My Day In The Willamette Valley - Part 4, J. Wrigley and Noble Pig

Cathy Pollack from Noble Pig and Jody Wrigley from J. Wrigley were pouring at Republic of Jam, so I had to stop in and partake in addition to saying "hi" to Lynnette and Amy. Warning: These two are whacked; Cathy just slightly and Jody off the charts. Or maybe it's the other way around, I can't be sure. If you talk to Jody, though, be sure to ask her about her stump.

Both women have interesting stories to tell about how they got into the wine business and I won't repeat them, but Cathy's is especially interesting and poignant and can be found on the Noble Pig website. 

By now my palate was getting a little tired (this is actually part FIVE because I'd been to Scott Paul but I'm saving that one) so I only have brief descriptions of the wines. Noble Pig was pouring a 2008 pinot gris and a 2009 pinot noir. The gris may be a little more in the Italian style than I might like, but it's certainly zesty and would show well with food. The pinot noir is a nice wine showing black fruit and a round character I think of as prototypical of the McMinnville AVA, where the vineyard is located. Of course, I might have completely screwed that part up because it was made with purchased fruit! Nice wine, though, especially for a first effort. 

Jody was pouring a 2009 pinot noir, the "MAC Cuvee", also from purchased fruit. Once again showing the black fruit and round character of the McMinnville AVA. Another nice wine, though perhaps a little lower in acid than I would consider ideal. A hazard of the 2009 vintage. 

These folks are doing a nice job, with first-class presentations (though I had a little tete-a-tete with Jody about smaller, lighter bottles) and top notch point of sale materials. The wines are good wines that will only get better as Cathy (a UC Davis grad) and John Wrigley get used to working with their own fruit which will come online over the next 2-3 years. If I had to pick a nit, it would be that hitting the market right out of the chute at mid-to-high 30's price point is a tad ambitious.