Picpoul de Pinet

I attended a wonderful food and wine event last week called Guest Chef on the Waterfront. This annual FareStart event is my most favoritist (I don’t care if that’s not a word. I’m writing this fracking article so there!) summer event in Seattle. It’s held at Bell Harbor on Pier 66 on Alaskan Way, next to the iconic Edgewater Inn where the Beattles fished out of their hotel windows. The view is nothing short of spectacular from Pier 66 in the summer. The eye-popping view is chock full of the Washington State Ferries busily carrying commuters and tourists back and forth between the various islands on the other side of the Puget Sound, as well as other crafts floating about in the Sound, such as sailboats, fishing boats, and giant cruise ships, not to mention the majestic white-capped Olympic mountains that lay slumbering in the distance.

The venue is absolutely perfect for sampling all of the creative and delicious eats from 21 of the best restaurants and chefs around Seattle, while sipping on a variety of wines from California, Oregon, and Washington. There was beer as well but since I didn’t partake in that beverage, I can’t provide a report but I did see folks enjoying the beer that was there.

After flitting like a bee collecting pollen from food offering to food offering, and tasting many great wines, I made my way over to the McCrea Cellars wine tasting area. I’ve had McCrea’s wines at other wine events in the past and have always been impressed with and have enjoyed their high quality Rhone varietals. My wine buddy, who I will call Prince Charming, was at the event as well. P. Charming and I were just starting to taste some of the McCrea Cellars wines when he told the winemaker and owner that I have a wine blog. Mr. McCrea Cellars was really nice and seemed interested, and since I’m always ready on the draw with a Wine Muse card, I whipped out a card and handed it over to him. He looked at my card, and responded with a Cool! Next thing I know, he’s pulling a special bottle of white wine out from under the table for us to try. As he poured me and my companion a taste, he assured us this wine wouldn’t be available to the general public. My interest was certainly picqued. When I asked him what it was he said it was a varietal called Picpoul. He said there’s only one acre of Picpoul planted in all of Washington and Oregon. He’d made only 70 cases of this white wine and he was going to sell it to a couple of choice restaurants in Seattle.

I gave the wine a sniffy-sniffy then gave it a little taste. Dry, crisp, and minerally, this wine was perfect for all of the seafood dishes that we’d been tasting throughout the evening. I really fell hard for this wine. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I went home that evening and started to do the research on the Interwebs to find out more. I discovered that Picpoul is originally from the Languedoc region in France. Not only is it from Languedoc, but it’s also one of the oldest grapes growing in that region, dating back centuries.

Fortunately, I live just two blocks from a high-end grocery store called Whole Foods. I took a walk over to the grocery store that weekend and perused the wine department for Picpoul. To my delight and surprise, there were a couple of different French versions that were under $10! I scooped up the Val Grieux Picpoul de Pinet and looked at the price…only $8.99! I rushed home and popped into the fridge so it would be chilled later when my kids were due to come over for dinner. Would later never come, I wondered? I mentioned earlier that I fell hard for this varietal and I couldn’t wait to taste the French version.

Later finally came and I popped the cork on my exciting find from Whole Foods. The only thing that had me worried was the odd shape of the bottle. The bottle was tall and skinny like a Riesling bottle so I was little worried it might be sweet. Not to worry, though. The wine was a light golden color and smelled dry and crisp. After one taste, I fell even harder for Picpoul. Although the Washington version was really, really nice, I had to admit that the French version was much better. It had the mouth feel of a Semillon, or an old Riesling; it was as close to full-bodied as a white wine can get in my book, and it’s only 13% alcohol by volume. It had that dry, crispness similar to the Washington version but it was more complex, in my opinion. The acid and structure were perfect. I don’t know why I felt so surprised that the Languedoc Picpoul was much better than the Washington version. After all, the French have been making this wine for centuries. If they haven’t perfected it by now they never will.

Discovering a new wine varietal = Goodness
Discovering a new wine varietal that’s delicious = Greatness
Discovering a new wine varietal that’s delicious and under $10 = Priceless.

I think I hear a bottle of Picpoul de Pinet calling my name. Thank the Wine Gods the Whole Foods is only two blocks away.