Oregon Wine: Part Two

On Thursday of our Oregon Wine Extravaganza, we headed to an 11:00 appointment at Patricia Green Cellars. We followed the directions to a winery with no signs or arrows leading the way. They simply told us they were across the street from a farm with two big silos, and that if we wanted fresh eggs to stop there on our way out and ask for Nancy. We rolled up the driveway in our sleek Chevy Trailblazer and quickly realized this would be a totally different experience than any other wine adventure we had taken. Our tasting began with an introduction to Patricia herself, her business partner Jim, and another long-time customer also named Jim. We tasted their splendid Sauvignon Blanc first. It was very citrusy, and smooth. It reminded me of the 2004 St. Supery Sauv Blanc. Next we tasted two bottles of 2004 Pinot to warm up our palates for the test ahead, barrel sampling. Jim and Patty walked us into their barrel room, and we proceeded to taste samples from over a dozen individual barrels. We tasted single vineyards, and different blocks from within those vineyards. It was amazing to taste the differences in wines where the grapes were grown only 100 feet apart. It really gives you the sense of the terrior in the wines. Terrior, say it with a French accent and sound, is word that doesn't translate to English except as the soil and topography of where the grapes grew. Think of it as location, location, location. Some of the Pinot Noir we tasted was rougher and had almost a sharp spiciness to them. Other smooth and supple with a certain silkiness to them. Tasting all those barrels was like a revelation in Terrior! Needless to say, we ordered a case of futures, and I can't wait till they arrive in November.

That afternoon we visited Brickhouse winery. The owner/winemaker Doug, a former CNN correspondent, was unavailable so his neighbor/assistant winemaker Allan gave us the tour and tasting. Over a taste of their mind-blowing Chardonnay, Allan explained the intricacies, or as call them "oddities," of Biodynamic winemaking. Brickhouse is Organic, but also Biodynamic. This means, they plant and fertilize (voo-doo alert!!!) according to the phases of the moon AND the alignment of the planets. They spread these mysterious powders of essence of newt or something at a rate of 2 tablespoons per 30 acres when Venus is in Scorpio and Saturn is in the left quadrant while the moon is in a waxing crescent, or something. Either way, their Dijon and Pommard Clone Pinot Noirs were off the charts! We had to buy a bottle of both, and we are hoping to get our hands on some of the Chardonnay when its bottled and released. I don't mean to sound sarcastic about their philosophies, but when you pack your compost into a cow's horn and bury it for six months before its used because it needs to soak up the earth's shakra's or something, that raises an eyebrow. But as I said, their wines were two of the best all week!

Finally, we stopped at Aramenta Cellars based on Allan's recommendation. They are right down the road from Brickhouse, and literally in little building off of this women's garage. Her and her husband make the wine there from grapes grown on-site as well as some purchased from Washington and other parts of Oregon. We tasted wine with her while her six grandkids trickled in off the school buses. The Pinot Noirs were a major let down after Patricia Green and Brickhouse. If we had tasted them earlier in the day they might have been more well received by our tastebuds. The real gem though, was a bordeaux style blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, called "Tillie" in honor of her grandmother who first settled their land on Ribbon Ridge (more to come on Ribbon Ridge and the new Oregon AVA's next week!). We bought two bottles of Tillie and shared one with Mar and Mark before we left. It was a great Garage wine. And I mean that with no disrespect. Garage wines are a huge market in Bordeaux now and are starting to score highly in the popular publications. I will have a post focusing on Bordeaux and the so-called Garage wines after I finish the book, Noble Rot.

So that was Thursday the 20th of April in Oregon. Next Post will be on Willamette (Dammit) Valley Vineyards, the mass producer of the valley, and Domaine Drouhin! Till next time..."It is not a wine that commands your attention, but rather rewards it."--Dave Guimond

P.S. Thank you to our families for a lovely dinner Sunday at Shelter Harbor Inn in Westerly, RI (The lamb was sumptuous!). We drank the 1998 Argyle Brut Knudsen Vineyard to celebrate the new job, and with appetizers we had the '04 Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc, and with entrees the 2003 Joseph Phelps Le Mistral. Its a beautiful Rhone style wine made of 57% Syrah, 36% Grenache, 5% Petite Sirah, and 2%Alicante Bouschet. It was silky and smooth with a dazzling finish that caressed your tongue. It seemed to be enjoyed by all and paired well with the lamb, duck, chicken, scrod, and even steak.