Pinot on the River fills Healdsburg Plaza for wine tasting, charitable giving

The Healdsburg Plaza became a one-stop shop for every shade of pinot noir Sunday as more than 80 wineries from the North Coast and beyond gathered there for the Pinot on the River wine festival.

The 13th annual event offered a chance for some 1,000 discerning “pinotphiles” and other wine lovers to taste their favorites or expand their horizons, all while raising thousands of dollars for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County.

Tickets cost $75 for general admission or $90 for early entry. The festival, of which The Press Democrat was a magnum sponsor, also featured a silent auction where guests could bid on more than 100 lots encompassing upwards of 250 wine bottles, according to organizers.

Jennifer Weiss, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County, said Pinot on the River was born at a time when no other local wine festival placed such a strong emphasis on pinot noir, a beloved varietal. Weiss attributed pinot noir’s appeal to the notion that it might hit a “sweet spot” for those looking to drink a lighter red wine.

Weiss’ appreciation for pinot noir was broadly reflected by the guests who buzzed about the crowded plaza on a temperate autumn afternoon, walking through rows of winery tables and eating food from nearby trucks and stands.

Chris London, a pilot from Petaluma, was among the avid consumers. Standing amid the bustling crowd at the plaza, London said he liked pinot noir wines with a good balance between fruity and heavier flavors. And he appreciated the fact that Pinot on the River offered so many different options.

“Coming to a place like this, it allows you to take your preference and expand it a little bit,” London said.

Santa Rosa businessman Neil Foster could appreciate the event from multiple perspectives. A Boys & Girls Clubs board member, Foster knew well the charitable side of Pinot on the River - and his cork and bottle company, MA Silva USA, was an imperial sponsor.

While tasting a sample from the Jigar Wines table, Foster praised the festival for its ideal location and said it offered good exposure for pinot noir-producing wineries, giving them face time with a large - and serious - group of potential customers.

“The type of consumer that comes here is a serious wine consumer,” Foster said. “It’s not just party goers.”

The “nuance and finesse” of pinot noir as a varietal tend to attract more sophisticated wine drinkers, according to Tom Hinde, owner of the Russian River Valley winery Velvet Fog and another Boys & Girls Clubs board member.

Hinde said he still sees consistent growth in the varietal’s popularity. And if this year’s harvest is any indication, the enduring popularity of pinot noir is poised to continue.

“Pinot is doing very well this year. It’s sort of a textbook pinot vintage,” he said.

A mild spring this year helped pinot noir shoots develop well, and favorable summer weather continued to impart rewards for the varietal, allowing for “good purity, good, focused fruit and good intensity,” Hinde said.

That may be good news to consumers like Kevin Coss, of San Anselmo, who attended Pinot on the River. Coss appreciated that California’s pinot noir had evolved over the years, growing to become more “fruit forward” in contrast to French wines.

“There’s several climates that are more adept to the New World pinots, and all those are represented here today,” Coss said. “This is really encompassing California pinots. It’s an accumulation of all those wine regions in one setting.”

You can reach Staff Writer J.D. Morris at 707-521-5337 or jd.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @thejdmorris.