If you're a fan of Pinot Noir, there's no better wine event than The International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC). Celebrating its 38th year in Oregon's Willamette Valley wine country, IPNC is a 3-day event honoring Pinot Noir and the people who make it.
As an almost lifelong Oregonian, I am a diehard Oregon Pinot Noir fan.
But as a wine enthusiast, I am also a fan of Pinot Noir wines of the world. Burgundy, Germany, Chile -- all make interesting, beautiful expressions of Pinot Noir.
And there's a place where Pinot Noir lovers and winemakers gather for one long weekend in July each year to celebrate this difficult-to-grow, cool climate grape: the International Pinot Noir Celebration, or IPNC.
This year marked the 38th annual IPNC in McMinnville, Oregon, the heart of Oregon wine country -- and reportedly the last in its current form. More on that later.
Billed as the world's premier pinot noir experience, IPNC is a 3-day weekend packed with seminars, unforgettable meals catered by top Northwest chefs, a vineyard tour and winery lunch, walkaround tastings, and lots and lots of wine.
So much wine. IPNC features an unparalleled selection of Pinot Noir from some of the top wine producers of the world.
While Alain and I had attended individual IPNC events in the past, this was our first time attending the entire IPNC weekend. Here are highlights from our IPNC experience.
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What is IPNC?
IPNC was started in the late 1980s, when a group of Oregon wine lovers and winemakers decided to create an event celebrating Oregon's beloved wine star: Pinot Noir.
Since then, the event has grown to include winemakers and wine lovers from all over the world. Approximately 950 people attend the weekend each year, with an additional 550 people who attend Sunday's Passport to Pinot event.
IPNC has long been billed as an exclusive event with a high price tag. One ticket for the full weekend this year would have set you back $1,742.
Over the years, more events have been offered a la carte.
Day passes this year, which gave you access to the Grand Seminar, Lunch on the Lawn, and one University of Pinot class, cost $495 per day.
A ticket to the highly acclaimed Salmon Bake dinner cost $299 this year.
The Sparkling Brunch cost $225 per ticket.
And if you wanted to attend just the Passport to Pinot event, a ticket would have cost you $225.
Media dinner
IPNC weekend unofficially kicks off on a Thursday night. Several wineries and restaurants host pre-IPNC Thursday night dinners and tastings. This is a great chance to meet winemakers and fellow IPNC attendees before the official festivities begin.
We were invited to the Media Dinner at Humble Spirit. Greeted with glasses of sparkling rosé of Pinot Noir by Michelle Kaufmann of Stoller Wine Group was a wonderful way to start our IPNC experience.
Attending the media dinner were journalists from around the globe, winemakers, and IPNC board members.
In addition to stellar wines, we were treated to a standout dinner by Chef Sara Schaffer and the Humble Spirit team.
Day one: welcome
Friday morning kicked off with a breakfast buffet at Linfield College. This was followed by the official welcome, which included the introduction of the 70+ winemakers participating in IPNC.
Then the attendees split up into two groups: one would remain on campus for the day's events, and the other would embark on one of the vineyard tours and winery lunches.
Alain and I were in the Gold group, which meant we stayed on campus for the first day.
Grand Seminar
The Grand Seminar is essentially a morning full of three individual seminars presented one after the other. There are two speakers and one moderator for each session, with a different topic featured in each discussion.
This year's esteemed panelists included:
- Dominique Lafon (Domaine des Comtes Lafon)
- Ian Burch (Archery Summit)
- Megan Gunderson (WALT Wines)
- Melanie Chester (Giant Steps)
- Michael Brajkovich (Kumeu River)
- Naomi Smith (Champagne Laurent-Perrier) will be joining us for a multi-hued discussion about Pinot Noir and Chardonnay,
The discussions were moderated by author Karen Macneil (Wine Bible), sommelier and restaurateur Philippe André (Champagne Charles Heidsieck), and wine consultant and journalist Julia Coney.
Lunch on the Lawn
After the Grand Seminar, we headed over to Lunch on the Lawn.
Like most of the meals throughout IPNC weekend, lunch was held in one of Linfield College's outdoor spaces. And like most of the IPNC meals, different chefs contributed to specific portions of the meal. Our lunch included delightful dishes from Chef Mike Stone (Grand Amari restaurat), Chef Aaron Barnett (St. Jack restaurant), and Chef Althea Gray Potter (Nouveau Food and Wine catering).
The round tables were shaded on this gorgeous sunny day by umbrellas. There was no assigned seating; each IPNC attendee could sit wherever they like, except for chairs set aside at each table for winemakers.
Jerry Sass, owner and winemaker of Sass Winery, sat at our table. We were joined by a group of wine enthusiasts from the United Kingdom. In addition to the various wines that were being poured by the IPNC team, Jerry brought some of his wines to share with us. The 2016 Sass Winery Pinot Noirs were fantastic!
University of Pinot
After lunch, we split up to attend one of seven different University of Pinot seminar sessions.
Ours was Buzzed: Bees, Honey, and Wine. Moderated by Lee Hedgmon (The Barreled Bee), with panelists Kim Abrahams (Lingua Franca), Clare Carver (big table farm), Alex Davis (Porter Creek Vineyards), and Joe Nielsen (Ram’s Gate Winery).
Grand Dinner
After some rest and relaxation, we changed and headed back to Linfield College for the Grand Dinner.
Held in The Grove under towering trees, we enjoyed a delicious dinner al fresco by guest chefs Paul Losch (Ruddick Wood), Chase Williams (Black Walnut Inn), and Paul Bachand (Pinch).
Once again, we made new wine friends at our dinner table. That included Tony Lombardi, owner and winemaker of Lombardi Wines in California. He and his son shared their wines with us.
And as usual, there were plenty of other IPNC library wines being poured throughout the night. Some of my favorites included a 2015 Gary Farrell Pinot Noir.
Winery Tour and Lunch
Saturday, Day Two of our IPNC weekend, started once again with the buffet breakfast at the College. Then we boarded bus #9B to a secret location, after being poured some morning bubbles from Domaine Serene and rosé from Three Sticks wines.
Part of the intrigue and excitement of IPNC is that you don't find out which winery you will be visiting for the vineyard tour and winery lunch. In fact, we didn't know until our bus pulled up to the expansive grounds of Abbott Claim Vineyard.
This 3-hour excursion included:
- a vineyard tour led by Abbot Claim winemaker Alban Debeaulieu
- a winemaker discussion
- blind tasting of the wines from each winemaker
- a reception in the Abbot Claim wine cave, and
- winery lunch
Winemakers Alban Debeaulieu (Abbot Claim Vineyards), Michael (Nysa Vineyards), Ann (Tumwater Vineyards), Ryan (Three Sticks Wines), and Carl (Domaine Serene Winery) held a discussion titled Unveiling Terroir.
The blind tasting featured one wine from each participating winery. The winemakers were also in the dark: they, too, participated in the blind tasting without knowing which wine was theirs.
Two people from the entire group of 70+ attendees correctly guessed all five of the five wines. I guessed two of the five. This was probably one of my favorite parts of IPNC weekend.
A light lunch was catered by Chef Chris Czarnecki and the Joel Palmer House.
IPNC Salmon Bake
Once again, Alain and I chose to skip the Alfresco Tasting in the afternoon. Many of the same wineries are represented at the Alfreso Tasting that are represented at other events during the weekend. Plus, we needed that downtime and time to change and recharge before the night's big dinners.
Saturday night was the Salmon Bake. This annual event draws a lot of interest, with the smoke plumes sending delicious signals through the air from the large BBQ pits and the massive on-ground salmon bake pit arena.
Once again, we dined at round tables underneath the towering trees and summer sky. This time, dinner was served buffet style.
The Salmon Bake dinner features several different guest chefs and a host of dessert shops.
There were three main courses offered in addition to several side dishes. Of course, I had to try a little bit of each main course.
From left to right, the photos above include:
- Beef tri-tip grilled over rosemary branches, borlotti beans, sauce verte
by Chef Paul Bachand, Pinch - Alder-roasted Columbia River Chinook Wild Salmon by Jason Stoller Smith & Scott Cunningham and Team Salmon Bake
- Slow-cooked Anderson Ranches Oregon leg of lamb, fennel-preserved lemon salsa by Chef Paul Bachand, Pinch
And truly, one of the absolute best things about IPNC is the people. Being able to reconnect with old wine friends and to connect with new ones is one of the greatest gifts IPNC has to offer each year.
Sparkling Brunch
Sunday, Day Three, featured our final event: the Sparkling Brunch.
Pinot Noir is one of three main grapes allowed to be included in traditional method Champagne. And we enjoyed some incredible sparkling wines and Champagnes at IPNC!
Several large buffet tables were set out with local fruits and salads, larger-than-life delicious pastries from local bakeries, and many specialty stations.
You could enjoy chicken and waffles, sushi, and of course, there was an oyster bar. Because oysters and Champagne are a match made in heaven!
Passport to Pinot
The Passport to Pinot was the official final event of IPNC Weekend. We had attended this event on its own a la carte in past years.
But if you attended the entire weekend, it didn't make as much sense to also attend Passport to Pinot, since most of the vendors were the same ones pouring throughout the weekend.
Essentially, Passport to Pinot is a large showcase event featuring tastings from dozens of wineries and light bites from more guest chefs and local restaurants.
What's next for IPNC?
Earlier this year, IPNC announced that this would be the last year for the annual event in its current form.
What exactly does that mean? Well, we're still not exactly sure. As of publication date, no official announcement has been made regarding the future of IPNC.
Throughout the weekend, I tried my hardest to get as much information as possible from board members, volunteers, and winemakers about what they knew about the future of IPNC. Most people I talked to had no idea, although there were many speculations. The people who were "in the know" were admirably tight-lipped.
So we will all have to stay tuned together for the official news!
Until the announcement is made, I hope you all continue enjoying Pinot Noir and celebrating the wonderful community of winemakers who produce amazing wines from this finicky grape.
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