Fall Classics: (X)Yankee baseball, Pac 9 football and Pinot Noir

Fall in LA is the best time of year. Fall in LA means it is safe to go outside without fearing a microwave burn. The tarantulas and rattlesnakes have left the patio to the hounds. [ed. real-Yankee Derek Jeter likes to have a little Halloween fun this time of year] I can watch TV outside into the early evening.
Fall means baseball playoffs and a chance to see the current future ex-Yankees: among the star players an ex-Red Sox, ex-Angel and ex-Twin. The once September, then October, Classic now ends in November. Yo. The Yanks and Phils are worth watching long as the “tri-state area” don’t get an early snowfall no-what-i-mean? October is also the middle of the Pac 9 season. UCLA football is the nucelar winter of local sports teams and USC, having already lost its annual sucker game, can win the conference and go clobber Cincinnatti or Iowa in the Rose Bowl.
Tanks gott for new neighborhood wine shops. Wish they were in my neighborhood. The discerning LA wine buyer who lives in Venice should check out El Vino (covered here) and if you live in Atwater Village you should check out 55 Degree Wine (covered below). Both have excellent style and interesting wine buys. 55D has the most tasteful dungeon with their ex-Yankeesspeakeasy-like subterranean wine tasting room. tBoW got the tour from ex-YankeesJennifer as earthy and toffee-tinted as one of the atypical Italian varietals for sale upstairs. Of course, we bought some. For tBoW it is a drive but being well placed in my memory bank makes 55D a future stop whenever in the neighborhood.
2007 Klee WIllamette Valley Pinot Noir $22: Unlike the artist, this wine is uninspired. It is kind of simple, somewhat fruity, with a detached acid spine. It did not hang together. Needs a neurologist. Or a chiropractor. Acupuncturist? 13.5%
2007 Erath Oregon Pinot Noir $19: Compare this to the Klee and faith is restored in the region and vintage. As the entry level wine for Erath – once a flagship winery for Oregon Pinot Noir – this is elegant, deliate and nicely balanced. Nothing terribly complex, has enough acidic spine to avoid the flabby tag. Think of it as the Saintsbury of Willamette. Steady, dependable, always tasty, never challenging, Color is very light. Some Internet raters not as pleased as tBoW but they are probably not fans of the 2007 vintage either. A U20 winner. 13%
2006 Skewis Salzgeber-Chan Russian River Pinot Noir $40: A very nice example of premium RRV Pinot Noir. tBoW reviewed Skewis wines at a summer tasting hosted at Palate. That was a lucky day because we had no expectations. The wine is still very impressive with well balanced smoky and cherry choco flavors. Scent of game makes it complex. The kind of wine you can drink with or without food and enjoy it equally. Alcohol under control. 14%
2006 Lomazzi & Sarli Latias Primitivo $14: She asked what style of wine I liked. A perfectly acceptable question. Light and delicate Pinot Noirs did not ring the bell. So she steered me towards this U20 bottle of entry level Italian Primitivo from Puglia and we forgot the Nero Amore [ed. he made that name up] altogether. She admonished that Priimitivo is not Zinfandel. So how was my non-Barolo/Sangio Italian-for-wimps wine? Not too shabby. Acidic like many Italian reds tend to be. Steel fermentation, no oak. Exotic kind of like…Amy Winehouse? A little dirty and quite good. Italian wines not my palate but I can learn. 13%