Few places can compare to the beauty and luxury of the Bacara Resort and Spa. The ocean breezes, sandy beaches, and even the salinity in the air can bring a Pinot lover to thoughts of a Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir. 

Each year, World of Pinot Noir seems to outdo themselves, by bringing in the very best people. Last year, the famous wine writer/author Katherine Cole lead some of the panel discussions with top talent. The above photos show the Oregon panel tasting that was tied to a Burgundy tasting. 

(Above photo - left Chris Burroughs, right DLynn Proctor)

Somm vs Sideways AKA Hollywood and the Wine was another epic event. Chris Burroughs and Frank Ostini represented the film Sideways and DLynn Proctor and Brian McClintic (of Santa Barbara's Les Marchands) represented SOMM, while Sunset Magazines wine editor Sara Schneider moderated the panel. 

All streams crossed on this session filled with laughter, great stories, some of the very best education from the "Somms" and of course, stellar wines.

The Sideways team told fun, behind-the-scenes movie stories, and the impact on Santa Barbara area, while the Somm team shared of their arduous journey, the film, and all tasted blind. Both Brian McClintic and DLynn Protor ran through the grid.

The grid is a deductive tasting format designed by the Court of Master Sommieliers that includes:

1) Sight (clarity, brightness, color, concentration, rim variation, gas evidence, sediment, viscosity)

2) Nose (flaws, intensity, age assessment, fruit, earthiness, and wood), palate, (sweetness, body, fruit, non-fruit flavors, earthiness, wood, tannin, alcohol, acidity, finish, complexity)

3) Initial Conclusion (old world, new world, climate, grape varity, age range)

4) Final Conclusion (grape variety, country/region/appellation, quality level, and vintage) 

Both DLynn and Brian gave fantastic wine education while having a good time. DLynn shared about how to understand a given range for aspects like tannin. Aspects to consider like:

Is the tannin medium plus, medium minus, low, high, etc.

How to have a frame of refrence from a little to a lot.

DLynn said on a scale of 1-10, "Barolo is rip your face off tannin:" and should be a "10" for high tannin. This was just a morsel of the seminar, and what World of Pinot Noir offers. 

The grand tasting has no shortage of stellar producers. This photo only captures a portion, and then there is a second day with many different producers. This year is very exciting as WOPN will have Jancis Robinson MW, as one of their moderators at the tasting panels. Jancis is one of the most respected wine authors/writers and so much more.

Each day is filled with lunches and dinners featuering many top talent chefs like Frank Ostini of the Hitching Post II, David Rosner of the Wine Cask, David Reardon of the Bacara Resort and Spa, and more! To learn more about this spectacular event, visit WOPN