tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105458042024-03-07T16:47:01.609-08:00élevage[el´ vazh] n. m. The education of wine. A blog.<br>
Part of Vincent Wine Company, Portland, ORVincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153962387209512138noreply@blogger.comBlogger597125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-87444431506307350472017-09-20T22:56:00.001-07:002017-09-20T22:57:33.166-07:00Europe '17 finale - To Paris, via ChablisOur week plus long car trip from Paris to Nice, then into Italy, left us with a long drive back to Paris and our flight home in two days. The trip finale was one of the highlights of our time in Europe.<br />
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If you ever get the chance, and you like road driving, you should drive through the Italian alps to Switzerland via the Valle d'Aosta and then into France via Lake Geneva and the Jura mountains. It was one of the best road trips of my life.</div>
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We left Grinzane Cavour in the Barolo region and headed north into the flatlands and the city of Turin, followed a beltway road around the city and soon headed into the alps. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The flats north of Turin give way to the Alps</td></tr>
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At Valle d'Aosta we turned north toward Switzerland, but not before seeing lots of vineyard terraces in the steep, narrow canyon of a valley.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The endless tunnel a blur from Italy to Switzerland</td></tr>
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On the Swiss side we found dramatic vineyard scenes on steep alpine faces, then by Lake Geneva more rolling vineyard land on mostly gentle slopes down to the water. I know very little of Swiss wine and seeing all this made me resolve to research the areas. Truthfully, I have not followed through on that one quite yet.</div>
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Past Lausanne, we turned north into the Jura mountains, crossing the French border and passing though tiny Morbier, home of the wonderful cheese. We didn't see much vineyard land here but the soils looked great, super rocky limestone earth. </div>
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We needed to reach Chablis for the night, still a long ways off. That would leave a short trip into Paris the next day, and I wanted to see the Grand Cru slope and ideally get a decent local meal. We pressed on.</div>
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The weather had been rainy off and on all though the alps and over the Jura mountains, and it continued as we zigzagged on the autoroutes toward Beaune and the gap in the Cote d'Or, retracing a few steps as we passed Beaune and headed toward Auxerre.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A welcome sight after a long road trip from Italy to Chablis</td></tr>
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We saw more heavy rain showers but by the time we got to Chablis, the sun was peeking out through broken clouds, the rain finished. </div>
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At a lunch stop in Switzerland I had found Le Syracuse in Chablis, a classic restaurant in an ancient vaulted stone dining room. Dinner couldn't have been better, escargots, ham, a selection of desserts, and of course local wine. Honestly, this was a night where even a simple local drink was divine with this food in this setting.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dining room of Le Syracuse </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My escargot and Chablis</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jambon a la chablisienne</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Solid AOC Chablis, exceptional in the moment</td></tr>
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We emerged from Le Syracuse surprised to find it still light out, the sky brighter than earlier with only broken clouds in the sky. We'd managed to part right in front of the restaurant and we were running late to our Air Bnb outside of town. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a lazy meal, the grand cru slope peek out at the east end of town</td></tr>
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I drove east across the river and quickly came to the road we'd take north, the Route du Tonnerre that runs at the base of the Grand Cru slope.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perhaps the most stunning sight of a trip full of them</td></tr>
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I couldn't have planned this. Nearly the last light of day, the sky and earth washed clean from afternoon rain, now the low sunlight gleaming off the perfectly situated slope of seven Chablis Grand Cru vineyard. I pulled over, got out, had to catch my breath.</div>
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We could only stay for a few minutes but that was enough, the magic of this place that I knew in the glass was clear. This is Chablis, golden but crisp, steely, rocky, mineral. With an electricity that takes control a bit, makes a strong impression and doesn't quit.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stony Chablis terroir in the golden last light of day, this is Grand Crus</td></tr>
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We reached our lodging late but I was floating. The trip was about over, and I was ready to go home, satisfied like the feeling of finishing a terrific meal but now you're done. </div>
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I'd seen so much on the trop, felt the places more strongly than I even expected, and left knowing I'd have to come back and soon. Two weeks was a nice start but what I'd learned, and rediscovered in myself, that will take a much more time to explore. Soon.</div>
Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-85258174872497943182017-08-22T22:33:00.000-07:002017-08-22T22:33:04.259-07:00Europe '17 - Brezza Ristorante in Barolo<br />
The only problem with spending a single Wednesday night in Barolo is that most of the restaurants are closed. The few that are open were filled up. Crisis.<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the deck at Ristorante Brezza in Barolo</td></tr>
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Then I remembered write ups I'd read of the Langhe region that mentioned the restaurant at the Hotel Brezza in the town of Barolo. It wasn't on the short list we had received but it was open, the weather was nice, and after a slight delay getting noticed, we were able to sit al fresco for what ended up a wonderful, traditional Piemonte meal.</div>
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This was perfect Italy, as if you were in someone's home with a second floor deck looking over an indescribably beautiful scene. I ordered the simple tasting menu of salumi, tajarin, braised beef and a selection of desserts. The food was comforting, the service very attentive but perfectly discreet, we sat and took in the evening with a handful of other groups, just enough to make it lively.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The list had old vintage treasures but we kept it current</td></tr>
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We paired things with the 2011 Brezza Barolo Castellero from a vineyard we passed coming into town. Sandier soils here, I've found conflicting reports of whether this is an earlier drinking site or better to age, I thought this bottle was maturing aromatically, ruby colored and very red fruited, still structured and delicious if not super complex. Classic Barolo in a classic setting.</div>
Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-18985145312935069372017-08-22T21:57:00.002-07:002017-08-22T21:57:24.344-07:00Europe '17 - Incredible Visit to G.D. Vajra in Barolo<span id="goog_1754289323"></span><span id="goog_1754289324"></span><br />
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From Provence we took a couple of days to relax on the sea at Nice, exploring the old town and finding some incredible beaches to read and then float in the salty Mediterranean.<br />
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We didn't plan too much of the trip in advance, but our son had originally demanded that we make it to Nice. So that was our southern destination. The question - how to get back to Paris.</div>
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We could of course largely retrace our route to this point, or we could do what my dad would always do - make a loop. And it just so happened a loop here would mean swinging into Italy and then through part of Switzerland - not to mention the Jura mountains and Burgundy - to get us back to the airport home.</div>
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Of course we chose Italy, and for all the fun we had in France along with a few nights in London, I think the one night in Italy was the best of the trip. Again, we must return.</div>
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If you wanted to design a perfect vines meet medieval castle fantasyland, you'd probably end up with Barolo. I had heard the Piedmont of Italy was perhaps the most beautiful wine country anyway but I was simply blown away but what I experience. The views, the beautiful contours of the land, practically every hill topped with an incredible town or village, it was almost too much. The emotion of the terroir indeed.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stained glass the cellar at Vajra</td></tr>
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We drove a few hours from Nice along the Ligurian coast, then turning inland to quite mountainous terrain before the land opened to spotty hills and a carpet of vines. Before I knew it, we hit the town of Barolo just in time for our 4pm appointment at G.D. Vajra.</div>
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We were met by Eleonora, who toured us through the production area and then down to the cellar, talking in great detail about the winemaking process and the intricacies of Barolo terroirs. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the stairs down to the underground cask cellar, with garden!</td></tr>
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Then we walked across the parking lot to the office and tasting area, where we had a formal sit down tasting of several wines. Finally I had a moment to take notes as we went, so a bit more detail here.</div>
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Vajra produces several wines in addition to the Nebbiolo and other traditional area grapes. They were the first to plant Riesling in the Barolo region, and even make Pinot Nero. I'm a traditionalist but not dogmatic. Usually these other grape varieties wouldn't excite me much here, and perhaps they'd indicate a highly modern approach in the winery. Not here at Vajra, where large format <i>botti</i> are the norm and even the more international grapes show true delicacy and terroir.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tasting set up at Vajra, simple, elegant</td></tr>
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The 2016 Riesling was newly bottled and fresh, bright with a little petrol. This is lovely. Then the 2014 Pinot Nero, which Giuseppe Vajra - who popped by from time to time - described with good reason that this tastes like Pinot Noir from Barolo, with the power structure of this terroir. I'm happy to have a bottle of this at home to try at some point to check in again on this anomaly.</div>
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Now to more traditional things. The 2014 Barbera Superiore is all power and black cherries right now, rich and needing time to show more finesse. But what a wine.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_ocxxq2vOGFo1Hxipd9jIxNdX-1hxOAWxfLPg7h1uyQJ8p4TH9lTalu6dLmzhsiu4EhqCiklnDOMwmfwUzKSPPjOdgalHo77JHbW1zf6r1SGvyOQURRFNyX6KCTlHX4TDoRpTg/s1600/IMG_2967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_ocxxq2vOGFo1Hxipd9jIxNdX-1hxOAWxfLPg7h1uyQJ8p4TH9lTalu6dLmzhsiu4EhqCiklnDOMwmfwUzKSPPjOdgalHo77JHbW1zf6r1SGvyOQURRFNyX6KCTlHX4TDoRpTg/s400/IMG_2967.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An experimental, old style Nebbiolo from Vajra</td></tr>
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Then an experimental cuvee, the 2015 JC Clare Langhe Nebbiolo, all natural with no added SO2 following the ancient vinification methods of this region. Light color, earthy with subtle fruit, a little wild but good, I also brought a bottle back courtesy of Giuseppe to try later this summer.</div>
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Next, the Langhe Nebbiolo normale, also pale colored with grippy, steely freshness, this is young vines and all stainless steel aged.</div>
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The first Barolo was the Albe cuvee, meaning sunrises, a blend of three vineyard exposures very close to the winery, vinified separately and then blended to reflect the three exposures. Licorice, roasted chestnuts, lovely density but still lighter Barolo, this is readily available in Portland and a steal in legitimate, afforadable Barolo.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The line up of reds, truly inspiring wines</td></tr>
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Next the Barolo Bricco Della Viole, or violets, from a top selection of this sprawling vineyard just east of the winery. So elegant, all red fruits, worsted tannins, we learned this western swath of Barolo gives more elegant wines.</div>
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In contrast, the Barolo Luigi Baudana from the more powerful east side of the appellation, vineyards from Castiglioni, more iron, meat, dark fruit and firm tannin, this is for the cellar but what a wine. This label I believe refers to a historical property the Vajra family purchased along the way. They keep tradition alive by using the historical name on the label.</div>
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Finally we enjoyed the 2016 Moscato d'Asti, all 4% alcohol with lovely sweetness but not cloying, the one wine I didn't spit. Ok, the Luigi Baudana as well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I liked seeing my guy Vincent on the wall in the office</td></tr>
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We left with great ideas for dinner that night, I left thinking of how nicely they received us, and on short notice, and how I might incorporate some of the little things they did to make our visit special with winery visitors I host here in Oregon.</div>
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Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-14258132538983270072017-08-08T22:04:00.001-07:002017-08-08T22:04:04.171-07:00Europe '17 - Bandol and Ch. PradeauxFinally, Provence. <div>
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From the southern Rhone we spent the night in Aix en Provence, enjoying a late dinner of galetes, salad and cold rose. Then gelato on the main square, crowded with people near midnight.<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOMpfIHyl81ZaKj3SZwfjPkab_J80FOtJAg4FrgOVrWkwIKC3UQgQhOGUfzAVcYAUOKTeeBTZc-rnZbl-0_3kfRf5B-UKauOpql05coR31pAzbhTsXHyH8dgYDJqxBmxQANIVnw/s1600/IMG_2894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOMpfIHyl81ZaKj3SZwfjPkab_J80FOtJAg4FrgOVrWkwIKC3UQgQhOGUfzAVcYAUOKTeeBTZc-rnZbl-0_3kfRf5B-UKauOpql05coR31pAzbhTsXHyH8dgYDJqxBmxQANIVnw/s400/IMG_2894.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The entrance to Ch. Pradeaux a few miles northwest of Bandol</td></tr>
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In the morning we headed to Bandol, walking down the sea front in a light misty warm rain, then lunching under an umbrella at a terrific, nameless bistro off the main road.</div>
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Then, Pradeaux. I first came to love Bandol through Kermit Lynch and Domaine Tempier in the mid-'90s. Even though I found many other producers, Bastide Blanc, Le Galatin, Pibarnon...and Pradeaux.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking around the side of the main house, faded country grandeur</td></tr>
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Imported to the US by Neal Rosenthal, Ch. Pradeaux is about the oldest of old school Bandol I know. Even Tempier had modernized in ways I don't taste at Pradeaux. That doesn't mean the wines are unclean. I mean they have no gloss, no apparent (negative) craft about them. They're what we used to call real wine.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbgAUZD7Rw9ZmVaAmryzt-T0oFOoofgw_sSzioNNSXQ5Z6zjCTsqTZgwLYwv_JLIXRO5uIyVeNflwH21j4jnhXx9bmywISLpgNH_OjKIWYpnOyAZ2WHbotdVpacrBcfvxRgMPmw/s1600/IMG_2902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbgAUZD7Rw9ZmVaAmryzt-T0oFOoofgw_sSzioNNSXQ5Z6zjCTsqTZgwLYwv_JLIXRO5uIyVeNflwH21j4jnhXx9bmywISLpgNH_OjKIWYpnOyAZ2WHbotdVpacrBcfvxRgMPmw/s400/IMG_2902.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vines out front in the rocky, light brown soil</td></tr>
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We pulled our car around back and got out to another chorus of <i>cigale</i> buzzing almost alarmingly loudly. The chateau is a lovely country home, with terrific detail now aging, but cool inside on a suddenly warm day.<br />
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In the small tasting room off the courtyard, we met Etienne, one of the sons of the family that owns Pradeaux and clearly very involved. I think his wife was pouring for us, and we spoke a bit as we could about the wine making. I honestly didn't understand too much.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graceful palm at the courtyard entrance</td></tr>
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I'm only familiar with the Bandol AOC wines but we had a lovely Vin de Pays du Mont Caume rouge from what did not taste like any international grapes. Then a recent vintage of Rose and Rouge from the second wine, Les Lys du Pradeaux. Both were lovely and fresh. </div>
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Then, the '14 Rose Pradeaux which was mature but lovely in a lightly rusting kind of way. I bought one was turned out they sold the '13, which was a little more advanced than I like when we tried it in Nice a few days later.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZIrgAkY7TfpGgrUr9MxQo9BFaB8mkbPzh2C1joFRxkPziqU5pv5gpYOaI2z3S9cnpakL9k6ZFXeSb9ZAYL6nxxMu2EoJyPGxNnCBgUdpbV5XE9cpl_Qy8Iz79dqKYrDPctrYlw/s1600/IMG_2905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZIrgAkY7TfpGgrUr9MxQo9BFaB8mkbPzh2C1joFRxkPziqU5pv5gpYOaI2z3S9cnpakL9k6ZFXeSb9ZAYL6nxxMu2EoJyPGxNnCBgUdpbV5XE9cpl_Qy8Iz79dqKYrDPctrYlw/s400/IMG_2905.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some younger looking vines, surely for the early to market cuvees</td></tr>
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Finally, the '12 Ch. Pradeaux Rouge. I asked about Longue Garde but that was not to be. The Rouge was more approachable than I expected, or Les Lys is more substantial a second wine than I might have thought. Grippy tannin in the Rouge of course, but so stony and firm, I love this and must get some locally.</div>
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We didn't stay long, we had some distance to cover still, but how special to spend just a few hours in Bandol and experience the water front and then such a grand cru of Mourvèdre. We left thinking - as with most stops on the trip - we must return!<br />
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Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-44261075222281041652017-07-24T18:59:00.002-07:002017-07-24T18:59:38.228-07:00Europe '17 - RhoneOur time in the Rhone is on the one hand hardly worth writing up, yet even just a few hours passing through with a couple of brief stops left an impression on me.<br />
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Rhone wines, particularly the southern Rhone, were among my first loves in wine. I could afford Cotes du Rhone and I quickly learned about less prestigious villages like Rasteau and Vacqueyras that we're much pricier, at the time any way.<br />
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Of course, Chateauneuf du Pape the king of the south, and there's the whole other story of the Northern Rhone, which will have to wait until another time. For now, just a blurry pic from the autoroute as we headed by Cote Rotie. Still gorgeous.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our only glimpse of Cote Rotie...from the A7</td></tr>
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Our goal for the day was Roman ruins on the way to Provence, so we stopped for lunch on the plaza in Orange, across from the incredible Roman amphitheater. After lunch we hiked up the hill to a look down into the theater.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ap2I52oaDyGLdzzQK0wnjYmmWRS9rVxKgC3401whCZkpPcxkmvwEZhHN2X18KkTntnnHhsL-Se-mfRfEuFWMe1-GFDJyGsNl5KICx3Bek4OESQTQwbS_Z4Ia4XFtKbYuIP2xyA/s1600/IMG_2865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1600" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ap2I52oaDyGLdzzQK0wnjYmmWRS9rVxKgC3401whCZkpPcxkmvwEZhHN2X18KkTntnnHhsL-Se-mfRfEuFWMe1-GFDJyGsNl5KICx3Bek4OESQTQwbS_Z4Ia4XFtKbYuIP2xyA/s400/IMG_2865.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 2,000 year old amphitheater in Orange</td></tr>
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From Orange, we were so close to Chateauneuf that I couldn't avoid a detour to return where I'd visited back in 1994. And if I remembered correctly, we'd have a nice look from the hilltop there across the entire southern Rhone valley.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuio-omygO-Xhw4MBwengxHiWwWZVX03TfjuopOytT08QYBUK_uoxIo-CFzfeZUKj51euloHgR4GOELBx4hxqc8adTaaQc9xgql62WLKHOsVE8pwXZJN3GtNn1T57HHrutdX5ssA/s1600/IMG_2868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuio-omygO-Xhw4MBwengxHiWwWZVX03TfjuopOytT08QYBUK_uoxIo-CFzfeZUKj51euloHgR4GOELBx4hxqc8adTaaQc9xgql62WLKHOsVE8pwXZJN3GtNn1T57HHrutdX5ssA/s400/IMG_2868.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking out to the Rhone from the ruins at Chateauneuf du Pape</td></tr>
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The wines of Chateauneuf we a favorite of my paternal grandfather, and the name always stuck in my mind. When I came to France in 1994 I'd already discovered my wine passion, and I had a memorable day trip here from Avignon where I saw for myself the intensely rocky vineyards I'd heard this region was known for.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rocky terroir on the hill of Chateauneuf looking east</td></tr>
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We drove to the castle ruins and looked around, the air warm and dry with a loud buzz of cicadas. TO the south and west you could see the Rhone and Avignon. TO the east, the rolling countryside, the Dentelles of Gigondas, even the bare rock summit of Mont Ventoux in the distance.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiCHX1V6eY0AWNRsG3j7AwUocwL-gZo3i-d1NRHgnQCEAsBwizPwU3ASeiMSGz8wE54dySmR1YoJFzkRi-5HqOVDREdNmcmK_AhFl5Clzln94UKe-x4aSGQC8CDWQ_YqHYm9WBg/s1600/IMG_2877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiCHX1V6eY0AWNRsG3j7AwUocwL-gZo3i-d1NRHgnQCEAsBwizPwU3ASeiMSGz8wE54dySmR1YoJFzkRi-5HqOVDREdNmcmK_AhFl5Clzln94UKe-x4aSGQC8CDWQ_YqHYm9WBg/s400/IMG_2877.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An old vine at Ch. Maucoil next to the ruins</td></tr>
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I wandered up the road a bit to see the vines of Ch. Maucoil up close. Their vines abut the ruins and show the rounded boules of this ancient floodplain. Vines are typically head trained unlike the vertical trellis common in Burgundy, the wines here warm and stony, at their best a more heady and totally different but no less elegant wine than great red Burgundy.<br />
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I wanted to stop to taste somewhere but the day was fading and we still have a ways to go. I thought of a handful of bottles from this area back in the home cellar, and plans to drink them soon and think of this afternoon stop.Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-18062038330652699822017-07-24T18:20:00.001-07:002017-07-24T18:21:22.735-07:00Burgundy '17 - Visiting Bertrand Marchard de Gramont <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">On the road to Curtil Vergy in the Hauts-Cotes de Nuits</td></tr>
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My importer in Quebec connected us to another producer he works with, Bertrand et Axelle Marchard de Gramont. We met with Axelle, who did a fantastic job of explaining things in English. My French is shamefully bad beyond some key travel phrases.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QDsnIqxdrBv-hDKcJw8xmB23LQ8vkiiqyqYdgf3ERO7tMr9SueKCMzAqzFRerNAO-bM2r_Eqyet0z7bs3MRh05BXC4tHZQCMXsLOsj1x4YUqEn9lPWFnZu3Nf9z3Av_2TBwBkQ/s1600/IMG_2809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QDsnIqxdrBv-hDKcJw8xmB23LQ8vkiiqyqYdgf3ERO7tMr9SueKCMzAqzFRerNAO-bM2r_Eqyet0z7bs3MRh05BXC4tHZQCMXsLOsj1x4YUqEn9lPWFnZu3Nf9z3Av_2TBwBkQ/s400/IMG_2809.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">A perfect scene outside the cellar of B. et A. Marchard de Gramont</td></tr>
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This domaine occupies a nice chai in the Haut Cotes town of Curtil Vergy. They work approximately 7.5ha of vines mostly in Nuits, with some nice holdings in Vosne and a bit of Aligote coming from close to the winery in the Hauts-Cotes de Nuits.<br />
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The scale here is familiar. They work several vineyards, mostly pretty small parcels, then vinify and age things nearby in (I believe) a leased facility. Here we were, meeting to taste the line up amid the barrels just like I'm usually doing with visitors to the Eola Hills. I taste in the US regularly, but it was fun being a guest in a French winery to see what's similar (pretty much everything) and what's not.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfEuktDYmipDsrdOaXlPy2S4qUBrO9dX21wTwuD4hc2_0AgELk3ZJS1aJZlsuDkwFnYt7x7YaWEyHAhNcNw5xflCOdH6escStXy7rU8HY0qJQv61Ag2nfsKMqsLKM5xH_jcRSE-w/s1600/IMG_2838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfEuktDYmipDsrdOaXlPy2S4qUBrO9dX21wTwuD4hc2_0AgELk3ZJS1aJZlsuDkwFnYt7x7YaWEyHAhNcNw5xflCOdH6escStXy7rU8HY0qJQv61Ag2nfsKMqsLKM5xH_jcRSE-w/s400/IMG_2838.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">A few bottles we took with us from Marchard de Gramont</td></tr>
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We tasted through a line up of 2015 releases, starting with bottlings from Nuits, then moving to the two bottlings they did in 2015 from Vosne, and finishing with the refreshing Aligote.</div>
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The wines impressed. 2015 is undoubtedly a riper year but there was still such freshness and fine grip amid the darker colors and almost overt fruit of the vintage. I preferred intensity of the older vines Nuits Vallerots to the younger vines (all of 15 years old) and a slightly more herbal expression in the Nuits Terraces de Vallerots. The Nuits Aux Allots showed a bit of reduction but that should work though. The Nuits Les Hauts Pruliers was the star, with lovely grace amid a firm structure. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Me and Axelle in the chai at Marchard de Gramont</td></tr>
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We finished with two wines from Vosne. The first is a blend of several tiny parcels they work, all village level. Lovely wine, not as different from the others though that might be the strong imprint of the vintage. </div>
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Then there's the special bottling from 2015. B. & A. Marchard de Gramont usually only bottles one Vosne wine, but in '15 they separated out a small bit from Les Barreaux high on the hill above Richbourg and next to Clos Parantoux and Petits Monts. The exposure at Barreaux turns to the north, so it's merely village level, but this is different terroir than most village wines I think. This bottling was stunning. Rich and delicate, structured but supple, really a fine wine that I was delighted to try. </div>
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As we were purchasing, I asked about white wine and Axelle remembered she had Aligote in the fridge, so we quickly tried it. What lovely, refreshing white wine with a strong earthy character of good Aligote. We added one on to our order and enjoyed it over a few nights as an aperitif.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Pano from the vines in Nuits midway up the slope</td></tr>
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Saying our thank yous and goodbyes, we headed back down to Nuits and back to our Gite for the evening. It was late afternoon now and I was compelled to drive up on the small roads in the vineyards for a better look around.<br />
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We were in the southern part of Nuits, where if you look high on the flank you'll see the terraces of Vallerots, a distinctive site we'd noticed on our way to the winery. We stopped and looked around from the mid slope, hardly a cloud in the sky on a warm June day. This felt familiar, not the grandeur of the Cote but the dust of the soil, vines on a slope in the late day sun, pea sized berries gently shaded by a canopy not aggressively stripped of leaves. It felt so good to be there, even if we would be off to the south in the morning.<br />
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Now to plot a return.<br />
<br />Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-1449252616780842412017-07-21T10:01:00.002-07:002017-07-21T10:02:11.793-07:00Europe '17 - Dinner in Beaune<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The road out of our country town</td></tr>
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We stayed at a Gite outside of Beaune, a perfect way to experience French country farm life in the flats east of town. Like the bottomlands of the Willamette Valley, this is wheat and corn country. We felt right at home.<br />
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We ate in one night after a great stop at the Beaune farmer's market in the old town on Saturdays. The other night we dined at Bar on the Square on just across from the old city wall on a small plaza off the ring road.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bar on the Square as we walk up</td></tr>
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It came recommended from my importer in Quebec, who said all the winemakers hang out here. I didn't recognize anyone, of course, but the wine list was terrific and the food was just what we wanted on a warm evening.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrOzyD9UfjbHGixKmuhhAQvHfdqHQLhIfliAjL-6MDJbFfDVi7yzpMzy5vTzTgL-7olnUzZa_AWuVz2oa9nox2mwI_aA68W8tYgGGBW5JcZ0DjxNcQ9x_UPLiqt51DjQIXsXfoA/s1600/IMG_2685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrOzyD9UfjbHGixKmuhhAQvHfdqHQLhIfliAjL-6MDJbFfDVi7yzpMzy5vTzTgL-7olnUzZa_AWuVz2oa9nox2mwI_aA68W8tYgGGBW5JcZ0DjxNcQ9x_UPLiqt51DjQIXsXfoA/s400/IMG_2685.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, that is pork belly</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY5Duo25pL-_L1fBnrjuXLY5n5swmpPkoGwJ40rDiXUS060_a9-68TSDcoc9WmZXdAZ31Ybs3xuwFo7sorsQDl2oy3sZPl7ynZqXz6bi980wgeCrcj9Xw5sqLiwQMEptiNMitzMQ/s1600/IMG_2788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY5Duo25pL-_L1fBnrjuXLY5n5swmpPkoGwJ40rDiXUS060_a9-68TSDcoc9WmZXdAZ31Ybs3xuwFo7sorsQDl2oy3sZPl7ynZqXz6bi980wgeCrcj9Xw5sqLiwQMEptiNMitzMQ/s400/IMG_2788.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty much classic</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnG6Jeh1R7P5lGMYADsUZHZAAXIqhgN3gMH-rN2ofcttpvtrAsXggNE4Fcz6zJWAMPL25D0gf71H7RPforEF-d7CdiQwWqT5b7kXNl8guTEqXeJFuZnGP1nRAholO9qaTOGQkww/s1600/IMG_2688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnG6Jeh1R7P5lGMYADsUZHZAAXIqhgN3gMH-rN2ofcttpvtrAsXggNE4Fcz6zJWAMPL25D0gf71H7RPforEF-d7CdiQwWqT5b7kXNl8guTEqXeJFuZnGP1nRAholO9qaTOGQkww/s400/IMG_2688.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New producer to me, lovely mineral and ripe (very) local Pinot Noir</td></tr>
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After dinner we wandered through the old city streets back to the car, which I somehow parked far away not knowing exactly where we were going.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lights projected on old buildings in Beaune</td></tr>
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It was simply a perfect evening in Burgundy.Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-56472799859458865712017-07-20T18:40:00.003-07:002017-07-20T18:40:46.149-07:00Europe '17 - BurgundyAfter a week split between Paris and London, we returned to Paris to rent a car for a week two adventure south. First stop Burgundy.<br />
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On the way, my wife happened to pick Auxerre for a lunch stop. It was close to the autoroute and gave the family our first chance to see smaller town France after days in the big cities. We enjoyed a quick lunch and then I dropped into a local wine shop, saw a bunch of local Irancy wine. We were on Burgundy's doorstep.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Auxxerios countryside reminded me of home in the Willamette Valley</td></tr>
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On the road east to meet up with the autoroute I saw my first vineyards of the trip. The countryside around Auxerre made me think of Oregon, without the evergreens. But France has considerably rockier soil than home, making me think of Joe Dressner's chiding about the fertile soils of the Willamette Valley. They aren't fertile in the hills where we grow grapes, but that also certainly don't look anything like France.<br />
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We re-entered the autoroute toward Braine but turned off early to head directly to Gevrey at the north end of the Côte d'Or. from highway to country road to windy country road twisting though the mountains above the Cote, we noticed preparations underway for the Tour de France stage passing this way in a couple of weeks. <br />
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Suddenly we descended in a combe and we saw vines everywhere, to our left high on the slope I was sure to be looking at Clos St jacques and Cazetiers. Then on through the small town and we turned right onto the Route des Grands Crus. We were here.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cotes d'Or from the Route des Grands Crus in Gevrey Chambertin</td></tr>
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I pulled the car to the side of the road to take in the landscape. It was an emotional sight, this perfect slope, covered in vines, a place I'd studied almost forever in words and maps but was only seeing in person for the first time. I just stared, mouth open, no words.<br />
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I noticed so many things. The rocky dirt, the thick vine trunks, the low canopy, meticulously hedged, and that marvelous exposure, the slope glowing in the afternoon sunlight. It's obviously perfect for Pinot Noir.<br />
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Soon enough we got back in the car and continued south to Morey and beyond, me trying my best not to swerve off the road as we passed by so many old friends I was only now meeting in person for the first time.<br />
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The towns of the Cote du Nuits are just as I'd read - small, sleepy, not so grand compared to the world renown dirt all around.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gates at north end of Clos Vougeot, with the Chateau in the distance</td></tr>
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Soon we came upon the Clos Vougeot, the largest Grand Crus in the Cote du Nuits, and indeed remarkably flat and perhaps unworthy of such status as you proceed south. The northern end however is perfect, and again perfectly exposed on the slope. There's little shade in the finest vineyards of Burgundy.<br />
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Through Nuits, then the quarries of Comblancien and on to Aloxe and the great hill of Cotton. It's bigger than I expected, high and essentially a huge flank of vineyards tilting east. If only I had more time to explore up and around to Pernand and Savigny. That will have to wait.<br />
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So into Beaune, our terminus for a few nights as we explored the region. More on dinner out in Beaune and a producer visit back in Nuits next time.Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-71284640647880172842017-07-15T16:40:00.000-07:002017-07-15T16:43:50.748-07:00Europe '17 - Return to the Moon<span id="goog_1774251561"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day one in Paris, the Champ de Mars</td></tr>
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June saw my first visit to Europe since the 1990s, a shamefully long time ago given my profession as a winemaker. I suppose I could say I've been been busy. I'm married with two children, now teenagers, and for many years I was the primary earner for my family. I worked in higher education. I was apprenticing in wine. The time and cost of international travel simply didn't fit.</div>
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Or perhaps those are excuses. Whatever the case, my family and I are recently back from a two week survey of France, mostly, with excursions to London and the Piedmont of Italy. What a trip, busy but relaxing, family instead of wine focused as we played tourists most of the time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Citroen racing through Montmarte</td></tr>
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Of course I did manage some winery visits, much sampling of local products as we went, and despite the brief stays in each region we visited, I return full of inspiration. To write, to re-evaluate my approaches in the vines and the cellar, and certainly to return much sooner to my vinous homeland.<br />
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Week one was mostly Paris and London, with a day trip to Oxford to tie in the latest family focus these days, college visits. One of those teens is frightening close to college age. Museums, palaces, churches - we saw (and walked!) more than even I expected in that first week.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tower of London</td></tr>
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Having studied for a year in Europe during college, and having returned a few times after that, it was still surprisingly how quickly I readjusted to the regularities of European travel after 20 years. The familiarity of the coffee, the pastry, the carafe of Rose, the trains, even my contempt when overhearing banal English conversations of other traveling Americans...it was all right there like muscle memory. The smoking too - the tabacs of France survive.<br />
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Then there's so much new or new to me. Better restaurants, Uber, hotels with tiny elevators, driving in France, and winery visits.<br />
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Actually, on my last trip to France in the '90s I visited Beaune and tasted at a couple of cellars in town, nothing fancy. And I took a day trip from Avignon to Chateauneuf du Pape and managed to discover for myself Domaine du Pegau, a revelation at the time for their red and white wine.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The City of Light</td></tr>
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Still, this trip marked the first planned and thought out visits to wineries. In all, I spared the family and managed to visit only three domaines, all in week two when we had rented a car in Paris and made our way through Burgundy, Rhone and Provence, with an overnight sneak to Piedmont that might have been the best stop of all. Each visit was particularly special, quality over quantity of stops, each particularly memorable.<br />
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Back in Portland, I'm still reflecting on all I saw, learned, tasted, even read about - at the time and certainly since I returned. There's still so much to understand about it all, I hope the next few posts allow some processing - and sharing - of what happened and what it might all mean.<br />
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For now, the recap of week one in brief - carafe upon carafe of Rose. Nameless, faceless, cheap Rose at dinner and sometimes lunch. Ok, not oceans of the stuff but just enough to wash down meals, with no concern for domaine or appellation. Just pale, crisp (usually) and delicious (also usually). And there was one red wine, we did cook in one night in London and I reprised college days with a bottle of cheap Cahors from the Tesco. Express. Nothing special at all, honestly it was sorta spoofy but in the moment is was fine.<br />
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Then week two we rented the car and hit the countryside. More next time.Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-51678732047782011382017-02-11T16:57:00.000-08:002017-02-11T16:57:27.154-08:00Visit to Hiyu Wine Farm in the Hood River Valley<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5MPIk9NBY3ADYlwP3jqXp4nppNdzg6sCcbNxcKrVY1wqFBs6BvzuXycVM0LLEKxgyb7lNUPJU0hkIDFsl2WsA0WVpVStV479FU1d43VPlEHLrdBAfm_mozwNdWaKb9hl_NFql3Q/s1600/Hiyu+Wine+Farm+Snow+Pano.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5MPIk9NBY3ADYlwP3jqXp4nppNdzg6sCcbNxcKrVY1wqFBs6BvzuXycVM0LLEKxgyb7lNUPJU0hkIDFsl2WsA0WVpVStV479FU1d43VPlEHLrdBAfm_mozwNdWaKb9hl_NFql3Q/s400/Hiyu+Wine+Farm+Snow+Pano.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pano from the top of the vineyard at Hiyu Wine Farm</td></tr>
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Recently I tagged along with a wine retail friend on a mid-week visit to Hiyu Wine Farm, on a lovely southeastern slope in the heart of the Hood River Valley. I'd heard good things about Hiyu and wanted to see it for myself, again.<br />
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This is the old Pheasant Valley winery property, and I'd stayed here twice some years back when it was a bed and breakfast. This area is absolutely beautiful and it was nice to see it in the new Hiyu era.<br />
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Vines at Pheasant Valley were planted approximately 15 years ago, joining fruit trees and other crops on a property that's been organically farmed for more than 30 years. </div>
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In 2015 the property sold and was renamed Hiyu, apparently Chinook jargon for abundance. The new owners (unfortunately away this day) are serious about natural food and wine, and things smelled great as we waited for the assistant winemaker Graham in the airy, open kitchen/tasting room.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking over grafted wines in the snow at Hiyu </td></tr>
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We started with a walk in the vineyard. It's been a snowy winter in the lowlands of Oregon, and as we hiked past some farm animals and then up the vineyard slope, we heard from Graham all about their field grafting project. </div>
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Over a few years, the crew here is grafting much of the original mix of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Tempranillo and other grapes, leaving some of the original plants but a wide mix of other varieties, too many to catch on the cold but beautiful hike. Graham relayed that they're looking to make field blends that express the terroir of Hiyu.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Animals are integral to biodynamics at Hiyu Wine Farm</td></tr>
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At the top we found animals that are integral to this biodynamic farm. We stopped to check out the view and hear about how there's been snow on the ground for two straight months.</div>
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We hiked back down and entered the barrel cellar to taste. Overall, Hiyu and their label for non-estate wines, Smockshop Band, are really impressive. Clearly something different is happening in the Hood these days with a handful of really exciting producers, and I'm happy to see it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgh8sDqA-xEva09GMuZT-Jl-lpH33gbn3pkWIzyb9o36w-DWq3xjCvcI6XdljKgr5CBKn5yeTM1npivetRqmXfFFIa4wtx9MBNVpl_oza9Iri142jocBt-10gKUOkL2brUot0Jg/s1600/Hiyu+Cellar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgh8sDqA-xEva09GMuZT-Jl-lpH33gbn3pkWIzyb9o36w-DWq3xjCvcI6XdljKgr5CBKn5yeTM1npivetRqmXfFFIa4wtx9MBNVpl_oza9Iri142jocBt-10gKUOkL2brUot0Jg/s400/Hiyu+Cellar.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casks of all sizes in the cellar at Hiyu</td></tr>
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Quick impressions of wines from barrel, all naturally fermented and from 2016 unless noted. These are very young wines that show ones approach in the vineyard and cellar, but not the elements of finished wines yet, nb:</div>
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First, we tried two ciders. The Hood River valley is long known for its apples, so a natural fit. First a crab apple cider that I thought was taut and lovely. Then a mixed apple cider that was a little more wild and broad. I'm not a huge cider guy but this is obviously serious farmhouse stuff.<br />
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Then some white. First, Chardonnay that's lean and suave. Then a blend of white Spanish varieties that was waxy and golden, I loved it. Finally a Gewürztraminer that was pleasantly bitter as the variety tends to be, but balanced and lively.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rUfuxng8OCGxTVm6el6fMUufYw5f1c7bv7AQSWbJFEW8vDgK6DDQ24JkXf5P2iasmSTV34rBs47a4yGLHAsIT30FtW5c95yMyPv0aEvPhp_5zdMxOU7L_a3IDmxXG8ksgT0xBg/s1600/Hiyu+Cellar+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rUfuxng8OCGxTVm6el6fMUufYw5f1c7bv7AQSWbJFEW8vDgK6DDQ24JkXf5P2iasmSTV34rBs47a4yGLHAsIT30FtW5c95yMyPv0aEvPhp_5zdMxOU7L_a3IDmxXG8ksgT0xBg/s400/Hiyu+Cellar+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful oak upright fermenters</td></tr>
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Next we tried two Rose wines - first a white Zinfanfel, dry and brisk with lots of watermelon rind; then a skin fermented Pinot Gris that was tannic but fascinating. I want to experiment with Gris like this.<br />
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Then we moved on to several reds. First Grenache that I loved. It was super elegant and white peppery, translucent in color, definitely a presentation we should see more of in the US. Next the Pinot Noir from 2016 and 2015. Both were fairly firm and dense.<br />
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Several of the wines come from non-estate fruit, most (all?) from Scortched Earth vineyard. The Zinfandel was fairly reduced - not unreasonably, I made wines in a reductive way as well - but clearly both dense and light on its feet. Syrah also scortched earth was nice with berry fruit and some light herbal, red pepper quality to take the wine beyond fruit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZx9dZKDzOEgdEOgxabiFoX5EmipYCZ-_hglQmM2fYcPWwqLkz5EBw88T16F4vzLEoRp9Pbd9y73NghOAj__NMmoZzLBJQflcUGzEQQ45ImAz35WQTsPSq6-3Ebwb2TczXDzrLKg/s1600/Hiyu+Barrel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZx9dZKDzOEgdEOgxabiFoX5EmipYCZ-_hglQmM2fYcPWwqLkz5EBw88T16F4vzLEoRp9Pbd9y73NghOAj__NMmoZzLBJQflcUGzEQQ45ImAz35WQTsPSq6-3Ebwb2TczXDzrLKg/s400/Hiyu+Barrel.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each barrel gets its own name</td></tr>
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Then some really out there wines for this part of the world, first a Mencia/Cabernet Franc blend that's crazy inky and weird in a good way. Next a Tempranillo that was 80 days on skins - yes, 80 - that's all texture and promise at this point. Finally a miscellaneous blend they call Red Grafts, in a small barrel - Pinot, Syrah, and others from the grafting project - fruity and delicious already.<br />
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We then went back into the tasting room and tried a few things from bottle, all under the Smokeshop Band label:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JBU-xjBiXleO2oWK9B97OzCsmKJyWl9DBwedK0zNAXeAVMxDEY50FgZufOn2YiT54WOYeoedof1kvcGTkadrI8qvOs7bcYsBoMOkz0Ym6scBGeOWeouxbWSD_mlbFMYJti8HZg/s1600/Smockshop+Band+Front+Label.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JBU-xjBiXleO2oWK9B97OzCsmKJyWl9DBwedK0zNAXeAVMxDEY50FgZufOn2YiT54WOYeoedof1kvcGTkadrI8qvOs7bcYsBoMOkz0Ym6scBGeOWeouxbWSD_mlbFMYJti8HZg/s400/Smockshop+Band+Front+Label.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Smockshop Band label</td></tr>
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Sauvignon Blanc 2015<br />
Rich with barrel notes but I liked it, bought one of these.<br />
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White blend mostly Chardonnay 2014<br />
Golden Chardonnay character here, fairly broad and rich but nicely in check.<br />
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Pinot Noir 2014<br />
From estate fruit but not farmed by the new owners so under the Smokeshop Band label. Broad red fruit, black cherry and tannin, tried this again a few nights later at Davenport in Portland and it was dense and firm, in a good way but definitely weighty for Pinot.<br />
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Syrah Grenache 2015, from Scortched Earth<br />
Incense and tannin, low fruit, interesting but a little rough but obviously young, I bought one of these as well to see how it relaxes with some more time in bottle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGrWqWXNC7HKbsfXDB76ndcg7dic_H1XLsKv0nkU_fwWJ1vZ6KB-4ljs-JZ4R0Ho8viu4dEE4XL21susE0lnEzRRdYq5emrDu7n89-L1Ddf0Eu0vtoMR0NlYnfdMIUpZU1XywZQ/s1600/Smockshop+Band+Line+Up.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGrWqWXNC7HKbsfXDB76ndcg7dic_H1XLsKv0nkU_fwWJ1vZ6KB-4ljs-JZ4R0Ho8viu4dEE4XL21susE0lnEzRRdYq5emrDu7n89-L1Ddf0Eu0vtoMR0NlYnfdMIUpZU1XywZQ/s400/Smockshop+Band+Line+Up.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Smockshop Band line up - estate wines from Hiyu coming soon</td></tr>
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In all, a fascinating visit to the new generation in Hood River. Hiyu Wine Farm is already making some really interesting wines, definitely check them out. And visit the winery. They have quite a facility for tasting and dining, I'd love to come back in the summer for a meal.Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-49809608952140678132017-01-11T18:31:00.002-08:002017-01-11T18:31:18.859-08:00Thinking of classic wines in the new yearIt has been many years since I began this site. I find I have more than ever to write about, yet neither the time nor the inclination to do much writing. What are blogs now in the age of Twitter anyway? So I wonder, and delay.<br />
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I suppose blogs are what they've always been, a way to write in long(er) form about, in this case, wine. I never solicited much traffic for this site, joking at one point on the old Wine Therapy site that I was aiming for more people leaving my site than coming to it.<br />
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I've never quite managed that but a new year brings new hope, and perhaps new resolve to do something that's good for me and that I still avoid at times like the plague - write. No matter who reads, if anyone.<br />
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So where am I with wine these days? I think I largely drink the same kinds of wines as I did from the earliest days here, then already well into my wine evolution that settled on what we might have called "real" wines then. That movement seems to have morphed fully and expanded well beyond into what we now call "natural" wines, with much more vigilance (over the top?) on every move in the vineyard and cellar.<br />
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More and more though, I think my interest has been and remains most in what I'd call "classic" wines. Those of old school producers the world over, producers new and old, with perhaps a <i>lutte raisonnee</i> approach to their craft. These are producers who capture their regions best in the wines they make, who I'd say work in a "real" way if not 100% "natural" (doing nothing, not even sulfur - let's be real if we want the term to mean anything).<br />
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I'm thinking of the Chave, Bize and Lapierre of France, the Vajra, Conterno and Bruno Giacosa of Italy, Tahbilk and Chambers of Australia, Edmunds St. John, Mt. Eden and Ridge of California, among many others in their areas. And that's not to mention so many legends old and new here in Oregon and in pretty much every region of the world if you get right down to it.<br />
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The wine world sees trends come and go, but there are so many producers making wines of place without dogma. Those are the ones I've always loved the most, and I suppose in this new year, as I drink the 2012 Domaine Eden Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains - from the old Cinnabar vineyard acquired some years back by Mt. Eden - I feel a renewed energy to take up my education in wine again, my <i>elevage</i>. Wish me luck.Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-30462236978887745912016-08-22T22:02:00.003-07:002016-08-22T22:02:53.527-07:00Bottling and another early harvest at Vincent Wine CompanyIt's the end of August so it must be bottling time, and with a warm growing season the grapes are going to be ready for harvest maybe by the end of next week.<br />
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I spent this afternoon arranging all my barrels of 2015 Vincent wines for racking the next two days. That's when I'm assembling my blends, mixing these barrels and those barrels to come up with my various bottlings of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and finally Gamay Noir.<br />
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Blending is the art of finding barrels of my wine that I think most reflect what was great in each particular vineyard where I have vines. I look for barrels with good intensity and the right acid and tannin structure that creates harmony in a wine, literally how it feels.<br />
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With the 2015 vintage, I will produce six different single vineyard bottlings, more than any year ever. This fall I'm releasing my annual Armstrong vineyard designate from Ribbon Ridge. Next spring I'll release 2015 vineyard designate wines from Zenith, Bjornson and Silvershot (renamed Crowley Station).<br />
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Then a year from now I'll have two special bottlings from 2015 that I haven't mentioned much yet. One is from old vines at Temperance Hill that I got in 2015 but am not a lock to get it every year going forward. The other is a late bottled wine from Armstrong based on one fermenter of special grapes the grower and I selected, aged longer in older oak to showcase the elegant power of this vineyard.<br />
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Bottling happens this Friday, and then we'll quickly be getting fermentation bins and other harvest materials ready to go. Last year was my earliest harvest ever, starting Labor Day weekend. We might top that this year, just hope for cool, dry weather right at harvest. That makes such a difference.<br />
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I usually begin picking Pinot Noir at Armstrong on Ribbon Ridge before anywhere else, sometimes then Silvershot though lately Zenith and even Bjornson have been coming in beforehand. We'll see about the Gamay at Bjornson, it's a later ripener but the Gamay vines are still young here and that means they could ripen earlier. Then I have my cool sites for later ripening Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc, which should come in last though who knows at this point.<br />
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Something will surprise me I'm sure.Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-13950510146120035792016-01-18T14:40:00.001-08:002016-01-18T14:40:11.054-08:00Harvest epilogueIt took nine years to get to Pluto. It took about that same amount of time to realize my dream of working full time in wine.<br />
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I finally caught a glimpse of it this past summer, just when Pluto came into better view. I was inspired by the excitement, accomplishment, relief everyone who worked on the project must have felt.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4KEVzkm3DKM4v01N44ckkIKM672lWyGA0yTf5bcIswOetjTIaXsHMmuW4bF7UD0ROErUVkGl1VEU2iQcyVi8pxmB8Ls_g9yqIeAJpxUarGqtNap7hi5Q5aHyMpzCO-Epjh_g4g/s1600/IMG_5717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4KEVzkm3DKM4v01N44ckkIKM672lWyGA0yTf5bcIswOetjTIaXsHMmuW4bF7UD0ROErUVkGl1VEU2iQcyVi8pxmB8Ls_g9yqIeAJpxUarGqtNap7hi5Q5aHyMpzCO-Epjh_g4g/s400/IMG_5717.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view down Eola Hills Road across the Willamette Valley</td></tr>
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So too with me.<br />
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The latter part of 2015 became the entry to a new life, a beginning of sorts even if things are clearly somewhere in the middle.<br />
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Harvest was the entrance, the first season where I could devote myself completely in a way I never had before.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckwZrnJ78ncEQBni4n4n_4tYE0qN1XK3XTZTChPP-5wgYX-SwkwjGG2uQJqikIoctT9_eEFi7159d5Tsbx60h27TEjK_zt8Y0BumnU9y9RAjyheotKqhrCeaw9W6ufQ1jLSGtLg/s1600/IMG_5835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckwZrnJ78ncEQBni4n4n_4tYE0qN1XK3XTZTChPP-5wgYX-SwkwjGG2uQJqikIoctT9_eEFi7159d5Tsbx60h27TEjK_zt8Y0BumnU9y9RAjyheotKqhrCeaw9W6ufQ1jLSGtLg/s400/IMG_5835.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Autumn moon</td></tr>
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I learned some things, some of them things I knew but know in a new way now.<br />
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You can't be demanding of others if you aren't demanding of yourself.<br />
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You can't be too serious, but if you're not serious about things that matter to you, what do you expect to happen?<br />
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And I'm all in with my wine production, no matter what. I'd rather have great and bad than only good. I'm committed to that.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCjVgBY3QIyMrszxwSjK4yLkf9752d5XCDfZ-peD9r2h8XDnt-XLVIr_VppGMhJ3XvZ5AB_mTECk5bz75n9KHBm5Zr7YItCx_6Tbqqtm-2tefKJR8LlmQeXdOySwFdbxxf45m0Bg/s1600/IMG_5798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCjVgBY3QIyMrszxwSjK4yLkf9752d5XCDfZ-peD9r2h8XDnt-XLVIr_VppGMhJ3XvZ5AB_mTECk5bz75n9KHBm5Zr7YItCx_6Tbqqtm-2tefKJR8LlmQeXdOySwFdbxxf45m0Bg/s400/IMG_5798.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When harvest was done, it came time to ship mailing list orders</td></tr>
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In the end, I'm left with one simple wish - please don't let this be all there is. It's that good.<br />
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I suppose the next years are all about making sure that wish keeps coming true.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3HuqXnuU1hD8irjKZuQaXRPuXUyCcy8yN_QDkUJVfGZTyNgLSBO7HavpDstqRbCt3OaGSG1s3-KKwe5lei6X2gDX70362VUhLVCng8IvGqHSnqtl9qHG9gio1g24PRNHvR22zA/s1600/IMG_5412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3HuqXnuU1hD8irjKZuQaXRPuXUyCcy8yN_QDkUJVfGZTyNgLSBO7HavpDstqRbCt3OaGSG1s3-KKwe5lei6X2gDX70362VUhLVCng8IvGqHSnqtl9qHG9gio1g24PRNHvR22zA/s400/IMG_5412.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This harvest, we saw visitors of all kinds, including Winnie.</td></tr>
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Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-75871455813791562732016-01-09T12:11:00.001-08:002016-01-09T12:12:51.693-08:00Last days of harvestMy harvest started on September 5 and my last fruit came in September 28. I'd already drained and pressed a few fermenters by then, so already the peak of activity had passed, the fruit sorting equipment put away and the last days of harvest work upon us.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcxuNZmtniVnMBBaXtjoAs4cOWtgyHqh3na5CIbS8MlC7eeUS8XiYlIdQnRE9q-cY13Li_ifhyphenhyphenaD1L_7JR0EuGJXTpgsgoG9euYLAsrL7rlOTbtdgftZ5o7PRpGZ4qo3G1dVoBvg/s1600/IMG_5697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcxuNZmtniVnMBBaXtjoAs4cOWtgyHqh3na5CIbS8MlC7eeUS8XiYlIdQnRE9q-cY13Li_ifhyphenhyphenaD1L_7JR0EuGJXTpgsgoG9euYLAsrL7rlOTbtdgftZ5o7PRpGZ4qo3G1dVoBvg/s400/IMG_5697.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Draining one of the last fermenters of 2015</td></tr>
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This year those final days were a bit sad. Instead of the relief of past years, where I could relax and now worry about how yet another harvest was going to fit in with my day job, this year was the first time I felt sad harvest was ending.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTt6bydk-mIwNL4faBt1iLxR7uP1_Q2cPaqvU6glI-kZyFgl9umYeAg4GOA44NxNB-WpIwVUyBLQFx0gdUijnNx3MqDFPaHH16yXXwVhDDnU5cIk9txsdT2csr3ufoiOmYXrkyNQ/s1600/IMG_5698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTt6bydk-mIwNL4faBt1iLxR7uP1_Q2cPaqvU6glI-kZyFgl9umYeAg4GOA44NxNB-WpIwVUyBLQFx0gdUijnNx3MqDFPaHH16yXXwVhDDnU5cIk9txsdT2csr3ufoiOmYXrkyNQ/s400/IMG_5698.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerating the new wine to settle for two days before barreling</td></tr>
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I wouldn't miss the countless hours at the winery, every day, seven days a week for several weeks. This year I was just able to immerse myself in the harvest like never before. I loved it, even when it was hard. I didn't want to say goodbye but there was no choice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-N5opvoiqbRCF7vf6-w3Czv20zhOCHEDH0Fa5kZ9jQAV9KBCCjyWxdY8VNo6sXDhXNVv-oT73yFPeWDq60YvZ6v8ciCKJNuNRGxTDQECblAhG1gtnntWogoi1nn9s_XgQ4nrEVA/s1600/IMG_5716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-N5opvoiqbRCF7vf6-w3Czv20zhOCHEDH0Fa5kZ9jQAV9KBCCjyWxdY8VNo6sXDhXNVv-oT73yFPeWDq60YvZ6v8ciCKJNuNRGxTDQECblAhG1gtnntWogoi1nn9s_XgQ4nrEVA/s400/IMG_5716.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshly filled barrel of Pinot Noir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So it was days of draining fermenters into clean bins to let the wine settle out a bit before filling barrels, then loading the press with a shovel, squeezing out the rest of the new wine, then cleaning the press and reloading.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRhB9E9i5FOdkmCZeL4LYkY-HWw-yXCtCZkvwsx6mMduosVgNnzMQPlMvNLhTJrHQCQU-SBpVKJYsZJH5_54wLbkdrEbw0AZVhCDLDeMWcbP0xH-S4L3vajBZGApJshGrjcdOgA/s1600/IMG_5755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRhB9E9i5FOdkmCZeL4LYkY-HWw-yXCtCZkvwsx6mMduosVgNnzMQPlMvNLhTJrHQCQU-SBpVKJYsZJH5_54wLbkdrEbw0AZVhCDLDeMWcbP0xH-S4L3vajBZGApJshGrjcdOgA/s400/IMG_5755.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After one false start, definitely the final punchdown of 2015</td></tr>
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Then it's barrel washing with a hot water pressure washer and a special fitting to create a super strong stream of water to clean every inch inside the barrel. Then filling to the top and being careful to not overfill.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0AM1bAL0WU9kjSFfqNpAfasgjmHkpjCBqbazrwp6vKUQs9TiJ1QiH1yXncpM3Va2wHiD0HlRPGnHNFXrlmjw1BHd7t8fxj8nR4wlkYU_Jpk-lDwh8XMKRy057RrAK-nNJ3dBPA/s1600/IMG_5780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0AM1bAL0WU9kjSFfqNpAfasgjmHkpjCBqbazrwp6vKUQs9TiJ1QiH1yXncpM3Va2wHiD0HlRPGnHNFXrlmjw1BHd7t8fxj8nR4wlkYU_Jpk-lDwh8XMKRy057RrAK-nNJ3dBPA/s400/IMG_5780.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I say handmade and I do the work, here you go</td></tr>
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The work is physical, not overwhelming but requiring endurance. Long days followed by long days, one shovel load at a time until all the fermenters are empty and all the barrels filled.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIMoawAv9EpPoBXCCnhgVRaM2KHec9EHfGcPAzJWa4e1ePmhUKvAlVeni9R8wrHsDj9EI3KECQGVezzA5_Dip54BjlPTOX8V6vRDZgTbw_Fs5-xGMa34ARL_DtgZClAcGjRoS3Q/s1600/IMG_5770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIMoawAv9EpPoBXCCnhgVRaM2KHec9EHfGcPAzJWa4e1ePmhUKvAlVeni9R8wrHsDj9EI3KECQGVezzA5_Dip54BjlPTOX8V6vRDZgTbw_Fs5-xGMa34ARL_DtgZClAcGjRoS3Q/s400/IMG_5770.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last barrels filled this year, Temperance Hill vineyard Pinot Noir</td></tr>
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The last barrels to be filled were Temperance, the unexpected fruit this harvest that I'm so thankful about. It's been a few months and this wasn't my first harvest, so I can't quite recall that moment when I was done. Totally done, all in barrel and leaving the winery knowing harvest is over.<br />
<br />
But it was nearly October 20, several weeks from the start. And I know it was sweet. It always is. Always.Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-11570445961400973752016-01-03T17:21:00.001-08:002016-01-03T17:21:53.698-08:00Unexpected fruit<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24ylpD-rrasIkgj8hSsP2SmPCc_KcXSVgCIxurGBsqUu2ZGMmUN9WaVZYNj04qsefHmZAnFZno8qq8adFZMJHJuEKxwsqpD9Rus5yeuT3KIdsRwZRGFdaW3knl3vQ6rzmyFeXJg/s1600/IMG_5574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24ylpD-rrasIkgj8hSsP2SmPCc_KcXSVgCIxurGBsqUu2ZGMmUN9WaVZYNj04qsefHmZAnFZno8qq8adFZMJHJuEKxwsqpD9Rus5yeuT3KIdsRwZRGFdaW3knl3vQ6rzmyFeXJg/s400/IMG_5574.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Was a beautiful day on September 28 when we picked at Temperance Hill</td></tr>
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Sometimes unexpected things happen, for the good.<br />
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One day in the middle of September I was delivering some of my 2014 Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir to the bar at the SE Wine Collection and ran into Tom Monroe of Division Winemaking Company.<br />
<br />
Hey, are you looking for any Pinot Noir? Tom asked. No, I replied. This harvest was large and I'd already turned down several offers of extra grapes.<br />
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What if it were special Pinot Noir, Tom persisted.<br />
<br />
What does that mean, I replied.<br />
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Temperance Hill vineyard. Flat Block early 1980s plantings of Wadenswil clone.<br />
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Um, yeah was all I needed to say.<br />
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What a stroke of luck. Here was a vineyard that I'd known about since the 1990s. I'd give almost anything for a chance to work with Temperance fruit.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJkRvcWHEl-1NuWaDDZStZ9KJJJ8kPiULde0sQbBXMaAN_DMwNMbfOilMe4ii5dC5SA6X5XHEJSpvcidk529RQlUkz90Epxk8TElPNaigeZWea_hqPRXCuLw9-wc_B84ZjiTeTsQ/s1600/IMG_5567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJkRvcWHEl-1NuWaDDZStZ9KJJJ8kPiULde0sQbBXMaAN_DMwNMbfOilMe4ii5dC5SA6X5XHEJSpvcidk529RQlUkz90Epxk8TElPNaigeZWea_hqPRXCuLw9-wc_B84ZjiTeTsQ/s400/IMG_5567.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Here's the deal. There's a wait list for Temperance, but Tom has had a block for a few years. When extra fruit came available, Tom couldn't use quite all of it and thought of me.<br />
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I focus on the Eola Hills and just moved my production there. I'd love to feature the wine I make here in a single vineyard bottling, but I do have an Eola-Amity Hills AVA bottling that I can work it into if needed.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgevKKUmL6GqnzpP2aNb0byAIq_slCbXDL1JorHBsgdqh3gjjGWCZyzwHjtMbYB8xdbr7b7UxFlODKnh75ikJU3etNViH-nnknimGUTw_4Po20ul1p2XhbWXcTRm7YBdQ0AaqTPog/s1600/IMG_5573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgevKKUmL6GqnzpP2aNb0byAIq_slCbXDL1JorHBsgdqh3gjjGWCZyzwHjtMbYB8xdbr7b7UxFlODKnh75ikJU3etNViH-nnknimGUTw_4Po20ul1p2XhbWXcTRm7YBdQ0AaqTPog/s400/IMG_5573.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshly destemmed Temperance Hill vineyard Pinot Noir</td></tr>
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<br />
Temperance would only be a one time thing. I'd rather work with vineyards year over year, but the chance to work with special fruit like this is reason to make an exception.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNegqtuPJD8EqndWMuxL7uY-_W2ANpVgryNZfWgohiJ9t-1Q-5zDzDbMacFwqQmexZiodM8g4tNdqUmjl-vzg7a1eXQoMl-d8kN7dkgDRpMNJ0d02QxsWcOQCL1d4-a1n4Ji_VQ/s1600/IMG_5756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNegqtuPJD8EqndWMuxL7uY-_W2ANpVgryNZfWgohiJ9t-1Q-5zDzDbMacFwqQmexZiodM8g4tNdqUmjl-vzg7a1eXQoMl-d8kN7dkgDRpMNJ0d02QxsWcOQCL1d4-a1n4Ji_VQ/s400/IMG_5756.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free run Temperance Hill vineyard Pinot Noir after 18 days of fermentation</td></tr>
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<br />
On September 28 we picked the grapes, late for this year but the fruit was still in such great condition. Sugar levels were modest, 21.6 brix, with acidity still bright at 3.39pH after soaking for 24 hours (I'd estimate it started at 3.25pH but I didn't have time to measure it).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNh-dcL2EGPricsF_xcn2s2BQGptX_zJX7Al6lh3kGGs1VC98BBvqOaO7bqahFpyTHFaS7KkHFl0lo5t7nmqfoWPFoRc9jc76jtIs_In5nlsiLveax9GDWdQEv1YoYOwl_Pf5PA/s1600/IMG_5760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNh-dcL2EGPricsF_xcn2s2BQGptX_zJX7Al6lh3kGGs1VC98BBvqOaO7bqahFpyTHFaS7KkHFl0lo5t7nmqfoWPFoRc9jc76jtIs_In5nlsiLveax9GDWdQEv1YoYOwl_Pf5PA/s400/IMG_5760.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Press wine from Temperance - notice the color difference from the free run</td></tr>
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<br />
I got 1.1 tons of fruit, enough to fill three barrels. The wine fermented wonderfully and is beautifully dense but restrained. It shows what I can only only describe is an old(ish) vine savory richness without adding heaviness.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5KCIcFtdNd7mlnt-2q_P2uFKfnMv3yQSa8lAfJHbMKKj8cGahVhsp_yYK4Cj5WupnZJoTVU-Pa120vJGBRgg0GiIkTLMAaX2lQayz7BDh7jsSKzHroTtZRH30COf_ksNZQ9hb0A/s1600/IMG_5575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5KCIcFtdNd7mlnt-2q_P2uFKfnMv3yQSa8lAfJHbMKKj8cGahVhsp_yYK4Cj5WupnZJoTVU-Pa120vJGBRgg0GiIkTLMAaX2lQayz7BDh7jsSKzHroTtZRH30COf_ksNZQ9hb0A/s400/IMG_5575.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gorgeous evening drive home after processing the Temperance fruit</td></tr>
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I'm super excited about this wine and hope somehow I can continue working with this vineyard. Stay tuned to hear more about that, but even if there were all there was for me from Temperance, I'd say a dream came true.Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-30591379331936920412015-12-21T18:44:00.003-08:002015-12-23T10:13:46.593-08:00Sleeping outMoving my wine production from Portland out to Yamhill county this past fall meant some big changes for me during harvest.<br>
<br>
Harvest ended up going fantastically well though not without minor hitches. Some white wines fermented more slowly than I might like (some are even still going). One red ferment got a bit hotter than I'd like though the wine is still delicious (maybe the heat wasn't a problem!).<br>
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Then came the most poignant moment this season, the one night I slept out at the winery, something I expected to do more often but just didn't. <div><br></div><div>I thought a winery move to the country would require staying the night several times. Turned out the drive back to Portland was usually just the thing the I needed, even late at night. The moon and stars, quiet roads that make for a fast trip and then a hard, fast sleep in my own bed.<br>
<br>Then the last Saturday in September, when all but the last of the Pinot Noir had come in, a few of us slept out on the crush pad for the night. Turns out I didn't sleep much. Too much on my mind. Everything.<br>
<br>
That evening I had this horrible sense of dread, like waking up from a nightmare with a sick feeling when anyone around you would say nothing's wrong.<br>
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And nothing was wrong in the winery. Just me.<br>
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I don't really think I'm all that exceptional of a person, but I believe the thing that inspires me is. It's this indescribable force that drives me, that gives me the confidence to do anything I do. To believe in myself, even when I worry something's off track or seems off track (which is common). My muse, to be fanciful. <br>
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That night it was as if my muse had told me my inspiration wasn't mine at all, a language I thought was unique but wasn't. Which struck me pretty much as my nightmare, the one thing I'm really afraid of, not because it stops my work but calls into question the purpose of my work. Meaning I didn't really sleep, could only think that what I thought I had wasn't unique after all.<br>
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Maybe it's saying too much to say this, but I worried that I've tapped into some deeper well than I've ever known in this work I'm doing, that I'm actually on to something more special than I could have ever imagined. I guess the shock I felt was like climbing out on a tree limb full of confidence, sure it will hold, and then feeling that it isn't. You wonder if you were a fool to let yourself go there, to believe in a notion and commit.<br>
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That night I was so cold, and not just because I didn't have enough blankets. I put so much of myself in this work and that sudden feeling that everything's all wrong was too much.<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRckA43_jN1S0cu9tDhOknGaKV6Mi4EhMZkGPQxmQaOGZQplX-2dmXIwiDOPmusjPtsF7O8C5BE0CSTl-9-XeKyp0A4uS6kMgz_A2ihnlWfDqkmnVIe3trBiHcO7PM5W7RcrVJg/s1600/IMG_5550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRckA43_jN1S0cu9tDhOknGaKV6Mi4EhMZkGPQxmQaOGZQplX-2dmXIwiDOPmusjPtsF7O8C5BE0CSTl-9-XeKyp0A4uS6kMgz_A2ihnlWfDqkmnVIe3trBiHcO7PM5W7RcrVJg/s400/IMG_5550.JPG" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dawn on the crush pad after a cold night</td></tr>
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<br>
When dawn came I was relieved. Bright sun, a glimpse of the moon, I felt so still. <div><br></div><div>Plenty of people are making terroir-driven wine, fermenting naturally with a reactive, improvised approach instead of seeking total control. More listening than talking as it were. Surely what I'm doing isn't unique.<br>
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But then I understood that my inspiration is still there. Even if I can't always find it, even if some moments feel so cold like that night. My job is to keep listening, and to believe even when it seems crazy. And this is whole thing is surely crazy but the best crazy I've ever known. Even when all I can do is lie awake and wonder. </div><div><br></div><div>So I got up and got back to work. I felt different but more honest, and now there was less to fear. I have this goal of making wine without fear, focused on what could go right instead of all that might go wrong. In some strange way, after that cold night I felt better, still there, no matter what. </div><div>
<br></div></div>Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-34008617028871566842015-12-14T17:01:00.001-08:002015-12-14T17:01:26.310-08:00Everyday harvestHarvest is an everyday thing, the days become weeks and a month without much notice. Once the grapes start coming in, I'm at the winery every day until the very end. Not every day needs to be long. I learned from my mentors to pace yourself, perhaps to take Sundays (mostly) off, when you can.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9mf4s9yUq8Vsy5uiq6rOalRJpqAuCs6ulR5iWwvWSptb0kPp5u92qyL_CxJqlxRztpO1FOVVOb9qET391USAFkcON61eyoXCIg_qvnmyf_jWHBb82OV7hMz62OfIfCA485MGHw/s1600/IMG_5381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9mf4s9yUq8Vsy5uiq6rOalRJpqAuCs6ulR5iWwvWSptb0kPp5u92qyL_CxJqlxRztpO1FOVVOb9qET391USAFkcON61eyoXCIg_qvnmyf_jWHBb82OV7hMz62OfIfCA485MGHw/s400/IMG_5381.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pH meter is the hands off winemaker's best friend - calibrating here</td></tr>
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<br />
There might seem to be a monotony to harvest, the daily punch downs and tests. We test everything daily to track fermentation progress. or most days depending on where something is in its progression and what else needs doing that day.<br />
<br />
Really things are ever changing during harvest, nothing is routine. Fermenters that two days ago were quiet might now be fermenting madly. Another that was harvested only yesterday might already be showing signs of fermentation starting, where others take their time. Every day things are changing and our job is to pay attention and respond.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwxv3aOVxkPBLGIVshMGcihBur-8Tnsvb0VJefSUfzvGGM7XVVM2k426QLdEeKF6f0wfSi2TboIzvavUQwMFGsrMIoUP-Y_2L_HJuoYgcmJZAFMtW4Q_72sOHFFlaMwoTgTlUjA/s1600/IMG_5616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwxv3aOVxkPBLGIVshMGcihBur-8Tnsvb0VJefSUfzvGGM7XVVM2k426QLdEeKF6f0wfSi2TboIzvavUQwMFGsrMIoUP-Y_2L_HJuoYgcmJZAFMtW4Q_72sOHFFlaMwoTgTlUjA/s400/IMG_5616.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stacks of empty barrels outside the winery waiting to be filled</td></tr>
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<br />
There's planning ahead, sorting through the stacks of empty barrels to find the one you want to start filling with the first wines ready for bed, lining up times the press will be available to use.<br />
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Then there are errands around the valley, returning picking bins to vineyards, heading into town for winery supplies and maybe a decent lunch. While there's still fruit out in any vineyards, there are trips to check out the vines and talk to growers about when I'll want to be picking.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUo52VQdWjgLqrBCkAl66I9gu7cOPjgQH6kelBbPuyNMZoktf9PREnJVaGnpo44OqDaxZzT9syj9LlqA1t5SO8RPWAbNKuHoNrKa0LFuoo2j2MCic4PS6V5bfBDyfhnpQqk4zoTQ/s1600/IMG_5423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUo52VQdWjgLqrBCkAl66I9gu7cOPjgQH6kelBbPuyNMZoktf9PREnJVaGnpo44OqDaxZzT9syj9LlqA1t5SO8RPWAbNKuHoNrKa0LFuoo2j2MCic4PS6V5bfBDyfhnpQqk4zoTQ/s400/IMG_5423.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Coppa pizza at Red Hills Market in Dundee, far more than decent</td></tr>
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The errands are my favorite things. Even as an intern for others I always wanted to be the guy who got to go into town or check out the vines, stop by other wineries to see how things are going.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7t3D_WBIvBngKa9nVwBRPUqlvVyJDGa2FHpdpv3th7lIbBz9kTvUEuQeQMFyr64am4TQW1oqmrwCylSJ7KHvbNLi9RAO_3RCJbWBzMbhotpmNht5yaPipJoIuibEc9StIWPny5Q/s1600/IMG_5444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7t3D_WBIvBngKa9nVwBRPUqlvVyJDGa2FHpdpv3th7lIbBz9kTvUEuQeQMFyr64am4TQW1oqmrwCylSJ7KHvbNLi9RAO_3RCJbWBzMbhotpmNht5yaPipJoIuibEc9StIWPny5Q/s400/IMG_5444.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">99W south of McMinnville on a glorious autumn day</td></tr>
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I'm lazy, it's true, but I like to think it's a productive lazy. Maybe the best thing about making wine for myself is being able to do a little bit of everything, even indulging my lazy. So yeah, I'm the errand guy now too. And I might just take a bit longer road on the way back from town, if only to admire the view.Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-65307463271622830362015-12-14T11:25:00.004-08:002015-12-14T11:27:31.493-08:00Gamay!This harvest I realized a small dream, making my first Gamay Noir. The grape of Beaujolais (and Burgundy!) grows well in the Willamette Valley even if there aren't many producers working with it. Why not? I can't figure it out though perhaps the answer is right in front of me. Most people don't know what Gamay Noir is and just as many seem certain that Beaujolais is only about vapid nouveau wines each November.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeuDuNbG70B3lVuiN0n99urkC0r88kZPo0e5_elyTFxECQVpdI-t8gfxjC28PwWyK7AGoERiFbU0I6RY8J7dwS1wp9kZHT5bXicvVbPxHrcgssra04e7csJXRuHEk9Gzz79f3ng/s1600/IMG_5339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeuDuNbG70B3lVuiN0n99urkC0r88kZPo0e5_elyTFxECQVpdI-t8gfxjC28PwWyK7AGoERiFbU0I6RY8J7dwS1wp9kZHT5bXicvVbPxHrcgssra04e7csJXRuHEk9Gzz79f3ng/s400/IMG_5339.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gamay Noir on the vine at Bjornson Vineyard</td></tr>
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Nevertheless, I've wanted to make Gamay for years. It's a noble grape but has a reputation for not being so serious, perhaps a wild friend of the more buttoned down Pinot Noir. That's not entirely accurate - Gamay can be very serious. It's just not taken seriously all that much.</div>
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I remember working for a producer years ago that had a small amount of Gamay vines. I was so excited, asking questions about how the wine is made and where it ends up. The answers weren't so exciting. The producer sighed and said he didn't really think much of the Gamay. I think it was blended away as a small component in a basic Pinot Noir bottling. I was a little heartbroken, especially after fermenting the grapes that harvest. Such bright and peppery wine, I never forgot it and dreamed of making my own some day.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCpSswVTb3sfOo2jxJE0pW1H00UHyo5u21joDfM843u3d4nrT6yY0cGShJCgA-iy8yJ898M9D1j2GC3yEw3x2ai6Qtw4-Hn1AHBH4EQTZstNdOgb8tptNrJp9TNKPElpxPXr2-g/s1600/IMG_5458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCpSswVTb3sfOo2jxJE0pW1H00UHyo5u21joDfM843u3d4nrT6yY0cGShJCgA-iy8yJ898M9D1j2GC3yEw3x2ai6Qtw4-Hn1AHBH4EQTZstNdOgb8tptNrJp9TNKPElpxPXr2-g/s400/IMG_5458.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gamay fermenting naturally w/ one punch down a day</td></tr>
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That day has arrived, and so did 1.1 tons of Gamay noir a jus blanc (the full name) from baby vines at Bjornson Vineyard on Thursday, September 10. That's early for Gamay but young vines ripen early, which is one challenge with them compared to old vines that don't race to the finish.<br />
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How was the fruit? Like everything I had this year, the grape chemistry was incredibly good, surprisingly so given the hot summer. The Gamay looked and tasted great, even if some people might have thought it was a little early to pick. I like grapes like I like meat, medium rare. So brix was 21.7 and pH 3.24, pretty much perfect if you ask me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBaLQUKb-nA_DSPomNlrlAV9JgjrZnGuaBCfr_liaV73nq4YVNwPM1qTir9skp4cjwzyhjAUzLWu_C1MN4sbGGRUlVDwf1LMIipVkDn3DR5no9QpoaXA5dpuBgDbmdSs9C579Xbw/s1600/IMG_5676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBaLQUKb-nA_DSPomNlrlAV9JgjrZnGuaBCfr_liaV73nq4YVNwPM1qTir9skp4cjwzyhjAUzLWu_C1MN4sbGGRUlVDwf1LMIipVkDn3DR5no9QpoaXA5dpuBgDbmdSs9C579Xbw/s400/IMG_5676.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A brilliant scarlet color to the new Gamay</td></tr>
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Because this is my first Gamay, I treated it like I do my Pinot Noir. Destemmed, lightly crushed, then left to ferment naturally, the fermenter drained and pressed only after primary fermentation was done for a few days. I'll be honest, this wine ended up spending more time on the skins than I might have planned. After 25 days, I drained the fermenter and pressed the skins, filling three barrels a few days later after the new wine had some time to settle out a bit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjro1E-fsulpCJqvLSrQWB_4TJH54_xBk9KYBtZCrJcVgiVjx_B4xB52KPfhh4lpOKgggm-7HqGlZg0XjfTucu2LuYZeZ052y0mwX0-d1ioa9uQzh0A0K1tjT5HbHmG-qNSxFE2qw/s1600/IMG_5685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjro1E-fsulpCJqvLSrQWB_4TJH54_xBk9KYBtZCrJcVgiVjx_B4xB52KPfhh4lpOKgggm-7HqGlZg0XjfTucu2LuYZeZ052y0mwX0-d1ioa9uQzh0A0K1tjT5HbHmG-qNSxFE2qw/s400/IMG_5685.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hoping for something poetic, so my e.e. cummings inspired barrel tag</td></tr>
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As with most red wines in the 2015 vintage, my Gamay is unusally dark in color despite it's fresh acidity and lowish alcohol. We'll see how the color changes over a year of aging in old French oak barrels. I plan to bottle at the end of next summer. Look for this wine next fall.</div>
Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-84889704046380355792015-11-24T20:18:00.002-08:002015-12-14T11:28:13.884-08:00The driveThe questions this harvest were always about the drive and how I was moving my wine production from the city to the country.<br />
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How's the drive?<br />
Do you miss making wine in Portland?<br />
Do you live at the winery during harvest?<br />
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The answers, for the record, are fine, not really, no.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqL696sv1-Yy8DQ5h4etsNUHBFPx03hTYk2sTF5p-tBzAHApwIYEOib812sH-6iX06S0gLjJm3mYMNJw09rQagT0Kc9fAzfShkV0ILfpUK0EO-unaWYHWJiUHfOzKbmHk7GrMJKQ/s1600/IMG_5717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqL696sv1-Yy8DQ5h4etsNUHBFPx03hTYk2sTF5p-tBzAHApwIYEOib812sH-6iX06S0gLjJm3mYMNJw09rQagT0Kc9fAzfShkV0ILfpUK0EO-unaWYHWJiUHfOzKbmHk7GrMJKQ/s400/IMG_5717.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking east across the valley from Eola Hills Road</td></tr>
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Yes, I live in NE Portland and after six years at winery facilities in the city of Portland, I now drive all the way to the Eola Hills between Dundee and Salem to make my wine.<br />
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So how was the drive? Marvelous, mostly.<br />
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I grew up in Los Angeles, maybe I'm just used to driving. The hour+ commute each way to my winery home at Grochau Cellars was often just the time I needed to clear my thoughts, listen to my muse, occasionally respond, and generally make sure the countryside and each harvest day and night passed marked.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSukK7Nk9LLCIAbFbkLwzLzW88sbWaGm9M4Wq_n3JwUdRdzK_keMVbuS_3Y47FmFkytt3jSAgZYzYOwESfsED7Yl3Cu1Y4BoK_uxfYMf5SvLGUYT7IFhrmK6qKUC_XrmDHP12UMg/s1600/IMG_5425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSukK7Nk9LLCIAbFbkLwzLzW88sbWaGm9M4Wq_n3JwUdRdzK_keMVbuS_3Y47FmFkytt3jSAgZYzYOwESfsED7Yl3Cu1Y4BoK_uxfYMf5SvLGUYT7IFhrmK6qKUC_XrmDHP12UMg/s400/IMG_5425.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Willamette River in September from the Wheatland Ferry</td></tr>
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The route was mostly the same. Interstate 5 south to Exit 263, then west and a bit north to the Wheatland Ferry, the only car crossing between Newberg and Salem. From the west side of the Ferry, it's just a few minutes up the hill to the winery.<br />
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On late nights after the Ferry stopped running, I'd drive back through Dundee and Newberg to Portland. Too busy during the day, late at night the route is quiet and direct, and one September night anyway the stars bright over the Dundee Hills after midnight took my breath away.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDVlE6cUmgoL0p_vmVx2eAiV3vLy1XI8WQtDEJJ0y3DwhoeCNfsAPjuCrdjFtF8cUoA2WoTrk1zKk9QFPMLCtztzGbcqpI0I1lDaGYObIdvA38hCjMWZ46q4PgK2R9vjkXj395UQ/s1600/IMG_5385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDVlE6cUmgoL0p_vmVx2eAiV3vLy1XI8WQtDEJJ0y3DwhoeCNfsAPjuCrdjFtF8cUoA2WoTrk1zKk9QFPMLCtztzGbcqpI0I1lDaGYObIdvA38hCjMWZ46q4PgK2R9vjkXj395UQ/s400/IMG_5385.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bouquet of fresh hop flowers found on the roadside one morning</td></tr>
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Mostly it was a freeway drive without much traffic, then two lane roads through the hop yards of the Willamette Valley, the old school car ferry and my thoughts. And occasionally stopping on the side of the road to finish a conversation before losing cell service.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDodL9Z_u8KI2EQaOWlQf7cT23HNwjwRLS71KmIpvPWs2erweUJeazaeGF2N4ULHkAdaI9540oGLJfUlmHHr8xjkjwr0vazIM9NXvbqn2ArotYC4_i0DhkiUDtQaKB4t5PASvL5w/s1600/IMG_5722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDodL9Z_u8KI2EQaOWlQf7cT23HNwjwRLS71KmIpvPWs2erweUJeazaeGF2N4ULHkAdaI9540oGLJfUlmHHr8xjkjwr0vazIM9NXvbqn2ArotYC4_i0DhkiUDtQaKB4t5PASvL5w/s400/IMG_5722.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sunsets this harvest were exceptional almost every day</td></tr>
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I thought I'd spend more nights at the winery, just for convenience. I found I liked getting back home each night, and without proper camping gear (which is changing) I only spent one cold night on the crush pad, under the stars and more thoughts<br />
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More on that soon enough.Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-58207336460980612412015-11-20T09:55:00.001-08:002015-12-14T16:48:53.681-08:00Red ferments, waiting, punchdowns, doing nothingLast time I wrote about making white wines. Essentially, that means pressing the grapes right away and fermenting the juice on its own. This method keeps the white wines pale in color and free of astringency that the skins and other solids would give to the wine.<br />
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With red wines, you ferment the juice in contact with the grape skins, pulp, seeds, maybe even the stems depending on your preference. The point is to extract lots of things from the grape solids to provide color, flavor and texture to the red wine. Only after fermentation is done do we separate the new red wine from the grape solids.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcI0HlhNSvWTaL08Uweq2AE_11RHivyF5tD6EV6XYsT5AVdJAql_bmgx7PeemCGo30RSIKczV5Mh4zTm3wauIi6APFvZnYO-efv-1x5oKGpovH8654q1prgnEwdTm1LKj0q4pv8Q/s1600/IMG_5364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcI0HlhNSvWTaL08Uweq2AE_11RHivyF5tD6EV6XYsT5AVdJAql_bmgx7PeemCGo30RSIKczV5Mh4zTm3wauIi6APFvZnYO-efv-1x5oKGpovH8654q1prgnEwdTm1LKj0q4pv8Q/s400/IMG_5364.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fermenter bin full of destemmed Pinot Noir grapes</td></tr>
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I'm not sure how to describe my wine making methods other than to say I take a simple approach. I don't add yeast, nor do I add any yeast foods, texture enhancers, and whatever else you can find in the winery supply catalogs. I don't cook that way and I don't think the best wines are made with the intention of totally controlling the outcome.<br />
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This harvest, fruit quality was exceptional, meaning there was so little rot or other issues in the grapes that you knew right away on each harvest day that things were going to go well. Think of the nicest fish you've ever cooked - perfectly fresh, like a dream, so you know all you need to do is prepare it simply and the meal couldn't be better.<br />
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Making wine is no different. Not every lot of grapes may have the integrity for such a simple approach. Rainy years are particularly difficult as molds and other things can start growing in the grape clusters, potentially hurting the quality of the wine. In 2015, the story of the harvest for me was a consistency of fruit quality from every site I work with so that, as usual, nothing really had to be done.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2ybXY9uuVfrE-iTKsKRSoN3L3elZUDS9uAZwOPPz25AkX4RT3PmHLvgUpcVghH9Uun4_PS8H3q2P2xd77Ey-O93hv2AHq8ccMn9nQl_k3FfchRxLV8ib9GyP0Un6X2-0pbyFWA/s1600/IMG_5352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2ybXY9uuVfrE-iTKsKRSoN3L3elZUDS9uAZwOPPz25AkX4RT3PmHLvgUpcVghH9Uun4_PS8H3q2P2xd77Ey-O93hv2AHq8ccMn9nQl_k3FfchRxLV8ib9GyP0Un6X2-0pbyFWA/s400/IMG_5352.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pigeage</i> or foot treading the gapes for gentle extraction the old fashioned way.</td></tr>
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What does that mean? Fruit is sorted and destemmed (in most cases) into well cleaned fermenter bins. The next day I will do one pump over, or <i>remontage</i>, where I pump the grape juice from the bottom of the vat and spray it gently over the surface to mix and aerate things, much as you are adding oxygen to bread dough in the kneading process. That oxygen feeds the yeast to promote a strong native fermentation.<br />
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Then I do nothing. For days.<br />
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Ok, I wait, and of course I check on things each day, take temperatures, smell, generally assess how things are going. But I don't punch down the grape skins, mixing things in the fermenter. Instead I'm waiting for fermentation on the surface to build to a point where carbon dioxide production from that activity is strong enough to really make you notice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivXmYaUdjIJEH3OWJGMQgHT43fNO-3yXn9nANZ3iX0ennBLU0XbpuKTTk9RS_LVQhM8UiUQ9ik2MJINUoJYgD0DaS_9IKjQPj_U56bn-DdxnyEvYthbSnJSnZJCsi3yUmkY_6vMw/s1600/IMG_5633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivXmYaUdjIJEH3OWJGMQgHT43fNO-3yXn9nANZ3iX0ennBLU0XbpuKTTk9RS_LVQhM8UiUQ9ik2MJINUoJYgD0DaS_9IKjQPj_U56bn-DdxnyEvYthbSnJSnZJCsi3yUmkY_6vMw/s400/IMG_5633.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view as I punch down a fermenter of Pinot Noir</td></tr>
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Only then do I punch down the fermenter for the first time. In some harvests that can take up to 10 days of waiting. This year, fermentations took off after 5 or 6 days, most likely because even with our cooler than expected September weather, ambient temperatures were higher than you'd see in a normal year of harvesting in early October. Even slightly warmer temps means slightly faster starts to fermentation, one of the many little attributes of each vintage.<br />
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Before anyone worries - what, fast fermentations? That sounds bad! - let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm saying that my natural fermentations run on their own schedules each year, and this year things started a bit more quickly than usual. However, the most significant difference in my red wine making this year compared to prior years is that fermentations lasted longer than usual.<br />
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As fermentation continues, I will punch down (mix) the fermenters only once a day, and then not even every day. Wine making school will tell you this will ruin a wine. Without enough mixing, vinegar bacteria or other issues will take hold. My experience is different, and I've found that punching down only a handful of times over the entire fermentation period allows the delicate texture of the wine to come together. Think of lace - work it too much and it tears. Treat it gently and you preserve a delicate, beautiful integrity that means everything.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrrRwCjHrn3H7tU0poKu4eOieM4CkPrGdXje3VkhSwDLBIZMJCgQ5LslCVRSE1FI2KbtxXjQ0eDO26zxEGx7XUK9Ev8Kak9F1nMDPKdjng16_yStg5hUjr5QNdyywkhnUFvxqjog/s1600/IMG_5415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrrRwCjHrn3H7tU0poKu4eOieM4CkPrGdXje3VkhSwDLBIZMJCgQ5LslCVRSE1FI2KbtxXjQ0eDO26zxEGx7XUK9Ev8Kak9F1nMDPKdjng16_yStg5hUjr5QNdyywkhnUFvxqjog/s400/IMG_5415.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of the foamy goodness of native yeast fermentation of Pinot Noir.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Some years, even if fermentation takes 10 days to start, after another 10 days the wine is dry (finished fermenting) and the fermenter is ready to drain and press. But this year, even with quicker starts to fermentation, nothing fermented too fast and many of my fermenters took 24 and up to 28 days from harvest to be ready to drain and press.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MXIIRFYsztY5LY67Zz1wwAu3UAZ2c30NVh5oR0sruIFpdatM6HmH573kcUgqStYS96spJL2DnWd-ZKZRJwseJp7xM8ADCHPZV7xBsGSdDBkQud9s91Q22oId15IepGuaVUJwUw/s1600/IMG_5548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MXIIRFYsztY5LY67Zz1wwAu3UAZ2c30NVh5oR0sruIFpdatM6HmH573kcUgqStYS96spJL2DnWd-ZKZRJwseJp7xM8ADCHPZV7xBsGSdDBkQud9s91Q22oId15IepGuaVUJwUw/s400/IMG_5548.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dark, already pretty clear color of free run Pinot Noir.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That extra contact time with the grape solids often gives a wine more savory, complex flavors and aromas beyond fresh fruit qualities. The potential downside of longer "skin contact" could be increased tannin, perhaps even bitterness, and perhaps losing too much freshness. It's a balancing act, but with warm summer and perfectly healthy fruit, I found that the added skin contact time for the new wines helped draw out a vinuos quality in favor of loads of fresh, dense fruit. Some of that is good, too much is not really wine but fruit juice.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfsjqJQcrGxl48VDtBegjhE3vx3VSXdwlBNjMwphIj9tbvYrEFDxIcP4bT-aVINl6ugpdxse6tdYsXrcyz_JioYQY7hG7dnZzqMrPR_wxNDOU6uhRpcljayCR3kInZUzQ8n6AKMQ/s1600/IMG_5549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfsjqJQcrGxl48VDtBegjhE3vx3VSXdwlBNjMwphIj9tbvYrEFDxIcP4bT-aVINl6ugpdxse6tdYsXrcyz_JioYQY7hG7dnZzqMrPR_wxNDOU6uhRpcljayCR3kInZUzQ8n6AKMQ/s400/IMG_5549.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By contrast, the lighter colored, murky press wine that needs settling.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As usual, when draining a fermenter and pressing the grape solids, I let the new wine settle for a couple of days before filling barrels. The goal is to allow a good bit of the suspended solids to settle out, so that there's some but not too much lees (sediment) in the barrels as the wines age.<br />
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Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-26973729215431887632015-11-05T23:54:00.001-08:002015-11-05T23:54:14.609-08:00Pressing white grapes<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
With red grapes, the basic process for
making wine is fermenting the grape skins, pulp, seeds, maybe stems
and of course the grape juice all together. Only when fermentation is
done do you load the press with the grape solids and press out the
wine.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nDHFQRQtEsuvm0vtfBFo0-oyDUPCQzb4zCO4EeRLmmlh1Vd1nJnOAhJnbtlcjt4hrlDa9FuWb5SrUIpSlvDyTrkF5SfkmcIKsMpukizEcSM2YtGTx9VIrqd1c4E0GyOYKINNGA/s1600/IMG_5524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nDHFQRQtEsuvm0vtfBFo0-oyDUPCQzb4zCO4EeRLmmlh1Vd1nJnOAhJnbtlcjt4hrlDa9FuWb5SrUIpSlvDyTrkF5SfkmcIKsMpukizEcSM2YtGTx9VIrqd1c4E0GyOYKINNGA/s400/IMG_5524.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old vine 108 clone Chardonnay from Namaste Vineyard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With white grapes, things are easier and
more difficult. Easier in that you typically press the grapes right
away to get just the juice – no pulp or seeds or skins – and
ferment the juice in tanks or barrels. There are no daily punch downs
as with making red wine.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
But it's harder to press unfermented
fruit. Grapes are pulpy and don't want to give up their juice too
easily. Grapes are also sticky and attract lots of bees, so loading
the press is a little more dangerous if you don't want to get stung.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzFyHDZZBhiXfAwNjTczQr6scYoZZ13yMg4376oq7QXrKnXkFiY06zyCRKU7MUL6c2LBPqICbYn7B8Yz_DHXKkrClmmEafJTWHPSc9Hj6DqzJRNbdiQsSRzEN0pBEGfmH4d1AMw/s1600/IMG_5407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzFyHDZZBhiXfAwNjTczQr6scYoZZ13yMg4376oq7QXrKnXkFiY06zyCRKU7MUL6c2LBPqICbYn7B8Yz_DHXKkrClmmEafJTWHPSc9Hj6DqzJRNbdiQsSRzEN0pBEGfmH4d1AMw/s400/IMG_5407.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loading Pinot Blanc into the press by hand, one shovel load at a time</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This year I worked with Chardonnay from
three different vineyards and Pinot Blanc from a single site. Having
a small press at the new winery – something we will likely change
in the years ahead – meant loading the press several times. By
hand, one shovel full of grapes at a time for literally tons of
fruit. Forget crossfit, this is body by harvest, good honest work
that gives you time to think.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8miGP9wCN4Kqte9_TsvDRMSWzCdLoT15hZu1hQvlcf-XpUXXSugkA38dwNpz_-H_ex25cUkf4AZyelfePDlHSiTcIzRru3oFJI5okOthBKCdBpxYpLk2bMEgZ59RTezctuYzbMQ/s1600/IMG_5372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8miGP9wCN4Kqte9_TsvDRMSWzCdLoT15hZu1hQvlcf-XpUXXSugkA38dwNpz_-H_ex25cUkf4AZyelfePDlHSiTcIzRru3oFJI5okOthBKCdBpxYpLk2bMEgZ59RTezctuYzbMQ/s400/IMG_5372.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful inside of a well cleaned, several years old French oak barrel for white wine</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
As with my red wines, I like to let the
freshly pressed white juice settle to a few days before filling
barrels. This process allows the gross lees, or sediment, to settle
out so the white juice is more pure for its fermentation.
Fermentation in always native with my white and red wines, meaning no
yeasts added, fermentation happening only with yeasts on the grapes
and in the air. After fermentation, the wine stays on the sediment in
the barrels – mostly yeast cells, what we call the fine lees – to
age and gain richness.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-B3AHLFnN2zKC7GZHu3UyCqC35HIy9LytcyLsh2DNGKUzjrKx1kQUFBJsDC4wYtMJpvKT0fITQZ1fopvwZg_AG0AMqwYTRhlapencmwMNZIHn7QcrFP4JzLBRqhMpFGW6Ran8A/s1600/IMG_5610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-B3AHLFnN2zKC7GZHu3UyCqC35HIy9LytcyLsh2DNGKUzjrKx1kQUFBJsDC4wYtMJpvKT0fITQZ1fopvwZg_AG0AMqwYTRhlapencmwMNZIHn7QcrFP4JzLBRqhMpFGW6Ran8A/s400/IMG_5610.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pulling a sample of fermenting Chardonnay from a barrel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This year the Pinot Blanc fermented dry
– no sugar remaining – in just a few weeks, which was fairly
quick. The Chardonnays have taken longer, with one barrel just about
dry, a few others nearing the end of fermentation, and two barrels
still with a few percent of sugar nearly two months after picking.
Some producers worry about slow fermenting whites but I like the
longer ferment, provided things continue to move.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYd8fRcmElASVcTrt9VjHMBrl-mEwm9wGKZ8534_6SqVhb9IILrpFoIk6zbVs9DVYpSHUhjlRtvtuEjxjiWj7SGxyGaQ03gzTM2ADKFl9HNZvApeVjFXr18GI_qBPUdDbCk52IQ/s1600/IMG_5708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYd8fRcmElASVcTrt9VjHMBrl-mEwm9wGKZ8534_6SqVhb9IILrpFoIk6zbVs9DVYpSHUhjlRtvtuEjxjiWj7SGxyGaQ03gzTM2ADKFl9HNZvApeVjFXr18GI_qBPUdDbCk52IQ/s400/IMG_5708.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The yeasty glow of fermenting white wine in barrel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While harvest is now done, the one bit
of harvest work that continues is keeping my eye on those Chardonnay
barrels, to chart their progress, taste as things go to make sure
nothing funny is happening, and wait for fermentation to finish on
its own. Sometimes it can take until the following spring, which is
fine.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUp0QSvWSxaC7GcrLgvA1uCznB9DRMspb-HKk80YVmzQcCdbcljELo55NxQwa4NOKG7eQDazr17Z_g3n49zeSJGjtDKTi1cj2gw9kN5D3vFQl6GVh9Fn0ulLN8e_zc2qqhjkBxg/s1600/IMG_5811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUp0QSvWSxaC7GcrLgvA1uCznB9DRMspb-HKk80YVmzQcCdbcljELo55NxQwa4NOKG7eQDazr17Z_g3n49zeSJGjtDKTi1cj2gw9kN5D3vFQl6GVh9Fn0ulLN8e_zc2qqhjkBxg/s400/IMG_5811.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This sample of Chardonnay is nearing the end of fermentation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In life I think the longer the cure,
the stronger the bond. I don't mind waiting, though I'll keep
checking in to see how things progress. And because I love the
perfume of new (and old) wine. </div>
Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-25985506630460518862015-10-30T11:16:00.002-07:002015-10-30T11:16:44.918-07:00First fruit<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWx1mxvpRWEu8KDKONNBv9-_YXeWiyw1SKiG8U83ev7K2BpC8yq_31g8krxLPwExuT6sPuVdF3Dz3uFSV1z3A812zOnEl_8I_o44fIBVZ6NqEQFEwJku_A0u8xlCk6Z5dDbw_og/s1600/IMG_5297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWx1mxvpRWEu8KDKONNBv9-_YXeWiyw1SKiG8U83ev7K2BpC8yq_31g8krxLPwExuT6sPuVdF3Dz3uFSV1z3A812zOnEl_8I_o44fIBVZ6NqEQFEwJku_A0u8xlCk6Z5dDbw_og/s400/IMG_5297.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshly picked Pinot Noir vines at Armstrong Vineyard on Ribbon Ridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Harvest 2015 began on Saturday morning, September 5, at our site on Ribbon Ridge, Armstrong Vineyard, with cool and dry weather more typical of late September when I'd normally expect to start picking grapes.<br />
<br />
This cool end of season weather was key to the wine quality this year. Had we seen normal early September weather, in the 80s up to the '90s, things could have been grim. Grapes racing to ripeness, dehydrating and losing elegance and grace.<br />
<br />
Instead, we had perfect picking conditions and fruit got to the winery nice and cold, something I never expected with a year this early.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4m9NItXiSOceALZzk5ObD2wQMwo5JWqmOs1zRaCU2KhfIL8JyEk6uwFB5mfUpEQn0Tirr67unMKitrg1Vi3ekEciC06uXa7o1G3wPrJZWPhzRYtTChioG4X_ljF1f3xXb43porA/s1600/IMG_5299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4m9NItXiSOceALZzk5ObD2wQMwo5JWqmOs1zRaCU2KhfIL8JyEk6uwFB5mfUpEQn0Tirr67unMKitrg1Vi3ekEciC06uXa7o1G3wPrJZWPhzRYtTChioG4X_ljF1f3xXb43porA/s400/IMG_5299.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Please tell me that's all there is!! ;-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This year I upped production from Armstrong, but I definitely had to take a deep breath seeing 20 quarter ton bins of fruit loaded on the trailer. Five tons of fruit day one? That's almost more than I made in the entire vintage of 2010, admittedly only my second year when I worked with just two vineyards. Still.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgn2rAZE9gv_nyWJiTNuTpHPWPT3GAkPUlN0ojY8AaMLyZVZVB9k6WTLWFAsZClYmbejqsfufqGeSA9137s4f9FH68HrGxrpMdmMhMBAHc9J0_YJq9iA2QnrGbMIz0LD_85gyew/s1600/IMG_5307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgn2rAZE9gv_nyWJiTNuTpHPWPT3GAkPUlN0ojY8AaMLyZVZVB9k6WTLWFAsZClYmbejqsfufqGeSA9137s4f9FH68HrGxrpMdmMhMBAHc9J0_YJq9iA2QnrGbMIz0LD_85gyew/s400/IMG_5307.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whole cluster Pinot Noir from Armstrong Vineyard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
With more fruit this year, I experimented with a heavy proportion of whole clusters in one fermenter. That means sorting the fruit as usual, but bypassing the destemmer to allow the intact grape clusters into the fermenter. I typically destem the grapes, but I like the effect stems can have on wine texturally and aromatically. We'll see how this one turns out.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsB_8nA17C6Lejdn3BgXd7kDqSMVBn4n42IJBl1ACo_iFz-h8EhzBSg0faNyRC4KOuWsx88PGZYLGncynGnD1MYxE-VfmuRoFyyxUUtiA3wrG9yPtbzqok01QZONBnsEk1xMtafQ/s1600/IMG_5314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsB_8nA17C6Lejdn3BgXd7kDqSMVBn4n42IJBl1ACo_iFz-h8EhzBSg0faNyRC4KOuWsx88PGZYLGncynGnD1MYxE-VfmuRoFyyxUUtiA3wrG9yPtbzqok01QZONBnsEk1xMtafQ/s400/IMG_5314.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy guy in the driver's seat on the fork lift, for hours</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Harvest day 1 turned out to be a pretty typical "fruit" day. Get up early, get out to the vineyard to oversee the pick, then get to the winery to get ready to process fruit before the grower trucks it over. Then hours of processing the fruit, with me on the fork lift driving as carefully as possible in some tight winery spaces. Then cleaning up, almost endlessly, and taking initial numbers of sugar, acid and temperature for each new fermenter.<br />
<br />
This day we filled 5 fermenters, and once things were all done, around 10pm, I turned the lights off, locked the doors, drove home and thought about doing it all over again tomorrow with the first pick at Crowley Station.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDWSd0mka23FwTu1eDaDl5SePSW7yuyt_9DRYZSOvlTWkQ0HhlnQNMtIzxpBHIN_kBsFpDPTg-WmimjbuDb_0yWj1s2-z9bI5nxv4RopqBmcXtKxw1ZmY5zqjFNh7JkrTOJ5Kx4g/s1600/IMG_5319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDWSd0mka23FwTu1eDaDl5SePSW7yuyt_9DRYZSOvlTWkQ0HhlnQNMtIzxpBHIN_kBsFpDPTg-WmimjbuDb_0yWj1s2-z9bI5nxv4RopqBmcXtKxw1ZmY5zqjFNh7JkrTOJ5Kx4g/s400/IMG_5319.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit of interplanted Chardonnay in with the Crowley Station Vineyard Pinot Noir</td></tr>
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So day 2 of harvest, down to Crowley Station early in the morning, loading a rental truck and driving the fruit myself up to the winery. This first pick at Crowley Station was the west block, a mix of clones plus a little Chardonnay that we co-fermented with the Pinot just for fun. Really just about 1% of the fruit was Chard, we'll see if we can pick out any uniqueness it may have added.<br />
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The rest of Crowley Station we held off picking for another week and a half. So this was a light fruit day, just 1.5 tons, but as you go through harvest you have the newest fruit to deal with but also all the prior fruit in various stages of fermentation. It starts to add up quickly.<br />
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Meanwhile there was planning for day 3, which would bring the first white grapes, Chardonnay from Methven in the Amity Hills. More on that and the rest of harvest next time...Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-62619508577933252312015-10-25T11:20:00.001-07:002015-10-25T11:20:08.836-07:00Harvest 2015: Introduction<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0x_Fog-w0rNB-YgNmy9LvJLXgJRRUyp90MDcjASAQX2WEFREk1vHfk6EYdzGQLewx9PA78ZcK91Nxypwfblidi2dLfvFDP9_nQOmBYNxdFvnCpfpCpn1BM6LgXDK1ch2hAAWuQ/s1600/IMG_5739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0x_Fog-w0rNB-YgNmy9LvJLXgJRRUyp90MDcjASAQX2WEFREk1vHfk6EYdzGQLewx9PA78ZcK91Nxypwfblidi2dLfvFDP9_nQOmBYNxdFvnCpfpCpn1BM6LgXDK1ch2hAAWuQ/s400/IMG_5739.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eola Hills harvest sunset, looking to the Van Duzer gap in the Coast Range</td></tr>
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I learned it again this year, after the earliest and hottest Willamette Valley summer in memory, the same lesson of every season, even the coldest, latest harvest on record a few years ago and every year since.<div>
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Yes, always. </div>
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Somehow, against all seeming odds, the grape harvest always works out. I learn it, believe it, then apparently have to learn it again each year. </div>
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I don't mean to invite a true agricultural disaster. Perhaps in some year to come the crop will truly fail. But would we not continue on regardless? Yes, future unconditional tense.</div>
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Things during the year aren't always so clear. All anyone could talk about this year was the heat, how we had no winter, how spring came earlier than ever and would we be harvesting raisins in August?</div>
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The truth is always something a little different.</div>
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I think certain events this year help explain the wines I have resting in the cellar after we indeed had the earlier harvest I've heard of in Oregon (maybe '92 was earlier?). </div>
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I'm amazed that no lot of grapes came in with higher sugars than I'd like. None came in without the acidity I desire. And everything tasted ripe or frankly ripe enough. Think of medium rare meat, that's how I like my ripeness.</div>
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The summer of 2014 was hot and gave the earliest harvest I'd seen. I started picking on September 13 last year. Then fall hit hard and winter even came briefly with some sneaky cold nights in late November and December. We did have winter, though it was short.</div>
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Rains didn't translate into mountain snow, and when January arrived with March-like weather, local ski slopes were bare and growers were quick to prune in anticipation of a very early budbreak.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPD3fmYko33fbTObEFOnixrs1WzY28I1VRaw_elRmxi7p0IM5hUAKHmfZT7aBPoq2Bftj5ZKcyLDFiPELtnRW6aZxrjajD3MmFSj3aSdZlp_n40lW3LUInP6MfV7Txo90blwqlQ/s1600/414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPD3fmYko33fbTObEFOnixrs1WzY28I1VRaw_elRmxi7p0IM5hUAKHmfZT7aBPoq2Bftj5ZKcyLDFiPELtnRW6aZxrjajD3MmFSj3aSdZlp_n40lW3LUInP6MfV7Txo90blwqlQ/s400/414.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Budbreak in mid-March 2015 in my rows at Zenith Vineyard </td></tr>
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Sure enough the vines woke from their winter naps in mid-March, a full month earlier than normal. Then flowering, when the grapes set on the vine, happened a month early in May. Color change in the red grapes, or veraison, in July instead of August. </div>
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Everything was happening early, but would the critical event happen, again any prediction? Would fall come early as well so we could pick cold fruit that ripened slowly at the end of the season?</div>
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Incredibly, that's what happened. Around August 28, it's like the summer switch flipped to fall. Sure we had some warm days in September, but only after unusually cool weather around Labor Day that set a fall tone for the rest of the season.</div>
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Harvest began a full eight days earlier than last year, on September 5 with approximately 5 tons of Pinot Noir from Armstrong Vineyard on Ribbon Ridge. </div>
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How did all the fruit turn out? How did everything ferment? And how was it largely working on my own making 23 tons worth of wine, full time, no longer balancing a day job?</div>
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Stay tuned. I promise to continue, it's definitely worth it.</div>
Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-9230646801343167122015-08-16T21:21:00.001-07:002015-08-16T21:21:24.814-07:00Provence, 1970 and BordeauxEarlier this summer I enjoyed the page-turning <i>Provence, 1970</i> by Luke Barr. It's a lovely culinary read about many things, in part the changing culinary trends of the time that brought something of a sunset of a generation, an era.<br />
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Published two years ago, the book details the author's grandmother M.F.K. Fisher and her chef/author/media star colleagues including Julia Child, Richard Olney and James Beard. The group - a mix of friends, acquaintances and strangers - meet up in Provence in late 1970, cooking, drinking wine and generally digging into the essentials of life, pleasure, insecurity and the meaning of our lives, our work and love.<br />
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The turning point hinges on the culinary movement away from more fussy, classical preparations in the kitchen to the more simple techniques and focus on local, seasonal ingredients. Olney represents the new wave, and M.F. and Julia more the old school, even as Julia is revolutionizing food by bringing old school French cooking to the world via a widely viewed television program.<br />
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The old school recognizes things are changing, but they still want to do things their way. As M.F. puts it in a letter to Julia Child, "One reason we are friends is that we both understand the acceptance of NOW."<br />
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The book contains several recountings of elaborate meals and menus, with impeccable wines usually selected by Julia's enophile husband Paul. As with the times, most choices were French and Bordeaux at that. How the wine world has changed.<br />
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But reading the menus, I thought to open a wine of similar age to the 1962s and such they were enjoying. So the 2006 Ch. Olivier from Graves, a producer I first came upon very early in my wine interest with a highly reviewed new release at the time, the 1989.<br />
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I remember that '89 was pretty good older school Bordeaux red, but this 2006 was everything that's unfortunate about modern Bordeaux. Where the old school approach was redder, translucent and more delicate, the new school is maximum extraction, with dark colors, thick textures and dense flavors. At nine years old, this wine was all that but hollow in the middle and rough throughout, just overworked, like it's trying to hard to be something SPECIAL and isn't even charming. Which wine simply must be.<br />
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Of course in the book the wines are always lovely. Perhaps I'm too critical, Or perhaps not. The characters all had strong opinions and I'm sure they argued about the wines. I finished <i>Provence, 1970</i> and exhaled, thinking what I would give for just one dinner with that group, just to be there. The book is as good as we'll get for now.Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545804.post-7616041429981382462015-06-19T14:29:00.002-07:002015-06-19T14:29:52.258-07:00At last, it's time - full timeNearly sixteen years after I first volunteered in a commercial winery, ten years after seriously committing myself to an apprenticeship in wine, and six years since I founded my winery, Vincent Wine Company, I am delighted to say that today, June 19, 2015, I am quitting my day job in higher education and entering the wine business full time.<br />
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It has been a long time coming, it's taken a lot of patience at times, but it is finally here. Dreams do come true.<br />
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Don't get me wrong, what I did today in resigning my position as Director of Professional Development at a local university was difficult for me. I came to my higher education career fifteen years ago, after several years in various editorial positions in book and periodical publishing.<br />
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I am passionate about helping people learn and grow, be it from classroom learning or simply reading on one's own. In this career, my work has been largely to identify what people need to know to help them in their professional lives, then to find the right people and work with them to create the experiences the audience needs.<br />
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I'll miss that work. But I won't miss it nearly as much as I'm looking forward to my future in wine. Let's not even get into university politics and bureaucracy. I will not miss that.<br />
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I've heard it again and again in my years in wine - don't quit your day job. And I didn't, I took that advice seriously. My one overarching goal, beyond making great wine, was to accomplish enough each year to continue my quest to make great wine. You know, sell the wine and you get to make more.<br />
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So far, so good. But there's only so far you can take things as a side project, no matter how large a side project it's become. And there's definitely stigma in making wine while still working outside of wine, as if you can't be that serious about the wine if you're not full time, and you certainly can't be too serious about your day job if you have this side passion.<br />
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My life has been about making these two worlds fit together. Sometimes it was painful to hear people tell me I must not like what I do for "work," or I must be cutting corners on the wine I make, simply because they couldn't accept the whole picture of my life.<br />
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But the truth is, that dichotomy exists and sometimes has been terribly difficult. I'm very happy to let it go.<br />
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Before you get worried and say, what if it doesn't work? It might not. But I'm six years in, things have gone well, even better than I could have expected (especially knowing what I know now). At this point, my best business option is to immerse myself more fully into wine. It's not a lark, it's not numbers on a page, it's a real business with a track record and, like a child, it demands more attention.<br />
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The good news is that I don't have to leave behind my passion for learning and reading. One opportunity I see in my wine business, of course beyond making the best wine I possibly can, is to create opportunities for people to learn and grow in their own wine knowledge. I'm not thinking of some kind of hospitality center that many wineries provide. Instead it's something more personal and intimate.<br />
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We'll see how all that shakes out, but for now it feels great to seize this dream fully, after a long wait, after a lot of difficult work.<br />
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It's finally here. I can't wait. And I know the work's only just begun.Vincent Fritzschehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12340402264338098753noreply@blogger.com1