Pinot Noir and Marie Antoinette

Friday evening was spent downtown with the Feliciano's at the Union Club for their Cherry Hill Wine Pairing dinner. Jose and I always look forward to the various tastings held by the Union Club, especially since we've had such a great time at their past events (if interested, read about our Belgian Beer and Scotch experiences). This particular tasting focused on Oregon Pinot Noir's produced by the Cherry Hill Winery located in the Willamette Valley, which seems to be a very up and coming wine growing region. Gaining comparisons to Napa Valley in the 1970's, we were surprised to learn that the Willamette Valley has more than 300 wineries in 100 miles.

Below is the delicious trout we enjoyed:

Check out the rest of the impressive menu and respective notes below:

We also learned a very interesting "anecdote" that led to Cherry Hill's decision to name one of their wines (2004 Papillon Estate Pinot Noir) after their dog, Daisy who is a Papillon. Apparently Marie Antoinette also had a Papillon who she adored so much that she even held it during her beheading, pressing her thumb against her dog's forehead to protect it from the blood, thus creating an imprint. This imprint, which if you look close enough, resembles a wine glass. See for yourself in the wine's label below:

Bonus:

Given the context of the post, we were reminded of Sofia Coppola's much anticipated new film, Marie Antoinette.

[Marie Antoinette Trailer]

Great song from the Trailer:

[Mp3] New Order - Age of Consent