by Dierdre Bourdet

I love the IPNC… three days of virtually uninterrupted eating and drinking in Oregon wine country with amazing chefs, international winemakers, astonishingly delicious local foods, and a couple hundred kindred spirits who also love such things.

My past experiences at the event suggest that the acronym carries additional hidden meaning.

“I” is for the intensity of the grueling daily schedule of feasting, wine tasting and al fresco relaxation.

“P” is for the unspeakable pleasures awaiting you on lunchtime vineyard visits with Oregon’s finest chefs, during every magical evening dégustation, and on the morning breakfast buffet.

“N” is for the stunning natural beauty of the Willamette Valley summer, which you find on your plate at every meal.

“C” is for the lemon juice cleanse you will need by the time you roll away on Sunday afternoon.

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by Richard Paul Hinkle
(WDC Sensual PN 309)

If you are uncomfortable with sensuality—your own, that of others—you might want to skip forward a page or two.  You see, when Pinot Noir is the subject, sensuality naturally flows to the forefront.  Where the wines of Cabernet Sauvignon (including those from Bordeaux) are flavor-driven wines, those made from Pinot Noir are distinctively texture-driven.  Wines made from the red Burgundian template are clearly, happily wines of suppleness and sulkiness, wines suggestive of silk peignoirs and satin sheets.

Pinot Noir is, in short, liquid sensuality.  It is about wines whose lingering, languid textural attributes are nearly lascivious, even libidinous in nature.  So if you are faint of heart, or easily offended, you might want to flick the page.  Now.

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