Oregon Columbia Valley Pinot Noir?@ Trader Joe's

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Discovering exceptional wine values is always exciting, especially when they come from unexpected places. The Sunshine Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023 from the Columbia Valley of Oregon represents exactly this kind of delightful surprise - a $14.99 Trader Joe's exclusive that punches well above its weight class.

What makes this Pinot truly special is its origin story. Unlike the typical Oregon Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, this single-vineyard wine hails from about 60 miles east of Portland where the Columbia Valley extends into Oregon. This distinctive microclimate boasts volcanic soils and approximately 300 days of sunshine annually - dramatically different conditions than you'd expect in typically rainy western Oregon. These unique growing conditions contribute to a Pinot Noir with remarkable character and complexity.

The wine itself reveals classic translucent garnet coloration and that wonderfully funky, complex nose that Pinot enthusiasts crave. Unlike most value-priced Pinot Noir that aims for immediate approachability, Sunshine Mountain presents as more individual and complex. It starts somewhat tight, with sharp edges and spicy notes that might challenge your palate initially. But patience is rewarded - give it time to breathe, swirl your glass, and watch as beautiful fruit flavors emerge to balance those initial sharp notes. This evolution in the glass, typically found only in more expensive bottles, transforms it into something truly special.

Produced by Precept Wine Company (through their Northwest Collective subsidiary), the largest independent wine producer in the Northwest, this bottle delivers what Trader Joe's suggests would normally compete with wines in the $20-30 range. Whether you're a casual wine drinker or a dedicated Pinot enthusiast, this bottle offers an opportunity to experience a distinctive expression of Oregon terroir at a fraction of the expected price. Give it the time it deserves to open up, and you'll discover why single-vineyard Pinot Noir from unique growing regions creates such passionate devotees.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hey, domain Dave CheapWineFindercom.
Here again with another winereview.
This one is a little bitdifferent.
We'll get into that in a second.
It's the Sunshine MountainVineyard Pinot Noir 2023.
It's $14.99 at Trader Joe's andthere's a story here.
I don't have the whole story,but I've got bits and pieces of

(00:26):
it.
This wine is from the ColumbiaValley of Oregon, not the
Columbia Valley of Washington.
In about 60 miles east ofPortland along the the border
with Oregon and Washington State, part of the Columbia Valley

(00:48):
comes down into Oregon andthere's even the Columbia Gorge
going down there and thisSunshine Mountain vineyard is on
a mountain overlooking theColumbia Valley and it's a
single vineyard wine.
This is an area since it's 60miles east of Portland.

(01:15):
Willamette Valley, like thepremier noir area, is just south
of Portland, so this is upnorth into the east.
This is an area that has got alot of volcanic soil.
The climate changes from beingrainy every other day to dry

(01:40):
most of the time and they saidthe vineyard had 300 300 days of
sun, so it was in the driersection exactly where this is a
wine from a precip wine company.
They're a big brand, thelargest brand in the northwest,
independent brand, the northwestand a northwest collective

(02:02):
which is part of them made thiswine, because it actually says
produced and bottled, by whichmeans they made it and bottled
it.
So there's a northwestcollective which is out of
dundee.
Dundee oregon is in willamettevalley.
Now here's the weird part.
The sunshine mountain vineyardwinery is a winery in san marcos

(02:23):
, cal.
California, which is in thehills north of San Diego, a long
way away.
You don't normally see a winewith the same name as another
winery.
Now none of the San Diegowineries' wines say Sunshine
Mountain.
They say Sunshine but notSunshine Mountain.

(02:43):
So that's kind of a weird thing.
You don't see that you can'tdirectly compete by taking
another wine's name, and Irecall a wine a few years back
that got sold out on cutoutbecause they accidentally had
the same name of a wine fromAustralia.
So is this being sold at TraderJoe's?

(03:03):
Because at Trader Joe's they'renot competing with the other
people's wines, even though youdon't find San Diego wine in the
stores.
That often Don't know, butmaybe that's why this is 14.99.
Trader joe says this wineshould compete with wines in the
20 to 30 range.

(03:24):
So getting a 10 discount is anice deal here, whatever the
reason.
So, um, where do we go from here?
Oh, um, this region that's 60miles east of portland, like
this region that's 60 miles eastof Portland, like Willamette
Valley, is predominantly PinotNoir.
It's warmer out that way and ittends to be Cabernet Sauvignon.

(03:47):
You know Bordeaux varietals.
It's not the biggest Pinot Noirarea.
We're going to take a sip ofthis one.
This is it's got that reallysee-through color, the garnet
color.
It's got that funky, cool nose.
This is the wine that kind ofopens up as you drink it.

(04:16):
There's some sharper flavors.
There's some funky spices.
Some flavors are delicious.
Some flavors are kind of hardto get your palate around, which
is Pinot Noir.
A good Pinot Noir is going tobe something in there.
You're going to go hmm, I don'tknow, in other wines.
You go, give me more of that.

(04:36):
Oh, and other ones.
You go, let me give me more ofthat.
If I were to guess, I would saythis is a 20 to 30 dollar pinot
noir selling for 14.95.
Because value price.
Pinot noir tends to be made tobe familiar.
They're not all the same, butyou kind of what you get is kind
of what you're expecting to get, or the more expensive pinot

(04:59):
noirs tend to be more individuallike this.
This person makes it this way,this person makes it that way,
this growing region.
You know this is not the sameold same old it's.
This is kind of an interestingpinot noir.
It is well worth drinking for14.89.
You should give it a try.
It's from a boutique area.
If you go to your the PinotIsle and your local wine shop,

(05:27):
you're probably not going tofind another Oregon Columbia
Valley wine there, but for$14.99 at Trader Joe's from a
good, good producer.
Precept makes Gruet and Brownand a couple.
Oh, they make a bunch of wines.
Yeah, the more it opens up, themore delicious it gets.

(05:58):
Yeah, the more it opens up, themore delicious it gets.
It can be a little tight and itcan show the rougher edges and
then, as it opens up, it reallygives the fruit flavors and
those things kind of come in andbalance it out, which is
something that a more expensivePinot Noir does and a value
price doesn't really do.

(06:19):
The value price is ready to goright away.
So there you go, sunshineMountain Vineyard Pinot Noir
2023.
It's available at Trader Joe's,I think, exclusively.
It tastes more expensive thanwhat it is.
It's interesting, it's worthdrinking, let it open up, swirl
your glass around and you have agood wine.

(06:40):
So, adios, keep it cheap.
This is Domain Dave.
Cheapwinefindercom Like us.
We like your podcast.
Got more wines coming Talk toeverybody in a couple days.
So, adios, keep it cheap andI'll be talking to you.
Bye-bye.