In 1996, Brian Talley, commemorating the tenth anniversary of Talley Vineyards, hosted the first livestream dual blind wine tasting event in the United States. Stephen Tanzier, the author of the International Wine Cellar, hosted several of New York’s finest restaurant wine directors to taste the wines in front of a large television screen. At the same time, Brian was hosting a panel of winemakers and a live audience in the town of Arroyo Grande on the Central Coast of California. Both of the groups tasted Pinot Noir in an effort to identify the differences in terroir among four AVAs on the Central Coast. The AVAs were the Edna Valley, the Arroyo Grande Valley, Santa Maria, and Santa Ynez.
Wine enthusiast Archie McLaren attended the dual tasting and recognized an opportunity to build awareness of Pinot Noir by hosting a world-class event in San Luis Obispo County. Archie McLaren and Brian Talley organized the non-profit organization now known as The World of Pinot Noir (WOPN).
Brian Talley and Archie McLaren designed the structure and annual event, also known as The World of Pinot Noir. The first event was held in the year 2000 to attract visitors to the Central Coast and to taste the Pinot Noir produced by winemakers in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. The inaugural World of Pinot Noir (WOPN) event was held at the Cliff Hotel in Pismo Beach to educate members of the wine trade, representatives of the media, and consumers about the high-quality wines being produced on the Central Coast of California and to contrast our local wines with those from Burgundy.
The very best Pinot Noir producers on the Central Coast “came to the table,” including Ken Brown (Ken Brown Wines), Kenneth Volk (Wild Horse Winery), Jenny and Dick Doré (Foxen Canyon), Kathy Joseph (Fiddlehead Cellars), Chuck Ortman (Meridian Winery), Frank Ostini (Hitching Post Winery), and Mike Sinor (Domaine Alfred and Sinor-LaVallee). The organizers of the event invited the top French producers from Burgundy, Leroy and Domaine d’Auvenay, in the year 2000. The following year, the organizers invited Domaine de la Romanée Conti.
Each year, The World of Pinot has hosted producers from major Pinot Noir regions across the globe, including South Africa. The location of the event was moved to a larger hotel in Santa Barbara as it grew in size. The funds raised at the event are donated to the research conducted by professionals in the viticulture programs at Cal Poly University and Hancock College. The office in Paso Robles can be reached by phone at 805-489-1758. The website: info@WOPN.com.
The annual World of Pinot Event was held on February 28 and March 1, 2025; it hosted Pinot Noir winemakers, renowned chefs, sommeliers, and leading wine scholars. The next event this year will be held in Los Angeles and hosted by Wally’s of Beverly Hills on Saturday, June 14, from 1:30 to 5:00 PM in West Hollywood. There will be forty Pinot Noir producers attending. Thirty have been selected from members of The World of Pinot Noir (WOPN), and 10 have been selected by Wally’s staff. The attendance is limited to 300 people, and the tickets range from $200 to $300 per person. Tickets can be purchased on OpenTable.
