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Main

November 18, 2008

Bethel Heights 2007 Pinot Gris

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) I appreciate minimal intervention in wine making, but when it comes to wine labels, I prefer maximum details and descriptions. At the very least, a bottle's label should offer the consumer a bit about the people, places and practices going into the wine. The Bethel Heights 2007 Oregon Pinot Gris offers a case study in wine label minimalism. Other than the producer, place, variety, and vintage being repeated on the front and back labels, one is left to wonder what went into this wine. Fortunately, there are some insightful winemaker notes at the...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:43 PM | | Comments (0)

November 08, 2008

Capitello 2006 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) One of the benefits from shopping at different wine shops is the discovery of new wines. Such was the case with the Capitello 2006 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, a bottle I purchased for $40 at the Portalis Wine Shop and Wine Bar a couple of months ago. Capitello Wines, located in Eugene, is a family owned and operated winery led by Ray Walsh, who was formerly winemaker at King Estate. Ray is a New Zealand native, who got his start making wine in his home country before ending up in Oregon. After several...

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Posted by Thad W. at 04:31 PM | | Comments (0)

November 05, 2008

Chehalem 2005 3 Vineyards Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) This Oregon pinot noir started out well, then took a bit of slump during our meal, before recovering the next day. On the eyes, the Chehalem 2005 3 Vineyards Pinot Noir (13.2%) was a translucent garnet color. On the nose, it offered red berry fruits including strawberry and raspberry with slight hints of earth and dusty dirt. On the palate, there was cherry and strawberry with balanced acidity. With dinner, the Chehalem 3 Vineyards pinot evolved to show sweet, candied cherry flavors. Kari thought it tasted a bit metallic, almost tinny. On the...

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Posted by Thad W. at 09:36 PM | | Comments (0)

November 03, 2008

A High Compliment to Oregon Pinot Noir

Whether you're a long-standing fan or someone just getting introduced to Oregon pinot noir, you will benefit from watching and reading Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher's recent experiences tasting wines from the state's 2006 and 2005 vintages. There is nothing but high praise coming from this wine columnist duo, who pay a high compliment to Oregon producers for crafting pinot noir with a true sense of place: The winemakers allowed the vineyards themselves, the fruit itself, the terroir itself, to star. This is what makes great Pinot what it is -- an expression of place. When we tasted...

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Posted by Thad W. at 07:53 PM | | Comments (0)

October 26, 2008

WillaKenzie Estate 2007 Pinot Gris

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) This is a wonderful Oregon pinot gris, which I picked up on sale at my local wine merchant for $15. We paired the WillaKenzie Estate 2007 Pinot Gris Willamette Valley (13.8% alcohol) with salmon pasta, an incredible dish Kari crafts with smoked King salmon lox over a bed of linguine pasta that has been tossed in a light cream-based sauce that includes shallots, white wine, garlic, and fresh dill. On the eyes, the WillaKenzie pinot gris is a clear, clean light golden green color. On the nose, it offers pineapple, melon and pear....

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Posted by Thad W. at 12:51 PM | | Comments (1)

October 16, 2008

Useful Guide to Oregon Wine Country

Last March, the Portland Monthly magazine published a terrific piece entitled, "The Insider's Guide to Oregon Wine Country" For anyone contemplating or planning a visit to the Willamette Valley during this year's harvest, I encourage you to check out this guide. The stunning photo essay by Janis Miglavs, a former National Geographic photographer, should motivate any reader to jump in the car and visit Oregon wine country now. Before you go, be sure to review the guide's recommended wineries to visit, which are broken out into three sections covering the northern, central, and southern parts of the Willamette Valley....

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:00 AM | | Comments (0)

October 15, 2008

Lumos 2005 Pinot Noir 5 Blocks

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) It is not often you come across a wine that includes a back label dedication by the winemaker to the vineyard manager and crew. But it is truly unique to find a bottle featuring a group photo of the vineyard crew on this same label. Such is the case with the Lumos 2005 Pinot Noir Five Blocks, a bottle that immediately connects you to the people who cultivated the grapes as well as those who crafted the fruit into wine. Here is the back label's description and dedication: This wine is grown using...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:24 AM | | Comments (0)

October 04, 2008

LA Times profiles Oregon's Willamette Valley

An article entitled, "Oregon's lush Willamette Valley offers a vintners' bounty", was featured in yesterday's LA Times. The article highlights about twenty wineries to visit in the valley along with a video feature on equestrian vineyard tours and a slide show of photos from the area. Combining the article with digital media is a good way to showcase the area. The piece was written by Patrick Comiskey, senior editor for Wine & Spirits magazine, who regularly covers the Oregon and Washington wine scene. Along with a recent spread in The Seattle Times, this article should offer useful guidance for anyone...

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Posted by Thad W. at 06:52 PM | | Comments (0)

Firesteed 2006 Pinot Noir Oregon

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) In this economy, there's nothing better than finding a good, inexpensive bottle of Oregon pinot noir, a wine you can enjoy on a regular basis without having to worry about breaking the budget. Such is the case with the Firesteed 2006 Pinot Noir Oregon, which I picked up at Metropolitan Market recently for an affordable $15. We paired the Firesteed with a meal of roast chicken breasts with garbanzo beans, tomatoes, and paprika served with a Greek yogurt sauce. It was yet another spectacular dish Kari crafted in our red French oven, a...

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Posted by Thad W. at 12:53 PM | | Comments (0)

September 29, 2008

Adelsheim 2006 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) Third time is a charm, as they say, for it took bottle number three for me to finally blog about the Adelsheim 2006 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley. The first two bottles I enjoyed while dining out, with the most recent bottle with dinner at home which I bought at retail for $30. On each occasion, this wine paired well with the various meals we had and was enjoyed by all who drank it. On the eyes, the Adelsheim pinot (13.8%) was a light, raspberry color. On the nose, there were hints of earth...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:25 PM | | Comments (0)

September 28, 2008

Montinore 2006 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) While shopping for wine a couple of weeks back, I discovered a bottle of Montinore Estate pinot noir, a producer I recognized but for the life of me could not recall why. It wasn't until I did some research online and remembered this was an Oregon winery that received quite a bit of press when it was for sale several years ago for $5 million. Rudy Marchesi, who was president of the winery when it was being sold, assumed ownership of Montinore Estate in 2006. The original estate had its founding in the...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:17 AM | | Comments (0)

September 21, 2008

Oregon Wine Country in The Seattle Times

The north Willamette Valley received a big spread in today's Travel section of The Seattle Times. Carli Pucci documents her experience in "Oregon wine country, one sip at a time", which includes visits to the Torii Moor, Domaine Drouhin, Anne Amie, Amity, and Maysara wineries. It was interesting that Pucci expounds on all of her winery visits, with the exception of Anne Amie. I wonder why she chose not to detail that experience, while diving deep on the other visits. Regardless, the article offers some highlights of places to stay, dine at, or see using McMinnville as your base. It's...

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Posted by Thad W. at 07:39 PM | | Comments (0)

September 14, 2008

Torii Mor 2006 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) With its Japanese inspired name and label, it wouldn't surprise me if some might mistake this bottle of Torii Mor for sake. On the outside, Torii Mor might suggest rice wine, but on the inside this is pinot noir, and a good wine at that. Torii Mor, located in Dundee, was founded in 1993 by Donald Olson, MD, to focus on producing wine from fruit grown on the Olson Estate Vineyard. He acquired and renamed this site in 1985 - it was formerly known as the McDaniel Vineyard, which was planted in 1972,...

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Posted by Thad W. at 12:27 PM | | Comments (0)

September 13, 2008

WillaKenzie Estate 2006 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) Although this WillaKenzie wine may not be my style in pinot noir, the WillaKenzie winery is my kind of producer. Why? It's all because of what they do online. WillaKenzie Estate has one of the best designed homepages of any winery I have visited to date. On that single page, I connected to the wines, vineyards, and practices of this producer in ways unlike any other winery. Here is what you can learn using the interactive Flash elements on this homepage: &bull a bird's eye view pinpointing each vineyard location and the wine...

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Posted by Thad W. at 03:18 PM | | Comments (2)

September 09, 2008

Book Review: At Home in the Vineyard by Susan Sokol Blosser

At Home in the Vineyard: Cultivating a Winery, an Industry, and a Life by Susan Sokol Blosser is one book that seems to offer an exception to the adage, "you can't judge a book by its cover". Just as the subtitle suggests, At Home in the Vineyard effectively describes the slow, steady transformation of an estate winery, a wine industry, and a human being over a period of more than 30 years. It is an intimate study of all three components delivered in a narrative style that keeps you engaged from start to finish. This book is first and...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:36 PM | | Comments (2)

September 07, 2008

Next 2006 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) It is nice to stumble upon an inexpensive bottle of Oregon pinot noir these days, considering how most seem to be in the $25 or higher price range. And it's even better when that inexpensive bottle delivers a decent wine experience. Such is the case with the Next 2006 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, which I picked up at Metropolitan Market for $19. The Next Pinot Noir is one of a pair of high volume wines (the other a WA riesling) produced by King Estate out of Eugene, Oregon. Some designer worked hard to...

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Posted by Thad W. at 02:37 PM | | Comments (2)

September 03, 2008

Elk Cove 2006 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) Lately, it seems a new wave of 2006 Oregon pinot noirs have been hitting the retail shelves, providing a nice assortment of wines to try with dinner. I suspect this may be due to the fact that the 2007 vintage is entering the channel, as many wineries need to make room for the upcoming 2008 harvest. I picked up a bottle of the Elk Cove 2006 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley at Metropolitan Market recently, where it retailed for $29.99. We paired this pinot with grilled beef kebabs that included red onions and bell...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:20 PM | | Comments (2)

August 12, 2008

Westrey 2006 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) With wild king salmon and fresh asparagus on the grill, I opened a bottle of Westrey 2006 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley (13.5%) to see if this wine measured up to the billing it received on the back label: Westrey wines are styled to be mouth-filling and generous in a context of rich texture and balanced acidity. Winemakers Amy Wesselman and David Autrey craft distinctive wines while allowing each bottling to express its vineyards of origin. In keeping with the philosophy of minimal handling, this wine has been bottled unfiltered. For the salmon, Kari...

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Posted by Thad W. at 01:33 PM | | Comments (0)

August 11, 2008

Erath 2006 Pinot Blanc Willamette Valley

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) The Erath 2006 Pinot Blanc ($13) offers yet another addition to my growing list of delightful, inexpensive wines to enjoy this summer. We paired this pinot blanc with a simple meal of grilled chicken thighs, broccolini, and rice pilaf, while enjoying it as an aperitif beforehand. Overall, the Erath's balanced acidity and moderate alcohol (13.8%) offered a nice complement to the Caribbean-style chicken marinade. In fact, it clearly lived up to the promise of the back label, for it is pure fruit enjoyment as a result of being steel fermented: ...a crisp, dry...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:13 PM | | Comments (0)

July 30, 2008

IPNC 2008: Connections, Context, and Community

For me, the measure of a good wine experience is how often and to what degree you reflect on it afterward. Since returning from IPNC 2008, I have been thinking a lot about what I gained from attending this event. If I were to distill it down to just a few themes, then IPNC for me was all about connections, context, and community. Connecting to People and Places I heard it said many times during the weekend, that it is the wine that brings folks to IPNC, but it is the people that make it special. That was clearly validated...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:00 PM | | Comments (0)

July 27, 2008

IPNC: Day Two, Part Two

IPNC Northwest Salmon Bake Dinner The second half of Day Two at IPNC followed a similar sequence to Day One, with several seminars, special pourings, alfresco tastings, and dinner. Mid-afternoon, I dropped by a book signing featuring Tyler Colman, Ph.D., a.k.a. Dr. Vino, and several other authors. Tyler, whom I met earlier in the day, publishes a popular wine blog and has recently released a new book entitled, Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink. I am looking forward to reading Tyler's book, which combines two of my favorite topics. Along with the book...

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Posted by Thad W. at 07:07 PM | | Comments (2)

July 26, 2008

IPNC: Day Two, Part One

IPNC Sustainability Without Sacrifice Seminar Today is the second and last full day at IPNC. It began with two wine seminars indoors and was followed by lunch outside on the lawn. In keeping with the theme of this year's IPNC, the two seminars focused on sustainability in the vineyard and winery. Both sessions were moderated by Andrea Robinson with a panel of special guests commenting on the various wine flights in front of us. The first session featured Jasper Morris, wine expert and writer, and Dominique Lafon, of the Burgundy estate, Domaine des Comtes Lafon. Dominique spoke about his...

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Posted by Thad W. at 02:05 PM | | Comments (0)

July 25, 2008

IPNC: Day One, Part Two

IPNC Grand Dinner What an amazing evening the first night of IPNC has been... It started with the al fresco tasting event, featuring dozens of producers from around the world pouring recent and past releases of pinot noir. As much as these types of tasting events offer a useful cross-section of wines, I find it challenging to really enjoy wine in this setting without food. The cocktail wines always show well, while the food friendly wines struggle. Following the tasting reception, we all came together for "The Grand Dinner", with a variety of wines and vintages being poured throughout...

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Posted by Thad W. at 10:38 PM | | Comments (0)

IPNC: Day One, Part One

IPNC Vineyard Tour and Winery Lunch What a terrific first day at IPNC. I got started at 8 am joining Craig Camp of the Wine Camp Blog for breakfast. Craig is clearly the man when it comes to blogging about the Oregon wine scene. It was a lot of fun meeting him, chatting about wine and the Web, as well as being introduced to some folks he knows. After breakfast, several hundred attendees gathered on Linfield's commencement green for the opening ceremonies. After a welcome from the president of Linfield College and comments from special guests, each of the...

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Posted by Thad W. at 04:11 PM | | Comments (0)

July 24, 2008

Pre-IPNC Dinner at Lemelson Vineyards

On the eve of IPNC kicking off tomorrow, more than a dozen wineries in the McMinnville area are hosting dinners tonight. I had the good fortune of selecting the pre-IPNC dinner event at Lemelson Vineyards winery, which ended up being an incredible evening of amazing food, delicious wine, and best of all, good company. Before getting into too much detail, I want to share something special that happened earlier today on my journey from Seattle to the Willamette Valley. While driving south, I was listening to the radio when Garrison Keillor came on with The Writer's Almanac, his daily feature...

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Posted by Thad W. at 09:57 PM | | Comments (3)

July 19, 2008

Hatcher 2004 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) For me, a good wine is measured not only by what is experienced inside the bottle, but also on the outside through labeling. Inside, the wine should delight the eyes, the nose, and the palate. Outside, the bottle's labeling should in some way connect me to the people and places behind the wine. Granted, it's not always that I expect a wine to fulfill expectations in both areas. There are many inexpensive wines that do well on the inside, but don't always have to deliver on the outside. However, my bar is set...

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Posted by Thad W. at 05:52 AM | | Comments (0)

June 28, 2008

Cottonwood 2004 Marina Piper Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) The other night, Kari cooked up a batch of pappardelle pasta with beef ragu, which was made from a chuck roast slow cooked in a broth with wine and tomatoes. A fresh, red leaf lettuce salad tossed with sliced pink lady apples provided a colorful complement to the main dish. I was tempted to pull an Italian nebbiollo or sangiovese, but decided to try a bottle of the Cottonwood 2004 Marina Piper Pinot Noir ($26.99) from the Dundee Hills of Oregon. This was one of several '04 pinots from Oregon that had recently...

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Posted by Thad W. at 03:39 PM | | Comments (0)

June 19, 2008

Maysara Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) During last week's visit to Tulsa, we enjoyed a taste of the Pacific Northwest with fresh Copper River sockeye salmon and Dungeness crab joined by a pair of Maysara 2006 wines, a pinot noir ($21.99) and a pinot gris ($16.99). Overall, the seafood was fantastic, while the wine fell a bit short. I grilled the salt and pepper seasoned sockeye on a plank of cedar along with a batch of fresh asparagus. It was joined by a filet of wild King salmon, which went straight on the grill. In addition, we had rice...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:40 PM | | Comments (0)

June 10, 2008

Ponzi Vineyards 2006 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) With this being an unusually cool and rainy spring in Seattle, we've started planning meals around the weather forecast so we can get outside and grill. So it was with the promise of good weather the next day, that Kari marinated a few thick pork chops in a brine that included garlic, peppercorns, and all spice seasoning. Fortunately, the forecast for decent weather came true, thus we were able to enjoy a grilled meal outside. Before cooking, we dried the chops and then rubbed them with a mix of brown sugar, cummin, cayenne...

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Posted by Thad W. at 06:10 AM | | Comments (0)