Grochau Cellars pre-harvest release this Sunday

Not to be all nostalgic, but this is the 300th post in the 4+ years of this site. At the beginning I never thought how long I'd be doing this blog. It's all right though. Here's to at least 300 more.

So, this Sunday, September 13, I'll be down at the Portland Wine Project for Grochau Cellars' pre-harvest release party. It's all afternoon, five measly bucks at the door, taste John Grochau's new sryah, tempranillo, sauvignon blanc, and who knows what else. The address is NW 30th and Industrial in NW Portland, right across the street from Pyramid Brewing's Taproom.

The Portland Wine Project is where I'll be making my first commercial wine this fall. I think this facility is going to be the catalyst for an urban wine boom(let) here in Portland. This town's full of breweries and more and more distilleries. I want to be part of making urban wine a big deal here in town. Grochau and partners Boedecker Cellars are already making that happen. Come down and check it out. Hope to see you. Just show up.

Garage tasting is here

We spent some of the afternoon getting the garage ready for Sunday's wine tasting. Clearning out all the junk we usually store out there. Sweeping the floor and wiping off the old barrels we use for tables for these events. We have some cheese and meats and what not to snack on. I'll go to the market in the morning for fresh bread and anything else that looks good. We have lots of glasses but no doubt even more people coming, so we'll be washing to keep up with the crowd. Everything should and will go well. I just can't help but be a little nervous.

I suppose athletes are right when they say that if you don't have some butterflies before a game, something's wrong. You can believe in yourself all you want. Still it's a challenge to put yourself out there for others to see and critique. Wine making isn't performance art, yet there comes a time when you need to open the door and let people see what you've been doing. It's an act of letting go, and something that's a lot easier for me to do than think about. Still, I can't wait for tomorrow.

More on the garage wine tasting

Wow, there's been lots of interest in the garage wine tasting a week from Sunday. Lots of friends, of course. And, once again, people I've never met. Some with friends and acquaintances, others who read this site and have bravely written to see if they can come. Yes, by all means.

In addition to the 2007 and 2008 Vincent wines, I mentioned I'm going to pour a few extra wines. We'll see what makes the most sense for the day's weather. There will be sparkling wine no matter what. Definitely some other local pinot noir, maybe a burgundy, a local gruner veltliner, who knows what else.

If it's not too warm, I have a 2002 Masciarelli Trebbiano d'Abruzzo Marina Cvetic. The grapes were apparently unaffected by the severe rains, and I've heard this white wine is big, barrel aged and somewhat oxidized in style. I honestly never know when to open such an oddity. Why not now?

So the tasting should be fun. Comment and let me know if you're interested. My place, the afternoon of September 6.

Garage wine tasting, and changes

Lots of good news here on the winemaking front. My 2007 homemade pinot noir is finally ready to pour, so we're having another wine tasting in the garage. Date is Sunday, September 6 from noon to 4 or 5 or whenever. Location is my place in NE Portland. Email me at vincentfritzsche [at] yahoo [dot] com for more information. The grapes in 2007 came from the Meredith Mitchell vineyard in the McMinnville AVA. A challenging year, but I'm pleasantly surprised with the wine. Come see what you think.

I'll also pour a barrel sample of my homemade 2008 pinot noir from the Zenith vineyard in the Eola-Amity AVA. This wine should be terrific when I bottle it next spring, the last of my homemade wine.

Yes, it's finally true. This fall I'm launching my own commercial wine label, name to be determined. I'm crushing 3.5 tons of pinot noir from two different sites in the Eola-Amity Hills, including Zenith, and making the wine at the Portland Wine Project in industrial NW Portland. I'm tremendously excited and a bit anxious about it all. I'll be blogging the whole adventure, so stay tuned this fall and beyond for that. Of course I'm putting together a mailing list, so let me know if you're interested in getting on that.

We'll also be celebrating the launch in the garage on September 6, so come on down and give me input on what to name my wine. It's a casual, drop in thing, but let me know if you're coming if that's possible. I'll also be pouring a few other things from my cellar, selections depending on the weather. Feel free to bring something as well.