ABOUT: Brave Cellars is operated by Tahmiene Momtazi and her husband Colin Smith. Momtazi should be a familiar name to anyone interested in Oregon wine, she is the head winemaker at her families winery Maysara, and Momtazi is also the name of their esteemed Demeter certified biodynamic vineyard. Tahmiene has been busy over the last decade+ in the Oregon wine biz. She took over the winemaking duties at Maysara in 2007, making a name for herself as one of the best winemakers in the valley. Fast forward to 2017 and she and her husband launch Brave Cellars, making some (you guessed it) outstanding Pinot Noir from the Momtazi vineyard. Two Roads was a pleasure to stumble upon, and might be considered the best deal to be had for a wine from the Willamette Valley. The concept with Brave Cellars is to make elegant Pinot Noir that is affordable, and the “Road Not Taken” firmly ticks both of those boxes. The other Pinot Noir they make is called “Less Traveled”…we’ll be stocking that one as well. TASTE:Lithe, featherweight and earthy. Truly the weight of water and layered with aromas and flavors of strawberries, cherries, raspberries, fennel, baking spices, orange marmalade, and dark chocolate. This is a friendly and approachable Pinot Noir; there are hints of tertiary notes like damp potting soil and forest floor, but that’s not the point. The idea here is to enjoy the top notes of ripe fruits, earth and spice. The weight poses no barrier to any food stuff, and the simple pasta dish we had for dinner tonight, with our inaugural bottle of Brave Cellars Road Not Taken Pinot Noir, was an absolute perfect fit.
PAIR: Pickled beets with cloves, balsamic cherry compote with warm brie, vegetable gyoza with yuzu sauce, Spanakopita with spinach, and rigatoni with mushroom and tomato sauce.
