There's nothing like a flight of good Pinots to spark discussion and conversation, and these six wines were no different. It became obvious early into the tasting that these wines had been grown in some very diverse growing regions and ran the gamut of Pinot styles. The five wine regions represented were Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma, Yuba County in the Sierra Foothills, Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey, Los Carneros in Napa, and finally, Cote de Nuits in Burgundy. What an interesting mix full this was. The Dry Creek version, not surprisingly, had the ripest fruit profile accompanied by just a bit of a rustic meatiness in the finish.. The Los Carneros wine was true to its region demonstrating the wonderful spiciness the area is known for. Probably the most distinct character of the two Santa Lucia Highlands versions were some delicate floral qualities and soft, black fruit in the finish. No real surprise, but a great treat, was the old world earthiness and tart red fruit of the Burgundian Grand Cru. But the biggest surprise was the incredible mouthfilling fruit and spice of the Yuba County version, a truly intriguing wine.

This tasting was all about personal taste as all six wines were all well made and crafted. They all had the good bite of acidity you expect in a Pinot, with that wonderful earthy, forest floor character that makes them such great food wines. We finished them off with a roast sirloin tip covered in a brown mushroom sauce. It is said that a good pairing is when neither the wine or food suffers for the marriage, but a great pairing is when the two enhance one another. The flavors of the pinots entwined beautifully with the sauce and brought out the rich flavors of the long braised beef, which had been marinated in a red wine sauce for 24 hours.

These wines should be easy enough to come across, including buying them from the wineries' web sites. The following grid is the composite results of the input of all of the tasters. To see our results: Click Here!