I left the chores of Saturday morning behind to take a drive into Oregon wine country as Cindy and I headed for the First Ever Owen Roe Barbeque and Wine Tasting at Agrivino, just outside of Carlton. We connected with some good friends and family to share in the bounty of the day.
My friends at Owen Roe were pouring new releases and pairing them with terrific grilled food and, of course, a spread of cheese and bread. Oh, the bleu cheese!! The 2007 Lady Rosa Syrah that blew the socks of the wine critics, continues to amaze. Perhaps a little spendy, but so worth it. Perfect for spicy barbeque. And the 2008 Abbot’s Table did not disappoint. Full flavored and full bodied sums it up!
I had the pleasure of meeting Eric, the head winemaker, at Owen Roe. Hailing from Detroit, Michigan with a “close to Canadian” accent, Eric has worked with the folks at Owen Roe since 2004 starting with plying his craft on white wines and working his way to being the head “dude” this past year. He is very busy working the two winery sites – the original in St. Paul, Oregon and more recent opening in Sunnyside, Washington. Of course, David O’Reilly still puts his final blessing on the wine but is turning more of his attention to marketing ~~ something he could teach a college course on!
We left the Owen Roe event mid-afternoon and headed to the small town of Carlton. What a sweet place to visit. I met a new friend lady at the Indie Wine Festival three years ago who was just starting a little bistro/wine bar in Carlton called The Horse Radish. The selection of cheese there rivals any I have found in Portland. And the wine bar had a nice selection of wine to taste – which, of course, we did! The 2005 Stevenson Pinot Noir was incredible, and I couldn’t leave without one of those! Michael Stevenson is the winemaker at Panther Creek, consulting with Mark Vlossak of St. Innocent, and like so many other winemakers with vision, has started his own wine label. Yum is the only word that described this 2005 entry into the Pinot Noir market ~~ keep your eye out for this label.
To finish the day, we headed over to Carlton Winemaker’s Studio for a little Meriwether bubbly. Unfortunately, Meriwether is no longer a resident winemaker at the Studio so we left there without the bubbles but, to my great pleasure, I reconnected with an attorney friend, Mike Wiswall with Hoffman Hart & Wagner, and his lovely fiancé. It was awesome! Interesting how sometimes you go somewhere with one intent in mind only to have your life intersect with someone else who was there at the exact same moment, and your original reason for going no longer exists. It was so nice to visit with him and get caught up. Friends ~~ can’t live without them!
Saturday was a great day ~~ eating yummy food, drinking delicious wine, but more importantly being with good friends. What a fabulous combination!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Another Terrific Memorial Day tasting.....
"Yum" is the first word that comes to mind in last weekend's wine tasting. The word was/is that we shouldn't expect great things from the 2007 harvest. And that may be true somewhere in the Willamette Valley but not where I spent my time over Memorial Day. Started the day at J. Christopher Winery and Holloran Vineyards in West Linn. Jay Somers is the consulting winemaker for Holloran and also makes his own wine under the J. Christopher label. Both of these labels have found a way to make 2007 delicious, exciting, and age-worthy. J. Christopher's white blend (Cristo Misto) and his Rose' (Cristo Irresisto) are both quite lovely and his Willamette Valley Pinot Noir received high praise from the likes of Matt Kramer, who has been very critical of the 2007 harvest. Jay's wine is well-priced; a good balance between quality and affordability.
From there, I headed to Penner Ash Winery. This is a beautiful location on a sunny day and I wasn't disappointed this year. The weather could not have been better. Initially, I was a little put off by the attitude of the tasting staff - but as I ventured downstairs for the Pinot Noir tasting and then further down into the 2008 barrel tasting, it became a much more positive experience. The Pinot Noir from Shea Vineyard is once more, heads and shoulders above the fruit sourced from other vineyard sites. Dussin Vineyard came in second, in my mind, with good balance, nice fruit forward presentation, good color. These wines generally run $40-45/bottle retail so they are definitely to be purchased for special occasions!
Finished the day at Redman Vineyards. I went there with the intent of supporting a woman in business but left there a little disappointed in the quality of the wine. It may take a couple of years to sort this out and, perhaps, the wine will improve with each vintage. Bill Redman, co-founder with his wife (Cathy), of Redman Vineyards, passed away in March 2009 so it will be up to Cathy to determine how she wants to proceed with the winery. They poured a Barbera and a Tempranillo ~~ and I was excited to try them. Perhaps I had a little palate fatigue, but they didn't meet my expectations for these two varieties. I'll try them again -- just to be fair!
One last winery on Monday - St. Innocent Winery outside of Salem. Mark Vlossak is celebrating his 20th year as winemaker and owner of St. Innocent. He is a master winemaker in my opinion. His Pinot Blanc is one of the best I've tasted - and consistently so. He makes a superb Chardonnay - aged 100% in neutral oak barrels - that is very Burgundian in style. Not big and oaky, but crisp and clean with flavors of apple and Asian pear. Both of these wines are well priced. Again, "yum" comes to mind!
Hope you all had a great Memorial weekend - mine was fabulous! Keep your eyes peeled for news on the wine club -- Cellar Select -- with kick off in September. This will be a fun way to try some new offerings as well as some old favorites! Salud!
From there, I headed to Penner Ash Winery. This is a beautiful location on a sunny day and I wasn't disappointed this year. The weather could not have been better. Initially, I was a little put off by the attitude of the tasting staff - but as I ventured downstairs for the Pinot Noir tasting and then further down into the 2008 barrel tasting, it became a much more positive experience. The Pinot Noir from Shea Vineyard is once more, heads and shoulders above the fruit sourced from other vineyard sites. Dussin Vineyard came in second, in my mind, with good balance, nice fruit forward presentation, good color. These wines generally run $40-45/bottle retail so they are definitely to be purchased for special occasions!
Finished the day at Redman Vineyards. I went there with the intent of supporting a woman in business but left there a little disappointed in the quality of the wine. It may take a couple of years to sort this out and, perhaps, the wine will improve with each vintage. Bill Redman, co-founder with his wife (Cathy), of Redman Vineyards, passed away in March 2009 so it will be up to Cathy to determine how she wants to proceed with the winery. They poured a Barbera and a Tempranillo ~~ and I was excited to try them. Perhaps I had a little palate fatigue, but they didn't meet my expectations for these two varieties. I'll try them again -- just to be fair!
One last winery on Monday - St. Innocent Winery outside of Salem. Mark Vlossak is celebrating his 20th year as winemaker and owner of St. Innocent. He is a master winemaker in my opinion. His Pinot Blanc is one of the best I've tasted - and consistently so. He makes a superb Chardonnay - aged 100% in neutral oak barrels - that is very Burgundian in style. Not big and oaky, but crisp and clean with flavors of apple and Asian pear. Both of these wines are well priced. Again, "yum" comes to mind!
Hope you all had a great Memorial weekend - mine was fabulous! Keep your eyes peeled for news on the wine club -- Cellar Select -- with kick off in September. This will be a fun way to try some new offerings as well as some old favorites! Salud!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
New wines, lively conversation, holidays and more....
I need to start posting a little more often than every six months! Is anyone reading this? If so, you'll be pleased to know that I tasted a delicious white wine - 2007 Suavia Soave Classico - Veneto Italy. This was one of the best wines for the money I've tasted in a long time. Lots of lemon, white peach and mineral character, with hints of orange peel and dry almond. Medium-bodied, with good acidity and a crisp finish. This Soave scored 90 points in Wine Spectator and #75 on its list of Top 100 for 2008. If you can't find it at your local wine store, give me a call. This is an extremely food friendly white wine and it's less than $20 a bottle.
We've had a very strange winter so far. It was extremely cold during the Christmas holidays so we are all holding our collective breath that the vines, especially in Eastern Washington, have not been damaged. A few years back there was such a deep freeze in the Walla Walla area that there, literally, was no wine available from grapes in that region. Many of the winemakers had to search the Yakima Valley area for fruit. It was a bit of a lean vintage (2003). But we do know that 2008 was the perfect wine growing year - with delayed bud break in the spring to a long, beautiful Indian summer that allowed the grapes to ripen to perfection before harvest. Can't wait!
The downturn in the economy in the last half of 2008 has trickled down to the wine industry. Sales of middle to upper end wine have been down as much as 50% with more folks looking for good value wines, with increased sales at Costco and Trader's Joes for wine under $15. I guess folks think this is an area where they can cut back. I have a number of outstanding wines for under $15 if you're interested. All the talk about the economy has certainly fueled lively conversations on how we individually can weather the downtown and what our government in general can do to help stimulate the economy. I for one am ready for a new administration and a new set of ideas. How about you?
We've had a very strange winter so far. It was extremely cold during the Christmas holidays so we are all holding our collective breath that the vines, especially in Eastern Washington, have not been damaged. A few years back there was such a deep freeze in the Walla Walla area that there, literally, was no wine available from grapes in that region. Many of the winemakers had to search the Yakima Valley area for fruit. It was a bit of a lean vintage (2003). But we do know that 2008 was the perfect wine growing year - with delayed bud break in the spring to a long, beautiful Indian summer that allowed the grapes to ripen to perfection before harvest. Can't wait!
The downturn in the economy in the last half of 2008 has trickled down to the wine industry. Sales of middle to upper end wine have been down as much as 50% with more folks looking for good value wines, with increased sales at Costco and Trader's Joes for wine under $15. I guess folks think this is an area where they can cut back. I have a number of outstanding wines for under $15 if you're interested. All the talk about the economy has certainly fueled lively conversations on how we individually can weather the downtown and what our government in general can do to help stimulate the economy. I for one am ready for a new administration and a new set of ideas. How about you?
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