WTN: Getting "flighty" with Pinot Noirs at Detroit Airport

After Mo'Cool (all good things come to an end)

When I learned that if I kept my rental car out until 3:30 PM I would have to pay DOUBLE ($75 a day!) I decided to turn it in around 11:00 AM and wait for my after 5:00 flight. Discovering a wine bar/shop in the terminal helped pass the time. (Vino Volo)
I ordered a flight of 3 California Pinot Noirs (1.5-2 oz. pours at $14 for the total) with a cheese plate (Manchego, a Cheddar and Humboldt Fog plus some bread pieces, dried fruit and nuts.)
A paper brought out with the flight of wines furnishes notes on the wines and characterizes them as light, bright, rich or brooding.

2004 Ancien Pinot Noir, Toyon Vineyard, Carneros $45/bottle characterized as bright
Notes sum up as "Strawberry and Chocolate"
I have had a Saintsbury from Toyon Vineyard I believe. This lacked the bright scarlet tones in the other two Pinots. Semi-transparent. Furnished notes say cherry, berry, dark chocolate with sandalwood and earth. I found mulberry and chocolate or mocha. Fine sediment. Light to medium body with a refined note. Food friendly including with the hard cheeses. I liked this.

2007 Elusiv Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County $36/bottle

Characterized as "rich" "Cherry and Spice"
More transparent than the Ancien and more reddish coloring. Medium body. Furnished notes say aromas of black cherry, oregano and vanilla with palate ripe with red fruit, cedar, smoked meat and eucalyptus. I can see the cherry and some woody elements.
Not my favorite.

2006 Markham Estate Pinot Noir $39/bottle
Listed as a winery-only bottle.
Characterized as "bright" "Cherry and Cocoa"
Furnished notes say "black cherry, caramel and cocoa aromas" "palate displays hints of strawberry, white pepper and herbs...ripe, round, and well-structured, not to mention rare"
For me, dark cherry stood out on the nose with cherry and white or pink pepper on the palate. Light body. Pleasant, but I would be more inclined to purchase at under the $30 mark. I liked the Ancien from Toyon Vineyard best and this second.

When I learned that if I kept my rental car out until 3:30 PM I would have to pay DOUBLE ($75 a day!) I decided to turn it in around 11:00 AM and wait for my after 5:00 flight. Discovering a wine bar/shop in the terminal helped pass the time. (Vino Volo)

Nice notes, JC . . . and nice way to kill time. I take it Vino Volo was inside security? I've never actually seen one of these deals, though I actually just flew out of DTW and I'm told Sea-Tac has one as well that I've never seen. No complaints for me, though. I showed up early at the airport, found out my flight was canceled and ended up catching an earlier flight that got me to my final destination 2.5 hours earlier. Best day of flying I've had in years . . .

It is inside security, Keith. Besides wine by the glass or flights of wine, they sell bottles and on another website someone said you can take the bottles on board the plane since they are purchased in the secured area of the airport. Apparently they have one at Baltimore Washington (BWI), Philadelphia, Newark, JFK in New York, Dallas-Fort Worth, Sacramento, Oakland, Seattle, and Washington Dulles as well as Detroit. The Vino Volo website said they planned to open four or five more in 2009 but I don't know if the recession has altered those plans.
http://vinovolo.com/index.php?main_page=about_us

JC,
I am most impressed by the fact that you were ordering wine on Sunday after MoCool weekend. You go girl!

JB

Wow, great to know about that place. They should sell some half bottles with screwcaps for drinking on board.

[David M. Bueker]

Wow, great to know about that place. They should sell some half bottles with screwcaps for drinking on board.

That would actually be illegal. Most of the airlines have licenses that say that they must serve any alcohol. Of course that would not stop you from sneaking some, but it really could not be promoted.

I learn something new every day.

[Jenise]

Wow, great to know about that place. They should sell some half bottles with screwcaps for drinking on board.

The one at Sea Tac is a true oasis. Not just wines, but carefully chosen and well thought out wines, some even that you never run into at regular retail. Last week we had glasses of a good Italian Rosato (Castello di Ami, I think) and a hard to find Washington Sauvignon blanc (Kestrel) before stepping onto our flight to Kauai. Bottles of the rosato, plus Rochioli Chardonnay and 04 Clape Cornas were purchased to take with us. What's more, the art's modern, the music is jazz, and the chairs are wide, low and leather. You can kill some serious time there when you need to.