Many people commented that they had never heard of Picpoul, much less tried it, and Cinsault was new to some. The origin of these varietals varied from Spain and Portugal to France’s Rhône, Bordeaux and Languedoc areas. Food included 2 varieties of flatbread, mushroom sachetinni
(a stuffed pasta), and sausage and Catalan bean stew.
All the wines were enjoyed by at least some of the attendees, but with no clear favorite among the group. However, one of the favorite pairings with food was the mushroom sachetinni with the Cinsault. We learned a lot about these lesser-known varietals from our speaker, James Mantone, owner and winemaker at Syncline Wine Cellars. Syncline specializes in Rhône varietals such as Picpoul, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Counoise and Carignan. The winery is located in the Columbia Gorge just outside of Lyle and is open for public tasting. Comments indicated that attendees “very much” enjoyed James’ talk. He was interesting, informative and enthusiastic.
Comments from attendees also provided some good ideas for new events for next year! Event ideas are most welcome!