The International Pinot Noir Celebration event I attended a couple weeks ago was a marvelous exploration of Oregon wine, the region’s wonderfully fresh produce and the various meats and seafood harvested from the area’s woods and waters.

The event was held at Linfield College – a small institution located in an idyllic setting in McMinnville, Ore., which was wine central for Oregon pinot noir that weekend and hosted the many alfresco lunches, tastings and dinners. My wife and I stayed at the lovely and romantic Mattey House B&B (503-434-5058) situated on a seven-acre farm and vineyard outside McMinnville. We were hosted by Jack and Denise Seeds, the wonderfully accommodating owners, who demonstrated an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the Willamette Valley’s wines, wineries and people.

Here’s the agenda for a typical day at the IPNC: alfresco breakfast with fresh berries, croissants/breads, mini-omelets, juices and espresso/coffee/tea; visit to a winery with an extensive tasting of pinot noirs from Oregon and the world and a Q&A with winemakers; lunch in the winery prepared by a chef from the region and paired with that winery’s wines; back to Linfield for afternoon seminars on such topics as “pinot lab” (learn how the stuff is made and play winemaker for a day) and “old vines vs. young vines” (how does vine age make a difference?); and a two-hour tasting of dozens of pinot noirs before an outdoor dinner.

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: how can any normal human being survive all this food and wine for two and one-half days without either (a) exploding or (b) calling “Ralph or Buiiiick”? Well, it wasn’t easy (particularly for yours truly) but the key was moderation and a willingness to spit out the wine after rolling it around in your mouth for a quick taste impression.

Yes, the same activity that is normally viewed as uncouth and barbaric in polite society (and even where I am domiciled) is totally acceptable and, indeed, necessary if one is to attempt to taste and evaluate hundreds of wines. So, I was able to get through the days by eating lightly (the hardest thing to do) and expectorating into cups.

The two evening meal events were nothing short of exquisite! On the first night, four chefs from some of the best Oregon and Washington restaurants prepared this feast: Oregon albacore tuna tartare with Provencal flavors; roasted squab with morel confit, millas cake and corn-sweet onion relish; Cascade natural whole roasted filet mignon with summer vegetable ratatouille and arugula oil; and a pinot noir parfait consisting of pinot noir chocolate mousse layered with vanilla custard, chocolate pound cake and topped with orange and chocolate diamond gelees (I think these were “sprinkles”).

What did we drink with this gourmet extravaganza? Well, just about every kind of pinot noir, but also Champagne and White Burgundy (we tasted three different ones at our table including a Puligny Montrachet, Mersault and Chassagne Montrachet).

The next day those participants who visited a winery the previous day stayed on campus for a morning seminar on pinot noir’s role in sparkling wine and Champagne. This was an excellent program and featured a discussion among wine makers from Champagne and Oregon along with other’s in the wine trade and New York Times wine columnist/blogger Eric Asimov. You can find his excellent musings on wine at: http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/.

Later, the group had a tasting of pinot noir rose’s and then enjoyed a multi-course alfresco luncheon with guess what ….. more wine. The afternoon was filled with seminars and then another early evening two-hour tasting which was followed by a traditional Northwest salmon bake (see photo of wild salmon roasting on alder wood) with about 20 mouth-watering side dishes again all prepared by a crew of gourmet chefs. More wines with dinner and then an outdoor dance under the Oregon stars. The next day’s brunch (with sparkling pinot noir rose) was a gourmand’s delight and ended a truly memorable event. For the superhuman, there was an afternoon tasting of all the wines poured at the entire IPNC event. I demurred.

What truly made this weekend even more special was the informal approach of the hosts to what can be a very technical subject and the exceedingly genuine and friendly attitude of everyone including our fellow IPNC participants. If you love wine and particularly pinot noir, you should check out the IPNC website (http://www.ipnc.org/) or call them (800-775-4762). It's not too early to book reservations for next year's celebration to be held July 25-27, 2008.

So which were my favorite pinot noirs of the weekend? I can honestly say there was only a handful with which I found serious fault. Of those I particularly enjoyed, here are ones which I’m pretty sure are available in the state: Argyle, Archery Summit, Domaine Serene, Willakenzie, Patricia Green, St. Innocent, King Estate, Ponzi, Panther Creek, Erath, Cristom, Eyrie, Golden Eye, Sokol Blosser and Chehalem.

I am convinced that a great number people who would like to enjoy wine with everyday meals are discouraged from doing so by a concern for both prudence and moderation. Prudence dictates that one should not be profligate and purchase a perishable (and sometimes expensive) product that cannot be consumed before it goes bad, while moderation demands that we drink alcoholic beverages responsibly.

So here’s the paradoxical question: how can you drink wine in a responsible manner everyday without wasting the majority of an oftentimes expensive bottle? In other words, how do we preserve the freshness and drinkability of wine over several days once it has been opened?

Now, this is not a problem for spirits drinkers since the level of alcohol in a bottle of hootch is enough to preserve the stuff through the next millennium. And beer drinkers are not confronted with this dilemma either since the 12-ounce bottles which contain that frothy amber fluid are easily consumed at one sitting.

Wine, on the other hand, is usually bottled in a 25-ounce glass container with an average alcohol content of between 10 and 15 percent. This amount of alcohol serves to protect the wine from spoilage in the first few hours after the bottle is opened, but it is not sufficient to keep the stuff fresh over an extended period.

So what can you do to keep the wine fresh if the unthinkable occurs and you don’t finish the entire bottle in the first couple of hours after it is opened? Unlike chili, beef barley soup or meatloaf, fine wine, especially the white varieties, does not improve over several days in the refrigerator. In fact, a partially full bottle of wine will deteriorate rather quickly if you don’t take certain precautions.

An open bottle of wine has a schizoid visitor: oxygen. When a wine is un-corked, the oxygen that invades it initially does wondrous things for the aroma and can actually serve as a catalyst to unleash the complex flavors that have developed over time in the bottle. Like a good friend (Dr. Jekyll), oxygen has a positive influence on wine - up to a point.

Enter Mr. Hyde. Unfortunately, after a few hours of uninterrupted contact with air, most wines begin to fall apart rather quickly - even if you screw the cap back on or put the cork back in the bottle.

But fear not intrepid oenophiles, I’m here to give you a few pointers on how to keep that special bottle fresh for days or even weeks!

First, since the major problem is too much oxygen, you must reduce the air space in the partially consumed bottle. You can do this by pouring the wine into a smaller container (such as a half-bottle). It is safe to leave about an inch of air space at the top of the bottle which, of course, must be secured by inserting the cork or affixing the screw-cap. Then, either put the wine in the refrigerator or store it in a dark, cool place to drink another day. If you’re going to drink the wine the very next day, you can sometimes get away with simply re-corking the bottle and putting it in the refrigerator. Young red wines seem to tolerate contact with air much better than older reds or any white wine. However, leaving any wine with significant air space in the bottle for more than one day is courting disaster.

Another tip is to keep different size containers (with accompanying lids) in your kitchen cabinet so you’ll have them when the need arises. (If you're a native West Virginian, remember to save that empty half-pint voting-inducement bottle from the last election- they work just fine) Be sure also to save a couple of empty fifth bottles and their corks to store wines from unfinished 1.5 liter bottles or jugs.

Some folks have suggested putting marbles into a partially empty bottle of wine to take up the air space. Not only is this an impractical solution, you’re sure to lose your marbles over time.

WINEBOY RECOMMENDS: 2005 Newton Napa Valley Claret ($25) Claret (pronounced Clair-it) is the term the British use to refer to the red wine of Bordeaux. The Newton Claret is a Napa Valley blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot and syrah. It is a rich, chocolaty, minty, mouthful of wine that -- while it should benefit from a few more years in the bottle -- is ready to enjoy now. I matched it with thick, oven-broiled pork chops glazed with a delicious, roasted raspberry chipotle sauce. (I must confess – the glaze is from a bottle, Fischer & Wieser, and I ordered it from www.jelly.com.) The ’05 Newton Claret is a pleasure to enjoy over a long winter’s dinner with someone special.

John Brown's grandparents, Saverio and Catarina Iaquinta, are seen at center above in this photo from the couple's 50th wedding anniversary A friend recently asked how I came to be such a fanatic about wine. Good question and I get it often, especially now that I have a wine blog and "WineBoy" weekly podcast. As a matter of fact, I did a little self analysis on that question years ago and I think I’ll share it with you right here and now.

When I was growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s, I had the privilege of being raised in a culture distinctly different from most of my contemporaries of that time, and light years away from how kids grow up today. Back in those times, my world almost exclusively revolved around home and family. My mother was Italian and my father was Irish, but since I was raised with my mother’s family, it was the Italian influence and ethnicity into which I was absorbed. My maternal grandparents were both immigrants who spoke heavily accented English and who provided their nine children and 23 grand children with the elements of Italian culture and values that have molded our extended families to this day.

Take wine, for example. As a child, I can remember scurrying down to the cellar with an empty milk jug to fetch a quart of wine from one of my grandpa’s barrels. That dark and dank room, dug deep into the earth off the main cellar, is an endless source of fond, enduring and, I hope, never-fading memories. I can still smell that musty, grapy, earthen room, see grandpa and my uncles working the giant press and taste the frothy, sour new wine as it was being put into giant oak barrels. Wine was an ordinary feature of meals in my grandparent’s home. No less important than bread, butter or pasta, it was simply considered a necessary accompaniment to meals. It was not revered, nor would it ever have been the subject of any lengthy discourse. Simply put, the wine was good, it was usually red and it was always there.

I am sure my grandfather scratches his head in wonderment each time he looks down from heaven to check on me and notices that I spend an inordinate amount of time writing and talking about wine. I can just hear his gruff, heavily accented voice saying: “Hey John, why you spending so much time with all this wine stuff? Do something important. Dig a garden, help your brother can his peppers or throw the ball with your kids.”

Well, Grandpa, you’re probably right. I do spend a lot of time on wine, but I think I’ve finally figured out why. Wine provides me with a cultural link to my past and to my heritage. It also keeps me in touch with my ancestors, long gone, and allows me to dust off their values when I need to apply them (which is often) in this crazy world. Just as importantly, it gives me the opportunity to pass along these values and this heritage to my children who, I hope, will find some way to do the same with their kids, who in turn will do the same, and so on……

So when I write or talk about the particulars of wine or food, you and grandma will know that I’m really just passing along your values to the people closest to me and perhaps to those who read what I write. Now do you understand why I’m spending so much time with this ‘wine stuff,’ Grandpa?

Hey foodies and... um, wine-ies (wine-o's?): Want to spend a cold winter's weekend eating, drinking and living large in the lap of luxury? If so, you might want to cruise up I-79 to Stonewall Resort and take in the festivities known as the Cast Iron Cook-off this weekend.

This third annual Cast Iron Cook-off is an opportunity to not only sup on gourmet delights and sip a vast array of great wines, it's also a chance for you to pick up a few culinary pointers from some of this state and region's most accomplished chefs who will be competing for the grand prize (What else? A commemorative cast iron skillet). Here's a rundown of what you can expect at the event:

Friday, Jan. 25 6:30 p.m.: Dinner reception with several wines and hors d'oeuvres that feature Stonewall Resort Executive Chef Dale Hawkins's New Appalachian Cuisine.

Saturday, Jan. 269:30 am until 2 pm.: Cast Iron Cook-off Teams spend 1 1/2 hours preparing and then one hour in actual competition. Start times are staggered, so cook-off competitors and their guests can observe other teams when they are not competing. Interspersed with all these activities are wine and food tastings along with an event where you can actually have your cast-iron ware appraised.
6 p.m.: Sparkling wine reception with entertainment provided by Colleen Anderson in concert.
7 p.m.: Dinner features a 5-course gourmet meal with accompanying wines. An awards ceremony will celebrate the day's work and include the presenting of The West Virginia Pioneer Award.

Sunday, January 27A true country breakfast with your favorite goodies completes the weekend.

If you're interested in attending, contact Stonewall Resort (304-269-7400) for rates and packages.