Everything I know about Pinot Noir I learned in…

No, not Burgundy, and not Russian River either. I have certainly tasted the wines of those appellations many times, and will never pass up a chance to enjoy them in the future. Yet the truth is that I learned far more about the grape as a translator of terroir – and as a “terroirizer” of winemakers – in the lesser-known region of Anderson Valley .

To a large extent, that’s due to an annual event that this year falls on the weekend of May 18-20. The Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival includes the usual winemaker dinners, winery open houses, and walk-around tasting you would expect at any regional wine event. Along with those standard offerings come two features that should elevate this event to “must-attend” for serious Pinot fans.

The first is the Pinot Noir Conference, entering its tenth year, that’s held on Friday each year. Locals still call it by its old name, “the technical seminar,” and I also prefer that name because it tells you more about origins and value than the current moniker. Simply put, a decade ago the Anderson Valley appellation decided to bootstrap its fortunes in the world of Pinot Noir by educating itself, and the technical seminar is the centerpiece of the strategy.

For nearly a full day, university professors, professional vineyard managers, out-of-appellation winemakers, and other seasoned experts take turns explaining the mysteries of Pinot Noir genetics, viticulture, vinification, elevage, and more. Some of the information is esoteric and some is off-the-wall, but the great majority is current, accessible, and enlightening. The audience includes a quorum of growers and winemakers working in the valley, and you can tell who they are because they are sitting still and paying attention, not gossiping in the back.

The other important feature of the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival is the community of winemakers that pours at the big walk-around tasting on Saturday afternoon. You would expect most local vintners to attend, and they do. What you might not expect are the big guns from outside the appellation who buy fruit from Anderson Valley. Their number is growing, they come to the event, and they pour their wine.

This is Pinot Discovery Central

Last year, I discovered that Saintsbury, that long-time Pinot stalwart of the Carneros appellation, was making an Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. You know how I found out? Co-founder Richard (“Dr. Dick”) Ward was pouring it in person on Saturday. Last guy I expected to see there, but he answered every question I asked and even pulled a little treat out from under the table. This year he’s sending his winemaker, Jerome Chery, to the technical seminar.

And this is not an isolated example. You want to know what kind of barrel experiments the wizard Wells Guthrie is running on his off-the-charts Copain Pinot Noirs? Come taste at his table. Want to meet James McPhail, the latest star to brighten the Pinot Noir firmament with 95-point scores and critical raves? He makes a bunch of Anderson Valley Pinot Noirs, they’re all fabulous, and they all nail their terroir with a mesmerizing combination of power and finesse.

There are also some great local stories you can track up close and personally at the event. Ryan Hodgins is putting Breggo Cellars on the map using some of the appellation’s best fruit, his own native talents, and the wisdom he’s soaking up working for Michael Terrien at Hanzell Vineyards. The wine’s getting mighty hard to find, and the mailing list is closing, but you can still get on the train before it totally leaves the station.

Wine quality at Husch Vineyards is rising so inexorably it seems inevitable that the winery’s reputation is headed back to the heights it held 20 years ago. (At the technical seminar, you can hear winemaker Brad Holstine explain how he’s doing it.)

The Harmonique gang -- Bruce and Moira Conzelman and Bob and Claudia Klindt – now control the former Christine Woods property and are already at work revitalizing its unlimited potential. I am sure I will not be the only writer asking them how big will Harmonique get? And how soon can we get some?

I could go on, but you get the picture. At the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival you can learn about Pinot Noir in whatever way suits you; you can get great wine at prices that are still low relative to the quality and competition; and you can have serious fun in one of the most beautiful appellations on earth.

Next up: A preview of the scads of new Anderson Valley Pinot Noirs that will be on offer at the 2007 Pinot Noir Festival .