8.30.2010

You Are Invited...

Ah, to be young at an industry tasting; nothing else compares. My most recent wine adventure landed me at the Armory, where select Estate wineries put their most delicious current releases under the nasal scrutiny of hundreds of professionals.

VIP Industry Pass
Yamhill-Carlton District AVA
presents
Down to Earth Wine Tasting 2010
Center Stage Armory - Gerding Theater
August 30

There was Chardonnay, there was Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Reisling, an occasional wild card varietal and, you guessed it, lots of Pinot Noir. Armed only with Riedels and eager palates, we set out on the tasting floor. Of the twenty-seven wineries--totaling over one hundred pours--we anticipated surprise, drama, disappointment, and new found loves.

"Your palate is always freshest in the morning when you don't use mouthwash." -- Adam Campbell, winemaker, Elk Cove Vineyards.

Our first stop on the circuit was Elk Cove Vineyards. Now, Riesling, as I often shun sweeter white wines, is a touchy varietal for me, but Elk Cove delivered a balanced and minerally, mouthwatering 2009 Estate Riesling ($17) that seemed hand tailored to my palate, despite it's sugary nature. The selections of Pinot Noir were less impressive given the circumstance, as each was slightly flabby in flavor and loosely structured.

Spotting a decanter and a mysterious double magnum we scooted over to EIEIO & Co. where Jay McDonald no.2 poured his yet to be released 2008 Pinot Noir Cuvée Y. "The wine is young," McDonald excused, "but you professionals can taste through that!" Giddy about his "professional" comment, we sniffed and sipped... Already an immaculately structured and complex wine, this subtly oaked Pinot is going to be a stud when it's finally ready to drink (not that we'll be getting our hands on the 200 case limited release).

With a few more tastes and a revitalizing shot of gazpacho, we slipped upstairs.

Anne Amie Vineyards' 2007 Prismé candied-walnut-surprise Pinot Noir Blanc was really exciting. To produce this colorless Pinot Noir, grape skins are allowed no time to steep in the pressed juice, and aged 18 months in French oak to create a voluptuous white wine. Another tasty find at Anne Amie was the lustrous 2007 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (92 pts Wine & Spirits, $35). What a knock out first impression; I anticipate fabulous finds in forthcoming vintages.

Let's talk Melon. Melon de Bourgogne, the varietal used to make the dry white wine, Muscadet, is a rare find outside of France's Loire Valley. The grapes have recently been introduced here in the Pacific Northwest, and--seafood lovers, get excited--Roots is bringing the heat with its fabulously spiced 2009 Deux Vert Vineyard Melon de Bourgogne. With a nice mouthfeel at $18 greens, I'm amped to pair Roots' Melon with some slippery oysters.

Next we learned how sustainably cultivated Willakenzie vines parent a remarkably acidic jelly and cocktail fruity 2007 Pierre Léon Pinot Noir ($38), and a noteworthy 2009 Pinot Blanc ($21).

My first introduction to Carlton Cellars' lightly toasted Pinot Noir was thrilling. Saturated dark-marinated cherries headed the structure of the 2007 Cape Lookout Pinot ($30), and I adored how the 2008 performed buoyantly with down-home brambly raspberry-- I felt like I should be in a jumper, cartwheeling with the chickens on a dry Autumn day at the barn.

At the end, the floor held both striking executions and dull efforts. At 3 o'clock we were summoned downstairs for a sit-down tasting.

A 10 year retrospective

Oregon producers opened their cellars to share tastes of their decade-old Pinot Noir. Ken Wright introduced a blind tasting of extraordinary 2000s from Kramer, Elk Cove, Stag Hollow, Sother, and Belle Pente.


Ranking
  1. The 2000 Pinot Noir by Stag Hollow-- my favorite of the bunch-- featured a warm, graham crackery nose which introduced a well rounded palate of slightly dried prunes and a sazerac rye whiskey and puckering anise twinge... reminds me of my favorite cocktail!
  2. 2000 Pinot Noir by Belle Pente. BAM! The last wine of the tasting hit with a dry, earthy and acidic cherry love.
  3. The 2000 Pinot Noir by Sother was gritty and herbaceous, and saturated with watery cherries.
  4. My tasting scribbles for Kramer's 2000 Pinot Noir read: musty. lightening fast acid & gritty cowboy farm barnyard yee-ha.
  5. 2000 Pinot Noir by Elk Cove: bright and creamy with a fruit leathery orange plumb liqueur body.



I had a blast on my winey afternoon, and I took away a valuable lesson, "your palate is always freshest in the morning when you don't use mouthwash." Eloquently put by Winemaker Adam Campbell of Elk Cove Vineyards.


Whew! I'm exhausted... See you next time in the tasting room!

8.28.2010

the Superlative Intoxicant: From Verde to Rosé.


Quinta de Aveleda, Casal Garcia Vinho Verde Rosé, Spain
concoction: Azai Tinto, Barraçal, Vinhao

visuals: subtle sparkling bubbles with the hue of salmon sashimi.

sniffings: a bright and buttery, sugar cookie.
palate: completely revitalizing and effervescent, this could easily be mistaken for a bubbly berry cocktail.
ruling: This rosé is popping up everywhere, and for good reason. It's a tasty $9 bottle that would pair impeccably with an array of foodstuffs.

The Italian Backroads at PWM

Portland Wine Merchants is bustling with jovial regulars and wine enthusiasts every Friday evening. The quaint shop offers a myriad of bottles and generously hosts fantastic themed tastings every week-- this time we explored Italian creations while munching on cheese and salami and enjoying the company of fellow vinophiles.

After numerous tastings, it was clear the Masseria La Sorba Fumac 2006 was the rocking stand out of the night, and a fabulous wine for only $10; we brought a bottle home to review for you later. I have to award top honors to the irresistible, port-like Musella Amarone della Valpolicella 2003. Amarone is made by a unique drying process called Appasimento, which concentrates sugars, flavors, and tannins. The resultant pressed juice is left to steep in its own grape skins (known as maceration) for added color and flavor, and is then aged in oak barrels for a smooth and noble structure. "It tastes like breakfast," my friend Paige affirmed of the supple maple-bacon sapidity. One sip had my own imagination running, envisioning a cozy autumn evening spent lounging beside the fireplace while indulging in a glass of Amarone with aggrandizing delectables. This is hardly an affordable libation ($50) and I don't have a fireplace, but allow me the fantasy.

While tasting the Italians, PWM regular, Kristina Thomas, received an exciting call; her Estate Chardonnay had just won gold medal at the Oregon State Fair. She happened to have a bottle in the car, and in celebration obliged us with the extreme honor of sampling her award winning 2008 Estate Reserve Chardonnay (92 pts, Wine Enthusiast 2010). I cannot remember the last time I gushed over a white wine, but I feel like I found the goose that laid the golden egg. This Chardonnay is super sexy with dry, smoky toast and mysterious complexity. Sadly, there are only 14 cases left, so keep a look out for the next estate reserve Chard by Phelps Creek!

8.24.2010

Entrée Not Included

The typical American carb-focused diet is a recipe for lethargy -- too often have I experienced a "food coma" directly after unthinkingly stuffing myself on an over sized, heavy entrée. Thus, I have become enamored with Mediterranean food habits, whose leisurely indulgence in life's simple pleasures is fantastically inspirational. To create and delight in a great charcuterie board can be inventive, romantic, entertaining, and surprising, and it needn't involve hours of preparation or even cooking; plus, the lack of carbohydrates leaves you with a protein buzz, which makes for a nice aphrodisiac! Relaxedly snacking on and discussing meats, cheeses, olives, and fruits, provides light and healthy accompaniment to fantastic friends and conversation. Our recent evening of blind tasting and pairing wine to decadent charcuterie left us fulfilled and energized with a renewed lust for life!

Charcuterie

three cheeses (above)
meats: sweet coppa & prosciutto
greek olives
sliced, sea salted avocado
sliced golden pear


Vin sur la table

Though I am often the bubble skeptic, I was awed by the nutty smoothness of Freixenet Cava brut. Effervescent sparkling wines pair expertly with most foods, and this bottle, when combined with our charcuterie plate, was most definitely drool-worthy. Impeccably paired with: avocado.

To double blind taste my other, I chose a 2006 Finca La Linda Malbec: a smooth Argentinean bottle with a delectably understated, inky backbone. I adore Malbecs, and for its minimal price tag and soft chocolaty notes and medium body, I would buy a case of La Linda to enjoy as an everyday guilty pleasure... not to mention it paired stunningly with every item on our charcuterie menu. Impeccably paired with: sweet coppa wrapped La Leyenda, Spanish sheep's milk cheese.

My blind taste challenge was revealed as Vignamaggio Terre di Prenzano Chianti Classico 2004. Such Italian wines often end up on a lower level of my palatable enjoyment. Despite such preceptions, this Chiantis heavy, earthy, cherry Sangiovese profile exhibited sweet vanilla, and was well structured and mouthwatering.

8.19.2010

the Common Libation: Rhodos Red

Emery Athiri Rhodos 2004, Greece
concoction: 100% Amoryano
palate: reminiscent of an Italian Chianti, though lighter bodied and spicy, with a little spunk and punch on the end. It tastes of a higher alcohol than its stated 12%.
ruling: Despite the tacky label, I picked this bottle out of curiosity toward Grecian varietals. The Amoryano grapes, also known as Mandilaria, of Rhodes have been cultivated for centuries, and I like to imagine I'm drinking something the philosophers of ancient Greece would swill at symposium. The Rhodos is an easy drinking food wine at a value price.

Thursday Tasting

Artisanal Cellars Dovetail white 2008
concoction: 50% Viognier, 50% Roussanne
visuals: carefree yellow.
sniffings: pleasantly floral.
palate: honey like and refreshing, without overbearing sweetness.
ruling: the best recipe for a spring wedding.

Apolloni Pinot Noir 2007
visuals: reveal the darker side of pinot.
sniffings: Barbie and Ken's leathery plastic love.
palate: wild cherries and rubbery tannins.
ruling: 2007 was a difficult vintage for Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. The wines were typically thinner and weaker due to cooler temperatures. For $23 I would not recommend this bottle. Still, this wine is drinkable and not unpleasant by any means.

Three Rivers Winery Meritage 2004
concoction: a mutt of Cabernet Savignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.
palate: this guy is big and dry.
ruling: my top pick of the tasting. when next we meet, it'll be over a juicy hunk of meat. yum.

8.18.2010

Saucy Dinner Monday

Start
plate of French cheese and olives.

Main
warm port reduction Brussels sprouts sprinkled with fresh Parmesan Reggiano.
chicken and caramelized onion, wild mushroom & white wine sauce.

Vin sur la table

We enjoyed a favored aperitif of De Ponte Cellars tangy rosé, and munched on our starter while whipping up the main plate.

Concho y Toro Amelia 2006 Chardonnay paired fabulously with the white sauce and earthiness of the wild mushrooms. The gorgeous gold wine held marvelous candied pear flavors without being over oaked or flabby. I regard this Chardonnay as if he were an English Lord, come to high tea for a pleasurable afternoon of tea and scones. Top-notch, I'd say.

The Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Villages 2008 (chilled, of course!) added an airy mouthfeel and tingly dry fruitiness to the meal. Beaujolais is extremely light bodied, as it is made from the Gamay Noir grape, whose lineage is intertwined with Pinot Noir. Everyone knows Pinot pairs marvelously with chicken and mushrooms, so why not a Beaujolias, c'est magnifique!

One word encompasses our wine pairings to the light, saucy dinner: sprightly. With refreshing libations, the meal was ideal for a hot summer evening under dim lighting and a ceiling fan.

8.17.2010

Gracious Wines at Four Graces

Following the nightmarish experience of Duck Pond Cellars, a white picket fence lined driveway can instill immediate panic. At first sight, Four Graces, with its well groomed mini garden, adorable cottage-like tasting room, and close proximity to Duck Pond, was frightening. "Should we turn back?" we questioned, but the fear was instantly dismissed upon entry. The spanning vineyard and tiny 1930s farmhouse ooze charm. The tasting room, adorned with grainy family photos of elegant daughters (the four graces), inspires comfort and nostalgia. We met with vineyard manager, the amiable Anthony Van Nice, to taste wines from the concise production list. To start, an 09 Pinot Gris-- though slightly too syrupy and not terribly crisp, the bright and juicy white delighted in its light caramelized flavors of toasted white nuts. The wines that followed were astounding. An 09 Pinot Blanc tickled my senses all the way down, leaving me giddy and craving more of the light, citrusy-smooth, baked cinnamon pear that had just been sampled. The sultry, impressively structured Willamette Valley 2008 Pinot Noir displayed velvety, lush fruits and splendid acidity. Its creamy finale lingered until our final pour-- the 07 Dundee Hills Pinot-- which powerfully marched its earthy vim around my tongue. We left with a serene mind, having embraced the welcome of Four Graces' genial and unpretentious spirit. Fear not the picket fence, but enjoy Four Graces enchanting selections!

8.13.2010

Evening Pairing

We chose three wines to compliment our
steak entrée, and three cheeses to enjoy while preparing the meal.

Sur la Table:

My current favorite ros
é, 2008
Akakies by Kir Yianni, is unique in its sprightly, dry palate and neon color. The wine is made from the most distinguished varietal of Northern Greece, Xinomavro. Attributes of Xinomavro are quite dissimilar from that of most red wine grapes, and feature captivating vegital notes on a nose nearly devoid of fruit. The grapes earned the name Xinomavro, or "black acid" due to their massive tannic structure and difficulty to tend or master. Contrary to the norm for a ros
é, the
Akakies retains the nose of a red Xinomavro, and we found it paired expertly with steak!

2005 Greenpoint Australian Shiraz' saucy attitude and powerful expressiveness made for an unmitigated steak companion.

The 2001 Chateau ste Michelle Meritage displayed surprising strength for its age. With delectable chocolate and dark fruitiness, the supple tannins ensured the wine would drink fabulously with or without food.



8.11.2010

Old Ladies Bite at Duck Pond Cellars

Ancient wrinkled hands struggle to uncork a bottle of merlot as we enter a kitschy boutique style room with nick-knack cluttered shelves. Wine bottles are tastelessly adorned with awarded medals. The bar is bustling with seniors while terrible 90's soft rock saturates the air. "How you kiddies doin'?" greets the elderly tasting room associate. "Welcome to Duck Pond Cellars."

"[The pinot gris] is so minerally,
it tastes like manchego." --Brent

First taste in the glass is an 08 pinot gris. The wine is gorgeously clear by sight. My cohort-- aspiring sommelier, Brent --describes the funky crisp apple and light mandarin finish as "so minerally it tastes like manchego;" he gives an approving thumbs up, while I am less appreciative. We concur, the oaked butter flavor of the 07 Chardonnay has quite a rocky and biting relationship with its acidity. An 08 pinot noir is poured next. Though the palate features pleasant acidity, the minimal earth and awkward toastiness earns further negative reaction. The gewürztraminer finishes with a bite. I find the flabby merlot synonymous to nestle coco powder mixed with hot water, while Brent equates it to poor drip filter coffee.

Slightly perturbed and grasping for a redeeming wine, we cracker our palates and go for Duck Pond's Washington label, Desert Wind. The 08 Ruah meritage is poured, looking stately in the glass. Some cedar spice, a little rubarb... dusty tannins, dark fruits... this is a good wine! Relieved, though not convinced, we attempt a viognier, whose lite minerals and nuttiness leave little room for dissatisfaction. A clean sangiovese shows promise as a food wine. The last, an 06 syrah, proves nothing short of oddly delicious with a concentrated, rubbery body, and cedary lavender reminiscent of... wait... is that fresh raspberry creme filled doughnut? Couldn't be.

On the chance you enjoy quilting, tacky cottage motifs, and are an Alabaman tourist, your tastes may better align with Duck Pond Cellars than did mine. The Duck Pond experience was frustrating, with its off biting finishes and strangely unstructured tasting sequence (viognier after meritage!?), yet it was ultimately rescued from an inadequate evaluation. Though I cannot give the Oregon label approval, I do recommend Desert Wind as a tasty and affordable alternative.

Bio-Dynamic Triumph at Rex Hill

Happy vines beget unique wines-- and Newberg's Rex Hill Winery has very happy vines. From their 17 vineyard acres, Rex Hill creates fabulously energetic wines. Rex Hill's animated Mike Willison recently took us on a facility tour. The atmosphere at the estate was friendly and real. We learned that while too many wineries capitalize on tourism, focusing on vineyard aesthetics, Rex Hill emphasizes bio-dynamic growth in order to retain the true flavor of each varietal. Willison enlightened us on how, through the cultivation of natural pest defense, chemical sprays are unnecessary-- employee gardens blockade against hungry slugs, voles are kept at bay by attracting hawks, and wild flowers and buckwheat crops invite bees to pollinate. No shiny pesticides to suffocate the hillside leaves grapes free to develop a true personality and to produce wines of expert quality.

With the general American palate craving bigger, fatter, slap-you-across-the-face flavor, finding a Chardonnay that isn't essentially extract of buttered popcorn can prove daunting.

Willison jovially walked us through numerous wines. What instantly excited my palate were the beautifully complex and airy Chardonnays. With the general American palate craving bigger, fatter, slap-you-across-the-face flavor, finding a Chardonnay that isn't essentially extract of buttered popcorn can prove daunting (how my boyfriends sister can enjoy Kendall Jackson on the rocks defies all reason). Fortunately for oak skeptics, Rex Hill exists. The 08 A-Z Chardonnay delighted with fresh, un-oaked fruits, honey, and acidic minerality. The 07 Rex Hill Reserve Chardonnay, which spent merely 15% of its life in new French oak, and whose earthiness and mouthfeel mimicked that of a lite pinot noir, dazzled me to speechlessness.

In northern Oregon thrives Pinot Noir. The 06 vintage was criticized for producing flamboyant pinot bombs, yet Rex Hill managed to shirk the showy attitude, keeping it simple, and ultimately superior. Their Sims Vineyard 06 pinot noir, showcases excellent balance and revitalizing acidity despite dangerously approaching 16%abv. Willison described the 07 Dundee Hills pinot as bearing "brambly giddy-up terrior," and joked he couldn't sell us a bottle, "this is the special line I keep for myself."

Also recommended from Rex Hill/A-Z:
  • Rex Hill 2007 Chardonnay, un-oaked, Willamette Valley.
  • Newly released 2008 A-Z pinot noir, Willamette Valley.
  • Southern Oregon's dusty 2006 Chemin de Terre, which aptly translates to "dirt road."

8.04.2010

Decoding Double Blind

Early on, my relationship with wine was nonchalant, and at times, abusive. My bottle would often complain. "You only love me for my alcohol," he would insist. "Don't be absurd," I would refute, "I could have stayed with Jim." I felt the two of us had a true connection, so I decided to shirk my dispassionate attitude. In flitting about town on romantic outings and wine bar tastings, we strengthened our mutual affinity. I still felt anxious; haunted to the reticent wines dark and mysterious nature. I have learned wines background, explored flights, and even resorted to self help literature -- now, I lust for a deeper understanding which will require intense measures: I must dive into the world of double-blind tasting:

To place a featureless bottle of wine on the table is like a puzzle of sense and mind. By deductive reasoning, it is possible to pinpoint a wines varietal, region, ageing process, even vintage. The Court of Master Sommeliers make this look like a piece of fermented grape pie, and I am like the fat kid who only gets a slice after losing 100 pounds.

Much like blind Matt Murdock's transformation to heightened-sensitivity Daredevil, I shall become VinoVixen: able to decode a glass of fermented grape juice -- double-blind!