Black Cloud POP-up tasting shows off range of Pinot Noirs

Bottles of Pinot Noir wait to be sampled by participants at the Black Cloud POP-up wine tasting

The Vancouver International Wine Festival provided the backdrop for our 2nd annual POP-up Pinot Noir tasting last Saturday and the buzz inside the suite at the Hotel LeSoleil matched the general wine vibe in the city all week.

We set out an array of Pinot Noirs from the past, present and future releases to a small but appreciative crowd.  Featured during the tasting:

2012 Rose (unreleased, tank sample)

2006 Fleuvage

2008 Altostratus

2009 Altostratus

2010 Altostratus (unreleased)

2010 Fleuvage

2011 Altostratus (barrel sample)

2012 Altostratus (barrel sample)

Only about 20 cases of the 2012 Rose were made and these will be available to the Cloudy Day club members first as an add on to the regular subscription chosen.  It’s crisp and clean with a nose of raspberry and rose petals with a light cherry palate.  A great spring and summer accompaniment to any patio experience.

Be sure to read this blog for the next event featuring our Pinot Noirs.

POP UP! Tasting

If you’re in Vancouver for the International Wine Festival this weekend, conslder dropping into our POP-UP Pinot Noir tasting on Saturday, March 2.

We’ll be pouring past, present and future releases of our Fleuvage and Altostratus Pinot Noirs. Including our first rose which we’ll be releasing this spring through our Cloudy Day club.

If you think you’d like to join us just email us at info@blackcloud.ca and we’ll set you and your plus 1 up with the location and other details.  We’ll need a mobile number to give you a special passphrase on Saturday.

Why Do We Make Pinot Noir?

It’s a good question but I’m not sure I can answer that at the moment. Instead I’m going to pass the buck to a couple of worthies who have a few words to say about it.

One is Jamie Goode,  who has been writing a blog about wine for better than a decade and always has something of value in his scribblings. The other is Sam Neill, the actor and vineyard owner.  In this piece, Goode relays part of a speech Neill recently gave in his home country of New Zealand. In his ten points to prospective Pinot Noir growers, I particularily liked this one:

You must try to avoid using the word ‘passion’, as in ‘passion for Pinot’. Passion is an overused word that should be reserved for the sort of heightened emotion that can happen between two people that may possibly result sometimes in the discarding of trousers. If you are a grower of Pinot you may lose your shirt but you are unlikely to lose your trousers.

While this doesn’t completely explain why we do an exclusive Pinot Noir label, it does capture the essence of the Pinot producers.

I do like the part about being a bastard, too.

Stag’s Head in Kamloops, BC – the only place in Thompson country to get Black Cloud.

As part of our series that highlights the stores that carry our Pinot Noir, here’s a quick look at Stag’s Head Liquor in Kamloops.  One of the best looking layouts and a huge inventory, the staff at Stag’s Head really know their stuff.  We just dropped off some 2010 Fleuvage there and they still have some of the now very rare 2009 Altostratus too.

Wide aisles and well lit, a very pleasant retail experience.

Just in – additional 09 Altostratus Pinot Noir

We’ve been sold out of the regular size of the 2009 Altostratus for a while but a small amount has surfaced in our inventory and it’s now on sale.  Check out our store and use this coupon SHIPFREE13 when you order $100 or more.

Broadway Wine – one of our favourite wine stores

Martin Farrell is one of the talented staffers at Broadway Wine Shop. They really know their stuff.

Every once in a while we like to feature one of our retail partners.  We don’t blanket every area by trying to be in every store.  Instead we like to choose shops that specialize in wine and take the time to work with their customers to guarantee they get the wine experience they’re looking for.

Broadway Wine (originally Broadway International) is that kind of store. They’ve been selling Black Cloud since we started almost 5 years ago.  They’re the embodiment of a good neighbourhood wine store.  The staff is friendly and very knowledgeable.

The store has a somewhat unique license that allows them to have wine only, but includes import and domestic selections.  The result is an eclectic mix of difficult-to-find wines that are far from the ordinary.

2752 West Broadway, Vancouver

604.734.8543   Open daily 11 – 9pm

 

Located at Broadway and McDonald in Vancouver, the Broadway International Wine Shop has been serving the wine-buying public since 1986.