We in the Bay Area live in the wine and food capital of the country. In the past 10 years, varietal-specific and thematic wine festivals have flourished. Yet we have had to travel to Los Angeles or Oregon to experience the joys of pinot noir. Not so this year!

The Bay Area Wine Project announces Pinot Days, the first Bay Area wine festival dedicated to Pinot Noir.  Pinot Days celebrates pinot noir in its many styles, ranging from modern to earthy to elegant. Unlike wine events that appeal to a narrow customer base featuring wines more alike than different, Pinot Days brings together pinot producers representing every California appellation, style and price point, as well as a few from Oregon and Burgundy. It is our sincere hope that Pinot Days will enable you to explore new producers, find wines you love and can afford, and become a pinot devotee if you are not one already.

This year, we will feature Sunday ’s Grand Tasting, as well as a couple of more intimate events on Friday and Saturday. Each of the festival events will be educational, stimulating and fun. Our goal is to make each event accessible to everyone by keeping the costs reasonable and the attitude casual. Pinot Days will never become an elitist event affordable only to the rich, nor will it become an “insider” event accessible only to industry folks and pinot geeks like us. Rather, we invite insiders to come and enjoy, and we encourage those new to pinot noir – those of you who do not yet know the depth, breadth and sheer loveliness of our noblest grape – to come and taste for yourselves.