Many argue that Oregon’s Willamette Valley is the only place for Pinot. With its cool, foggy climate, it has been known to coax out mind-boggling expressions of Pinot Noir. The area’s mild temperatures result in natural acidity, which in turn churns out amazing purity of fruit and finesse. Nuances of balsam, mushrooms, damp forest floor, and spice are common in an Oregon Pinot Noir, as well as the traditional red and black fruits. Patricia Green Cellars, 2009 Reserve Pinot Noir leaves the buyer with not a hint of remorse at $25. But, purchase with caution; this is a wine that will have you hooked on the Willamette region, perhaps permanently. Other New World regions like Chile, Argentina, and New Zealand are becoming front-runners in the Pinot world, as well. It’s difficult to find a better way to spend $9 than on a bottle of the Portillo Pinot noir, 2009 Argentina. Young, vibrant and fresh, it is a crowd-pleaser, whether for grilling out, classy tailgating, or even Thursdays at around 3:30, for that matter. Fans of La Bubbly will rejoice in the recent arrival of La Pinot – a beautiful New-meets-OldWorld style Pinot noir from Chile. La Wine Agency owner and all-around badass, Brad Ball, successfully marries a low-alcohol, Burgundian style with an exotic New World palate of sage, pink peppercorns, orange zest, and classic red cherry and pomegranate. Not forceful though; all the characteristics all tied prettily together in a subtle package of seduction. It, like most Pinots, makes for a great bottle of wine. // Kaitlin Ohl in g e r
Pocket Productions It was just another reception at the Columbia Museum of Art. Well-coifed patrons milled about chatting and sipping cocktails when, without warning, a powerful a cappella voice rang out, singing the lyrics from Sesame Street’s Rainbow Connection. Immediately, several guests grabbed partners and waltzed around the room, gliding between clusters of pleasantly stunned onlookers. At the end of the song, as abruptly as they had commenced, the dancers nodded farewell to one another and blended back into the crowd. This was but one of the flash mob-inspired performance spectacles pulled off by Artrageous, a wing of Columbia’s nonprofit company Pocket Productions.
010
Photo Courtesy Pocket Productions
“Originally, we thought our productions would be so small that you could take them with you,” founding member Aaron Pelzek explains, “The name just came about.” Indeed, Pocket Productions has had an impact on the Columbia art scene since its founding in 2009 by Pelzek, a freelance lighting designer, Sherry Warren, a local performance artist, and Kimi Maeda, a scenic designer and puppeteer at Columbia Marionette Theatre. Pocket Productions first brought Midlands art lovers “Playing After Dark,” a fun-filled series of collaborative events that merge arts disciplines – from visual, performance, and music to even culinary genres – for an informal evening of creative endeavor to inspire audiences and promote the work of local artists. The following year, Pocket Productions applied for and received a grant from the University of South Carolina’s Arts Institute to launch Artrageous, a program specifically designed to bring artists’ work out of the usual venues and into mainstream public settings such as shopping malls and downtown streets through seemingly impromptu pop-up performances. Pelzek says the company has received another grant to continue Artrageous for the next year. “We are in the process of discussing between six and eight projects for Artrageous,” he says. “We will decide within the next few weeks and get artists on board. One of our plans is to approach theaters that are doing musicals or operas and work with actors to take that out into the community. We want everything to be fresh and new.”