Enobytes Wine Blog

I’m reminded every day that the appreciation and enjoyment of wine is a very personal experience. What you like may not be the cat’s meow for someone else. This was evident at the ‘10 Oregon Wine Industry Symposium (OWIS), “Technical Tasting: Seeking Closure & Hi-Tech Winemaking“.

Most of the attendees were winemakers, viticulturists and industry folks in the know when it comes to high-tech stuff like RO, ultra-filtration or VA (don’t worry, we’ll get to these wine geek terms in a later post) but what blew me away at this event were all the differences in opinions between the wines we tasted.

There were a few hundred industry folks locked in a room (well, not literally) for a couple of hours to taste and discuss closures and Hi-Tech Winemaking. Harry Peterson-Nedry from Chehalem Winery moderated the session with panelists Domingo Rodriguez (Winesecrets), Clark Smith (Vinovation) and David Paige (Adelsheim Vineyard).

We kicked off the technical tasting with a comparison between cork and screw cap closures, blind tasting two white wines – identical in every way except one was bottled using cork, and the other under screw cap.  So what’s the verdict? Read the rest of this entry »

In my wine column today on OregonLive.com, I talk about the pleasures of vacationing at the California Mendocino Coast where we ventured through Anderson Valley, visiting a few old favorites and some new wineries including Duckhorn’s Pinot outpost, Goldeneye, which offers great wines and a very nice tasting room located at Obester’s old location. As we drove north to head back to Oregon, we found a great restaurant (thanks urbanspoon iphone app!) which proved to be a damn good Italian treat. I knew I was at the right place when I started to focus on the smells filling the restaurant over the decor; fabulous homemade pastas, wood-fired pizzas and a reasonable wine list. Check out my latest post on Wine Bytes to read more.

Holiday dinner pairings…if you fret the challenge of finding the perfect pairing, you’re not alone. It’s daunting to think about what goes with what; turkey is sort of like chicken, so should I serve it with a Chardonnay? Can I serve the same wine with oyster dressing as I would a sausage dressing? What about smoked meats? Sauces? Candied yams? Pumpkin pie?

These decisions would make anyone go nuts. Holiday meals are usually so varied when it comes to flavor, texture, sweetness level, acidity and oil content that it’s almost impossible to find the perfect match as the combinations are endless. If you’re looking for a few really good versatile wines that will pair with a myriad of foods, check out my recommendations from the slideshow below. There’s bound to be a few wines you’ll love and your guests will be impressed with your wine-savvy knowledge.

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I’m not much of a Harlequin romance writer when it comes to writing about wine, but every once in a while I find a story that captures the essence of a region’s past, which soundly shapes it’s future. Oregon’s roots to Riesling are comparable to a river shaped by the water for which it flows, ever shifting as it seeks a path of least resistance, cutting through time and history. Gone, are the preconceived conceptions of style as the masters mold their Rieslings into a personality anyone can appreciate.

Back in the 60’s, the romanticism started as a number of U.C. Davis expatriates embraced the Oregon landscape hoping to produce great wines from Burgundian varietals. Richard Sommer, one of the first Oregon pioneers in the early modern era planted Riesling near Roseberg (now known as the Umpqua appellation) as David Lett planted Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Pinot gris in the Willamette Valley. Since then, Riesling continues it’s ever-shifting path of styles and personality, growth and attrition.  Read the rest of this entry »

Today on Wine Bytes, my wine blog on OregonLive, I talk about the recent trade tasting I attended for the Chehalem Mountain Vintner’s Association in Oregon. The thing that surprised me was how many of the wineries pouring also belong to many other location specific organizations – it finally dawned on me that because of the many locations these wineries source their fruit from for a lot of their vineyard designate specifics and cuvees they will belong to a lot of different appellation organizations.

Most of the wineries I have worked for made their wine from estate-grown fruit. Nevertheless, it was a great opportunity to meet a few buyers and a number of great winemakers.

I also go into detail about some of the trends I’m seeing for Oregon Viognier and Riesling which is a surprising twist to what you’d expect.  See how these varieties fair on my latest post here…and be certain to check back soon for the full report on what we tasted in the coming weeks.

Somehow, it takes a pretty serious jolt like a death or a tragedy to make you take worth of the things around you. Sometimes that tragedy is the landmark event that solidifies a movement, a thing, and sometimes even a varietal.

Today on Wine Bytes, my wine blog on OregonLive, I discuss how Oregon Pinot noir now has a landmark event in its history. This event overshadows all the achievements (and there are many) that have come to pass in this young industries’ long road of recognition. We all enjoy Willamette Valley Pinot noir but do we realize the vision and commitment it took to convince distributors and consumers we have something special here? This post is in commemoration of David Lett, a man who started the groundwork that would insure his vision of Oregon wine would continue long into the future. Check out my latest post here.

Worry is a negative emotion and there was a lot of it going around here in Oregon right before the ‘08 harvest. Fortunately, the generosity of the juice the grapes are producing this season is now overshadowing reasons for concern, which means less gray hair among the growers who still have some!

I have to admit that until recently, I was a bit nervous for Oregon wine growers. Many of the grapes were lagging in ripeness and maturity as cool temperatures and rain blanketed the Willamette Valley region.

Early in the season I predicted an October 22nd harvest date and until recently I was pretty sure I was going to loose a bet I made with a couple of colleagues. It wasn’t but a month ago that grapes were barely changing color. And recently, I thought to myself, here we are, almost half way through the month, and many of the grapes have not reached their potential, and now we are getting hit by cooler temperatures and rain. It definitely felt like a catastrophe looming in the distance.

But it’s amazing what a difference a couple of Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a very sad day here in Oregon with the announcement that David Lett, our pioneering "Papa Pinot", died Thursday at the age of 69.

At the tender age of 25, David Lett came to Oregon with a vision of making great wines. Although professors at the University of California Davis advised against planting in Oregon, the ambitious U.C. Davis graduate arrived with 3,000 grape cuttings and a theory. In 1965, he planted Pinot noir in Oregon and made history by planting the first Pinot gris in America – a true pioneer which later fostered a fitting nickname for Lett, "Papa Pinot". In 1966, he opened Eyrie Vineyards as many other growers followed suit.

Photo credit: Eyrie Vineyards

Photo credit: www.avalonwine.com

Shortly thereafter, Lett entered a number of international competitions and defeated many of France’s burgundies. The competitions immediately placed Oregon on the map as a world class Pinot noir producing region, and producers from around the world took notice and attracted vintners like Domaine Drouhin, which built a state-of-the-art Oregon winery in the late 80’s. Since then, the Oregon wine industry has continued to flourish. For forty years, David’s Pinot noir style remained classic and elegant, as he followed traditional and old-fashioned winemaking principles. David’s son, Jason, who took over the reigns of winemaking three years ago, plans to follow his example when it comes to his own winemaking principles and philosophy.

David is a legend in his own right and many will dearly miss him. Our condolences go out to his family and close friends.

"Here’s what can be so frustrating about Oregon pinot noir: The wine rarely lives up to the hype. Ever since an Oregon pinot kicked booty on some fancy French wine in a blind tasting back in the late ’70s, we’ve been hearing that the state could be the next Burgundy", says SpokesmanReview.com, August, 1998.

It’s hard to believe those were the words coming from Journalists back in the ’90’s. Since then, Oregon has come a log way to prove they can make great Pinot. Now it’s time for a new debate: Read the rest of this entry »

For wine writers in western Oregon, this has been a very busy week; a very enlightening week that brought vast amounts of knowledge not previously experienced by this particular writer. The Dundee Hills Winegrowers Association (DHWA) invited us to a media event on May 9th. We were flattered and excited to be among the few journalists who received an invitation.

The timing could not have been more convenient because we had already been invited to a trade tasting of the Yamhill-Carlton District AVA on Monday, May 12. That event was held at Ten 01. If you have not had the pleasure of experiencing the awesome cuisine Jack Yoss and his crew prepares, get on in there – those folks can cook. I would even go on to say it’s some of the best food I’ve tasted in Portland in a long time. But let’s get back to the wine and highlighting the gracious hosting capabilities of both organizations.

Dundee Hills Satellite Photo

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