CHADDS FORD, PA – On April 3, vintage wine will meet vintage vinyl once again, as Chaddsford Winery (632 Baltimore Pike, 610-388-6221) introduces Pierre Noir, named for WMMR radio personality and longtime Philadelphian Pierre Robert. The bottle will bear a tie-dye label and Robert’s likeness, and will house a medium-bodied red wine that winemaker Eric Miller describes as “a delicate, but full-flavored red,” with “mouth-filling flavors that combine fruit and earthiness.”
Pierre Noir is made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes grown in southeastern Pennsylvania. The idea for “Pierre Noir” got its start during last fall’s harvest, when Robert traveled to Chaddsford Winery to personally stomp the arriving Pinot Noir grapes alongside several lucky fans. Miller agreed to do a personal bottling for Pierre and his fans, which is limited to 250 cases. This release will be available for purchase starting April 3 at Chaddsford Winery and its two retail locations at the Chaddsford Tasting Room in Peddler’s Village (20 Merchants Row, Lahaska) and the Chaddsford Wine Shop at Ardmore Farmer’s Market (Suburban Square, Ardmore); it can also be purchased online at www.chaddsford.com.
To celebrate the release of “Pierre Noir,” Robert is hosting a vintage launch party at Chaddsford Winery on Friday, April 3 – appropriately, a wine and cheese reception, though this one is sure to be more rock than Rachmaninoff. WMMR listeners will be invited to come as Pierre’s guests by winning a series of on-air contests beginning March 23.
“Rock and roll” and “wine and cheese” may seem unlikely bedfellows, but their common ground is easy to identify: peace and love, just the notion Miller hopes wine lovers will embrace with this special vintage. The pairing is even more natural given that Chaddsford and Robert have previously collaborated on the wildly successful 2006 “Pierreno Grigio,” a white wine that also featured Pierre Robert’s likeness.
Like his eponymous wine, Pierre Robert’s tenure in Philadelphia has been “full, long and lively.” Now a staple of the Philadelphia rock scene, Robert was initially told he was “too California” for the East Coast upon his arrival from San Francisco’s KSAN in 1981. But his trademark positivity and voluminous knowledge of rock music quickly earned him a slot in the DJ rotation at venerable WMMR, and he has been there ever since, establishing a penchant for pulling actual vinyl out of the “MMaRchives” to play on-air, and thus cementing his own status as a true icon of the golden age of rock and roll.
Chaddsford Winery is Pennsylvania’s premiere winery. In 2008, Wine Enthusiast named Chaddsford Winery one of “America’s Top 25 Tasting Rooms”; to be considered for this honor, “wine quality was paramount,” but “decor, staff savvy, amenities and more ephemeral characteristics, such as overall quirkiness or warmth” were considered as well. The 2005 Chaddsford Miller Estate Vineyard Chardonnay was featured in Food & Wine magazine (April 2008) as one of the “67 Best American Wines ($15 and Under).”
Chaddsford wines are available directly from the winery in Chadds Ford or at Chaddsford’s Bucks County Tasting Room in Peddler’s Village, Lahaska. Wines may also be ordered online at www.chaddsford.com; please visit their website or contact Chaddsford Winery at (610) 388-6221 for more information on wines, events, upcoming festivals and tastings.
