Newport Seafood and Wine Festival 2011

Every year we say "This is going to be our last year here" and every year we have a great time and look forward to next year. Last year, we thought that we had the routine worked out and that we'd just repeat the usual pattern. Little did we know that this year was not going to follow the script. We'd reserved our room at the Waves of Newport a few months back. We like this motel because it's well-placed on the bus route that goes between the motels and the festival, it usually has fewer drunks than the Shilo Inn, and it has a nice ocean view. This year it had 2 out of 3 points going for it. Not only have they moved the bus stop from just in front of The Waves to a block away, but they'd changed the frequency of the bus from every 15-20 minutes to every 45-60 minutes. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We left home about 10 am on Friday morning, and after having to return to fix my sunglasses and grab some forgotten items, we were finally on the road at 10:15. Although it was cold (about 28 degrees the entire way), it was a beautiful sunny day for a drive to the coast. We decided that rather than our usual lunch stop at the Side Track Tap (aka the Side Door Café in Gleneden Beach), we'd have lunch at the Black Fish Café in Lincoln City. We'd eaten dinner there a few years back and really enjoyed it. Besides, the service at the Side Track is often slow and I wanted to get to Newport in plenty of time. We were quickly seated and I ordered the fish tacos (one of my new favorites) and Rachel had a pulled pork sandwich. I also ordered a glass of Biggio Hamina Melon de Bourgogne. Todd sources these grapes from Mike and Patty Green at Deux Vert, and both Scott Macindoe and Chris Berg make great wine from them, so we wanted to taste this wine also. We were quite disappointed - the wine was weak and lacked enough acid. I'm wondering if the bottle had been open too long since this just wasn't what we were expecting. We'll stop by the tasting room and see if we can taste a fresh bottle sometime. The food was nothing to write home about either. Rachel's pork sandwich was fine, but wasn't that interesting, and my fish tacos lacked zing. Fortunately the service was fast and we were on our way.

It looked like our timing would work out well until we had to stop about 15 miles north of Newport while they cleared an accident. We were delayed by about 20 minutes. We made it to the motel at about 1:40 and had time to change clothes and pack the backpack. We went down and walked about a block to the bus stop and waited. And waited. And waited. That's when I checked the festival website and saw that the bus schedule had been changed. After waiting about 40 minutes, we gave up and walked back to the car and drove. If the organizers want people to take the bus, they can't space them out at 45-60 minute intervals; that just dumb. On the drive there, we saw several mostly empty buses. Fortunately there was plenty of parking at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. After a short walk to the tent and a very short line, we were inside by 2:30 - about 1/2 hour later than planned. We did our usual walk-through before tasting anything just to see who was here, and then started tasting in earnest. I'll transcribe my tasting notes and put them at the end of this blog in a few days. We tasted at 11 wineries on Friday. The highlights were Pudding River's Riesling and Chardonnay and Macindoe's 2008 Melon. We had drunk through our supply of Melon last year and were pleasantly surprised that Scott still had some left. Yum! We also got to taste A Blooming Hill's 2010 Riesling which was just marvelous, although not for sale yet. Jim had sold me some of his grapes for my Riesling last fall, so it was nice to see what those grapes could do in the right hands. It's clearly time for me to check on my Riesling and see if it's ready to bottle.

Our usual Friday dinner takes place at Nana's Irish Pub. Usually we take the bus back to the motel and walk the 3 blocks to the pub, but because it was below freezing, we decided to just stop there directly on the drive back from the festival. We usually order their shepherd's pie and chicken pot pie (along with an imperial pint of Guinness, or course), but this year I went for a seafood platter (beer battered cod and oysters) and Rachel went for the Irish sausages wrapped in puff pastry with peas. Both were very tasty dishes, and I had a pint of Smithwick's Red Ale rather than the Guinness. I'll not likely do that again, since it was mostly "Guinness Lite."

We stopped at Freddies on the way home to look for gloves. Rachel found a pair, but I was out of luck. We did find some "Little Hotties" chemical hand warmers that we were eager to try. Unfortunately, we forgot to buy cereal and milk for the next morning. Oops. Upon returning to the motel, we checked for wifi, and found that there wasn't any. Fortunately, we'd brought an old access point from home and plugged it into the wired Ethernet that they did provide. It all worked, and we had great internet access for all our wifi devices. The only strange thing was that the wifi location service on my iPad got confused since it thought that our access point was in Forest Grove, not Newport. It ended up placing us somewhere near Grand Ronde on the map!

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny and about 23 degrees. We bundled up in our long underwear and jackets and activated our hand warmers. Within about 5 minutes, they were definitely getting hot. Apparently they work using exothermic oxidation of iron powder - basically fast rusting! Because of the new stupid bus schedule, we drove again and ended up parking in the Rogue Brewing parking lot. It cost us $5, but we got a $5 discount coupon at the Rogue restaurant, where we had already planned to eat lunch. Not bad! We were in the tent shortly after things opened up at 10:00. We managed to taste through about 8 wineries before things got too crowded and loud around 12:45. We were just getting ready to leave when our friend John Olson at Palotai waved us over for a sample of his new Barbera. It's a beautiful wine and we promised him that we'd be back tomorrow to taste through his lineup. The wine highlights of the day were Ray Walsh's (Capitello Wines) 09 New Zealand Sauv Blanc and his late Riesling. Agate Ridge's Primativo and Girardet's Pinot Gris were also standouts. The technology highlight was the hand warmers. We kept them in our jacket pockets, and every time I put my hands in, it was a warm and pleasant surprise on a cold day.

After making a few purchases, we walked over to the Rogue Brewery and dropped the wine off at the car. Parking onsite has its advantages! We then had a nice lunch at the brewery restaurant and drove back to the motel. We thought about taking a walk downtown or going down to the beach, but it was just too darned cold, so we took a nap instead.

We had our usual dinner reservations at the Bay House in Lincoln City, and we were on the road by 6:00. We had gone about 10 minutes when we saw flares by the side of the road, and shortly thereafter got stuck in a long line of stopped cars. We'd inch forward every few minutes, and we saw cars coming the other direction, so we hoped that this wouldn't take long. Unfortunately after 45 minutes of this, we discovered that there was a police car turning people around. There had been a wreck that was going to take about 3 hours to clear, so we were out of luck. All those cars that we had seen coming from the other direction had been people who had been turned back. Why did they let us all wait in line for 45 minutes before turning us around!?! So, no dinner at Bay House. We both had visions of the McDonald's drive-thru on the way back into town, but fortunately Rachel started calling around and ended up getting us a reservation at April's in Newport for 8:00. Apparently they'd had cancellations from folks up north who couldn't make it past the wreck either.

We had eaten at April's a few years back and hadn't been that impressed, so our expectations were low, but at least it was better than McDonalds! We were seated right away and noticed that several other winemakers were having dinner there as well. We recognized the folks from Pudding River and also Jason, Sean, and Scott from David Hill. We let our server know that the David Hill crew were troublemakers and to watch out for them! The 3 of them had brought some bottles from their own cellars, and Jason and Scott both wandered over to let us sample some of their great wines. We ended up ordering a 2005 Heitz Cellars Cab that was really nice too. Partway through our salad course, Jim and Holly from A Blooming Hill Vineyard came in and we had a nice chat with them, after Jim gave me a hard time for wearing a tie!

I had a really nice ribeye steak and Rachel had the most tender duck she'd ever eaten. We finished off with a delicious brownie ice cream sundae. Between the food and seeing our winemaker friends, it was a very memorable meal, and I'd certainly eat at April's again. We got back to the motel and I dropped Rachel off near the room before parking the car. As I walked up toward the room, she shouted out "hola!" to me across the parking lot. Didn't I say there were fewer drunks at this motel??

We woke up on Sunday to wind and rain, but fortunately the temperature was in the upper 30's to lower 40's so it was more like we're used to at the coast in February. We packed up and checked out and were at the festival shortly before 10:00. Sunday is my favorite day of the festival because it's far less crowded, and the attendees are mostly older and not so crazy. We usually save our favorite wineries until Sunday so we can get a chance to chat with people in a less hurried atmosphere. Our first stop was to see Dyson Demara at Hillcrest. Faithful readers may recall that Hillcrest was planted by Richard Sommer in 1961 and is Oregon's oldest modern winery. Dyson has kept the operation small enough to be completely run by him and his family, allowing him to tune the winemaking to the peculiarities of any given vintage. The result is an ever changing range of styles and some very good wine. Dyson has seemingly done it all and seen it all in his years of working in the wine industry at some well-known California wineries and now Hillcrest, and we ended up chatting with him for nearly an hour.

Our next stop was back at Palotai (now called Tesoaria) to see John Olson. John took over the winery from Gabor Palotai about 6 years ago and is producing consistently good wines using a wide range of grape varieties. He's also one of the friendliest people you'd ever want to meet. He has a wonderful bright white blend called Bella Bianca that is very similar to our beloved Mingle from A Blooming Hill. He also has a fun Rosé of Merlot that is perfect for sipping on a warm summer day. I already mentioned the great Barbera, and he has a whole lineup of other great wines that range from a pure simple Dolcetto to a powerful Bordeaux blend.

Usually we finish our Sunday tasting shortly after noon and head home, stopping for lunch along the way. This year, we were on a roll and decided to stay longer and eat at the festival. Rachel found some excellent sushi (although we have yet to find a wine that works with sushi) and I had a nice (and very warm) crab and asparagus chile relleno. We finished up a bit more tasting and were on the road around 2:00. It was pouring rain as we went through the coast range, but fortunately the temp never dropped below about 38, so there was no snow or ice. We got home around 4:00.

So, another excellent year. A lot of so-so wine, but also some very good wine. We had a great time chatting with the winemakers, and had a really nice time at April's (both the food and the company). So, even though the general level of wine at this event isn't all that great, there are enough high points that we'll be back next year. After all, what's winter on the Oregon coast without the Newport Seafood and Wine Festival?

Tasting Notes:

Seufert:

Woven White - A nice, slightly sweet white table wine. Nothing special, but good.

06 Pinot-licious - Nice 06 Pinot. Good fruit, but not overly fruity as some entry level 2006s can be.

Syrah - Decent WA Syrah, nothing special.

06 Barrel select Pinot Noir - More structured, but not all that interesting.

07 Johan Vineyard Pinot Noir - Good 07, nice structure and extraction.

Late Harvest wine - mostly Chardonnay(!) Sweet but well-balanced.

South Stage Cellars:

09 Serendipity Marsanne/Roussanne blend. Good varietal representation, not bad.

07 Alchemy - Tempranillo, Camenere, Cab Sauv. Meh, nice fruit but slightly bitter.

09 Early Muscat - crisp and clean, 1.5% RS, not quite enough acid to balance the sugar.

Pudding River:

09 Riesling - Bright and acidic with a touch of sweetness. Very nice.

09 Pinot Gris - crisp, nice fruit with a touch of RS (0.6%)

07 Viognier - crisp and acidic with a bit of spice. Very nice.

08 Willamette Valley Chardonnay - 100% new French oak, very nice oaking, still crisp.

07 Reserve Chardonnay - Neutral oak and sur lies, gentle oaking but still present.

06 Pinot Noir - Warm, structured, slightly smokey.

08 Pinot Noir Pommard clone - Bright strawberry fruits, very short finish but quite interesting.

Mark's Ridge Winery:

09 Gewurztraminer - Sweet with a bit of spice. Not enough acid.

09 Riesling - Sweet, fairly thin, not enough acid.

07 Pinot Noir - some structure, not bad.

08 Pinot Noir - bright fruit, very smooth, not much structure.

09 Ladybug Rosé of Pinot Noir - fizzy, bright, and dry. Not bad.

Cubanisimo:

09 Rosato - Interesting, some yeastiness, not bad.

08 Willamette Valley PN - Thin and forgettable. May have been the cold temps.

09 Pinot Noir Rumba - Thin and forgettable.

08 Pinot Noir Estate - Thin and forgettable.

Macindoe:

08 Melon de Bourgogne - Wow, we thought this was sold out. Beautiful crisp, dry and fruity white wine. Goes with everything.

09 Rousanne - very smooth mouth feel, but not enough acid.

08 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley - too cold to taste much

08 Pinot Noir Eola-Amity - too cold to taste much, seemed to have nice fruit and structure.

Sweet Gewurztraminer - Ice wine style, slightly too sweet but very nice and interesting.

Slagle Creek:

08 Chardonnay - nicely oaked with rich mouth feel, maybe slightly sweet?

07 Claret (Best of Show) - Fruity and smooth, but really wasn't showing well in the cold temps.

08 Merlot - smooth, very varietal.

07 Tempranillo/Cab Sauv blend (a Super Rioja?) - a bit rough but tasty.

07 Syrah - very nice, not over fruity, N. Rhone style.

Bowlus Hills (Zerba 2nd label):

07 Syrah - nice WA syrah, warm and "burnt"

07 Cab Sauv - reasonably good WA cab, decent fruit.

J Scott Cellars:

10 Pinot Blanc - very nice, crisp with good fruit.

09 Viognier - not much spice, ok

09 Pinot Noir - too cold to tell

08 Syrah - nice fruit, warm climate syrah w/o bitterness.

09 Petite Sirah - Dark color, good fruit.

09 Petite Sirah Port - Warm, rich, chocolate notes

Noble Estate:

10 Riesling - too sweet, not enough acid

10 Sparkling Muscat - nice sweet easy drinker, Like Kramer Celebrate, but slightly too sweet.

08 Syrah - nice fruit, smooth, not a fruit bomb

07 Merlot - smooth with good varietal characteristics

08 Cab Sauv - typical So. Oregon cab, nothing special.

Milbrant:

09 Riesling - not enough acid, fairly thin.

Capitello:

NV Brut - Dry, crisp, very slightly yeasty, quite good.

09 Pinot Gris (NZ) - silky with yeastiness, crisp.

09 Sauv Blanc - Ripe bell pepper, spicy, very aromatic. Great.

08 Pinot Noir (NZ) - Good and structured.

08 Pinot Noir (OR) - Classic OR 08, very nice but too young at this point.

08 Succession Pinot Noir - Warm, spicy, long finish, dark fruits.

09 Riesling (late) - Not too sweet, very drinkable, not just a dessert wine, 6.5% RS, would pair well with spicy food.

09 Dolcino - very good, maybe a bit too heavy and sweet, but not cloying.

Melrose:

09 Sauv Blanc - nice floral notes, somewhat thin.

09 Riesling - off dry (~2% RS), nice fruit but a bit thin

07 Pinotage - warm, simple, with a long finish

09 Dolcetto - simple, very nice example of a Dolcetto

06 Merlot - smooth older Merlot, somewhat subdued fruit.

06 Syrah - nice smooth warm climate Syrah

07 Equinox - very interesting blend, warm, long finish, some complexity.

07 Baco Noir - nice big, simple, fruity Baco.

Stangeland:

09 Tempranillo Rosé - deep and interesting for a rosé, not bitter, quite nice.

08 Gewurztraminer - a bit weak but nice spice and flavor

08 Tempranillo - nice fruit but a bit of a harsh edge

Agate Ridge:

09 Sauv Blanc - good fruit, floral aromatics, but not quite "there"

09 Viognier - very nice, varietally correct, a bit of spice.

Sweet Semillon - 12% RS but very well balanced. A nice wine.

08 Primativo - smooth and easy, warm, nice finish, not over the top fruit

08 Cascade Terrace Red - nice red table wine.

07 Petite Sirah - dark inky color, smooth, no bitterness, medium long finish

Silvan Ridge:

08 Riesling - OK, not great.

09 Sparkling Muscat - crisp, less sweet than some

07 Rogue Red - smooth smoky blend of cab, merlot, and syrah

07 Syrah - very nice So. Oregon Syrah, warm fruits, not bitter

Pyrenees:

09 Gewurztraminer - nice and spicy

06 Pinot Gris - smooth, lightly oaked

09 Chardonnay - crisp with nice oak, nice acid

08 Syrah - very nice, pepper, clean, good fruit

06 Cab Sauv - Typical So. OR cab, nice but nothing special from the wine lake

09 Meritage - Simple, not that well integrated

Purple Cow:

09 Muscat - Crisp and clean with a bit of sweetness, better than the 08.

0? Primativo - fruity like a good Zin, maybe a bit hot.

0? Teroldego - big, warm, and fruity with a nice finish

Girardet:

09 Pinot Gris - excellent fruit, crisp and clean

0? Chadonnay - fruity but a bit over oaked for me

14 Vines - field blend, ok, but without much character. Basic red wine.

09 Zinfandel - fruity, but not opulent like a big CA Zin

08 Pinot Noir - OK, pretty typical So. OR Pinot

09 Baco Noir - Some fruit but a bit harsh and bitter. Disappointing.

0? Cab Suav - very nice example of a So. OR cab, some fruit, smooth

Ice Gewurztraminer - nice. not quite enough acid, but not overly sweet

Hillcrest:

We tasted through all of Dyson's lineup during the hour we chatted, and I didn't take detauled notes. They're all good, and here are a few notes:

06 Right Bank - nice cab/merlot Bdx blend

07 Phenom - Nice, warm and structured Cab Sauv.

07 Gabor - Petite Sirah named after Dyson's friend Gabor Palotai who has moved to Ecuador with a woman he met online. What a character! Deep and rich Petite Sirah.

06 Zinfandel 1888 - Nice fruity Zin.

07 Cab Franc NONIHC - "Chinon backwards, this is a good smooth, rich Cab Franc

08 Chardonnay Les Charmes - crisp, minerals, almost a Chablis style.

08 Riesling Bone Dry - crisp, but could use a little sweetness

09 Late Harvest Riesling - perhaps a bit too sweet or not enough acid for us.

Can't remember the name, but it was made to go well with Fois Gras. Very nice sweet wine.

Crate Lake Cellars:

Merlot 29 - Amarone-style Merlot, rich.

09 Grenache - nice rich Grenache, only 12.5% ABV, nice fruit.

08 Syrah - smooth, good fruit, tastes like cool climate Syrah (but isn't), clean.

Emerson:

09 Riesling - slightly sweet, nice fruit, not quite enough acid

09 White Pinot Noir - clean, but slightly bitter.

09 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley - Good well executed

09 Pinot Noir Avelina - Earthiness, forest floor, complex

NV Brother Red - Good basic table wine, but more interesting than some due to the multiple variety of grapes.

Palotai/Tesoaria:

We tasted through most of John's lineup and again I didn't take great notes - too busy enjoying our chat. Here are a few notes:

10 Bella Bianca - white blend that tastes bright and clean, similar to Mingle.

10 Bella Rosa - Fun slightly sparkling Rosé of Merlot

09 Attila - Barbera, great fruit with an interesting finish

06 Attila - Merlot, Cab, and Malbec, nice and smooth

09 Bull's Blood - Didn't write notes, but remember it as very good.

05 Syrah - no notes

Cardwell Hill:

Their Pinot Noir has gotten consistently good scores over the past couple of years, but I've not been all that excited about it. This time, it was too cold to really tell much about it.

10 Pinot Gris - Not bad, but not enough acid

07 Pinot Noir Reserve - Nice structure, some smokiness

08 Pinot Noir Reserve - Lots of oak, nice fruit but somewhat restrained

08 Pinot Noir Estate - Good fruit, light, nice

09 Pinot Noir Estate - Really too cold to tell, young, subtle fruit

Misty Oaks:

08 Pinot Blanc - crisp, flavorful, fruity, some oak.

09 Pinot Gris - crisp, slightly bitter

07 Gobbler's Knob - Very tannic, ok but nothing special

08 Malbec - very tannic but with good fruit, black pepper

Valley View:

06 Syrah - good but not exceptional, Didn't jump out at us.

0? Tempranillo - fruity but with a bitter edge

0? Cab Sauv - Typical So. OR cab, nothing special

Methven:

Always great to talk to Will.

09 Riesling - crisp, but not quite as intense as we remembered (too cold?)

07 Pinot Noir Estate - Nice, with dark fruit and good extraction

0? Pinot Gris - nice, crisp

Valentine's Day Weekend Wine Tasting

Valentine's Day weekend has turned into somewhat of a big tasting weekend among Oregon wineries - not as big as Memorial Day or Thanksgiving, but many wineries open their doors to the public or hold special events. On Saturday, Rachel was officiating at a high school district swim meet (Tim was swimming), so I headed out on my own. It's less fun going wine tasting by yourself, but a lot better than not going at all.

My first stop was a port and chocolate tasting at a new restaurant in Dundee - Farm to Fork. We've not yet eaten there, but certainly plan to soon. The menu features fresh local ingredients and an extensive wine list. Today however, a representative from Kopke was there to sample Port. Each port was paired with chocolate made by Cocoa Velvet, a Portland-based chocolate maker. The Ports ranged from a ruby and a tawny, to a 10 year vintage-style port to an amazing "Century Port" made using a solera system over 100 years old. It was very good, but very expensive.

I then headed back north into Carlton to Scott Paul Wines where Scott Wright was pouring Burgundy from cult wine superstar Lucien Le Moine. It's rare to even find this wine available for sale, much less open for a tasting, so I wasn't going to miss it. All the wines were from the 2007 vintage. We started out with a (white) Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières 1er Cru which was sharp, crisp and very minerally. I really enjoy white Burgundy with it's often austere fruit and great acid. Next it was a Chambolle-Musigny les Charmes 1er Cru with darker fruit and earther, toasty tones. The Vosne-Romanée Beaux Monts 1er Cru was brighter and fresher with more light fruits, while the Pommard Grands Epinots 1er Cru was fruitier and riper. Finally, the Echézeaux Grand Cru was amazingly earthy and complex. Scott said it would be much better in a few years, but I thought it was drinking pretty well now. All the wines except 1 were over $100 a bottle, so while it was wonderful to taste them, I didn't get anything. Scott was also tasting through his own wine and a few Burgundies from his normal lineup, and I ended up going home with a couple bottles of the newly released 2007 vintage of his flagship Pinot Noir La Paulée. It's a great restrained and elegant Oregon Pinot. Interestingly, the Lucien Le Moine wines were sold out before I left, so anyone who came later in the day missed out on the tasting.

Next it was off to Penner-Ash for a vertical tasting of their Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Penner-Ash makes some very nice wines, and they also have some of the best events at their winery, usually paired with some really nice food. I started out with their 2008 Viognier which Rachel and I tried at Thanksgiving. It is an excellent example of a Viognier with good acidity and a spicy finish. Next it was on to the 3 vintage vertical - 2006, 2007, and 2008. The 2006 was of course the biggest and ripest of the bunch, while the 2007 was more restrained and elegant. The 2008 was a surprise since I had been expecting more fruit than the '07. It was also fairly light with bright strawberry and not quite the earthiness of the 2007. Of the 3, the '07 was my favorite. Finally, their 2006 Syrah. They source the fruit for this wine from the Rogue and Columbia valleys and it's a fine example of warm climate Syrah, although I much prefer the pepper and spice of cool climate Syrah myself.

My last stop of the day was Styring, a family-owned winery that Rachel and I had been to over Memorial Day weekend a couple of years ago. Our impression at the time was very nice people, pretty average wine, and today's visit reinforced that impression. The Styring family and their staff are all very nice people and made me feel very welcome. They were serving 5 wines, each paired with a snack. The first was their 2008 Pinot Gris paired with Prosciutto and melon (the fruit, not the varietal). The Gris was well made with pretty good acidity. Next was their 2006 "Signature" Pinot Noir with Italian Truffle cheese, and then the 2006 "WIT" Pinot Noir with black truffle oil and bread. This PN was pretty good, although a bit too big and fruity for my taste. They then poured their new 2007 Cab Sauv from the Columbia Valley and paired that with Champignon cheese and chocolates (always a nice pairing!). The wine was tannic and slightly bitter, but that may soften over time. Finally, they poured the 2004 "Afterglow" dessert wine - a wonderfully balanced sweet Riesling. This was paired with assorted tea cakes and was the best wine of the bunch.

On Sunday Rachel joined me after church as we headed out to some old friends and something new. We started with our own local winery, David Hill, which is literally about a 5 minute drive up the hill from our house. Every year they do a chocolate, Pinot and Port tasting featuring hand made chocolates by the tasting room manager Michele, and of course their great wines. This year they paired different chocolate offerings with one of their 2006 Reserve Pinot Noir, the wonderful 2006 Merlot, Jason's new Ruby port and the usual muscat port. All were excellent, although I thought that the muscat was slightly bitter by itself. However, it was an amazing pairing with Michele's chocolate with Grand Marnier.

We weren't sure where we wanted to go next, so we headed south toward the Dundee Hills (there's always good wine there!). We had tried Winderlea wines a couple of years ago just after they'd bought the old Goldschmidt vineyard and built their tasting room. At the time, we weren't very impressed, but wanted to go back and try them again since we know that great wine can come from that vineyard. Today they were pairing gourmet cupcakes with the Pinot and the tasting room was quite crowded. We found a spot at the bar that turned out to be right next to some swim parents that Rachel knew from another swim club. They were out tasting also, and we had a nice chat with them while we tasted. We started out with a wonderful 2007 Chardonnay - lightly oaked with great fruit (apple and tropical fruit) and good acidity - yum! This was followed by 3 Pinot Noirs, all of which were really quite nice. Either our palates had changed since we last tasted their wines, or the wine has improved. The 2007 Ana vineyard PN was earthy with red fruit, the 2007 Winderlea Estate PN was fairly light with subtle fruit, and the 2008 Dundee Hills PN had a hint of earthiness and bright red fruits. We discovered that their winemaker is Robert Brittan, whose own label PN we had tasted and liked at the Carlton Winemaker's Studio in January (oops, I forgot to write a blog entry about that!). All in all, a very pleasant surprise. By the way, we saved the cupcakes for the boys.

Just down Worden Hill Road from Winderlea is Crumbled Rock Winery, a relatively new kid on the block. The Juliard Vineyard has been producing great Pinot grapes for years and had been under contract to Dick Erath, but in 2007, the owners decided to build a small winery and start making wine commercially. 2007 was their first vintage under their own label, and it was pretty good. We also got to barrel taste the 2008, and I think it's going to be excellent. We'll be back once they've released it. Because they only had the one wine, they invited 2 other vineyard owners to come taste with them - Deux Vert and Cleo's Hill. We've been drinking wine made from Deux Vert grapes for years (Elemental Cellars and Roots to name a couple) and it was fun to meet the vineyard owners Mike and Patty Green. Mike was tasting a Melon de Bourgogne made by Macindoe Family Cellars, and was looking for the usual confusion on our faces when he mentioned the grape variety. Instead, we looked pleased, and said "OK, great." "You are familiar with Melon??" he said incredulously. We explained that we very much enjoyed Melon, and had tried various wines from Elemental Cellars, De Ponte, Panther Creek, and Roots. He was floored and took an instant liking to us. He meets one person every few months who has ever even heard of the grape, much less fans. Anyway, the wine was fantastic - crisp and acidic with nice clean fruit. His wife was also making Tempranillo from grapes on their property (another of our favorite varietals) and we tried both the 2007 and 2008. Both were great, but the 2008 was a standout with spice and pepper. We'll definitely make it a point to attend any upcoming events at their vineyard (they promised tapas in the vineyard this summer - how cool would that be!). The other vineyard making their own wine was Cleo's Hill. I could swear we've tasted them before, maybe at 12th and Maple, or somewhere else, but I couldn't remember. The vineyard owner said that we looked familiar to her, but she couldn't remember where either. They had a couple of very nice Pinot Noirs also. It's always so much fun to talk to the grape growers themselves, and we had a fantastic time here.

Our last stop of the day was Vista Hills - one of the most beautiful tasting rooms in the Willamette Valley. We've has their wine a couple of times, and it was good, but not great. They have their wine made by several different winemakers including Laurent Montalieu, Michael Stevenson of Panther Creek, and Isabelle Dutartre of De Ponte. Most of their Pinot Noirs that we've tasted made by Laurent have an incredible nose, nice mid-palate, and almost no finish (where did it go?), although today they had a bit longer finish. Michael's wines were all very good, but the surprise of the day was the last wine that wasn't even on the tasting list. We can usually build a pretty good rapport with the pourer if he or she knows anything about wine, and we had a great talk with the guy here. He told us he had one more wine that wasn't on the list that he'd be happy to let us try. It was their 2007 Saga Hills Pinot Noir, and it was wonderful - big and fruity for an '07, but very structured and well balanced with a long finish. We figured it was another of Michael's wines, but it turned out to have been made by Isabelle from De Ponte. This was surprising because we just haven't been all that impressed by De Ponte wines in the past, so we may need to go back and taste again sometime. With a trunk full of wine and smiles on our faces, we headed home.

Today was a day of pleasant surprises. We had expected David Hill to be good, and it was, but the other wineries all turned out better than expected. Winderlea and Vista Hills were places that we had visited in the past and had come away with our socks still on our feet, but today both exceeded expectations, and we'll no doubt be back again. Crumbled Rock, however, was easily the high point of the day - friendly people who are passionate about what they do, and some really nice wine. It was such a pleasure to talk with the Greens from Deux Vert, and we're really looking forward to Crumbled Rock's 2008 PN.

What to do while the rest of the family is swimming?

OK, I admit it - swim meets are not my favorite way to spend a weekend. This weekend was the big Hawaii Five-O swim meet sponsored by our local swim club, so Rachel and Josh were busy working the meet all weekend, and Tim was swimming like a maniac (6 personal best times out of 6 events!). Fortunately, several local wineries were also having special events this weekend, so I was able to keep myself out of too much trouble!

First up on Saturday was the 2008 Chardonnay release party at Sejourne winery. They are a relatively new winery in the Willamette Valley owned by Kevin and Robyn Howard specializing in Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay. Kevin is also a principle in their family winery, Zenas in Carlton. Their estate vines are only a couple of years old, so they are sourcing fruit from other vineyards as they wait for their vines to mature. Here are my notes from the 4 wines they were tasting:

2008 Pinot Gris - very crisp and clean with good fruit. Would go well with mild seafood such as oysters, scallops, or simply prepared white fish.

2008 Chardonnay - this is touted as "no malo, no oak" and is also very crisp and clean with the fruit coming through very clearly. Somewhat more subtle than the Pinot Gris, this reminds me somewhat of a typical Chablis.

2006 Vidon Vineyard Pinot Noir - a dark and earthy Pinot with dark fruits, but not so earthy as those from Calkins Lane.

2006 Del Rio Syrah - A pretty classic southern Oregon Syrah, this one is very nicely done.

By the way, they made a killer rose at Sejourne that we bought last year, but they have sold out of it now. Today (Sunday) was warm and beautiful, and we had our first BBQ of the season - red sauce chicken with grilled brussels sprouts and zucchini. We popped open the bottle of Sejourne rose, and it was the perfect accompaniment to the meal as we dined on the deck.

After Sejourne, I headed in to Carlton. Scott Paul Winery was releasing their 2007 Audrey Pinot Noir and having an open house to celebrate it. In addition to their own Oregon Pinot Noir, Scott Wright also runs a Burgundy import business, and brings in some really nice Burgundies from several small producers. Burgundy is complex, and I'm still having a hard time keeping track of the various producers, vineyards, and wines. Today Scott and the staff were pouring 4 wines: 3 Burgundies, and of course the Scott Paul Audrey.

2007 Frederic Gueguen Village Chablis - very crisp and simple, with pure minerals. Done in 100% stainless.

2006 Domaine Thibert Pere & Fils St. Veran Champ Rond - We've purchased this wine before and I really like it. Very obvious notes of honey with a smooth vanilla finish. Apparently honey is a dead giveaway that it's a St. Veran.

2006 Domaine Aleth Girardin Pommard Vignots - A rich powerful Burgundy typical of Pommard, although very well balanced.

2007 Scott Paul Audrey - This is the first time I've tasted the Audrey, and it's really special. This wine is a barrel selection of Scott's favorites exclusively from their blocks at Maresh vineyard. Great extraction and depth, especially for an '07. Dark fruit with some minerals and a nice long finish. Silky smooth tannins.

The last event of the day was a barrel tasting and desert reception at David Hill Winery. Fortunately, Rachel was able to leave the swim meet a little early and join me for the fun at the winery.

We started off in the winery itself as Jason (winemaker) and Michele (tasting room manager) poured the current release of their Pinot Blanc. This is a nice acidic wine which should pair nicely with a variety of foods. This vintage (2007) was done completely in stainless, and Jason wanted to try something different, so he fermented the '08 Pinot Blanc in neutral oak. He pulled a sample of this out of the barrel to taste. It was quite different from the 2007 - it had a smoother mouth feel and a distinct oak flavor. It was good, but I prefered the clean crispness of the 2007.

Next up, we got to try samples of the BlackJack Pinot Noir. This wine is made from some of the oldest Pinot Noir vines in Oregon. Most everyone who knows anything about Oregon Pinot Noir has heard of David Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards, aka "Papa Pinot" who brought Pinot Noir vines to Oregon in 1965 and started the Oregon Pinot revolution. What most people don't know is that Charles Coury came up from California shortly before David Lett and planted Pinot Noir at what is now the site of David Hill. The BlackJack Pinot is made from block 21 (get it? 21 - BlackJack...) of the vineyard from some of those original vines. This is a deep and earthy wine that is aged in something like 60% new oak. Our first sample was the 2008 from a French oak barrel. For such a young wine it was amazingly deep and complex. I suspect this is going to be quite a wine when it's released in a couple of years. To show us the difference a year can make, we next sampled the 2007 BlackJack from a similar French oak barrel. It was obviously a more mature wine with a more complex mid-palate and a longer finish. However, 2007 was a cooler vintage, especially near harvest, and this wine was lighter and more subtle.

Next, to show the difference the barrel can make, Jason pulled a sample of the 2007 BlackJack from a Hungarian oak barrel that he's trying. The nose on this one was almost non-existant, but it had a richer mid-palate with more oakiness. If I had to choose between the 2, I'd probably go for the sample in the French oak, but I think the addition of that one Hungarian oak barrel into the mix is going to make this a more interesting wine.

We then moved on to a sample of port. The current release of the Tawny Port is the last wine still being sold that was made by the previous winemaker. Jason doesn't care for the Tawney Port style, and gave us a sample of his vintage-style port (barrels kept topped up, less oxidation) and it was very good. I prefer a vintage-style over the tawney or ruby, and I think this is going to be a nice wine.

With the official tasting over, most folks moved up to the house for the desert and music. Jason was willing to hang out and answer questions, and a pretty good crowd stayed for that. During that time, he pulled a sample of the new Farmhouse Red from a tank for us to taste. This is one of the best $10 wines out there, and this new release promises to be a great one. Lots of Sangiovese as usual, but a higher percentage of Merlot and Petit Verdot gives this a little more structure and backbone.

We then headed up to the house to enjoy some of Michele's desert creations, port, and live music with the Dick Lappe band. We'd heard these guys before at David Hill, and I could listen to them all day. Dick Lappe is a big fan of Gordon Lightfoot, so they play a lot of his material, including a dead-on rendition of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. There were also some great folk songs including City of New Orleans and Wabash Cannonball. Michele's deserts were great too. How cool is it to live just 5 minutes from the David Hill winery? Good wine, fun people, and a beautiful setting - it's hard to beat.

First Wednesday in Forest Grove

When we first moved to Forest Grove back in 1991, the joke was "Where do you go for good food in Forest Grove? Beaverton!" Fortunately, that's no longer true, and after our dash through downtown for First Wednesday we have always face the enviable dilemma of figuring out which of the several fine restaurants we'll patronize.
But I'm getting ahead of myself, since this post is really about First Wednesday. For over a year now, downtown businesses have stayed open late on the first Wednesday of each month to host wineries, artists, and writers, provide munchies, and generally put on an open house. During the summer months, it also coincides with the weekly farmers market where one can buy all manner of fresh produce, crafts, and other local goods. Of course my favorite part is the wine tasting. We usually get between 6 and 12 wineries to offer tasting at local businesses each month. Most are very local (within 10 miles), but every so often we get one from further down the Willamette Valley.
This month we had 6 wineries and a brewery: Sake One, Plum Hill, A Blooming Hill, Montinore, David Hill, Archery Summit, and Off the Rails brewery. We tasted through four of them:

A Blooming Hill - This is a new winery that just got bonded last year. They haven't even released any wine yet - they were just offering barrel samples. However, from what we tasted, they are one to watch. They had 2 wines to sample: a white blend and a Pinot Noir. The white blend is called Mingle and consists of Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, and Riesling. I thought the nose was a bit off-putting, bur Rachel claimed it was fine. However the taste was wonderful - bright and crisp with notes of peach and strawberry; Rachel said it tasted "shiny." It seems like the perfect wine for sipping on a hot summer day. It will be released later this spring. They also had a 2008 Pinot Noir that they were sampling. It was obviously still young, but I could taste a lot of potential underneath the fruit. It had some smokiness and minerality in addition to bright fruit. I can't remember when they said it might be released, but certainly not before this fall.

Archery Summit - Archery Summit is well known for high priced, high end Pinot Noir, so we were a little surprised (but pleased) to see that they were coming to First Wednesday. Unfortunately they only brought one wine - their 2007 Premier Cuvee. It had the dark, rich nose typical of Dundee Hills Pinots, and was very light in color. It was good, but not terribly complex or interesting.

David Hill - Will was pouring a whole bunch of David Hill wines at the Wine Behren, all of them good. We started with the slightly sweet Gewurztraminer, moved on the the Pinot Gris (also slightly sweet) and then to the Riesling (crisp and acidic). We also tried the Muscat, which I sure we must have tasted before, but couldn't remember. It was slightly sweet (about 4% RS according to Will), but Rachel and I both thought it either too sweet or not sweet enough. Perhaps it's best consumed with food! We skipped the Barrel Select Estate Pinot Noir - we have several bottles of it, and think of it as an everyday Pinot. It's good, not great, but a good value. We then tasted the Tempranillo which we like so much. However, on the first sip, something was wrong. The residual Muscat did some nasty things to the Temp! We had some bread and cheese to cleanse our palates, and tried again - much better. This is some wonderful fruity Tempranillo with a long, lingering finish. We finished up with the 2006 Merlot Reserve - one of our favorite Merlots - it didn't disappoint.

Montinore - This is another local Forest Grove winery that we tried a few years ago. The wine was OK, some better than others, but we weren't that impressed. However, over the past year, they've come to First Wednesday several times and the wine has gotten considerably better. The new owners have really taken an interest in the quality of the wine, and it shows. They brought 2 wines with them - an almost dry Riesling which was very crisp and refreshing, and their 2007 Estate Pinot Noir. 2007 was a tough vintage in Oregon, and many of the Pinots are fairly light in both color and flavor. Montinore did a great job with their '07 which had a nice depth of flavor and enough complexity to be interesting. Not great, but darn good for a $19 bottle of Pinot and quite a value.

Oh yes, about dinner - to our own surprise, we ended up at McMenamin's. It was one of the first decent restaurants in the FG area, but we'd grown somewhat tired of it and had quit eating there after many of the other restaurants openned. However, I was in the mood for a calzone, and they do make a nice one there. Rachel had a salmon sandwich with sweet potato fries. Their beer is just OK, but they did have a very nice Irish stout on nitro which I enjoyed with my meal.