MarkDaSpark wrote:

Extra Healthy Produce?

I hate it when I miss inside jokes....what does this mean? Reference to Bandolier of Carrots?

mwfielder wrote:I hate it when I miss inside jokes....what does this mean? Reference to Bandolier of Carrots?

Soon Grasshopper. Patience. All will become clear before Gift Week.

Corrado wrote:I don't think it's fair to throw woot-off offerings in since those are anomalies in the typical wine.woot model.

Maybe, but when they sell 1,700 bottles???? That's a lot.

all right all...i need some advice. i got the rat notice on monday and my wife prepared a wonderful dinner on tuesday to go with the wine....which i got tonight. now that the bouncing button has come and gone, is it okay to wait another day or two to make another meal to go with the juice that showed up?

dewthedru wrote:all right all...i need some advice. i got the rat notice on monday and my wife prepared a wonderful dinner on tuesday to go with the wine....which i got tonight. now that the bouncing button has come and gone, is it okay to wait another day or two to make another meal to go with the juice that showed up?

try not to wait too long; i like to keep the reports with the offering header in the ratpack thread and it gets more difficult to do that once the new offering reports start coming in.

dewthedru wrote:woohoo! got an email saying to expect a fedex delivery from winecountry.

now i'm a little nervous. i hope i can clearly articulate what i think of the wine. i don't exactly habla winese.

That's why your opinion might be much more valuable than those who "speak the language"... so as to speak. Not everyone here can habla winese.
Just give your report(positive or negative) in your own words... I look forward to it.

Winedavid39 wrote:Thanks for taking the plunge. On Thanksgiving delivery: We will focus in on eastcoast packages today and tomorrow, then move west on subsequent days. We feel confident this will get packages off across the country in time for Turkey Day. Enjoy !

This East coast guy is counting on this stuff arriving by Turkey Day. I haven't gotten any kind of shipping notification, which is making me stress. To make matters worse, I see that the Mummies (offered from the prior week) shipped yesterday, and are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. Is there hope? Could it have already shipped, but I just haven't gotten a notice?

pagreen wrote:This East coast guy is counting on this stuff arriving by Turkey Day. I haven't gotten any kind of shipping notification, which is making me stress. To make matters worse, I see that the Mummies (offered from the prior week) shipped yesterday, and are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. Is there hope? Could it have already shipped, but I just haven't gotten a notice?

Calm yourself. It will be fine. Most of the time when this happens you dont reci the shipping notification until the day it arrives. It'll get there. I'm in OH and have reci'd mine in a weeks time.

So whats up w/ the rats? It is THURSDAY, right?

Daystar wrote:Calm yourself. It will be fine. Most of the time when this happens you dont reci the shipping notification until the day it arrives. It'll get there. I'm in OH and have reci'd mine in a weeks time.

OK, I'll admit I didn't order 'til Tuesday, what with being in the air much of the day and all (Monday we were driving around and visiting with our daughter.) My Mumm order just arrived this morning, and looking at the UPS tracking there's a big gap from when it left San Pablo to when it got to an east coast location. But then it's a 1-day turnaround to its final destination.

We'll see whether the PN makes it to NH by next Wednesday, but I'm kinda doubtful.

So this is my first LabRat attempt;

I was so thrilled to receive that golden ticket. I was sent the 2007 Whole cluster Pinot Noir. I must say this wine was a delight. The whole-cluster fermentation really manifested itself in a very light, fruit-centric wine. There was a really nice light color with good clarity. I think a little more time on the oak could really add some complexity here, but the lightness and drinkability really made it a hit at my house for dinner. I can see pairing this with some lighter fare or perhaps some food from the grill, as its soft finish will compliment the subtler flavors. Overall, this bottle has made me really anticipate receiving the rest from Willamette Valley Vineyards. Great Job!!

Another first Lab Rat attempt here.

Wish I could have gotten these few words in sooner, however it looks like FedEx dropped the ball and didn't pick up the lab rat overnight on Monday. So it shipped out Tuesday and I was on call Wednesday night. I was just about ready to switch with someone but I saw the ball bouncing and thus it sell out.

So here I am on Thursday night experiencing my first lab rat opportunity.

I had the Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot.

The first thing I noticed was that the color and the wine were very light. On the nose again, the wine was very light. The most distinct smell is a scent of pepper and light spices. The rest of the aromas are very subtle. There is a hint of sweetness.

Upon tasting (immediately after opening), you do sense a lot of the same notes that are on the nose. The pinot has a mild sweet flavor to it, that's very smooth, a little earthy and easily drinkable. It went great with the burgers I had lined up for it. Most wine drinkers would appreciate the smoothness of it with out being overwhelmed by the taste of light pepper and spices with hints of cranberry.

Maybe I was too tired to notice, but on the glass 1 hour after decanting it tasted very similar to the initial glass. If I had to pick out one difference, I would say it tasted just a bit smoother & lighter.

Hopefully that helps in the event the Willamette shows up as a repeat as a woot off or at your local store.

Feel free to ask this newb any questions.

Daystar wrote:Calm yourself. It will be fine. Most of the time when this happens you dont reci the shipping notification until the day it arrives. It'll get there. I'm in OH and have reci'd mine in a weeks time.

Indeed. Just got my tracking number this morning. Looks like it'll be delivered to me here in Ohio on Tuesday! Yay! Thanks!

Daystar wrote:Calm yourself. It will be fine. Most of the time when this happens you dont reci the shipping notification until the day it arrives. It'll get there. I'm in OH and have reci'd mine in a weeks time.

The anxiety grows. I have received no tracking number or other indication that it has shipped. Unless it was a secret shipment, no love for me. And no Pinot Noir with my turkey and tsimis.

Got my shipping notification this morning! Should be here by Monday---plenty of time for Turkey Day! Hooray beer....er, wine! (BTW, I am in Texas)

MarkDaSpark wrote:Soon Grasshopper. Patience. All will become clear before Gift Week.

Patience is not a virtue....its a sign of inadequate levels of ADD!

LoonBoarder wrote:OK, I'll admit I didn't order 'til Tuesday, what with being in the air much of the day and all (Monday we were driving around and visiting with our daughter.) My Mumm order just arrived this morning, and looking at the UPS tracking there's a big gap from when it left San Pablo to when it got to an east coast location. But then it's a 1-day turnaround to its final destination.

We'll see whether the PN makes it to NH by next Wednesday, but I'm kinda doubtful.

Talkin' to myself... It's shipped, anticipated delivery Wednesday. Woot!

Just wanted to add one more thank you to WD - mine is set to be delivered next Tuesday in NC. Perfect timing, since my office closes at noon on Wednesday.

Yep, great job WD -- mine is set to arrive on my doorstep in metro DTW on Tuesday. Guess I better fix my doorbell before then.

pagreen wrote:The anxiety grows. I have received no tracking number or other indication that it has shipped. Unless it was a secret shipment, no love for me. And no Pinot Noir with my turkey and tsimis.

Woo hoo! It seems it was a case (no pun intended) of secret shipping! I just got my tracking info, and it turns out it was shipped Wednesday, two days ago, just in time for it to arrive on the penultimateurkey day. Lets see, that's one crate of Pinot and another crate of sparkle all arriving on the same day--55 lbs. of vino. That's a little much to Wootleg on the subway. Guess I'd better drive that day.

Thanks for pullin through WD.

You da man!

allrighty...opened the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir last night and gave it a tasting and am going to try and describe it. someone here noted that i should do all right since i have a decent amount of PN in my CT. well, the reason i have so many of them is because i'm saving them for a couple of years and have only had a few of the ones i've bought here and elsewhere.

the wine arrived on wednesday afternoon and was chilled until friday afternoon. i opened it up as soon as I got home at around 5:00 and had a quick sip. since it was a bit too cold and hadn't breathed at all, i wasn't really able to get much of an impression of the flavor or smell. i poured a glass and let it sit for 45-60 minutes, tasting it every once in a while to see how it opened up.

the first thing i noticed was the dark color. i don't know if this is a PN trait or not but i was surprised by the intensity of the color. not sure why this impression is so different than the other rats.

as time progressed, the taste got better and better. the wine became fairly smooth and easy to drink. it wasn't sweet at all but you didn't have the heat or acidic aftertaste you get in other wines.

i was hoping to pick out some individual flavors but didn't come away with any distinct impressions. i would say the smell and taste most closely resembled dark cherries with some spices thrown in.

we also had it with some great turkey burgers and the smoothness blended great with the food.

my in-laws and wife each had a glass. they aren't necessarily red wine drinkers but they all commented on how smooth it was and how much they were enjoying it. which meant there wasn't all that much for me.

i liked it. while not the very best PN i've ever had i'm certainly looking forward to receiving my shipment. i will absolutely be serving it to my family at thanksgiving and will likely reserve the bottles of Estate for myself. i wish i had gotten 3 sets instead of just 2. however, i travel to portland all of the time so i can just grab some there.

This CT girl is expecting delivery on Tuesday! Yay WD!

Out for Deli!

Thanks much WD and happy holidays!

greenfields wrote:I had the same problem. I guess they don't like those of us that joined on 11/16/2006. I sent an email to bdaycoupon@woot.com and got it from there.

birthday coupons? Lab rats? I just ordered my first wine.woot after years of regular wooting - what am I missing here?

Just showed up. Thanks for the speedy shipping action, WD. Hope one of these goes well with the goose.

Got my pinot! Thanks WD! Keeping the good stuff (Estate) for a few years, but plan on opening the whole cluster on Thursday. I'm looking forward to trying it

Tried a whole cluster (from the local wine shop) today. A few more words on CellarTracker, but in 25 words or less:
Beaujolais nouveau with a massive hit of sugar cane (the cane, not just the sweetness) and a hint of Coca Cola.
Interesting, though perhaps not worth the $16 I paid for it. I am glad I picked it up as it is fascinating, but it's not my cup of tea.
Thanks for the participation from the winery here, though, I was really able to enjoy it as I pondered the winemaking process and was not immediately turned off by the "candy wine" approach.

hey everyone,

have to admit - i kind of blindly bought without reading much of this thread. took it on faith that a trio of oregon pinot would not dissapoint.

quick question - i gather from skimming the threads that the whole cluster is beujolais nevoeauish and should be drank now. how about the other two pinots? ageable? should be aged? should be drank now?

i'm moving into a fantastic house (built in 1870! boston's crazy...) with a cellar. so my wine storage capabilities have just gone through the roof. makes me kind of wonder how i managed in tucson when i had a 50 bottle fridge, and that was IT.

dnasquesttoblack3000 wrote:hey everyone,

have to admit - i kind of blindly bought without reading much of this thread. took it on faith that a trio of oregon pinot would not dissapoint.

quick question - i gather from skimming the threads that the whole cluster is beujolais nevoeauish and should be drank now. how about the other two pinots? ageable? should be aged? should be drank now?

i'm moving into a fantastic house (built in 1870! boston's crazy...) with a cellar. so my wine storage capabilities have just gone through the roof. makes me kind of wonder how i managed in tucson when i had a 50 bottle fridge, and that was IT.

We opened the '07 with TG dinner. Light, tart, nice finish. DW insists on Cold Duck with thanksgiving dinner ("comfort wine", if you will) so after that this was quite a switch!

I just wanted to mention that the Whole Cluster Pinot noir was a big hit for ALL types of wine drinkers at our Thanksgiving dinner. I am going to purchase more just to have around.

EDIT - can't type still... *sigh*

had the 2007 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir for thanksgiving dinner. it was awful with Turkey. sorry to be a downer on this wine. hope the Estate is 10 times better than the one we had.

willamettewine wrote:Sort of true, Nouveau is made very quickly--released the third week in November, which happens to be this week!-- and is meant to be a preview of what the vintage will have to offer that year. Our version gets a little extra love and attention and usually isn't released until January. But I wouldn't recommend holding this wine for more than two years-- so please enjoy before early 2010.

ahh.... thanks. I have spent many tries trying to look for this particular answer on sites like google to no avail, I knew I would find some valuable information if I read the posts.

I have to weigh in on the side of the disappointed Pinot fans. I have in the past drunk and loved Pinots from Willamette Valley (WV the valley, not WV Vineyards), so I couldn't wait to get my hands on these. Tried the Pinot first and was disappointed that it wasn't as flavorful and lush as others I'd had. Tried the Whole Cluster a few days later and, while my parents liked it (they don't like anything too "strong," as they put it), I found it TOO light for my liking. I'm hanging onto the Estate and figuring/hoping it will redeem WVV for me!

(Interestingly, I LOVED the GunBun Pinot. Can someone who knows more about winemaking than I tell me whether this says something about a particular "style" of Pinot I'm likely to enjoy?)

I've enjoyed both the whole cluster and the regular pinot so far, and i'm holding on to the estate for a while. both wines were lighter than i had thought they'd be, both in color and on the palette. I can see room for improvement, and hopefully the estate will be a bit more flavorful than the ones that I had, even though the 2 that I consumed were rather refreshing. (yes im holding on to it for a while before trying it)

for what it's worth, I felt that both of the 2007 wines suffered from a heavy hand with the oak barrel aging. Consequently, the delicate pinot fruit characteristics were obscured in these two bottles. The 2006 Estate however, was a very nicely made wine, and the winery price for that single bottle nearly equals the Wine Woot price in any case.

Oh, I see that people were disappointed with the '07s. That makes me feel a little better, since mine wasn't anything too special. I still have the '06 in my 'cellar' (linen closet), and I was tempted to open it ... but now it seems I will have to wait. Maybe dig into the port :D

My notes on the Whole Cluster:

Lighter, slightly muted ruby-cranberry colour. Nose is vibrant with strawberries and raspberries, beautifully tart, almost rosé-like, almost with a hint of citrus and minerals.

Velvety soft with very subdued tannins. Light bodied but somewhat richer in mouthfeel, again reminding me of rosé. Ripe strawberries and raspberries (quite sweet) present as promised, kept bright by good acidity which lingers on the finish along with mineral and herbal notes.

This is very drinkable-ly mellow and pairs well with food, but don't expect a bold red. Would be excellent for summer, and is best slightly chilled. I don't think this will age well, so drink now.


86/100