Get Ready to Drink and Tweet #PinotNoir (and vote #WV)

If your idea of a Tweet-up or Twitter tasting is a bunch of nerdy people sitting around their basement drinking wine, then you're about to be proven wrong (yeah, I'm talking to you). Events are taking place all over the country; in wineries, wine bars, wine shops and individual's homes—and not one of them could be considered nerdy. For one night only, people everywhere will be drinking and tweeting… and Pinot Noir will the common connection bringing them all together. Since people are excited about wine in general and seem to enjoy having a platform to share their thoughts with other like-minded people, Twitter events like these have opened the door to a whole new way of communicating about wine.

The biggest and greatest online #PinotNoir Twitter tasting is looming anxiously on the horizon (this Thursday, July 15th) and I’m really looking to the Willamette Valley to show the world the bounty of wines this fair region produces. I may be somewhat biased as I have the pleasure and privilege of consuming a good deal of the tasty and hedonistic fermented juice coming out this area and I’ll tell you first hand, there’s a whole lot more great wines than swill.

The soil’s fertility can be traced to a foundation of old volcanic and sedimentary soil and the massive ice age floods that occurred approximately 15,000 years ago, periodically flooding the area, depositing the land with silt, rich volcanic soil and non-native rock.

Oregon has many different wine regions, but the state’s most popular and abundant is the Willamette (rhymes with damnit) Valley, also home to 70% of the population. The area, located at the foot of the Oregon Coast Range, is named for the river that runs through it and the fertile valley stretches from Eugene in the South to the Columbia River just north of Portland.

As an AVA (American Viticultural Area), the Willamette Valley is 150 miles long, up to 60 miles wide, is the state’s largest and includes six sub-appellations: Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, McMinnville, Ribbon Ridge, Yamhill-Carlton District and the newest addition, Chehalem Mountains. Oregon wine pioneer David Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards, was the first to cultivate and commercially produce Pinot noir and Pinot gris in the Willamette Valley, earning him the nickname “Papa Pinot”. The Valley now hosts approximately 200 wineries and grows over 12,000 acres of wine grapes.

Open a bottle of your favorite Willamette Valley Pinot noir on Thursday, July 15th from 5-7pm PT and share our secret with the world—there’s over 200 to choose from. Make your vote count and don’t forget the #WV hashtag!

Here’s a list of hashtags my buddy Joe Herrig of Suburban Wino put together for you to include with your tweets, you don’t need to memorize the list, just keep it handy for a cheat sheet. But remember, all you really need to know is #WV – go Willamette!!

#CA (California)
#NC (North Coast)
#MN (Mendocino County)
#AV (Anderson Valley)
#SO (Sonoma County)
#RR (Russian River Valley)
#GV (Green Valley of Russian River)
#SN (Sonoma Coast)
#NV (Napa Valley)
#CN (Los Carneros...yes, we know it's Sonoma AND Napa.)
#CC (Central Coast)
#SC (Santa Cruz Mountains)
#MO (Monterey)
#SLH (Santa Lucia Highlands)
#SLO (San Luis Obispo County)
#SB (Santa Barbara County)
#SM (Santa Maria Valley)
#SY (Santa Ynez Valley)
#SRH (Sta. Rita Hills)
#OR (Oregon)
#RV (Rogue Valley)
#WV (Willamette Valley)
#CM (Chehelam Mountains)
#DH (Dundee Hills)
#EA (Eola-Amity Hills)
#MC (McMinnville)
#RB (Ribbon Ridge)
#YC (Yamhill-Carlton)
#WA (Washington State)
#NY (New York)
#FLX (Finger Lakes)
#VA (Virginia)
#FR (France)
#BU (Burgundy)
#CDN (Côtes de Nuits)
#CDB (Côtes de Beaune)
#CCH (Côtes Chalonnaise)
#NZ (New Zealand)
#CO (Central Otago)
#MT (Martinborough)
#ML (Marlborough)
#CAN (Canterbury)
#WP (Waipara)
#BC (British Columbia)
#ARG (Argentina)
#CL (Chile)
#SA (South Africa)
#GM (Germany)
#IT (Italy)

For more information about Thursday, July 15th's larger than life Pinot Noir Twitter event, visit these blogs:
Vinotology covers New Zealand
The Oregon Wine Blog Talks Smack
#PinotNoir Hashtag Decoder Rings on Suburban Wino
Breaking it Down on Wine Tonite