Individual tickets available for 32nd annual IPNC in Oregon

MCMINNVILLE, Ore. — Pinotphiles unable to commit to the entire International Pinot Noir Celebration, one of the West Coast’s most educational, entertaining and delicious wine festivals, can now purchase a la carte tickets for the July 27-29 weekend on the campus of Linfield College in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

Organizers have opened up the virtual ticket window for two events with a history of selling out — the Sunday Passport to Pinot ($125) as well as the festive Salmon Bake ($225). The committee also has allowed for a limited number of attendees to reserve their own table of 10 for the Salmon Bake at an additional cost of $250.

Full Weekend registration to the 32nd annual IPNC is $1,295. Full Weekend tickets do not include admission to the Passport to Pinot because all wines served at Passport will have been served at the festive and informal alfresco tastings on Friday and Saturday. Attendance is capped at 500 for the Passport, which also pairs farm-to-table cuisine from 15 regional chefs.

It’s easy for one to get star-struck while walking the Linfield campus during the last weekend of July. The IPNC provides consumers opportunities experience wineries, winemakers and special wines on a level of access not often shared beyond members of the trade and media. Friday and Saturday feature an array of seminars, walkaround tastings, winery visits, vineyard tours and dishes prepared by some of the Pacific Northwest’s most acclaimed chefs.

This year, the number of regional chefs (60) nearly matches that of the wineries (70) from around the world. And among the lodging options is the new Atticus Hotel in downtown McMinnville, a luxury boutique destination that will be available to IPNC patrons for the first time.

Sunday morning brings the Sparkling Brunch Finale, which a delectable meal that serves as a memorable bon voyage for those who invested in the Full Weekend experience.

An unheralded feature of the weekend are the special touches provided by some of the region’s top sommeliers, who help present the wines throughout days and evenings while lodging at student housing on Linfield’s historic campus.

Grand Seminar focuses on two sites, six winemakers

While wine and food share the stage throughout the weekend, education plays an integral role. Master of ceremonies for 2018 is Daniel Shanks, the first maître d’hôtel at Domaine Chandon in 1977, recently retired after 25 years of serving as director of food and beverage at The White House, a career that involved wine buying for the past four Presidents.

The 2018 Grand Seminar, titled Two Vineyards – Six Hands, will be moderated Sonoma-based journalist Elaine Brown of WakawakaWineReviews.com and JancisRobinson.com. It involves six winemakers who worked with two vineyards — Temperance Hill in the Eola-Amity Hills and Bella Vida in the Dundee Hills — to produce Pinot Noirs specifically for IPNC. Josh Bergström of Bergström Wines, Julia Cattrall of Lumos Wine Co., and Ken Pahlow of Walter Scott Wines produced the Temperance Hills wines. Brian O’Donnell of Belle Pente, Lynn Penner-Ash of Penner-Ash Wine Cellars and Patrick Reuter of Dominio IV worked with Bella Vida.

2018 IPNC invited wineries

This year’s lineup of invited Pinot Noir producers includes:

Oregon
Aberrant Cellars (Tualatin)
Adelsheim Vineyard (Newberg)
Alloro Vineyard (Sherwood)
Analemma Wines (Mosier)
Anne Amie (Carlton)
Belle Pente (Carlton)
Bergström Wines (Newberg)
Brittan Vineyards (McMinnville)
Broadley Vineyards (Monroe)
Coelho Winery (Amity)
Colene Clemens (Newberg)
Dominio IV (Carlton)
Duck Pond Cellars (Dundee)
Et Fille Wines (Newberg)
The Eyrie Vineyards (McMinnville)
Illahe Vineyards (Dallas)
Kelley Fox Wines (McMinnville)
Lavinea (Carlton)
Lemelson Vineyards (Carlton)
Lumos Wines (Philomath)
Patricia Green Cellars (Newberg)
Penner-Ash Wine Cellars (Newberg)
Ponzi Vineyards (Sherwood)
Raptor Ridge Winery (Newberg)
Roco Winery (Newberg)
RR Wines (Newberg)
Soter Vineyards (Carlton)
Spindrift Cellars (Philomath)
Torii Mor Winery (Dundee)
Tyee Wine Cellars (Corvallis)
Walter Scott Wines (Salem)
WillaKenzie Estate (Yamhill)
Willamette Valley Vineyards (Turner)
Youngberg Hill (McMinnville)
Yamhill Valley Vineyards (McMinnville)

California
Brewer-Clifton (Lompoc)
Balletto Vineyards (Santa Rosa)
Cotiere (Santa Maria)
Ernest Vineyards (Windsor)
Fel Wines (Yountville)
Foursight Wines (Boonville)
Furthermore Wines (Sebastapol)
Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery (Healdsburg)
Hyde Vineyards (Napa)
La Follette Wines (Healdsburg)
Landmark Vineyards (Kenwood)
Patz & Hall (Sonoma)
Perception Wines (Calistoga)
Sandler Wine Co. (San Francisco)
Shug Carneros Estate Winery (Sonoma)
Talbott Vineyards (Carmel Valley)
Talley Vineyards (Arroyo Grande)
Twomey Cellars (Healdsburg)
Walt (Sonoma)

Canada
Westcott Vineyards (Jordan Station, Ontario)

IPNC returns University of Pinot to Linfield

Many of these producers serve as “faculty” for the IPNC’s University of Pinot classes, nine of which are staged throughout the Linfield campus.

Fields of study for 2018 include:

Austrian Pinot? Prost!, which features Austrian winemakers Thomas Klinger (Weingut Bründlmayer), Johannes Reinisch (Johanneshof Reinisch) and Fritz Wieninger (Weingut Wieninger).

Viticultural Legacies, a collection of winemakers from multi-generation brands such as Thomas Bouley (Domaine Jean-Marc et Thomas Bouley), Vincent Chevrot (Domaine Chevrot et Fils), Clothilde Lafarge (Domaine Michel Lafarge), Luisa Ponzi (Ponzi Vineyards), Alexandrine Roy (Domaine Marc Roy) and Marie Zusslin (Domaine Valentin Zusslin).

Biodynamos, sustainably farmed Pinot Noir with John Balletto (Balletto Vineyards), Jason Lett (The Eyrie Vineyards), Patrice Ollivier (Maison Fougeray de Beauclair), Kim Crawford (Loveblock Wines) and Moe Momtazi (Maysara Winery & Momtazi Vineyard).

Terroirs Through Teas, which explores tea in similar fashion as wine.

Olea Europea, another terroir-based exerices, this one centered on extra virgin olive oil, and led by master miller Paul Durant of Oregon Olive Mill and grower for Durant Vineyards, both in the Dundee Hills.

Global Flavors, a seminar with Chris Remy and Nick Doughty of Elephants Delicatessen in Portland that provides tips on how to food and wine pairings.

New Zealand by Region is a symposium involving five winemakers to describe the three primary growing regions of New Zealand. It features Anna Matzinger (Matzinger Davies), Michael Davies (Matzinger Davies, REX HILL), Ben Glover (Zephyr–Glover Family Vineyards in Marlborough), Katherine Jacobs (Big Sky in Martinborough) and Chris Keys (Gibbston Valley in Central Otago).

California Crusin’ features California refugee winemaker Anthony King (Carlton Winemakers Studio) as a moderator for a terroir-based discussion with James Hall (Patz & Hall), Ryan Hodgins (FEL Wines) and Megan Gunderson Paredes (WALT Wines) as they taste through Pinot Noir from six growing regions in the Golden State.

Pinot Noir, a sensory study with Vinous editor Josh Raynolds on how to describe what you smell and taste in a Pinot Noir.