pick ) and least favorite were Knight's Valley and Argyle, both 2008s. But lets be honest, the great ones were amazing and the just OK ones were still pretty damn good . I just can't wait to drink them on their own soil in September. Vindication for being pregnant during the dream wine trip I planned to Sonoma last year.

So I was at Trader Joes this week for my requisite monthly visit to plan the TJ's class when I ran across their VINTJS 2009 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. As scared as I generally am by their attempts to bottle thier own vino ( read - run screaming from anything that costs under $2 ), I thought it would be fun to compare their Oregon Pinot to some of the exquisite Oregon wines I've had my nose in lately.

The wine is actually produced and bottled for them by Wine by Joe, a young an unpretentious vintner with tongue-in-cheek attitude and aspirations of greatness in the burgeoning Oregon value/quality arena. Most Oregon Pinots run $20 and up - with the average price being $30 or so. I am intrigued by the $9 price point.

Upon "closer inspection" the wine is quite fruity and ripe ( almost sour ), especially up front, and very light in both color and depth of flavor, which tells me it's a bit young . It's got a nice finish though and definitely was improved by a bit of airtime and some food alongside - but what wine isn't. Overall I was impressed with the general quality of this $9 wine, which I enjoyed more than some of it's neighbors I've paid more than quadruple the price for. Certainly not on my list of MUST VISITS while in Oregon, but not bad for the price. On the other hand - more evidence that with Pinot Noir ( unlike many other varietals ), sometimes price really does dictate quality.