We recently returned from a two-week “workation” in Raleigh, North Carolina. Experiencing a new city and scene is refreshing, even if you’re working most of the days. We caught some great spring weather, had some nice meals and enjoyed a number of Pinot Noirs from Oregon.
Raleigh has a strong food and wine culture. One of the main movers behind the food scene is Scott Crawford, the owner of multiple restaurants in town. We had dinner at two of his place, which are right next to each other, Jolie and Crawford and Sons. The menus at both places are small, but the food is outstanding. Standouts for us were the Kale caesar, beef marrow tartare, gnocchi, seared duck and chicken with fava beans and mushrooms.
The fine dining event of the trip was our anniversary dinner at Second Empire. It was built in 1879 and is named for its architectural design. A bit of research revealed that it is the special-occasion restaurant in Raleigh, and our meal showed us why. Things started off strong with a keepsake anniversary menu signed by the chef Daniel Schurr.
I started with the ballotine salad, and Gabriele had the lobster and fingerling potato salad. Outstanding. For the entree she had a special item, giant crab cake with 100% crabmeat, no breadcrumbs. I had the roasted duck breast at our server’s recommendation. It was some of the best I’ve had. And the prices for such an experience were fairly reasonable, at least by metro D.C. standards.
The wine list wasn’t especially large for a place of this quality. We had a bottle of 2022 Willakenzie Estate Pinot Noir with our meal. It’s a light-bodied wine with plenty of red cherries driving the flavor, with enough tannin and acidity to keep things in the Pinot range.
Whether due to the season, the weather or just because we like them, we had a number of good Pinot Noirs during our trip. In no specific order:
- Walter Scott Cuvee Ruth 2024 Pinot Noir – cherry and spice on the nose, with black tea, plum, pepper and rose water. Nice minerality, lightish but also substantial. Really good Eola-Amity Pinot.
- Brooks Eola-Amity Pinot Noir 2023 – not much on the nose, some cola, bramble and fruit brightness, a bit bigger style, delicious, bouquet and raspberry comes on after time in glass
- Sokol Blosser Dundee Hills Estate Pinot Noir – Dark cherry leads with this one, with some pepper and a hint of licorice. Extremely flavorful, bigger style for Oregon. We were happy to see this bottle. Sokol Blosser produces an entry-level Pinot called Evolution, which is served at a local restaurant in Alexandria.
- Roserock by Drouhin Eola-Amity Pinot Noir 2023 – bright fruit, a bit darker than other Pinots, leaning toward medium-bodies, rosewater, tea, salinity, even a touch of graphite. Lots going on in the glass here!
- Terrabianca, Metodo Classico Extra Brut, Alta Langa – not a Pinot! Gabriele wanted to try a different sparkler but keep the fruit Chardonnay. It’s a methode champenoise so similar to the Cremants she likes – hint of bread, citris and a clean finish.
Raleigh, N.C. also offers lots of parks, a giant state fair and a human-scale, eclectic downtown area. It’s worth a visit if you haven’t been lately. Happy summer 2026!