In my first ever blog post, I talked about the reasons I am enamored with wine. I included a video clip of a scene from that horrible movie Sideways where the character Maya talks about how wine is a living thing that continues to evolve in the bottle. She goes on about how she loves to think about the people involved in the picking, the winemaking, all of it, and about how, when she drinks an old wine, maybe those people have passed on and are no longer with us. That scene gave me goosebumps because this way of thinking speaks to me. Whenever I open a bottle of wine I always think about the year it was made, both in relation to what was going in the world and in my own life.

I like to think that wine combines all of the elements of our humanity – science, nature, art, fate. With quality producers who don’t interfere too much with what nature gives them, it is equal parts hard work, expertise, and a bit of magic.

I was very excited about this bottle when I saw it come up for sale on Winespies in July of 2022. In fact, it was the bottle that caused me to first hit the purchase button for this online retailer. I had seen this producer on the socials, and I knew that there was a lot of buzz about this little winery in Sonoma county.

La Pitchoune had been a guest on Pink Society – an online host of regular events featuring mostly small producers. The Pink Society events are awesome because they ask questions on the platform formerly known as Twitter, that are answered in video format, usually by the winemaker. It really gives you chance to get to know the people behind the wines and hear about the growing and winemaking process directly from the people making the wine, that you usually only get by visiting.

My excitement turned to something else when I read that the winemaker for La Pitchoune, Andrew Berge, had passed away in 2021. Sadness for a man who was far too young to leave this earth. The opportunity to experience these wines now becomes more rare with each bottle sold. Why I bought only one bottle I will never know, but I certainly regret that.

A visit to the Le Pitchoune website made me realize that the co-founder of the winery, Peter Nielsen, had also passed away in 2020. Suddenly this bottle of wine felt like a representation of the hopes and dreams and plans that no longer exists the way it did in 2017. The energy and efforts of two people who have passed away are in this bottle. This is incredibly sad, and perhaps also tragically beautiful in a sense. Not many of us get to leave a legacy that brings joy to others, and for me that is what wine does. Not all of us get to spend our lives doing something we love and that are passionate about. The fact that Peter Nielsen and Andrew Berge did, is something to be celebrated. On the flipside they were both young men and there is nothing good about losing young people. According to the website, both succumbed to cancer.

With only one bottle to enjoy, each time I would look at my Chardonnay selections, I would choose to wait on this bottle knowing I couldn’t just buy another one. As 2023 was ending, it finally felt right. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it is the reflection that comes at the end of a year. The acceptance of what is, and what isn’t to be. A need to celebrate the good, accept the losses and near misses and realize that, because we woke up today, we have another chance at whatever it is we are striving for. A whole new year on the horizon in which to keep on trying.

My Dad used to say that “life is a shit sandwich, and the sooner you take the first bite, the easier the rest of it will be.” Maybe a somewhat dark opinion, but my Dad was better than anyone I know at having a good time. By example, he taught me that the only remedy for offsetting the shit sandwich that life will inevitably cause all of us to eat, is to create as much fun as you can, as often as you can and enjoy every single breath that God graces you with in between.

So why wait any longer? The only thing worse than not being able to get anymore of this wine, is to keep skipping over it and not enjoy the efforts, the talent, and the little bit of magic contained in this bottle.

La Pitchoune|Pratt Vineyard Chardonnay|2017|13.9% ABV|$32.00

La Pitchoune was founded by Peter and Tracy Nielsen. Husband and wife, Tracy had tried to break into the wine industry in sales and marketing jobs for years with no luck. She met Andrew Berge, and as they say, the rest is history.

As the name implies, they embraced the smallness of the venture which included, just four people, the fourth being Chief Marketing Officer, Brent Van Emst. It all began with a love of Pinot Noir, Burgundian Pinot Noir in particular, and if you love Burgundy, Chardonnay can’t be far behind.

La Pitchoune sources all of its grapes from six different vineyards and as the label implies, these grapes came from the revered Pratt Vineyard. Located within the Russian River Valley, this organically certified vineyard has been under the constant care of Jim Pratt for more than 30 years and many well known, big name producers make wines from grapes grown here. There is one I have actually had the pleasure of drinking and hold in my cellar – Tongue Dancer. Usually I’d jump at the opportunity to contrast and compare, but not this bottle. This La Pitchoune deserves my undivided attention.

I did not take notes as I enjoyed this wine with grilled salmon and salad with my husband on leisurely night between Christmas and the New Year. If I’m being honest, unless you are studying to pass a certification test, notetaking is one of the things that can suck the joy right out of a bottle wine. What sticks with me even now, many weeks later, is the incredible mouthfeel. Rich and full, but perfectly well balanced with fruit and acidity. Maybe the tiniest little hit of butter, but like delicious real butter on a piece of homemade bread, not popcorn butter. There was a mineral note and perhaps a smoky note, but because we were having grilled salmon that had been cooked over indirect charcoal we weren’t 100% sure if it was the wine or the salmon giving us that. The wine was incredibly aromatic and I love a wine that starts as beautifully as it finishes. timate wine descriptor

The organically grown grapes were hand sorted and wine was aged for 16 months in French oak, 1/3 new. The back label says that 3 barrels were produced, but I did see 2 barrels on the internet, either way, a very small amount.

In looking at the La Pitchoune website, it appears that their first vintage was 2013 and that no wine has been released since the 2020 vintage which makes sense under these circumstances. I am familiar with back to back losses of people who mean everything to you and so I did not reach out to La Pichoune to find if and when they will be producing more wine, it felt invasive to me and quite frankly, none of my business. I sure hope that they will. While it can never be the quite same, it could still be beautiful. We all stand on the shoulders of those who go before us. Cheers to all who have gone before us.