International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) 2024

Last night April and I arrived back home after the conclusion of the 38th International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) here in McMinnville, Oregon. It was our first time as a featured winery participant. Certainly participating in IPNC made it special, but what was even more meaningful was that participating in an IPNC was a goal of ours since cementing our dream of being an Oregon winery 18 years ago.

In 2007, we fell in love with Oregon wine country during a week-long vacation to the Willamette Valley, culminating in a visit to the 20th IPNC (I still have the tee-shirt with the front saying “Cheers to 20 Years”). Tasting wines from 70+ premier wineries – many of whom were boutique wineries with wines poured by the owners and winemakers – made us envision Chapter Two in our lives as winegrowers.

Fast forward to 2019, it was at the IPNC Salmon Bake that year when we learned our offer was accepted on the land that would become our estate vineyard here in the McMinnville American Viticultural Area (AVA). The next day we got to share the news with other winemakers and winery owners during the Passport to Pinot. April and I remember vividly the words of encouragement – and advice – from the owners of Elk Cove, in addition to their warm welcome to the Oregon wine community.

Five years later, as we approach our sixth harvest, that dream of sharing our wines alongside 70+ other international and local wineries was realized. In addition to guests from the United States, we poured for people from Australia, China, South Africa, France, Germany, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdon. It was amazing to see the wineries, guests, press and sommeliers from around the world come to the Willamette Valley on the beautiful grounds of Linfield University to celebrate and study this stunning grape varietal!

All weekend, the food and wine were spectacular! It all started on Friday morning where six wineries – the host Ambar Estate (Dundee Hills AVA) as well as Bjornson Vineyard (Eola-Amity Hills AVA), Domain Marc Roy (France), Martin Ray (Russian River California), Phelps Creek Vineyards (Columbia Gorge) and Violet Vines (McMinnville AVA) invited IPNC guests to tour a newly-planted vineyard in the northern Dundee Hills. In the vineyard, each of the wineries introduced some of their own terroir differences and tasting markers characterizing their vineyards and wines. We then introduced our wines inside the winery and held a blind tasting, offering the guests a chance to guess which wine was which based on our vineyard markers and winemaking styles. Admittedly, the winery hosts had to guess too… I won’t admit if I did, or did not, guess my own wine blindly… I also got to correct a typo on the tasting sheet – we’re actually Violet Vines, not Violent Vines!

April and I got to pour our wines during the Grand Dinner later that night, making new friends from Colorado, California and China. We poured our two Single Clone Pommard’s, the 2021 Johnson Ridge and the 2022 Cooper Block from our Estate Vineyard. Both paired exceptionally with the entrees.
The next day we got the chance to pour again at an exquisite lunch hosted by amazing chefs from the area. We poured the same wines to guests from Alaska, Southern Oregon and other locals in attendance. We also had the opportunity to taste wines from Longplay Wine in Newberg, which were outstanding.

A few hours later we poured our 2021 Ultra Violet for guests at the outdoor Alfresco Tasting tasting. We went a little “rogue” and offered tastings from our 2022 Rocks District Syrah, giving them a little break from a weekend of Pinot. We must have poured for 150 people in a short 90-minute window and the experience was fantastic! Right after, we packed up and attended the Salmon Bake dinner, where we sampled countless wines from an expansive cellar of current and past IPNC participants.
But it was last night that made us feel the most nostalgic. Sunday, June 28th was the final event, that being the 38th Passport to Pinot. In less than two hours, we poured fourteen bottles of wine and had some incredible conversations with Oregon wine lovers. I even bought a new tee-short to pair with my very faded 20th IPNC tee-shirt!

All in all, the weekend was truly special and reminded us how much we’ve enjoyed becoming part of the Oregon wine community and crafting terroir-driven Oregon-grown fine wines. A heartfelt thank you to the countless IPNC organizers and volunteers who made the last three days special.