Olson Ogden Wines

a second "sideways" - this time in Japanese

Two guys, old college buddies. A has-been actor who is about to get married and a writer who loves wine and has a particular passion for Pinot. Before the wedding they road trip up the coast of California to taste wine. This is the story of "Sideways," the 2005 Oscar nominee for best picture, winner for best adapted screenplay and the movie that mocked Merlot and was responsible for a significant sales drop for the varietal. It is also the story of a remake soon to be released in Japan. In this story the characters are Japanese and they road-trip to Napa because, according to the film's director, “You can’t do a road trip in California without going over the Golden Gate Bridge.”  According to The New York Times, the picture is practically a love song to our state - a very good thing. That said, to taste some really exceptional Pinot Noir, we think they should have made a detour to the Russian River Valley of Sonoma. Read the full story here. New York Times

eric asimov article on california pinots

I read an interesting article recently on the International Herald Tribune website by Eric Asimov on the topic of California Pinot Noir.  It highlights a group of wine producers bucking the trend of high octane, super ripe pinot noirs in favor of a lighter style of pinot noir with healthy acidity and a penchant for going well with food.  The article categorized California Pinot Noir producers in two camps of thought...light and lively or heavy and dense, at the risk of being overly general.  I am not sure Olson Ogden Wines falls into either of these categories.  We strive to produce wines that pair well with food yet are enjoyable to savor and contemplate on their own.  I don't think those two objectives are mutually exclusive but then again I may just have a house palate.  Here is the link to the article.  This story and other relevant news stories are posted daily on our Facebook Fan Page.  Be sure and become a fan.  Enjoy! -- by John 

new website goes live

The Olson Ogden Wines new website went live on Thursday.  Still working on adding some of the content we could not get up with the launch and figuring out how to use our new order management system but you can have a look at the new site now. http://www.olsonogdenwines.com -- by John

world of pinot noir

The World of Pinot Noir - Pinot Noir by the Sea Tasting was this past weekend in Shell Beach, CA.  Olson Ogden Wines had a table and I poured our 2006 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir to a knowledgeable crowd of pinot noir lovers.   The event was a sell out as it has been in years past.  The usual suspects of pinot noir producers was there along with a few new faces.  This is one of the better run tasting events we participate in and I like the fact that it is only 3 hours long.  Plenty of time for people to get around and taste the all the pinot noir they can drink from 125 producers.  Great weather to boot!  I posted a few photos from the event on the Olson Ogden Wines Facebook Fan Page. -- by John

new website coming this week

Olson Ogden Wines is launching a new website this week.  It will have a lot more features and information than our current website, including the ability to log into your account (if you are a mailing list customer) to update your information on file and/or order wine.  We will be sending out an email to our mailing list later this week announcing the launch.  Also in that email, we will be pre-releasing our 2007 vintage wines to our mailing list customers.  These wines will not be released to the general public until June of this year.  We always give our mailing list customers first opportunity at purchasing our wines on a discounted pre-release basis for a limited time.  No time like the present to join our mailing list.  The 2007 vintage is being heralded by as a stellar vintage.  We had ideal growing conditions across Northern California that produced amazing wine grapes and, correspondingly, made concentrated, delicious wines.  In tasting Olson Ogden barrel samples of this vintage, I would have to agree the 2007 vintage will be one of our better vintages.  -- by John