Energy, ESJ style

What an excellent tasting tonight at Storyteller Wine Company in Portland with Steve Edmunds of Edmunds St. John. After all these years, I finally connect IRL with Steve, maker of some of my favorite California wines and something of an inspiration for my own winemaking.

I arrived hoping not to monopolize Steve with my geeky wine questions and fawning. Turns out I did monopolize his time, but without asking too many questions. He seemed delighted to talk shop and I know enough of his history to chime in with comments that only opened the door to more knowledge. You often hear of people being "great guys" but Steve really is.

We talked about old Brandlin Ranch mourvedre and how Steve lucked out to work with old vines and wise old farmers early in his career who taught him so much about grapes. We talked about his making wine in Alameda, CA, and up in the Sierra foothills where he's sourcing a good quanity of obviously terrific grapes. We talked about not owning vineyards, how even an established guy doesn't always get to call picking times if he's not a significant buyer at a particular site (not common for Steve, but still an issue once in a while). Most memorably, we talked about energy.

No, not hippie crystal energy. Rather, we talked about how, as wine grapes mature, they slowly creep up in pH to a point after which they tend to shoot up in pH rather quickly. Steve wants to pick generally right before the big jump, when flavors have developed but before the flavors loose their energy because of low acidity. I'd never thought about it that way. I know that acidity carries flavor, that low acid wines can have tons of up front flavor but tend to fade quickly. Higher acid wines with lower pHs have the acid structure to carry flavors through to a long finish. That effect is what Steve attributes to energy. I think that's exactly right and exactly what makes Edmunds St. John wines so delicious and, in California at least, unique. (Posting on Twitter in the past hour, I wrote about Steve's wines having "energy" and Randall Graham of Bonny Doon commented that Steve's wines have "life force." Yes, that too!)

For the geeky, Steve said that he likes to pick fruit with pH below 3.5, otherwise the energy falls apart and there's no life. I've picked grapes on both sides of 3.5 and I have to say I'm leaning to the short side of 3.5 from here on out. That's not absolute, but even in a hot year like 2009 where we waited to pick so flavors could develop, I see that I could have picked earlier and had ripe flavors without degradation of acidity.

Ok, how were the Edmunds St. John wines? Wow, really good. Really full of energy, so that I'm feeling the energy and life force to write about them. We started with the 2008 Heart of Gold, a 59% Vermentino (Rolle) and 41% Grenache Blanc blend from the Sierra Foothills. This was indeed golden, minerally and full of life. I sensed a bit of alcohol that detracted but these were quick tastes and I'd gladly try this again. Then the 2009 Bone-Jolly Gamay Rose from the Witters Vineyard in the Sierra Foothills that was crisp with minerally strawberry, pretty nice. Steve isn't one to toot his own horn, but he's really happy with this and I won't argue.

The first red was the 2008 Bone-Jolly Gamay Noir Witters Vineyard, the red version of the rose. This is classic gamay, worthy of cru Beaujolais with what must be Sierra terroir. Bright and perfumed, with great soil notes and juicy gamay spice. I would have bought any of these, but I did buy this. Then the 2006 That Old Black Magic, a blend of sources that used to go into my old favorite Rocks and Gravel. This was darker and more dense than I remember any Rocks and Gravel, usually more bright red and peppery. Still, I like.

Finally, two syrah that again completely turn the notion of California syrah (or pretty much any new world syrah) on end. First, the 2005 Syrah Parmelee-Hill Vineyard from the Sonoma Valley that made me think of Cornas or Hermitage. Lots of olive and game notes that I love in syrah, with excellent tannic texture and full, juicy flavors. I also bought this. At the mid-$20s, this is ridiculous value in ageworthy but already delicious syrah. Then the 2005 Syrah Bassetti Vineyard, with intense floral notes that made me think Cote Rotie and a saline scent that reminded me these grapes came from just a few miles off the central California coast. I asked if this is on limestone soil, but Steve says basalt, something we know well here in the northwest. Sometimes locals say basalt is a country cousin to granite and limestone, but this wine alone reminds me that basalt is an excellent growing medium. What intensity and density, again lots of olive notes and rich flavors that are still bright and energetic.

I've written before about how Robert Parker has taken Steve to task for trying to make French wines in California. More than ever, I think that's simply wrong. What Steve's making is all California, just full of energy that can't help but connect to his French inspiration. There are no French wines that taste like this, and no California wines that taste like there. These wines are unique. It's no knock that they're so different from most of what you get from my home, the Golden State, nor that in a line up of top French wines, they'd more than hold their own. All that and these are all, with the exception of the $45 Bassetti, priced under $30 with most under $20. That's even more absurd than Parker's comments.

Three dot wine...

I'm keeping busy these days doing all the things necessary to launch a winery. Of course there's the wine. I'm talking about licensing with the feds, state of Oregon, and city of Portland. Working on label design. Building my mailing list so we can find people to buy our wines. Setting up a business web site. Planning for the coming harvest. There's so much to do...

Meanwhile, the wine world rolls and roils on. Did you hear about the big news with erobertparker.com? I've written elsewhere along with so many others that I think it's a big mistake to take the largest online wine discussion community and shut out everyone but paying subscribers. People point out that other wine critics charge for access to their sites. Surely it's easier to administer a site with fewer people. But isn't the point to expand your audience? Isn't 15,000+ registered users on the site something to be proud of, to make advantage of? Surely retrograde isn't the right move, shutting out many, perhaps most of them to speak only to the people who already buy your product. But what do I know... Katherine Cole (@kcoleuncorked) of the Oregonian newspaper tweeted that she's hardly heartbroken about the move. I get that. I replied I'm not either, but I am scratching my head...

Speaking of Twitter, do you follow Randall Graham (@RahdallGraham)? I and nearly 400,000 other people do, and he's great. Interesting, honest and seriously down to earth. Today he wrote a series of tweets about his ailing Citroen. Only the French would name a car lemon... Here's hoping it's back on the roads of Santa Cruz soon...


In the aftermath of the erobertparker massacre, my 2009 wine story of the year Wine Berserkers is growing by leaps and bounds with castoffs from the now-private Parker. Only problem? They just can't get over the Parker obsession. I keep thinking it will happen, but this week's event only reignited the passion for all things Parker and Squires. At least there's a push to finally cut the crap and get on with being the newly most active, non-private wine discussion site out there. What an opportunity for this homegrown community...

That's it, I won't mention the Parker debacle ever again...unless I change my mind...

Finally, I just don't have too much wine stuff to talk about. I'm working on another wine project that I'll disclose soon, but it's too early to go there... I was going to attend an excellent tasting of Torbreck wines at the Allison earlier this week but life got in the way... I've had a few wines lately that didn't delight me or disgust me enough to write about them... But...but...but...

I will be at Storyteller Wine Co. on Friday night to meet and greet Steve Edmunds of Edmunds St. John wines. After all these years, yes, it's true, I've never even met Steve. I've enjoyed his wines for so long. I've interacted with him on wine discussion sites. We're even Facebook friends. Now, at last, a live in person meeting and I can't wait. And I'm looking forward to tasting his newest releases. Hope to see local readers there. Friday, Storyteller, 6pm. Be there...

Seven of Hearts / Luminous Hills

I try to keep my composure when tasting wines that really excite me. So if you'd been there at Byron and Dana Dooley's Seven of Hearts tasting room in Carlton, OR, the other day, you might not have noticed me flipping out on the inside. That's because I was trying the most exciting Oregon pinot noirs that I'm tasted this year and back into the last.

Byron has two labels, Seven of Hearts for purchased fruit and Luminous Hills for 100% estate grown wines at his vineyard in the far southwest corner of the Yamhill-Carlton District. (Full disclosure - Byron and I are both sourcing pinot noir from a new vineyard on Ribbon Ridge this coming year, and we were tasting with the vineyard owner. Nothing from that vineyard was represented in what we tasted, since it's only in production with this coming harvest. I don't think any of that matters to my judgement here, but in case you think it could, now you know.)

I'd heard about Byron's wines for the past half year from sources I trust. I had a bottle of the 2007 Seven of Hearts Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills and enjoyed its delicacy. I'd also met Byron at a dinner earlier this year and tried the now released 2008 Luminous Hills Pinot Noir Lux, which was young of course but also very interesting in aroma, texture and taste. That turns out to be a theme with Byron's wines.

Rather than detailed recountings of the specific wines, which I didn't note, let me just say -- try Byron's 2008s. From the base Seven of Hearts Willamette Valley Pinot to the fanciest "Reserve" bottling, they are all tremendously interesting, unique wines with real savor. There's plenty of ripe 2008 fruit, but great acid balance and tannic texture. Color isn't an issue for Byron, so if saturated purple is your idea of pinot noir hue, these might not be for you. However, if you're like me and you're looking for pinot noir that rises above the crowd, that tastes and smells great but will be even better on the dinner table, and will unwind well in the cellar, these are your wines.

The best part? I think the most expensive wine is $35. Sometimes I wonder if people don't get the widespread respect and buzz they deserve if they don't price their wines high enough. Obviously that's no reason to raise prices; it's just a shame. I'd put these wines up against anything in this state. They won't have the dark hue or oaky sheen of others, but for aromatic interest and depth & percision in the mouth, well, let's just say I have my work cut out for me if we're making wine from the same source this coming year. Actually, I'm looking forward to the challenge of seeing where my technique matches up, and learning from Byron as we go.

I haven't been out to Byron's vineyard yet, but I can't wait for the chance. In the meantime, I've recommended one friend to check out the tasting room on E. Main in Carlton this weekend when she has family in town. There's a lot of wine and food to explore in Carlton, but Seven of Hearts should not be missed. Even more so because Dana sells her incredibly delicious Honest Chocolates in the tasting room. They even have a few chocolate and wine pairings to try. Let me know if you've tried these wines (and chocolates) and report back if you visit. I want to hear what others think of these incredible wines.

Bottling my 2008 Zenith pinot in the garage

I spent most of Sunday bottling my last homemade wine, the 2008 Vincent Pinot Noir Zenith Vineyard. It was a great day, the culmination of nearly a decade of home winemaking, finishing as it began. Out in the garage, by myself, listening to the radio, working quietly. I love making wine commercially but I'll miss the simplicity of the garage.

Here's a shot of the barrel in the converted water closet out in the garage (apologies for the crummy iPhone photos...).

I bought the barrel from a local winery. It was new in 2005 but I paid a pittance for it after only 3 years of use. Yes, it's French oak (people always ask). The cooper is Sirugue. I love their brand.

To touch up the wine with a little sulfur at bottling, I rack into 5 gallon carboys with a tiny bit of SO2 solution. Then I use a barrel turned on end to fill the bottles. Here, I'm at the bottom of the barrel so I rack into a tub to maximize gravity flow, then gently pour into the carboy.

Here's a shot of many, many newly corked bottled with the floor corker on the right and mags slowly filling (giving me time to take the shot).

In the end, I got exactly 23 cases of 750ml bottles and two cases of 1.5L mags. There wasn't much sediment after a careful racking last summer. The last bottle I filled came from the minor sludge from the very bottom of the barrel, collected by rotating the barrel upside down with the tub directly beneath. We'll drink that once it settles.

Now all that's left is printing one final homemade label run, before we go with a redesign for the first commercial release later this year. Here's the proof.

How's the wine? I'll leave it up to you. Let me know if you want to try it. I will say I'm definitely the happiest with it of anything I've made...and I wish I had a whole lot more. I'm looking at doing one final garage tasting in May, date to be determined. You're all invited, but email me vincent.fritzsche[at]gmail[dot]com so I know you're interested.

2005 Thomas Pinot Noir Dundee Hills Oregon

Once again, John Thomas has produced a winner. This is translucent, savory red fruited wine with lovely fragrance. The aroma is slightly lifted but it's all about wild strawberries and well integrated woodsy spice and ash notes. There's a good mix of breadth and focus to the flavors. It's not rich but it is mouthfilling, covering the palate yet still nicely precise and detailed. This is drinking well now but should age nicely for some years given the bright acidity. Fans of extract and weight might not get this wine. I love it.

Dinner with Morgon

Easter dinner and tasting note with images.

Onion and chard omlette with gruyere, fluffy textured, delicate and rich at once.

Steamed asparagus with lemon, sweet butter and fleur de sel, not as sweet and tender as you'd hope but pretty good.

 Warmed pugliese that's a little spongy but the kids like that.

2002 Marcel Lapierre Morgon, rusting a bit as you can see, a lovely complex aroma of strawberry preserves, soil, black tea and hummus. Softly textured with bright acidity, broad flavored, strawberries in autumn with a little cheese rind on the finish, obviously low sulfur here but more than alive and delicious with the meal, especially texturally. Please age your best cru Beaujolais. It's worth your time and cellar space, and worthy of a simple but special family dinner on a cold spring holiday.

Two new releases from Angel Vine

One of the best discoveries for me last year was Three Angels, now named Angel Vine due to yet another wine industry trademark conflict. If I had a nickel for every one of these...

Three Angels is wine made in Carlton, OR, by Ed Fus, who's specifically in zinfandel and other varieties like primitivo. I tried a few from 2007 and loved the Avery Vineyard Zinfandel from the Columbia Valley. I'd never heard of the producer but loved the peppery, juicy Avery zin.

Then I had the pleasure of meeting Ed at last year's Portland Indie Wine Fest, where he was featured. This year, Ed provided a couple of samples of 2008s to try, and I'm happy to recommend both.

First, the 2008 Three Angels Primitivo Columbia Valley. This wine is large scaled but pure, only lightly oaked with a terrific aroma of ripe berries and fennel greens. It's a bit hot in the mouth but fresh and lively without any overripe flavors. Fans of bigger wines should like this. I enjoyed it but preferred...

The 2008 Three Angels Zinfandel Avery Vineyard Columbia Valley. This is in the low 14% alcohol range, downright subtle for most zin these days. This is just terrific zinfandel. Ripe but not overripe, slightly herbal and leafy but with plenty of juicy raspberry fruit, then a blast of white pepper that gave the wine another dimension. Maybe it reminds me of great old Amador zin, or something from Ravenswood in the old days. Really, it's excellent NW zinfandel and something I'd recommend any zin lover try to see what's possible up here.

Longhorn bullshit

So, in my last post, I wrote about some "Texas" wines. Only the wines I wrote about weren't all from "Texas," necessarily. Thanks to Russ Kane at VintageTexas I found out that the subtle phrase "for sale in Texas only" on so-called Texas wine labels is essentially code for "the grapes and/or wine used are in part or completely from out of state." It allows the label to not have to list an appellation, hiding the real source of the wine.

I remember seeing that phrase on several bottles in various wine shops and sections at grocery stores on my Texas visit. I know that the Becker "Iconoclast" wine I wrote about had that phrase on the label. I'm not sure about the others, but I know I saw that phrase enough during my visit to wonder about it. Honestly, I assumed it was a taxation issue, so that you might pay less tax if you only sold in state.

Why assume that? Because there's an AVA for multi-state wine. It's call "American." You saw it on 1996 Washington wines when severe winter weather led to an extremely short crop that meant several wineries bought California and other wine to fill out bottlings. I've seen it elsewhere, without shame. Apparently, in Texas, the truth doesn't set you free. Perhaps other states have this sneaky kind of thing to obfuscate on the true source of the wine. I don't want to single out Texas unnecessarily. But I'm let down and frankly kind of pissed to learn all this. I'm a wine professional and that phrase wasn't even clear to me. How can that be ethical? Good going Texas.

Texas wine

The family and I just got back from a nice week visiting family in the hill country west of Austin, TX. Whenever I head out that way, I'm focused on family and relaxing, not wine. I've never managed to visit a Texas winery. However, I admire the rocky limestone soils of the Texas hills and promise I'll venture out to visit producers on of these days.

Meanwhile, I managed to try a few bottles that I thought I'd write about. First, the 2004 Alamosa "El Guapo" that's a mostly tempranillo bottling with a bit of mourvedre and cabernet. Yikes, what happened here? Lots of volatile acidity, a browning color and not much else to mention. I would have skipped noting this wine, but the old Cork and Demon blog noted a similar experience with the 2002 version of this bottling. Something's wrong here and it's too bad. I'm interested to try non-Bordeaux varieties in Texas. The climate is so hot, it's got to be better for truly hot climate varieties.

However, the next wine was the 2007 Becker Vineyards Merlot "Iconoclast." I've tried other bottles from this producer and this was no exception. Solid, varietally true wine that's a little oaky and anonymous but otherwise a nice buy for around $10. And that's not just for Texas. For the money, this is comparable with good wine from almost anywhere. The question is whether it's your style.

Me, I'd rather try other things and the find of this trip was McPherson, a producer out of Lubbock in northern Texas that was started by the Davis-trained son of the founder of Texas winery pioneer Llano Estacado. McPherson makes mostly Rhone variety wines, and I tried the 2008 McPherson Tre Colore, a blend of more carignan, less mourvedre and a little bit of viognier. I really liked the profile of this wine. It had a peppery aroma and some floral notes. In the mouth it was nervy and actually a little green, but with food that rounded out fine. An imperfect wine but something that suggested there's more to learn here. Not a bad buy at $14.

The last night, we tried the 2008 McPherson Sangiovese, and dang if this ain't a real good chee-an-tee ringer. Cherry and earth aromas, maybe a little soft on the acid but otherwise nicely pure and elegant. This cost $16 and is a nice buy given what you can usually find from Italy or anywhere else in the sangiovese department.

Cru Beaujolais and white Burgs

I'm a week late reporting on a terrific tasting at Storyteller last Friday. His eminence Marshall Manning from local distributor D'Vine Wine poured a mix of Kermit Lynch imports, with a special focus on what I call his Gang of 4+ producers. That's the basic four of Foillard, Lapierre, Breton and Thevenet, plus Chanrion in this case.

For starters, the 2007 Lucien Boillot et Fils VdP Blanc "En Souvenier du Beurot." This pinot gris from Volnay is labeled as Vin des Pays because that's not an allowable grape in the appellation. What wonderful pinot gris, something I rarely say or write. This smells and tastes like gris with soft melon fruit, but there's excellent minerality that says white Burgundy. I'm excited to try this fresh and compelling wine with seafood on the table.


Next, a quartet of Cru Beaujolais that once again shows all tasters that real gamay is serious, delicious and even ageworthy wine. First, the 2007 Guy Breton Morgon Vieilles Vignes, with a lovely fragrance of peppery meat and strawberries. Sometimes I find this producer's wines a little too funky, but this is gorgeous. Then the 2007 Nicole Chanrion Cotes du Brouilly, the most obvious and therefore slurpable wine of the bunch. Spicy dark brambly fruit, classic gamay noir with nice rock and stone character.

Next, the 2008 Lapierre Morgon, a favorite producer of mine that's showing a bit hard and closed today. Yes, this is wine for mid term in the cellar, and I'd happily put away a few of these to see where they go. And finally, the 2008 Jean Foillard Morgon "Corcelette," a special bottling apart from the regular Cote du Py I'm long familiar with. Wow, lovely depth and texture here, clearly a candidate for the cellar but showing why that's so with obvious richness and density. Love the tannin here. This is excellent wine.

As a bonus, there was the 2006 Guy Amiot Chassagne Montrachet "Caillerets," a terrific 1er cru white Burgundy. There's the golden yellow color, the sweet cream and toasted apple aromas and finely knit palate. In this line up, the wine seemed a little extra rich, but certainly there's plenty of cut and minerality to keep things fresh.

I'm left leafing through Kermit's book Inspiring Thirst, which I highly recommend, longing for prices of yesterday on wines like this. Still, these are all worth their cost, and cru Beaujolais remains one of wine's great bargains in the grand scheme of things.

Liquor license in process

Look what showed up at the winery the other day? I guess my winery license application, which inludes a liquor license, is really in process. Very exciting. Really.

Austrian samples

Now here are some samples I can reaelly get behind. Austrian wine has become a bit fashionable in the past decade, for wine geeks at least. Store shelves aren't overrun with bottles, though you will find some almost anywhere and you should seek them out. The whites in particular.

Long a terrific producer of gruner veltliner, the co-op Domaine Wachau has done it again. The 2008 Domaine Wachau Gruner Veltliner Federspiel Terrassen is textbook, delicious Austrian white wine. Strongly aromatic of sweet green peas and lemony citrus, even the non-geeks at the house loved it. This is unique but friendly wine. Bracing acidity balances round, ripe gruner fruit. Simple, no white pepper notes, but exactly what I'd want in a Wiener weinkeller or here at home in cheerful Oregon. Try this if you want an good introduction to gruner, but keep buying it because it refreshing, not at all tiresome. Sadly, I opened a locally produced gruner that paled in comparison.

Then the 2008 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Federspiel Steinterrassen Spitz/Donau - Wachau. (In case you're wondering, Federspiel is the ripeness level below the fancy Smaragd, Steinterrassen means essentially stone earth and it's from the Spitz/Donau part of the Wachau. Imagine what they think of the Yamhill-Carlton District.) The wine is light gold and smells like honey drizzled apples, dried hay and rocks, not unlike a Loire chenin. A really good one. With time a hint of petrol comes out. The wine has great texture. Fat apple fruit with great tension and mineral savor, not just the citric cut so many lesser whites show in place of real terroir. This is excellent. Serve it as you would a nice but not oaky white from the Macon. It smells sweet with a bit of botrytis, but tastes more dry than similarly honied Loire wines.

Finally a red. I've enjoyed many red varietal bottlings from Austria, but this 2006 Zantho Blaufrankisch Burgendland was not one of them. It came with a snazzy glass locking "cork" but tasted stewed and harsh. I won't make unsubstantiated claims, but let's just say if this were mine, I'd send it out for brett testing. Way too much bitter bandgage flavors on the finish. I hope this bottle wasn't representative. Austrian reds can be really good, really.

All of these are imported by Vin Divino in Chicago, IL.

Last of the homemade wine

2008 saw the last year I made wine at home in the garage. As with the prior three years, I purchased a half ton of high quality pinot noir grapes from a local vineyard and, at home, refined the practices I was learning as I worked the harvest seasons in local wineries. In 2008, I was able to get Pommard clone fruit from 10 year old vines in the Zenith vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA here in Oregon. What a terrific site, long known as the O'Connor vineyard, and what an excellent growing season. The summer was long and cool, extending well into October. Where in 2007 the pinot harvest was wrapped up by mid-October, things were only getting going at that point in 2008.

The grapes were in excellent shape, requiring hardly any sorting before going through the destemmer. I fermented things in 3 Rubbermaid Brutes, without any yeast or yeast food. The wine was saturated in color and fairly tannic after only a few days of cold soaking, prior to fermentation. All together, the juice and skins were in contact for three weeks, longer than I had ever done primary fermenation before. Things were just so perfect. Great ripeness without too much sugar. For the geeks, brix was 23.1 and pH was 3.27. That extra time allowed the tannins to smooth out a bit and the new wine seemed to gain an earthy meatiness.

I let the new wine settle for two days and then put into a three year old French oak barrel purchased from a well regarded local winery. Malolactic fermentation took its time over the winter through the spring. At the end of June I racked and sulfured the wine, and have left it ever since in a cold closet out in the garage ever since. A recent measurement showed the wine at pH 3.55. Wine isn't made by numbers, but that's a pretty nice one.

Now, nearly 18 months after harvest, it's about time to bottle this last homemade wine. As readers may know, I launched a wine business with the 2009 harvest and have produced 9 barrels of Oregon pinot noir, among them a few from Pommard clone fruit from this same Zenith vineyard. I can't wait to get those wines in bottle and in the marketplace later this year. For now, I'm really excited by what I smell and taste in this 2008 wine. There's nice sappy raspberry fruit and emerging Pommard earthiness, brisk acidity, ripe tannic structure and nice juciness. This isn't heavy plodding pinot noir, yet it's ripe with good fruit. I'm happier about this wine than any I've made before it. I only wish I had more of it.

I'm thinking about doing one last garage tasting to let people try the wine and maybe some other surprises. Maybe that will happen in early May at this point. Meanwhile, my licensing paperwork to sell the 2009s and beyond is finally in motion, so my first offer for those wines will come early in the summer. I don't want to shill, but sometimes I feel a little shy -- contact me to get on the mailing list. Email is vincent[dot]fritzsche@gmail.com. I've been delighted by the steady stream of people who've joined already, but there's lots more room. Let me hear from you, and thanks.

2003 Fortia Chateauneuf Cuvee du Baron

I've been thinking lately about my wine buying habits and wine cellar. I'm a cheapskate, so I generally buy things that I find tremendously underpriced. That means my cellar is a mish mash of things that pretty much only have one thing in common -- they were incredible deals. That doesn't mean I have a cellar full of wines I don't like. Instead, I don't have a cellar full of wines I specifically picked to be in the cellar. That's a big difference. Part of me is ok with that. What's the fun and where's the exploration if you know you like certain producers, even great producers, and then go out and stock your cellar with them? Then again, how insane is it to have lots of producers you know are really good and not have them in your cellar, because you found other stuff cheaper? That's not exactly how it is with me. I do have some near and dear things in the cellar. B it's not completely off base. Ultimately, my cellar is full of experiments, some very successful and others very promising. I don't buy without discrimination. It's just so random.

So it seems clear to me that I need to focus more on things I know I like, or have more of a vested interest in besides being a good deal. I need to get over the hesitancy of paying a little more for those wines. I don't think doing that means giving up the surprise and exploration that intrigues me about wine. Every bottle is a surprise. Perhaps part of what holds me back is the dashed expectation of something you bought with so much intention, and maybe cash, that doesn't deliver. That's much easier to take with something you were experimenting with, and didn't cost much. Ultimately, I look at my nearly 400 bottle cellar and wonder if I'd be happier with it if I have 100 fewer bottles and a higher percentage of less experimental things. Then again, there are many excellent wines down in the basement and I know I don't overpay.

To ponder all this, I opened a prime example of what I'm getting at. Here's the 2003 Ch. Fortia Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Baron. Fortia is a terrific value producer in one of my old favorite appellations. Fortia isn't as interesting to me as Vieux Telegraph, Bois du Boursan, or a few other Chateauneuf producers I've enjoyed over the years. And 2003 isn't my favorite vintage. Hot, hot hot, in weather and often in wine. But I see a local shop with this on the shelf for $20 and I can't help trying it.

The color is ruddy ruby, the aroma intense and intoxicating. There's no shortage of alcohol here, though with a burly wine like Chateauneuf I'm more tolerant of alcohol levels. I love peppery, almost Burgundian Chateauneuf. This isn't that, but I like it just the same. There's lots of kirschwasser, flowers and meat aromas and pretty good freshness. The palate is where this hurts. The alcohol is just too much. Everything else is great. Lovely savory cherry fruit, hot stones, dried meat flavors, and chewy tannic grip. There's just too much alcohol burn through the mid and especially on the finish, scalding the palate. Overall I find this wine enjoyable but flawed, sort of like a person you like but who has a serious flaw that you can't overlook. For a cut rate, I'm happy trying it. But this isn't a wine I need in the cellar. You might think it wouldn't require such reflection to undersand and, more importantly, act on such truth. For me apparently things aren't immediately so clear. I do think I'm seeing the light. However, if you see me at check out with the next "incredible deal," go easy on me. It might take a little time to turn this ship around.

2005 Holdredge Schioppettino

Last week I tried an unusual California red wine from vintner John Holdredge. It's his 2005 Holdredge Schioppettino MacBryde Vineyard from the Russian River Valley. Schioppettino? Web resources Tom Hill and Alder Yarrow confirm it's a northeastern Italian variety that has, as most Italian grapes seem to have, several other names. I'll just say this is delicious wine, riding the line well between the new and old worlds.

There's obviously fruit here, though at 12.9% alcohol this certainly isn't typically ripe to overripe California red wine. There's also barrel influence, though I think a few years in the bottle have tamed it more than Tom Hill reports. One the first night, a group of tasters thought there might be some brett in the wine. I picked up a band aid note but we all agreed that, if it's there, it's "good" brett. Yet I'm not so sure. The next night I was able to enjoy the last third of the bottle. What a remarkable wine. Fragrant, peppery, savory with lovely black cherry fruit and great intensity without overt sweetness. The wine had great texture with firm acid, nice fruit, that savory peppery quality and some nice tannic thrust. I kept the last glass a long time, just smelling it and savoring each sip, loving this wine more than many I've tried recently. Alder suggests there's very little of the schioppettino planted, and I imagine that's true. This isn't an easy wine to find. Still, give it a look if this description intrigues you at all. I don't think I've tried any other Holdredge wine, but from this one alone I would happily try them all.

More samples

There's been lots of debate on the wine web lately about bloggers and specifically samples. Apart from the usual suggestions that bloggers are simply hacks in their parents' basements, I read specific accusations recently that several (many? most?) wine blogs are simply fronts for these hacks to collect samples of free wine.

Hmm. Maybe I'm late to the party. I've been blogging for five years and seen a variety of samples come my way. However, perhaps I should have been working harder to solicit more free samples. Who doesn't like free wine? I kid of course. Many wine samples are either from large, mass market producers...or lower end bottlings from better producers. The kind of stuff made in large enough quanitites to warrant sending out in the first place. Perhaps even to have a marketing firm handle all the details. That's not the focus of my interest or this blog's interest. So samples aren't necessarily a good fit for what this blog's all about, though I do enjoy trying things.

That feeling is reinforced by the latest round of samples from Australian producer Jacob's Creek. Americans know Jacob's Creek as a low end supermarket brand. Australians know it as a label of mega producer Orlando, which actually producers some higher end, limited production stuff (relatively so, anyway). Even at the low end, you can do a lot worse than Jacob Creek's NV sparkling wine from chardonnay and pinot noir. Of course, that wine isn't being sampled. Instead, here are flights of riesling and shiraz.

First, the 2008, 2006, and 2005 Jacob's Creek Riesling that you might find for well under $10. The 2008 was decent, though tasting more of pinot gris than riesling with generic melon notes. The 2006 was the best, more petrolly and true to riesling, sweet with nice acidic cut. The 2005 seemed a bit old in a way the 2006 probably won't be a year from now. Old apples, glue, this wasn't very good at all.

Then the shiraz. First the 2006 Jacob's Creek Shiraz, the same basic label as the rieslings above. This wasn't bad but more nondescript. Then the 2006 Reserve Shiraz, which gets good scores from the wine press. This was so thick and raisiny that I simply couldn't drink it. The texture is gooey and slick, and while I can see people loving how "big" and "bold" this is, I got kind of depressed drinking it. Finally, the 2005 Centenary Hill Shiraz, a fairly high end bottling at $30 to $40 per. Now this is a wine that's true to Australia, full of rich black cherry fruit and lots of dill and vanilla American oak that reminded me of old school Aussie shiraz and even many old Spanish reds. Some people hate that profile, but this is authentic for sure. The texture was the most remarkable element here, especially considering the other flaccid reds. There was tannin, fine worsted tannin that gave the wine some edge. Sure, it was a little much to drink, but this wine grew on me. Good job here.

Yet I'm left thinking that most samples leave me kind of empty. I enjoy trying different things, even things I don't end up liking. I'm just not in this to get samples and pity those who are (unless you can get really good stuff, I suppose, and not grovel too much). I'm also probably not going to please the sample senders because I'm not going to give false praise. So go ahead and keep sending things. I'll try them and write about them, I hope in a fair manner. I'm open to critique about my criticism. If that sounds good, fire away. But don't anyone think this blogger is only doing this for samples. I know I'm not the only one.

Excellent wine dinner in Newberg

A small group of us descended on Subterra in Newberg on Friday night for dinner and special wines. The occasion? We were the growers and buyers of a new vineyard on Ribbon Ridge that will be the primary grape source for Vincent Wine Company in 2010 and beyond. I'm thrilled about the site and working with these new and enthusiastic (like me) growers. And if wine dinners with this crowd approach this night's line up, I'll never miss a gathering.

To start, NV Bouchard Champagne Infloresence that was more fruity than I recall from my last time trying it in December. That's no knock. This just showed more exuberant fruit along with great chalky, minerally flavors. Really nice stuff.

Next came an oddity, the 2004 Ponsot Morey St. Denis Clos des Monts Luisants Blanc Vieilles Vignes, an all or nearly all bottling of aligote. It showed some oxidation at first, then revealed more depth and lots of nerve from the acidic aligote grape. I really enjoyed this wine and would have gladly spent more time with it. Then the 2001 Deiss Schoenenberg Grand Cru, sweet and golden Alsatian wine that may not have the cut and precision of other producers, but I loved it.

My contribution was the 1997 de Montille Pommard Pezerolles, a wine I brought as an example of hot vintage pinot noir (given our recent propensity to hot years here in Oregon, specifically 2009). At first there was a very Oregon black fruit and earth aroma. Not surprising, somewhat, given the historic dominance of Pommard clone pinot noir here in the Willamette Valley. With time it showed more Burgundian earth and minerality aromatically.  In the mouth, it was always taut and Burgundian, lacking the sweetness of Oregon wines while still showing great fruit and integration and freshness. This is young de Montille, yet it's open and simply delicious. I wish I had more of this.

To compare, we had a 1993 Gaunoux Pommard Rugiens, which I admit I didn't spend enough time with. Classic old school red burg here, floral and meaty fruit aroma, taut in the mouth and subtle. This is one of those wines I'd love to have in my cellar but I didn't spend the time necessary to cozy up with it tonight.

Why? I was excited to try the 2008 Ayres Pinot Noir Pioneer, all 667 clone from Oregon's Ribbon Ridge and an impressive showing. Obviously much more sweetly fruited than the Burgs, but showing a depth aromatically and length in the mouth that suggests long aging and development. Which just about sums up what I think is so promising about the 2008 here in Oregon. Don't be fooled by the primary sweetness of so many wines. They will unfold, and have the balance and structure to hold together for many years.

Then the 2008 Luminous Hills Pinot Noir Lux from the estate vineyard southwest of Carlton in Oregon's Yamhill-Carlton district. Blind, I thought this was 2007, and really, really good 2007 wine. Why? The light color, the perfume and the wine's lacy elegance. This is unlike any 2008 wine I've tried so far, clearly from a producer who's not looking for extraction or color. In some respects, I don't know how '08 didn't give something more dense and purple. Yet there's great intensity here, aromatically and on the palate. This should be long lived and makes me think again how I approach everything from when to pick to how warm to ferment. I really liked this and it made me think, a lot.

Finally, a special selection for dessert, the 1986 Ch. d'Yquem Sauternes. I don't recall ever tasting this bottling but it showed true to many notes I've read. Fresh, young, lacking the power of great d'Yquem vintages....but I simply loved this wine. What balance. There's plenty of sweet botrytis yet there's refreshing acidity and a long, long finish. The wine is medium gold in color and showing similarly youthfulness in the mouth. Hold for a while yet. I bet another decade or three with bring out an intense caramelized sweetness that gives it more power. For now, it's simply excellent and an absolute treat to drink.

With that, we resolved to have many more dinners of similar quality. I'm in. Who's with me?

2005 Savignola Paolina Chianti Classico

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen a few weeks back when I mentioned a ridiculous deal on Chianti at the new Whole Foods in my NE Portland neighborhood. Savignola Paoline is a Portland favorite, in a town that knows and drinks all sorts of Italian wine. Here was the 2005 Paolina Chianti Classico for $8 a bottle, half the usual price and with an additional 10% discount possible if you bought a case. I did and I'm wondering if I shouldn't have bought two. Even at the regular price, Paolina's basic Chianti is always a nice buy in traditional savory and rich Tuscan sangiovese. At about $7 a bottle, it's an absurdly good buy.

Tonight with homemade lasagne, we try this dark garnet beauty. Fragrant pepper, strawberry and black cherry essence, winey and clean but nicely rich with meaty, earthy shades. Then dusty peppery black cherry, almond and mild balsamic flavors, rich and round but finishing long with cleansing acidity and fine tannin texture. I like this on its own as the lasagne cooks. I love it with the meal, just as good Chianti should be. I think the super discount is done, but this would still be worth your time at the regular price now or anytime you come across the producer in the future.

Valentine's and elevage

Today my wife and I went for a terrific bicycle ride around the Willamette River in downtown Portland, then down the Springwater Corridor along the Willamette to the Sellwood neighborhood. After, we went to a cafe on Division St. for coffee, tea and sweets. If you think it always rains in Portland, be sure it only rained on our drive home. Otherwise, mild and simply perfect conditions for an afternoon by the water.

Tonight, homemade spinach and goat cheese fritatta and a few wines, all in small bottles. First, an appertif of NV Ruinart Champagne Blanc de Blancs. This bottle had great sparkle and a fresh color, but it's clear it was an older bottling. Not the fresh lime and apple notes I see in so many reviews online. Rather, mushroom, dough and fresh apple aromas, more like a note from an aged vintage Ruinart bottling. The wine was fresh in the mouth, bright and lively but clearly mature flavor-wise with mushroom, nuts and yeast. I can't say this was representative of typical bottles, yet I loved it and didn't find anything bland, as some reviewers note.

Then a half bottle of our 2006 Vincent Pinot Noir Wahle Vineyard from Oregon's Yamhill-Carlton District. How do you write a note of your own wine? You don't, except to say it was powerfully fruity with surpring oak influence for having been aged in 5 year old French oak. This isn't my style of pinot, but it's fresh and tasty. I can't complain. I think it's good, ripe vintage Oregon pinot.

For dessert, a glass of 2001 Domaine Trapadis Rasteau Vin Doux Naturel, a true AOC Rasteau dessert wine from mostly grenache and some syrah, carignane, cinsault and mourvedre. This is lightly fortified to 16.5% with some residual sweet, much like Banyuls and Maury. I simply love dessert wine like this. Deep ruby color, plummy, spirity aroma with loads of pepper and spice, then a modestly sweet, grenache vintage port-like flavor with lots of ripe tannin and long, lingering flavors. This smells like it's maturing a bit but the tannin will take several more years to resolve. Still, this is delicious, robust but savory sweet wine. No candy flavors, nothing bitter, just a lovely balance of flavors. Terrific with chocolate and my sweetie.

Five years! ...with old homemade cabernet

So who noticed when this humble site turned five years old last Thursday? Yes, the first post was February 4, 2005, recounting a tasting at Liner and Elsen in Portland of mostly 2002 Oregon Pinot Noir. Things have come a long way since then. In 2005, I decided to begin working formally in wineries at harvest to better learn the winemaking process. Now I make my own wine commercially, and the blog archive chronicles how that all came about. The plan is to continue writing this blog for years to come, but before we look too far ahead, I thought it would be interesting to go way back in my winemaking archive to see where we've been.

Tonight's wine -- my 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Whistling Ridge Vineyard. (How do you like that homemade label?)

Yes, cabernet from the northern Willamette Valley's Ribbon Ridge AVA here in Oregon. I picked the grapes myself in late October 2002, all 40 pounds or so on a golden autumn day after a protracted Indian summer that we've hardly seen since. This was back in my Giantdynamics days. For several years, by some strange coincidence, I picked grapes for home winemaking on the final day of the San Francisco Giants's season. Usually that's early October. But this especially bittersweet year it was a horrible late October day, the day after Giant manager and my childhood hero Dusty Baker took starting pitcher Russ Ortiz out of Game 6 of the World Series in the seventh inning with a 5-0 lead and GAVE HIM THE GAME BALL. It was awful. How could he do that? Of course the Giants came unravelled, lost, and the next day, my picking day, they lost again to lose the series. Season over. Not that I'm still bitter or anything.

But sweet things were happening then. My son Martin was born just days later, my sweet Mother here for many days looking after our young daughter, her namesake, and us through it all. And of course the sweet chardonnay I picked that day, to make my first white wine that didn't turn out so well. And the cabernet that called out from a few rows over. Ever heard that phrase "ripe for the picking?" Here it wasn't metaphoric. The cabernet was 22.5 brix, clean and beautiful. I had no idea what it would be like, so I stupidly took only 40 pounds at $.50 a pound. Twenty whole dollars. I destemmed and lightly crushed it at the vineyard, took it home and fermented it naturally in the basement in a bucket I used to make beer in. No yeast, no dry ice, no yeast nutrients, no ML starter, no nothing. It fermented for about 14 days and I pressed it by hand and got three gallons of wine. I aged it for about 9 months and bottled it by hand. It always smelled nice and tasted crisp like a Loire cabernet.

Now, with my first grader Martin beating me at Wii basketball with ease, how's this wine? Have a little look:

 

Ok, you can't see too much. Let me assure you the color is indeed fresh though showing some rightful signs of age. The aroma is better than ever, with maturing raspberry and light cassis notes, a little hummus and smoky earth notes. The flavors? Light and crisp as it was young, but filling out in the middle and finish. Think a light Chinon with a little Oregon fruit sweetness. There's hardly any tannin, not that there ever was much. In all, I really like it and am honestly surprised at how the wine has held up and come together over all these years.

Is the lesson that late picked, three gallon batches of glass aged Willamette Valley cabernet will age well for a decade? I do still have four bottles and this will certainly last a while yet. No. Rather, something unremarkable in its youth that has grown into itself and perhaps become more palatable with age is something we all should strive for. It really can happen. Just think of how much better my pictures will be in 2015.

Super Bowl and Jacobs Creek

I was offered some samples of Jacob's Creek wines from Australia from a stateside marketing firm. The deal - taste the wines and pair them at your Super Bowl party with some interesting recipe or preparation, then write about it. Some might call it a crass marketing ploy. I thought it would be kind of fun, especially if we had some neighbors over who aren't nearly as wine geeky as I am. And it was. So here we go.

Four Jacob's Creek wines showed up right before the big game. I wasn't sure if they'd make it, and I was set on making Belgian sugar waffles for the event (with lots of encouragement from one particular neighbor). The wines made it. We knew they wouldn't go with sugar waffles. But plans were in motion so we went ahead, even though that wasn't exactly the point of the whole thing. Really though, what wine do you want with sugar waffles? What beer would you want? Me, I think coffee or tea would be best. But the big game (said in Homestar Runner's voice), you need some colden ones. So wine it was.

How did it go? The results were mixed, meaning we loved the waffles and seriously enjoyed one of the wines. The others met a mixed reaction from the group. I didn't really like them, but it was interesting seeing how others found things they enjoyed.

First, the 2008 Jacob's Creek Pinot Grigio. This was really good wine, especially for the $6 you might find it for at the supermarket. Clean, melon, pineapple and white pepper smells, soft and round but tangy in the mouth and pretty dry. One neighbor commented it was "brief" but we all agreed this was the winner of the line up. Who would have guess. You say Australia and I think riesling, shiraz, and muscat. I don't think of grigio. This is more enjoyable than a lot of more "serious" grigio out there. Mom would love it.

Then the 2008 Riesling Reserve. I've enjoyed the Steingarten Riesling from Jacob's Creek, one of Australia's more serious white wines. This however wasn't up to that one. There were some interesting petrol and spiced jelly candy aromas, but the flavors were all white grape juice and flat. One neighbor summed it up well - "the smell is much better than the taste."

For reds, the 2007 Pinot Noir Reserve. This I honestly did not like. It smelled of smokey barbeque sauce with raspberry essence, more like zinfandel. The flavors were similar, leaving me wondering why mass market pinot noir producers make pinot that doesn't taste at all like pinot. It's like people are afraid of letting the grape be itself. I'd be surprised if there wasn't something blended in here, and/or serious concentration efforts in the winemaking process. Of course, I'm not the arbiter of taste. One sampler thought this was pretty good and poured herself another glass. [edit - I tried this two nights later and what do you know? It tastes pinot like now, though a little eucalyptusy and worked over. Still, I thought it fair to add that this turned out to be more drinkable than my first impression. Fair's fair.]

Finally, the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. This wasn't bad in its idiom, yet I was surprised that no one else cared for the wine. This has a strong cassis and blackberry pie filling aroma with charry oak and some light green pepper notes. Essentially, typical pumped up new world cabernet. Not my style, but it was clearly cabernet. The flavors were similar, though the round rich palate turned a little harsh, something I find with lots of large production, big cabs like this. I can see people loving the concentration of flavors, the syrupy mouthfeel and overall largesse. Yet everyone else was going back to the grigio or even the pinot. Very interesting. I wouldn't have guessed that.

What about the sugar waffles? I didn't get a picture, but you can see more here, along with the recipe. Who knows who writes the Feeding the Boys blog, but this picture alone made my mouth water, remembering street vendors in Europe selling these lightly sweet, yeasty eggy afternoon treats. I can't recommend highly enough that you make them, assuming you like waffles and caramelized sugar and life itself. For the sugar, you can buy expensive fancy packages of chunky pearl sugar. Or you can cheap out and chop up sugar cubes into pieces. Works for me. Again, they won't match with many or any wines, but who cares. They were great, so was having a group try these wines, and so was the game.

Blending trials

I've been working on blending trials recently in a small group with a friend's wines. I've done it before but it's invaluable experience.

It's all about tasting through barrels, taking notes, then talking about the wines, culling out any problem barrels, highlighting standout barrels, talking about how things might blend together, putting together hypothetical blends, talking about stylistic and market decisions, how much wine in a particular blend, how much new or newer oak, what's typical and not typical of a particular grape variety, where were the grapes grown, when were they picked, how were they fermented and aged, what's the price, who's going to buy it, where's it going to be sold.

I'm feeling really good about all this because I'm not brand new to it anymore. I have lots to learn, but it's nice not being a rookie. I can't wait to do this with my own wines, though even this year with nine barrels there won't be much to trial. Yet there's so much more than tasting and blending. I learn so much about winemaking and logistics down to marketing and distribution. It's fascinating and though my head's clear from spitting all the samples, but mind's swimming in all that information.

We'll do more soon. I can't wait.

Wine label design

Ok, it's time to get serious about wine label design. For my homemade wine, I worked on a simple script label with my neighbor. I like it, but it's not complete and it's too similiar to a California winery that has Vincent as part of its name. They're cool with me calling my wine Vincent, but we both agree the look shouldn't be too similar.

As much as I like the simple script label, I want some graphical element in the label, something that can translate to other uses in print and online. Rather than just tweak the font and add in that little something, I think it's smart to rethink the whole thing from the start. There wasn't a lot of thought in the first place.

What am I going for? Something classic rather than trendy, elegant rather than busy, classy without being ostentatious, quiet but bright rather than loud and brash. Really, something that reflects the wine I want to make. Marketability is a concern of course, but I know that my wine won't appeal to everyone. A wine label doesn't need to either. It does need to appeal to the people who will enjoy the wine.

I don't really like most wine labels out there, to be honest. What do I like? From the old world, things like Tempier and Bastide Blanche from Bandol, Lapierre's Morgon, Baumard's Clos St. Yves, Leroy. All classic. From the newer school, Texier and Breton.

Here in Oregon, simplicity -- Ayres, McKinlay, Andrew Rich, Evesham Wood.

That "little something" I'm going for? Scott Paul's rabbit is a nice example of the kind of thing, though it's usually not so big as seen here.

What labels do you like?

Winemaking update

With January done, it seemed right to check in on the wines down at the winery. Sure enough, we see that malolactic fermentation in most of the pinot noir barrels is done. One barrel is strangely lagging, but no worries. I'd rather see a longer, slower ML, but that will come with time.

The next steps? Have the lab analyze barrel samples to make sure all the malic acid has been changed into lactic acid. Once that's confirmed, it's time to add sulfur to let the wines age in barrel until the end of summer. I think there will be one racking around June to show the wines some oxygen and get the wine off the sediment. Until then, it's nice to have the new wines settle out and benefit from continued contact with the lees that collect at the bottom of the barrels. They add some richness to the wines and actually help maintain freshness. By June, it will be time to siphon the off the sediment, clean the barrels, refill them, and allow the wine to drop any more sediment before bottling at the end of summer.

One other issue now is to check for ph, to see how strong the acidity of the wine is, how effective any added sulfur will be in the wine. The lower the ph, the less sulfur you need to keep things good. In a hot vintage like 2009, ph will be higher and the wines typically softer and more lush. People like that, but how high is the ph? We need to know, so that's on the docket to check too.

In all, things continue to go very well. I can't help but be terribly excited about it all. Sure, in time the thrill will fade. I just hope it doesn't fade too much. Somehow I think that will take a very long time, if it ever happens.

Berserker Day on Wednesday -- Get your Vincent barrel tasting

Wine Berserkers, my pick for wine story of 2009, celebrates its 1 year anniversary this week on Wednesday, January 27. The Vincent Wine Company is very pleased to offer a free barrel tasting of 2009 pinot noir here in Portland as part of the many prizes and special offers that will be available on Wednesday, what's being called Berserker Day.

The whole point of the day is to get more and more people to know about and visit the Wine Berserkers site. As I wrote a few weeks ago, it's the fastest growing wine discussion site on the internet. It's also doing more than any other site to break down the barriers between us regular wine enthusiasts and, well, us regular wine industry types. I'm sort of in both camps, so I think I have a unique perspective.

I go to Wine Berserkers to learn about the latest wines from all over the world, to share and read notes on wines spanning decades, and to connect with other winemakers to talk about winemaking science and technique, equipment, weather, and whatever else you can imagine. There's even a forum dedicated for wine flaks, for all aspects of wine sales and marketing. The beauty is that non-industry types are welcome to chime in too. There's great Q&A, and we all learn from being there and participating.

Berserker Day is a celebration of all that, with unprecedented participation from from producers like Biggio Hamina, Loring, Kosta Browne, Holdredge, Cameron Hughes, Cargassachi, and several others, including Vincent. Then there are deals and giveaways from Hi-Times in Costa Mesa, Heater-Allen Brewing, Graperadio, even a tasting of Chateauneuf du Pape over in Chateauneuf or Geneva, whatever's easier for you. This should be cool.

So check it out. I'm going to be visiting frequently as I expect various offers to happen all day long. For the record, our deal is to have a small group taste at the winery, along with some surprises to make it a memorable event. Win but can't make it here? We'll figure something good out. Hope to see you at Berserker Day and maybe here in Portland.

Winemaking update

I went down to the winery today to check in on the progress of my barrels of 2009 pinot noir. Things have been pretty hands off since harvest. Not a lot of looking in on the wines, just some attention to make sure nothing's going wrong. Smelling and tasting samples from each barrel today, nothing's going wrong at all. I'm excited about what we have in barrel.

The Domaine Coteau vineyard barrels, six in all, are a mix of brighter red fruit and darker black fruit wines. The two fermenters seem to provide the distinguishing mark here, with the first fermenter the brighter and lighter wine, the second the darker, meatier wine. It's interesting that this difference has been there since late in the fermentation back in October.

The third fermenter was from Zenith vineyard, and it's more red raspberry and nicely long in the mouth. This is the wine I intend to bottle separately as a single vineyard offering, one barrel or two. It's not as intense at this point as the Coteau lots, but it's more refined and longer flavored. Essentially, more pretty and pinot than the burly, masculine Coteau barrels.

All the wines show the warm 2009 vintage -- ripe, though not overly so, just full flavored and needing time to reveal more earthy complexity. I like the tannic structure of the wines. They aren't glossy and full of sheen, rather there's a savory note that I'm looking for. The wines aren't through malolactic fermentation, so any specifics really should be taken with some pause. The key now is that things are progressing well, the wines are healthy, and things are on track.

We're doing chromotagraphy to assess progress on the ML fermentation, to get a sense of where the wines are. Once they are complete, we'll sulfur them and probably rack them around June to begin the clarifying process, separating wine from sediment. The first bottling should be in late August or early September, with one or two barrels held over until next winter for a late bottling of the single vineyard wine. I came home full of renewed hope for the vintage. This period of elevage, where the wines essentially cure from raw wine into a finished product fit for your table, can be nerve wracking. Tonight, I'll sleep well knowing everything's on track and good. I can't wait for people to try these wines.

2007 Horsetail Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

Talking with yet another retailer the other day, we spoke about how the 2007 Oregon pinot noir vintage is overlooked and misunderstood. Yes, there are some weak, underripe and otherwise lacking wines. You are missing out if that's all you think about the vintage. Add in some dramatic discounting and there are not only terrific wines for enjoying and cellaring. There are some terrific deals out there, too.

Tonight I opened the 2007 Horsetail Pinot Noir Willamette Valley. This wine comes from Mike and Jared Etzel, sons of Mike Etzel of Beaux Freres and wife, the sadly, recently late Jackie Etzel. The grapes come from the Broadley vineyard, far south in the Willamette Valley near Eugene, and the Wahle vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton District up here close to Portland. Readers will remember that I got some Wahle fruit in 2006 for my homemade wine. I was in line to get fruit in 2007 but got shut out. Same thing in 2008, at the last minute actually, so unfortunately this terrific site is now off my radar. It shouldn't be off yours though, and this wine shows why.

Thanks to information from the Avalon site, the wine is a blend of Dijon clones from Broadley and Coury clone from Wahle (pronounced Wall). Dijon clones typically give lots of fruit, and in a cool year like 2007 they were pretty successful. This wine shows it, with nicely ripe berry fruit right in the center of the aroma and flavor. The Coury clone is known as UC Davis 22, an upright "pinot droit" that has a reputation for productivity but not distinction. Turns out experienced producers from this site, including Belle Pente, prize the old vine Coury - planted in 1974 - for its aroma and acidic spine.

When I worked with this vineyard in 2006, the Coury saved the blend of fruit I got. While the Pommard and 777 (grafted on old chardonnay roots) were pretty ripe, the Coury picked at the same time was fresh and bright, a few weeks behind in ripeness but already ripe enough. It added great lift and freshness to the finished wine. Old man Coury himself is an Oregon wine legend. He got the Wahles to plant their site in the first place and supplied them and many others with plant material. We all owe him a debt, though I hear he was a rascal. Seems fitting.

So this 2007 Horsetail. What do the sons of the famous Beaux Freres maker produce? To my taste, one of the best 2007s I've tried. This wine has it all, including value at a $25 price tag. The color is translucent medium ruby with a fresh sweet berry and earthy, soil and spice aroma that lacks no ripeness, offers lots of fruit, but also conveys terrific finesse and delicacy. In the mouth, the Dijon clone fruit is obvious, with lots of cherry and spicy raspberry notes. But it's not sweet and candied. There's great acidic freshness that carries the flavors a long way and refreshes the palate for food or another sip. I don't pick up too much oak in this wine, and the finish turns mineral rather than sweet and caramel. In sum, this is excellent Oregon pinot noir and something I think will last in the cellar for several years, gaining aged sweetness and fat to hang on the nervy acid structure.

I've been on record saying that 2007s typically are so pretty and delicate, they drink well now and probably for another 4-5 years. I don't see this as a long aging vintage, exceptions notwithstanding. This wine could easily be at $40 -- in a better economy anyway -- and live up to the expectations of ageability that you might have for a wine at that price. Well done fellas. Nice package and cork too. This one is all class, and a nice buy if you hunt for it.

2005 Holleran Riesling Chehalem Mountain Vineyard

I've been saving this bottle for a couple years to see what a little age would do for a nice local riesling. In short, not much. This wine is gorgeous and will last a lot longer and maybe even improve.

The 2005 Holleran Riesling Chehalem Mountain Vineyard is light gold in color with a pretty peach, pineapple and diesel aroma. There's great freshness here even after a few years in the bottle. The flavors are penetrating and precise, with minerally acid and terrific cut to the pineapple and diesel flavors. The long finish even has bits of raspberry, something classic to great Mosel riesling. It's still on the simple side, but so full of character. Age should soften it a bit and add earthy complexity to the whole package.

How long will that take? I'd guess another five to ten years, and it will probably last a lot longer than that. Having had Oregon riesling back to the '70s, I suppose it should be no surprise. Excellent wine.

2008 Biggio Hamina Melon de Bourgogne and Dungeness

It should be a one line blog post -- f***in Biggio Hamina Melon and Dungeness crab is a meal of the gods.

But I must elaborate. Stop now if brevity is beauty.

I first tried Biggio Hamina Melon (the grape of Muscadet) last year at a terrific dinner at the Zenith Vineyard for all producers of pinot noir from that excellent vineyard. The BH Melon shocked me. So austere, so challenging to the senses. That is, until we had crab cakes. Oh my god it was all so good.

Fast forward to Todd Hamina's recent pouring at Storyteller Wines in Portland, which I wrote up here with glowing praise. Biggio Hamina wines aren't going to win prizes for color or extraction. They will tantalize you with complexity and subtlty. This humble 2008 Biggio Hamina Melon de Bourgogne from the Deux Vert Vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA is no exception.

Todd didn't pour this wine that night, but there was a lone bottle left for sale and I grabbed it. When should I open such a solitary treat? How about when the new Whole Foods is practically giving away big, delicious Dungeness crab as part of their opening week promotion? Yes, I am a little drunk on crab at the moment.

The wine is pale with a somewhat neutral aroma at first. With time there's a stone fruit and mineral scent, and it grows more pronounced when paired with the crustacean. The flavors develop similarly, particularly with food. Where the flavors are subtle on their own, the meaty crab with its oceanic flavors brings out the wine's fruit. I'm not talking about a top heavy, candy fruitness. Rather, fruit of temptation. Think garden of Eden, except full of this delicious wine and not the alleged wrath of god.

In sum, this isn't profound wine that will blow your mind with its power and depth. Rather, it's fresh, precise and authentic, and utterly delicious with tonight's dinner. Nevermind that the price is well under $20.

Chidaine Vouvray

I read with interest the recent post by David McDuff on his McDuff's Food and Wine Trail blog about Francois Chidaine Montlouis. David finds that Chidaine white wines may be aging more quickly than expected, and apparently he's not alone. Vintage variation could very well be an issue here, but if Chidaine is not using much sulfur, as some people suggest, perhaps that is a factor.

My data point is probably controversial. First, it's not Montlouis, but rather Vouvray, across the Loir river to the south and the more well known village of high quality dry and sweet chenin blanc wines. The technical difference aside, Vouvray should probably age more slowly than Montlouis, so that's not an issue to me.

The real issue might be that I'm trying a 2003 vintage wine, from the "vintage of the sun." If any wine would show advanced characteristics before its time, '03 wines should. Right? Well, maybe. I've tasted a number of '03 whites from various regions of France, all similiarly hot in this vintage. No wine has seemed as advanced as this Chidaine. There could be "bottle variation," the excuse any odd showing begets. Or this could be indicative of Chidaine's style, razor sharp in youth but relatively soon giving way to the roundness of age.

I didn't have this wine young, to be clear. This bottle of 2003 Chidaine Vouvray Le Bouchet appears perfectly intact, and the wine is quite good. But the color is medium gold in color, the fragrance is quite mature with lots of creme brulee notes, baked apples and pears and a round, rich spicy jelly candy aroma. The flavors are fairly sweet and low acid, not unexpected in this vintage, but rather than simply ripe, rich fruit and mineral flavors, there are apricot and honeyed notes of a light dessert wine and some significant age. Again, this is delicious wine, but dessert level moelleux in character and fairly advanced at that.

This wasn't a typical vintage for any Loire producer, or any European producer. Still, I'm left wondering if Chidaine wines in fact are aging uncommonly soon. What I'm tasting sounds a lot like what David describes. Again, I've tried plenty of other '03 whites that are big and rich, but not yet this advanced. Perhaps it's the bottle. Or perhaps not. I want to investigate this further, so next I'll pull out a bottle of '01 Montlouis Les Truffeaux. The last one, several years back, was indeed razor sharp and gorgeous. Will it still show that with some age? Or a significant change to "old" wine? Anyone else had experience with aging Chidaine wines? They are delicious, but most curious.

Edit 1/17/2010 -- I've continued to enjoy this bottle over several days and it's remarkable for its interest and durability. Reading more about the Le Bouchet bottling, I learn that this wine is usually rich and sweet, and it's ability to hold up for days after opening suggests there's no sulfur issue. It's just the character of the wine.

I see that Huet's Clos du Bourg was perhaps a part of the Le Boucher vineyard at one point. Writing in the Wine Advocate, David Schildknecht notes that Fouquet harvests a moelleux wine from this botrytis-prone site. The wine is variously described as a demi-sec wine, or "rich" demi-sec, whatever that means, or moelleux. I'll opt for the latter, which can be surprisingly sleek with some producers, or clearly botrytis-affected as this wine is. Read more from the Wine Doctor. I'm enjoying his post with another glass of Chidaine Le Bouchet.

Vinography and how wineries will fail

I enjoy Alder Yarrow's Vinography blog from time to time. Recently he wrote about his experience researching information from Sonoma and Marin county producers in California for a new wine atlas he's contributing to.

He was surprised at how so many wineries are so unresponsive to phone calls during business hours, emails asking for confirmation of addresses and other basic information, and the like. It's basic stuff, right? Be responsive, especially when someone is trying to help publicize you.

Alder's point is that wineries need to be even more responsive in the new century as consumers want a relationship beyond simply giving money for goods. I get all that, and am putting money where my mouth is by starting my own small wine business. I love to make wine and am a total wine geek. That's the easy part. I see a market opportunity for a business that makes a huge effort to be responsive and accessible to customers and wine lovers in general. That's what got me to get serious about turning my passion into a business.

Still, I'm hardly shocked at what he's found. For crying out loud, he's writing a book. That's hardly Web 2.0 and he's certainly not the first person to come calling as he prepares his manuscript. They probably wouldn't have called back anyway, but someone they probably haven't heard of (even if they should have!) who's writing a wine book? Meh.

Also, I don't predict so many producers will go out of business because they aren't with the 21st century program. To me it's not "do it or die." It's "don't do it and you miss out on an opportunity." And you miss out on the fun of connecting to people and making a real difference in their lives and your own. We're social animals. You don't need to be a raging extrovert to get out there and mix it up with your people. Do it, be real, have fun, you might find business follows. Don't do it and it might hurt you, but maybe you don't notice it too much.

Every industry and pursuit has this issue. People should have their shit together and return your calls and write you back. But they don't, whether it's work related, church related, or even to someone who's volunteering his time to coach another person's kid's sports team. I know. And it's not just because people are so busy. There's a lot going on, sure. But people are just flakey.

All this social connection isn't really new anyway. We haven't just begun to want relationships with the people and places we patronize. Similiarly, people haven't just begun to be flakey with their communication. I don't think things have changed so much that people who don't bother to return calls are finally really going to feel the pain in a huge way. They'll go on pretty much as usual. Meanwhile, those who do return the calls and emails and generally make themselves available will find things to be better, and more fun.

Technology isn't inventing a need for us to connect. It is, however, providing a better opportunity than ever before to separate yourself from those who don't want to make the effort to connect, for whatever reason. I for one welcome that opportunity, but I won't be surprised when those who continue to bumble along still manage to stay in the game. I do expect to be smiling more than they do, and that's what really counts.

New year changes

Yes, it's a new layout for elevage as we near our five-year anniversary of wine writing. I suppose "new" layout is stretching it. Blogger still has pretty much the same options as five years ago. Only this one seems inspiring to me, especially to add some features and make best use of the space on your screen. Yes, I know there are lots of free blogger templates out there. I just can't find one that fits. So here we are. I like it. Let me know what you think.

Lovely wines in Portland

I had a great opportunity to taste a number of lovely wines last night, as a farewell to Brianne who's heading to Argentina for harvest. My highlights in no particular order...

1988 Rapet Pernand Vergelesses first smelled like old Piedmont wine, floral and tarry. Still tannic but quite nice older red burgundy. The 2002 Grochau Cellars Pinot Noir, from good friend John Grochau whom I partner with on my wine project (full disclosure), was delicious from magnum. Earthy and a bit roasted, but still elegant and aging nicely. This was the best showing of John's first commercial release of the few times I've tried it.

NV Marc Chauvet Champagne, blanc de blancs I'm sure, was so crisp and green apply, just lovely. 2007 Eyrie Chardonnay Reserve "Original Vines" was similarly tight and a bit oaky as when I tried it in November, but obviously good and ageworthy stuff. I hear Stephen Spurrier calls this grand cru in quality, the best new world white he's tried. Maybe so, maybe so.

2007 Cameron Pinot Noir Arley's Leap was atypically rich and a bit strapping for the delicate 2007 vintage locally. Some high toned notes, but quite good and my favorite that I've tried of several years of Arley's. The 1995 Drouhin Pommard was nicely mature but not very generous in the mouth. I just had a small taste.

Then some extra special wines. First, the 1974 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon from the legendary California vintage. This was great. Tons of cabernet cabernet character, some bottle sweetness and definitely still tannin, but all in balance. This can last a while yet but is excellent. As a younger comparison, the 2000 Ducru Beaucaillou from St. Julien, also full of cabernet with lovely gravel and uncured tobacco notes. This is nice already but will last a long time. Very excellent Bordeaux and, to my taste, not at all tricked up or otherwise messed with as so much Bordeaux these days seems accused.

Then two farewell whites from the late Didier Dagueneau, both Pouilly Fume from sauvignon blanc. First, the 2001 Dagueneau Silex, full of passion fruit and hints of creme brulee, young and lively in the mouth and so flavory and good. There's a reason these wines are so prized. Then the 2000 Dagueneau En Chailloux, more waxy and almost semillon in character, still very fresh and lively tasting. These wines have obviously been stored well and will last for several more years, I'm sure.

Thanks to all for the great, great line up, especially our generous host Michael. Bon voyage Brianne!

The old Book of California Wine

I've seen the Book of California Wine many times over the years but for the life of me don't know why I never bought it, much less looked at it. This morning, a neighbor who's a local chef and a bit of a wine geek lent me his old copy of this Bible-sized tome, published by UC Press and Sotheby Publications in 1984. Looking it over tonight, I'm struck by how interesting it looks, on so many levels. It's no quick read, but I can't wait to begin wading through its dozens of articles by an amazing array of wine and food writers.

For now, some immediate thoughts on what's peaking my interest.

First, the price. The inside of the original dust jacket lists a price of $55, "until Dec. 1984." Fifty-five dollars. That must have been an enormous price for such a book back then. Was that just for the first edition? Did it go down after that? Very interesting.

Second, the three editors of this collection are Doris Muscatine, of the Park-Muscatine vineyard bottlings from Ridge no doubt; Maynard Amerine, the dean of winemaking in California at UC Davis; and wine writer Bob Thompson, a California legend. The foreward by Doris tells of making second crop zinfandel from her vineyard and getting help from Bernard Portet at Clos du Val for crushing and destemming grapes at home using chicken wire and foot treading. There's even an article on the subject of home winemaking. That's very cool.

Third, how about this for a sampling of the contributors:

M.F.K. Fisher with the preface
Hugh Johnson on an international view of California wine
Zelma Long and Carole Meredith on grape growing
Walter Schug on vinification
Tim Mondavi on barrels
Paul Draper on zinfandel
Darrell Corti on dessert wines
Alice Waters on food

There's extensive history of California wine from the mission period to prohibition, then to what was the modern day. There's consideration of geography and climate, cultivation and winemaking. There's an entire section of articles on topics like the literature of California wine, label art and tasting groups. There's even an article on the medicinal value of wine, written by no less than William Dickerson, MD, of the famous Dickerson vineyard in Napa Valley. This whole wine and health thing isn't new, you know.

Which gets me to a final point. Some people talk about older wine books as being out of date, and surely there is lots of information here that's understood differently now. Yet I read a book a few years ago called California Wine, a collection of interviews of the state's winemakers by Bob Thompson in the 1970s. You'd think it was out of date, but the information was so valuable, in part to learn techniques that have fallen out of favor in the name of advancement, in part because so many things haven't changed a bit.

I expect the same here. Lots of perspective that wouldn't read all that differently if written today, perhaps more valuable to me because I find I'm more interested in how the Californians were doing things 20 and 30 years ago, not so much lately. What better way to learn but read the thoughts of so many top people in the world of wine, even if the book is nearly 30 years old. So off I go to visit my native state in this document. I'll try to write up some thoughts as I go.

1995 Old Knucklehead - best beer ever?

My neighbor took me to a wonderful winter beer party at her friend's the other day. There were lots of people and beer I didn't recognize, but everything worked out wonderfully. Of particular note was perhaps the oldest and likely the most delicious, entrancing beer I've ever consumed.

Some kind soul brought a 12 oz. bottle of the 1995 Bridgeport's Old Knucklehead, the annual barleywine from this legendary Portland brewery. I don't always enjoy aged beer, which often shows me a gluey aroma that may be interesting but also a little revolting at the same time. From my modest pour in an Oregon pinot glass from Riedel, I got a whiff of that at first here, and then things turned remarkable.

Deep bronze color and aromas of maple syrup and roasted everything good. Then similar flavors, which were good enough. But the texture and balance were perfect. I'm not usually this way, but I felt speechless. Was I carried away? This was early in the party, but no one else seemed in rapture like me. I mentioned my thoughts to a few others who thought, yeah, this was good. But I could still taste it and recall the way it felt, and I still can. That's remarkable beer (or barleywine, for the pursits out there), and I'm left wondering if I've ever had any other so good. Thanks Alan.

2004 Edmunds St. John Roussanne Tablas Creek

I heard from Steve Edmunds on Facebook that January 1, 2010 was the 25th anniversary of his winery, the California Rhone variety legend Edmunds St. John. What a perfect excuse to drink the 2004 ESJ Roussanne Tablas Creek Vineyard with my seafood bowlfest of Dungeness crab and langostino.

What a gorgeous wine! At first, it smelled of petrol like a nicely maturing riesling. Then with time more lemon and honey notes emerged, along with that petrolly minerality. This perfume makes me think of nectar oozing from fractured rock, if that makes any sense to you.There's incredible balance of richness and finesse here. I could smell this a long time, and happily I saved some and even two days later it's lost nothing.

In the mouth, the wine is appropriately oily in texture, coating the tongue with lemon and petrol flavors with subtle toast nuance that all linger for a minute. There's excellent balance of flavors and citrusy acid, at once satisfying you and making you salivate for more. Some roussanne from the golden state can be a bit rustic and unrefined, interesting but not necessarily delicious. This is incredibly detailed without undo polish or sculpting, and simply excellent now and surely for years to come.

Old Bordeaux

I got into Bordeaux back when I first really got into wine in 1991. Maybe that stemmed from a visit I took to St. Emilion in October 1989 with my then girlfriend while we were both studying abroad. Here I was in California but all I could think about was that day trip to St. Emilion two years earlier, walking from the train station up the road to the hilltop town, past what I now know was the famed Ch. Ausone. We toured at least one cellar in town and otherwise spent an idyllic day wandering the streets and shops, eating and enjoying the view. I remember buying a three-pack of bottles to bring back to London. Who knows what they were, aside from not being anything expensive.

Over the years I've fallen out of love with Bordeaux. The wines can be excellent, of course. There's no question about that. It's the whole aristocratic noblesse of Bordeaux that just isn't me. (Modern Bordeaux often leaves me cold, but that's another story.) Where Bordeaux is all about big business and big production, I'm more into the smaller scale wine scene in so many other regions in Europe. Here in the U.S., it's no surprise I'm more into the small scale of Oregon vs. the largesse of Napa Valley. Prices play a factor to, but it's more than that. Exceptions abound. Generall, I just find I typically enjoy wines more from smaller producers.

That said, I still enjoy good Bordeaux on occasion. I even enjoy lesser Bordeaux that won't wow anybody but make me reflect on what originally got me interested in the region so long ago. Take the 1983 Ch. Fourcas Hosten from Listrac that we opened the other night. This is non-classified stuff, nothing fancy, just old school cabernet-dominated wine from the under the radar 1983 vintage. Back when 1982 was all the rage stateside, making Robert Parker's reputation and sending prices soaring, 1983 came in successfully but without such ebullient praise.

The '83 Fourcas Hosten is now a bit long in the tooth. Still, I found its old book aroma and silky texture surprisingly pleasing, pairing nicely with a simple broiled steak and cornbread. It didn't have much varietal character, just satisfying if frail old wine Reading professional notes on this wine, you'd think it was long dead. Not at all. Neither I suppose is my interest in Bordeaux. Good, because I have more than a few bottles from there downstairs. They probably should make their way to our table this coming year.