When it comes to winemaking and wine knowledge, well, lets just say it is not an even playing field for all. The range is broad and so is the quality of wines produced globally. Ted Elliot of T.R. Elliot is producing Pinot Noir that most anyone would be proud to bring to any dinner party, although many might not want to release a grip on this bottle.

Several of us had the opportunity to play an interactive role in a livestream on Cellarsofsonoma.com last Tuesday night at 6:00 PM. Ted learned to make wine under the watchful hand of Chalone wine legend Dick Graff. Tom indicated he'd learned about the clonal blending from Dick as well as the harmonious connection between food and wine. Pinot Noir was certainly Dicks wheelhouse and I'd suggest the same for Ted Elliot.

There was much Pinot Noir clone discussion, including the Dijon and Pommard producing Teds' 2008 "Queste" Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley. The nose was filled with cherry, cranberry and baking spice. This fantastic wine showed depth, cola, big black cherry, dried cranberry and lots of spice/cinnimon. One the second day this wine really show-cased itself as what I would call a "thinking mans wine." Brilliant! 

This wine is offered through cellarsofsonoma.com for $43 retail or $35.70 as a wine club member. I'd suggest this wine drinks like a fabulous value. Bravo TR Elliot!

This particular evening I was really excited during the livestream to hear from Tom and really look forward to hopefully seeing him back as a guest again soon!

(Sample provided by Cellars of Sonoma)