Pinot Party: Eminent “World of Pinot Noir” Event Turns 25

It’s going to be extra festive at this year’s World of Pinot Noir event. The annual party celebrating Burgundy’s most famous red grape – a multi-day affair that has been luring industry bigwigs and thirsty consumers alike ever since it was launched along California’s Central Coast in 2001 – turns 25 this year! Fêted across the grounds of the Ritz-Carlton Bacara with myriad seminars, dinners and grand tastings, WOPN (“whopping”), as insiders call it, runs February 27 through March 1.

Pinot noir’s appeal is multi-faceted. Winegrowers love the challenge: the thin-skinned grape is finnicky, extra susceptible to things like weather and soil conditions, but always generous in the wine it delivers. Oenophiles love the results: a pervasively elegant drink defined by red fruit, earthy and spicy flavors but also buoyed by complex subtleties and intriguing nuances. Well worth celebrating indeed. And though other places on the planet, like France, Australia and Oregon, also host events in pinot’s honor, it’s WOPN that’s considered the most prestigious of them all.

More than a hundred wineries from all over the world descend on WOPN each year, creating of a lineup of consumer experiences aimed at educating, enlightening and entertaining. This year’s silver anniversary milestone adds even more buzz. 

Events can be purchased as an all-weekend affair or à la carte. 

Thursday’s Opening Night’s Party ($200) is always extra fun, with winemakers making their initial appearances, reconnecting with friends and setting expectations for the wine-fueled moments to come. Guests sip on free-flowing pinot noir and sparkling wines and nosh on gourmet treats by Bacara’s culinary teams. 

Friday and Saturday each feature a pair of morning seminars ($175). These are a chance for pinot lovers to geek out a bit – intimate gatherings led by somms and winemakers that allow the curious consumer to delve deeper into pinot’s prowess. Friday’s options include “The Pinnacle of Pinot Noir: West Coast Grand Cru Vineyards,” a journey through the iconic brands from California and Oregon, and “California, Oregon and White Burgundy: A New World Take on a Classic,” an international tasting of pinot’s white sister, chardonnay. Saturday presents “Global Blind Taste Challenge: A World of Pinot Noir,” with guests blind-tasting 12 wines to decipher geographic distinctions, and “Sparkling Wine and Champagnes: Classic, Sophisticated and Timeless,” with a bevy of pinot-based bubblies.

Both days also feature intimate, multi-course wine luncheons ($175) featuring top-tier brands like The Hilt, Joseph Phelps and Bricoleur. And then there are the spectacular dinners ($275-$500), held at various Bacara settings and featuring story-driven feasting with labels like Kosta Browne and Domaine Serene. One of Friday’s big draws, the “Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle Dinner,” with limited seating, will feature vintage LP champagnes not available through retail, and some stellar standouts, like the Grand Siècle Iteration No. 26, which critic James Suckling crowned the No. 1 wine of 2023. Saturday’s “Vintage Burgundy Dinner” will pop the cork on premium French pinot noirs curated by WOPN’s powerhouse sommelier team.

If you’re going to do just one WOPN event, it would have to be the Grand Tasting ($175, or $300 for early entry) held both Friday and Saturday afternoons inside Bacara’s main ballroom. This is where the hundred-plus wine brands descend in full force, each pouring multiple vintages and special bottlings, and winemakers connecting one-on-one with the throng of wine fans who’ve traveled here to get up close and personal with pinot noir. This means a lot of wine. I navigate it geographically, focusing on pinots from international regions I don’t usually get to sip. And then I always end with my Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Sonoma county faves. 

And in honor of 25 years, the Grand Tastings will also feature a new Bubbles Lounge, doling out sips of sparkling and dollops of caviar. Fancy. And for even more elevated moments, the VIP Private Lounge, hosted by Foley Family Wines and Sonoma’s Davis Bynum, will feature specially curated food-and-wine pairings.

There’s also a wonderful regionally inspired musical element to the three-day feast, including the blues/funk/Americana sounds of San Luis Obispo-based Moonshiner Collective, the Flamenco and jazz sounds of Spanish guitar duo Calé, and the eclectic soul, hip-hop and country vibes of Central Coast native guitarist and vocalist, Jon Millsap.

Want it all? The Weekend VIP Passport provides all-access, including the Thursday night opener and your choice of seminar, luncheon and dinner both Friday and Saturday, and early VIP access to the Grand Tastings each day. It’s priced at $2,250 per person.

Get your tickets and more info – including details on the exclusive silent auction of premium wine lots that will open for preview on February 21 – at WOPN.com. And follow updates on social – @worldofpinot.

In preparation for WOPN, and for this story, I waded through a delicious batch of pinot noir wines, all of which will be featured throughout WOPN this year. Here are a few standouts well worth seeking out when you go!

– 2019 Center of Effort Pinot Noir: A recent find for me, this Edna Valley wine is sustainably farmed and features a clean, fresh mouth feel and lovely flavors of cherry, pomegranate, and chocolate.

– 2022 El Lugar Pinot Noir: Another new one for me, the grapes for this wine come from Bien Nacido Vineyard and delivers flower aromas and tastes of red berries and earth.

– 2022 The Hilt Estate Pinot Noir: A standout wine from Santa Barbara County’s Sta. Rita Hills, this wine is deep and silky, with a savory flavor profile that’s deliciously balanced by refreshing acidity.

– 2023 Davis Bynum Russian River Pinot Noir: This top-line pinot from Sonoma County is concentrated and velvety at once, with a delicious blend of oak and cherry flavors.

– 2023 Rodney Strong Limited Tier Pinot Noir: I’m sipping this Russian River Valley wine as I write this story, and loving its juicy extraction, splashy mouth feel and delicious flavors of ripe red berries and spice.

– 2022 Chalone Vineyard Pinot Noir: A wonderfully aromatic wine that’s layered yet approachable, with tasty plum, vanilla and oak flavors.

– 2022 Talley Estate Pinot Noir: Made by Brian Talley, one of the founding winemakers of WOPN, this textured wine is supple on the tongue and teeming with cherry, berry, and leather notes.

– 2022 Four Graces Dundee Hills Reserve Pinot Noir: This elegant wine from Oregon is bright and graceful, with flavors of berries, earth, and vanilla.

– 2021 Laetitia Sparkling Brut de Noirs: This sparkler, from the beloved Central Coast bubbly producer, is brilliant and dazzling, with tart tasty citrus and red fruit notes. 

– Champagne Piaff Brut Non-Vintage: A wonderfully classic French bubbly – made from equal parts pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay – is yeasty up front and delivers fresh apple and quince flavors.

See you at WOPN! Cheers!