“Life is a foreign language; all men mispronounce it.”  —  Christopher Morley

Small confession.  Wine Harlots are monolingual wallflowers.  We have taken First Year Spanish.  Five times.  And the best we can do in the Spanish language is get a drink and shop.  (Which in retrospect, what more does a damsel need?)  Meiomi is pronounced “May-oh-mee” and is the word for “coast” in the language of the Wappo and Yuki tribes.  Even if you mispronounce it, Wine Harlots suggest you drink it.

Pinot noir is a very expensive grape to produce.  The guideline of “you can’t get a good pinot for under $20” is largely true.  We’ve had pinot under $20, but they aren’t what you expect from a pinot, drinkable, but not a typical pinot noir.  When we noticed the price of the Meiomi Pinot Noir 2008 was $25, we were apprehensive.  To say we were pleasantly surprised is understatement.  This is a great wine at any price-point.  Nuanced, and beautifully integrated with aromas and flavors of cherry and red current, with notes of vanilla, saddle, earth and tobacco, with and a touch of oak and a lingering finish.

The perfect pairing is Bacon-wrapped Pork Loin with Roasted Apples, the bacon complements the wine perfectly, and the apples highlight the fruitiness of the wine.

The details: 13.9% alcohol.  Screw-top closure.  Appellation: California, grapes sourced from Sonoma Coast, Monterey County, Santa Barbara County.  The 2008 was priced at $25 USD, but has sold through, the 2009 is priced at $22 USD and is available directly from Wagner Family of Wine or through select distributors.  This was a media sample generously provided by the winery.

The music match is Long Beach native Avi Buffalo’s “What’s In It For?” from his eponymous debut album on Sub Pop.  It a great jangly-Shins-like single.  And how can Wine Harlots not love a song that has the words “drunk” and “bacon” in the same lyric?  Check it out, we think you’ll feel the same way.