October 22-25, 2009

2009 Pinot On The River Festival
October 22, 23, 24 & 25, 2009
At various venues in the Russian River Valley

EVENT PROGRAM

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22

6 p.m. –Pinot On The River “Founders Club” Reception and Dinner
First, we meet for bubbly at our host hotel. Then it's off to our special Founders Club Dinner. As in the past, the evening will feature the Pinot Noirs and owners or winemakers from four special producers and will be an intimate way to kick off the great weekend to come. THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO FOUNDERS CLUB MEMBERS ONLY.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23

9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. -- Pinot On The River “Founders Club” Field Trip
The Founders Club will head out from our host hotel on a day-long field trip to visit wineries and vineyards in a great and somewhat undiscovered Pinot region. This year, we will be doing a "terroir tour" conducted by Tandem Winery's Greg La Follette and PinotReport’s Greg Walter. We plan to get everyone back to the hotel by 3 p.m. to give you some down time before dinner. THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO FOUNDERS CLUB MEMBERS ONLY.

6 p.m. – Pinot On The River’s “Friday Night Out In The Valley” Dinner = Roessler Cellars
We’ve got a great plan for this special dinner at this great Pinot Noir producer that I know you’re going to love.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24

10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Seminar Program at Host Hotel

10 a.m. to 11 a.m. - Seminar #1: Rising Stars Of Western Pinot Noir
Who will be the “must have” Pinot producers in the coming years? This seminar will introduce you to six Pinot producers from up and down the West Coast who you’ve probably have never heard of before. Many will be in their first or second release; we will taste those early wines to give you an idea of where these small, artisan producers are headed. It’s a diverse group and one that is really worthy of your attention. Pinot On The River Founder and PinotReport Editor & Publisher Gregory Walter will moderate this session. (Wineries and panelists to be determined.)

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Seminar #2: Vintage Focus: 2008 in Western Pinot Regions
Following the amazing, though somewhat scarce in quantity 2007 Pinots, the 2008 vintage in Western Pinot Noir might have a tendency to be overlooked. From my early tastings that would be a mistake. 2008 looks to be a very interesting vintage and we will explore these wines at this very early stage. We will taste wines from six great winemakers representing Oregon, Anderson Valley, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, Carneros, Santa Lucia Highlands, Santa Maria Valley and Santa Rita Hills. Pinot On The River Founder and PinotReport Editor & Publisher Gregory Walter to moderate this session. (Wineries and panelists to be determined.)

1 p.m. - Buffet Lunch
Join us for a casual lunch of great food and wine. Get to know other Pinot lovers and winemakers and share your thoughts about Pinot and the morning seminars.

3 p.m. to 5 p.m. - Pinot Noir Discovery Tasting
We’ll head back to the host hotel for a break and then a special walkaround tasting of 20 or so of the top Pinot Noir producers participating at this year’s festival. This tasting is open only to Founder's Club and other VIP attendees. This is a great opportunity to experience the diversity of styles and regional influences that makes up Pinot Noir on the West Coast.

 6 p.m. -- Pinot On The River Vintners Dinner - Papapietro Perry Winery
We are finalizing the details right now on a great dinner at this well known Pinot winery for an intimate evening of great food and Pinot. Guests are invited to bring a special bottle to share with your fellow Pinot lovers.

 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25

 11 a.m. to 12 noon - Artisanal Pinot Noir Grand Tasting -- Founder Club VIP only access.

 12 noon to 4 p.m. - Artisanal Pinot Noir Grand Tasting
Taste current releases, special bottlings and library wines from nearly 100 top Pinot producers from up and down the West Coast at this "full immersion" walkaround tasting.