Old World Winery 100% Skin Contacted 2010 Pinot Gris - 3 Pack
$39.99 + $5 shipping
CONDITION: Orange
PRODUCT: 3 Old World Winery 2010 Pinot Gris
CT link above

Winery website

Previous offer:
8/30/11

I missed the last orange. I made sure not to miss this one.
First sucker: bkarlan
Speed to first woot: 2m 23.443s
Last wooter to woot: bkarlan

I think this is made somewhat differently than the last Orange Wine but it sounds nearly as interesting...

...but alas, no MD or NH shipping:-(

Having just finished off a bottle of the Crusher, commented on in the vintners message, and found it to be quite unique and delightfully delicious, the only question now for this wine made in a similar manner will be, two or three. I've liked my other OWW purchases.

Oh my! I've got this from the previous woot and didn't realize it was an orange. Will have to report back when the sun rises in the west...
Assuming it's not a sell-out first.

I missed the last Orange wine offered.... I think I might have to try just because it is orange.....

bkarlan wrote:I missed the last orange. I made sure not to miss this one.
First sucker: bkarlan
Speed to first woot: 2m 23.443s
Last wooter to woot: bkarlan

Orange you glad you stayed up to buy this?

I somewhat enjoyed The Crusher from Wilson Vineyard that was featured on Woot not too long ago. When I originally purchased it, and opened the first bottle, I thought it was going to be a nice cocktail, early evening drink to have. The flavor was quite different, almost sweet with a cognac quality it it. It was different, but we all unanimously decided to cork it for an after dinner wine. Typically, I dislike after dinner wines, but that one was nice. I wonder if this shares similar characteristics.

lichme wrote:Orange you glad you stayed up to buy this?

Shirt.woot had a similiar shirt for this joke a few months back.

Labrat reports on the last offering are very helpful.

Trcseb wrote:

A late night LabRat post:
I received my golden ticket on Friday for a bottle of the Old World Pinot Gris. Although I am ecstatic I am also slightly nervous due the fact that I am a "reds only" kind of guy. I will do my best to give a report that is worthy of you all. As always, if I left something out please ask and I will do my best to respond.

First Impression:
The fist thing one notices is the color. The wine is a beautiful peach and gold and looks quite nice . the bouquet has a very definitive apricot that is mixed with honey. also it has a slight mineral quality that blends with the fruit perfectly. I am surprised that with such a high alcohol content the fruit really comes through.

First sip:
I noticed right away the taste is much different that the nose would indicate. A strong apricot is what comes through. i can taste pear in there. the finish almost has a soapy (for lack of a better word) like taste that is very nice.I can also taste the thyme as well. So far I am liking this very much! That apricot just hangs on and on. I believe at 13.8% this seems to be super well balanced and focused.

Second Glass:
The wine has warmed slightly and that allows the bouquet to stand out even more. The integrity has stayed the same and this tastes wonderful to me. If any of my friends were to ask if i would recommend a white, this will be my choice. This wine would be nice just hanging around the house or at the beach shucking fresh oysters. Two thumbs up!

Thanks woot for the golden ticket...

aharrover wrote:
LAB RAT Report

3 tasters who are comfortable with white or red. Bottle chilled slightly, opened and poured immediately. Distinctive blush color of wine is immediately obvious – classic Pinot Gris is pale and yellow.

Strong honey notes on the nose. Nose seems reduced and yeasty. Full mouth feel. Flavor seems sweet but not overly so. Strong honey/peach - almost cidery flavor both on the nose and palate.

Overall, this wine lacks the clean nose and flavor profile of a classic Pinot Gris. In reading the label this wine appears to have been somewhat of an experiment. With this in mind, the group poured a new glass and approached the wine anew as though it were an experiment and not a typical Pinot Gris. In both cases we find this wine unappealing. Those that buy it as a Pinot Gris will be disappointed; it's not even in the ballpark. Those adventurous souls who buy it as an experiment will not be happy with the results either. I really hate to say this but we would avoid this wine.

Guess this will be my last rattage...;)

jamesn00 wrote:

Another Labrat report

I'm really not sure what to make of this. I love white wines and drink from both ends of the spectrum (super dry) to sweet (spätlese/auslese etc). The important thing is the balance.

On opening the bottle the color is striking. I have drunk rosés which have about the same level of pinkness.
There are certainly a lot of apricots and honey on the nose - but it isn't really sweet on the palette. There is a hint of sweetness but the finish is dry. It has a very rich, almost thick, mouthfeel. I didn't get any sense that the alcohol overwhelmed the fruit. The wine seemed in balance.

If I had to compare this to other white wines I have tried, the closest in flavor profile would be an aged Vouvray demi-sec, where the sweetness has mostly disappeared.

Overall I appreciated trying this wine - but I'm not sure I'll be buying more as the flavor profile is not something I have can easily find an occasion to drink.

ThunderThighs wrote:Links might get you a quality post.

Um, the wooter is already referring to what Cesare has already linked...

Now bubbleoffplumb may get the quality post...

Edit: And did!

ThunderThighs wrote:Yes but so much nicer to see here, don't you think?

So is bubbleoffplumb the same as ThunderThighs? One now wonders. haha

please correct my assumption if i'm wrong but, it's not clear to me that the lab rat folks (above) knew they were drinking orange wine.

I tried and enjoyed an alternate orange offering (crusher). wondering how the pinot gris compares with the blend of the crusher.

jimjacks66 wrote:So is bubbleoffplumb the same as ThunderThighs? One now wonders. haha

we have the same hair dresser -
she has the better stylist

bubbleoffplumb wrote:we have the same hair dresser -
she has the better stylist

I love both the hair dresser and the stylist. Excellent! My stylist gives me a frumpy look...

ThunderThighs wrote:You also have that wonderful lip plumping thing. I'm jealous.

bubbleoffplumb and myself see the same Hollywood starlet lip-plumping artist. bubbleoffplumb got more proportional lip plumping. Only my bottom lip got the plumping. Unfortunate.

On another note, the Crusher was fantastic. Will sleep on this one.

Any stats on TA and RS? Their website said this is off-dry, but that is pretty broad in meaning. If it's like a Riesling or demi-sec Chenin Blanc, then I'm very interested. I'm looking for wine that has enough acidity to be refreshing on the finish even if a little sweet on the attack.

bubbleoffplumb wrote:please correct my assumption if i'm wrong but, it's not clear to me that the lab rat folks (above) knew they were drinking orange wine.

Orange only refers to the color and flavor notes. This stuff is made from grapes.

My first wine woot of wine (bought something chocolate here in the past...). Yay!

Darek makes some interesting wines, look forward to this one.

Curious, when will this ship? I'm going to be out of town for a week and a half and would hate to have this sitting in a shipping warehouse waiting on me to get back.

gcdyersb wrote:Any stats on TA and RS? Their website said this is off-dry, but that is pretty broad in meaning. If it's like a Riesling or demi-sec Chenin Blanc, then I'm very interested. I'm looking for wine that has enough acidity to be refreshing on the finish even if a little sweet on the attack.

This wine definitely has enough acidity to stand up to the fruit. Off-dry is an apt description. Although it is being called an orange wine it was not previously marketed as such but I suppose it qualifies.

The current description is a rare re-write of a previously offered woot.

The word "orange" never came up before other than in the description where it gave tasting notes; "Extended contact with the skins gives this rich Pinot Gris a peach hue. The aroma is an intense mix of apricots, nectarine and orange blossom honey with a background of thyme. The attack is subtlely sweet and bursting with tropical fruit, but the finish is dry and crisp, making this the perfect summer wine. "

One of the rats said that this was more of an after-dinner wine and I won't argue with that but I enjoyed this wine very much with aglio e olio pasta, mixed veggies, bread and salad with vinaigrette.

The winemaker took some flack from the purists last time around since he admitted that this wine was somewhat of an experiment and not mean to be like a classic pinot gris.

The standard drinking window question was not previously addressed so hopefully Darek can give us an idea of how long this can be cellared.

This wine is not for everyone but I loved it (so did my g/f) and am happy for the opportunity to buy some more - my first wine.woot purchase of 2012!

Current numbers (updated each minute)
First sucker: bkarlan
Speed to first woot: 2m 23.443s
Last wooter to woot: chipgreen

I liked their SB VERY much-I am on the fence about this-I do not like dessert wines and this sounds like it comes close-please tell me it is dry not sweet.

dianefreda wrote:I liked their SB VERY much-I am on the fence about this-I do not like dessert wines and this sounds like it comes close-please tell me it is dry not sweet.

It's more dry than sweet but there is some sweetness. It has a thicker mouthfeel than most whites but it's definitely not a dessert wine. You could call it a "fruit bomb" but there's more to it than that. There is a bit of tartness on the mid-palate that carries over into the mild tannins on the finish.

Check out the vintner's voicemail for additional info.

Thanks to Darek Towbridge for creating this delicious wine! (and to WD for bringing it back)

chipgreen wrote:This wine definitely has enough acidity to stand up to the fruit. Off-dry is an apt description. Although it is being called an orange wine it was not previously marketed as such but I suppose it qualifies. ...
The word "orange" never came up before other than in the description where it gave tasting notes; "Extended contact with the skins gives this rich Pinot Gris a peach hue. ..."

Just located my OWW and got to chilling a bit. Reading the fine print (it's all fine at my age, but the first two lines were CAPS) on the back label "THIS 100% SKIN CONTACTED PINOT GRIS WAS GIVEN TWELVE HOURS OF SKIN CONTACT ...
As I don't recall seeing a skin-contact time for Crusher, difficult to compare, but the OWW is not as golden as was Crusher, but is lighter with that definite peach hue mentioned not seen in Crusher. First taste, ~60F and at 0730 so not a fair comparison, but much fruitier than Crusher and quite different, but I've got to get this chilled down a bit for a Sunday AM sip...

where, or where are the cabs this year????? need a woot off this week

rjquillin wrote: First taste, ~60F and at 0730 so not a fair comparison, but much fruitier than Crusher and quite different, but I've got to get this chilled down a bit for a Sunday AM sip...

Unfortunately, I missed the Crusher. One of the rare nights that I didn't check wine.woot within the first couple hours and it was sold out by the time I looked.

Love the fact that you cracked open a bottle on Sunday morning to share your thoughts!

I wonder how this would taste mixed with champagne.... Grismosa!

chipgreen wrote:
The winemaker took some flack from the purists last time around since he admitted that this wine was somewhat of an experiment and not mean to be like a classic pinot gris.

Really? That's underwear. Cargassachi makes a Pinot Grigio this way, too, though I'm not sure how much skin contact he does. The vintages I tried were awesome. Looked like a rose, but had a lot more going on.

I guess I do question the "orange wine" description here a bit in this context. I tend to think of orange wine as a white grape made as a red wine, whereas this is a pinkish grape made more as a rose.

Seems to be a growing market for orange wines, which is to my great delight. A Jura Savagnin might be my favorite wine, but also quite difficult to find in the States. So I'm looking forward to trying the Pinot Gris. I'm quite disappointed to have missed the Crusher. Hopefully more will reappear soon.

Does the Pinot Gris age well?

gcdyersb wrote:
I guess I do question the "orange wine" description here a bit in this context. I tend to think of orange wine as a white grape made as a red wine, whereas this is a pinkish grape made more as a rose.

I like reds and whites equally but generally don't care for roses, go figure! I did like the Meeker Pink Elephant (a lot) but that drank like a red.

The winemaker says in the voicemail that this is a "white wine for red wine drinkers". That may or may not be true but I would say this drinks more like a white while having some characteristics of a red.

I would compare the level of fruit to that of a Sangria but it's not nearly as sweet or tangy and there are some noticeable tannins due to the skin contact.

This is a unique wine. It's not for everyone but I think those who like it will like it a lot.

One day I will try an orange wine. Just not today.

Although this is pink, I guess it's "technically" an orange wine ??

Aside from both being made with skin contact, I wouldn't expect the OWW Pinot Gris to be anything like the Crusher. They're totally different grapes, the Crusher is 60% Chardonnay & 40% Viognier vs 100% Pinot Gris.

It's a bit like comparing a Burgundy to a Bordeaux

[quote postid="4788255" user="chipgreen"]The winemaker took some flack from the purists last time around since he admitted that this wine was somewhat of an experiment and not mean to be like a classic pinot gris.

This wine is to Pinot Gris like the Orange "Crusher" is to Chardonnay. It's not meant to be standard Pinot Gris yet it is still 100% varietal so I call it by the varietal name - All the white wines I make are skin contacted and varietally labeled and this fact is what interests people who come to the tasting room to taste what a little skin contact does to the flavor profile.

[quote postid="4788255" user="chipgreen"]The standard drinking window question was not previously addressed so hopefully Darek can give us an idea of how long this can be cellared.

My oldest skin contacted white wine is a Chardonnay from 2005 and is still going strong. This Pinot Gris is my first with that varietal but judging how it's improved with 6 months in bottle I look forward to enjoying it for at least 5 years.