Scenes from 30th International Pinot Noir Celebration

McMINNVILLE, Ore. – It’s an homage to a grape that mystifies, confounds and enchants. A wine that rarely plays well with other grapes but almost always marries beautifully with cuisine.

The siren song of the most mystical of grapes once again drew hundreds from around the world to the International Pinot Noir Celebration. This is the 30th annual IPNC, and winemakers from Tasmania, Burgundy and beyond arrived here in the heart of Oregon wine country to pay tribute.

The International Pinot Noir Celebration is four days of tastings, meals, classes, tours and camaraderie, all while focused on Oregon’s favorite wine. Certainly, the focus is on Willamette Valley wines, but IPNC works hard to take a global view. This year’s featured region, for examples, was on the little-known Pinot Noirs of Australia (yeah, they’re really fascinating).

Here are a few of our images from this year’s International Pinot Noir Celebration. Let’s toast the first three decades and raise a glass to the next 30 years.