Enobytes Wine Blog

Having recently judged the Oregon Wine Competition, I had an opportunity to survey the Oregon landscape. As it turned out, we had many good Pinot noirs and Rieslings for the ’08 and ’09 vintage. Some of the standouts , which I sometimes refer to as ‘diamonds in the rough’, include a handful of gems.

Zerba Cellars for example, kicked it with their ’08 white blend & ’07 red blend. The ’06 Merlot & Syrah was tasty as was their ’07 Mourvedre.  As for Chardonnay, the ’08 Phelps Creek Vineyards and the’09 Stoller Vineyards rocked it.

There were many great Pinot’s but the most impressionable were the  Read the rest of this entry »

The fruit from this AVA just keeps getting better especially the Pinot Noir. I remember driving back and forth from hwy 101 and Pacific Coast One looking at property in this area in 1998 and back then, there were very few grape growers in this remote location.  It has of late become a source for high quality grapes that will rival Northern California fruit at reasonable prices. David Rossi the maker of this wine seems to be a pioneer in sourcing excellent quality grapes from vineyards who are still flying under the radar.

This wine is another solid bottling from winemaker at Fulcrum; more proof that commercial level wines can be made at Crushpad. This is not always the case as we have tasted a few dogs made at that facility, but the fault does not manifest itself in the winemaking techniques used. The fault according to my palate has been fruit choice and as much as I have tried to teach my palate to lie, it seems I have yet to be successful no matter how much I abuse that particular tactile sense. As I meander I will try to stay On Point, no pun intended (well maybe just a little).

Just as in culinary, a really great chef can take some so-so ingredients and make them taste OK maybe even great, but a relative newcomer will struggle to achieve palatable results without using the best base products (in this case grapes) and this winemaker has a couple of vintages under his belt and has not faltered because he chooses to source the best fruit available for the style of wine within a particular varietal he plans to make. Read the rest of this entry »

Although 2003 wasn’t the best year for Willamette Valley Pinot, (lets translate this to, it was hotter than the dickens) these Ponzi grapes rose to the occasion, looked the sun square in the eye and said, “Is that all you got?”

At first sniff, the nose really sets up the story. Its hot peppery kick brings you back to ’03 in a way you can almost smell the heat rising from the vineyards. Dark cherry flavors are prominent leading to a well-balanced, concentrated, almost tropical-like dried orange peel finish.

Some of the flavor descriptors sound a little out of whack for a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, but trust me on this. If you don’t mind a little heat in your glass, find a bottle and take the journey. On the downside, the winery is sold out of this wine, but venture into your local wine store and see if they can hunt down a bottle for you. If you live in a state that allows wine shipments, you could also try wine-searcher.com. 980 case production. Drink now through 2012. ~Pamela Heiligenthal

Rating: 9o | $50 | 14% ABV

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 »

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you love Pinot noir as much as I do, you won’t want to miss the 23rd Annual International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) happening July 24 – 26 in McMinnville, Oregon. It’s the crème de la crème of all Pinot festivals showcasing premium Pinot noir producers from Oregon, California, Burgundy, New Zealand, Austria, Champagne and Alsace.

This will be my first year attending the event and I am very much looking forward to it. Not only is this a unique opportunity for Pinot producers to show off their wines and for chefs to showcase their exceptional cuisine, it’s an opportunity to mingle with those in the industry including a number of highly regarded media guests.

This year, Jancis Robinson, Master of Wine, will be the 2009 Master of Ceremonies, joined by speaker David Schildknecht from The Wine Advocate. 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.

2007 was a bit of a challenge for Oregon Pinot noir growers – just as the grapes were reaching ripeness, Mother Nature decided to dump up to eight inches of rain during harvest season, forcing winemakers to make decisions on whether to pull the fruit or risk fungus growth. Despite these challenges, most of the regions winemakers overcame these obstacles – although acids are a bit higher than normal and the alcohol levels are a bit lower, many of the wines are generating fragrant and vivacious wines worthy of cellaring.

Showing notes of earth and spice, clone 115 was Marc’s favorite. It’s quite evident that the ’07 really fits the 115 clone profile, which produces well structured wines with good aroma and flavor characteristics. Texture is also an attribute this clone seems to provide in a style that is luscious and sexy. The wine was aromatic with flavors of blackberry fruit picked at the perfection of ripeness – a facet that will contribute heavily to producing a balanced wine with good integrated tannin structure.

The final tasting comes from the 777, a high quality Pinot noir clone coming from the Cote D’Or region of Burgundy. What I love about this clone is its ability to generate strong and intense aromas and flavors with round and supple tannin structure. Tasted from barrel, Panther Creek’s 2007 vintage is showing just that; rich and round with great balance and structure. Panther Creek’s ’07s will definitely be worth waiting for; be on the lookout for their future Freedom Hill release once blending activities are complete and the product makes it into the bottle.

Panther Creek barrels

The hospitality provided at the winery will impress all who visit, making the quality of the product and the warmth of the tasting room staff a combination that will reward enophiles in every way.

"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 »