I fell in love with this winery by chance. We stumbled upon it a year ago and never looked back. It is a fabulous winery with fantastic reasonably priced wines. Purple Cow comprises over half of my "for drinking" wine cellar. Although I intend to lay a few down, I think these wines a perfect for drinking now and enjoying. The winery is a home for some of Forest Grove's most eclectic wine drinkers and the winemakers/owners want to keep it that way. They are down to earth, head out of the clouds, feet on the ground, good people. The wines are so good I'd even share these with friends and family, well maybe not the Gabby (you'll learn about that one later).
Wine: The wine is wonderful! We love their Tempranillo. There is a reserve and the Elena Edition. Both are fantastic! I really love the 2005 just released, but can't wait until December to get my hands on the 2004!!! Now, my fiance and I have a debate over their whites every time we drink them. He's leans towards more acidic wines than I do, so he prefers the Muscat, I prefer the Chardonnay. When you actually break down the Chards they have released, I prefer the 2006 to the 2005. The winemaker, Jon Armstrong, told us that the 2005 is significantly more acidic too.
Vineyards: As you come onto the property, there they are, the Marechal Foch. Cute little red grapes that make me very happy. The Foch is delicate and light bodied for mellow picnic drinking, there were only 25 cases made this year, and I have 1 of them :) . The vineyards surround the Armstrong Family's home, which is also the tasting room. They have mostly young vines, they are a young vineyard and have many new Tempranillo vines planted this summer. One of the vines took off and really showed her power in the vineyard. While her neighbors grew at a healthy rate through the season, she wasted no time and at harvest time had gargantuan clusters. They appear to use the native vegetation and grasses to induce water stress in the vineyard. Unlike the Dundee hills, the soils are rich and fertile. But the slopes lend themselves to limited agriculture, thus, the perfect vineyard site.
Tasting Room: Their tasting room is awesome, they are really relaxed and sometimes have a football game on. That's because it's their house! They don't have your typical bar, it's one my friend has at her home too. They have a great "staff," including Gallo and Matt, two very charismatic men you don't want to miss out on knowing, that are funny and down to earth people. They aren't pretentious about their wine, maybe that's why it's so good. They are about making good wine for good people, and they do a great job making it.
Service: Always fabulous, especially if you catch them having an event. For a small winery, they sure go all out for their events. I don't know any large winery that has as friendly a face and such great personality as a whole. They have more events than most wineries I know, and they have less than 10% of the case production of almost every other winery in the WV. They also serve Dublander cheese which is without a doubt my favorite cheese!!!
Something special: Everything...They actually plant Tempranillo up in Forest Grove! That's super cool, no one grows it north of Roseburg except them -- I think. They ferment their Muscat dry, they keep the membership low so it's pretty intimate at the events, they are very generous people, the list goes on and on. They are warm people and even when the day ends and they are technically closed, they are willing to chat with you and show anyone a great time. I wanted to include my details about the Gabriela wine here, because Gabby is a very, very special something. Gabby is a Cab Sav, Cab Franc blend that I could talk about for hours. It is a delicious combination and I think anyone who didn't get out there just to taste this wine is insane! You have to taste this wine twice to get the full effect. First taste it just on the tongue. Allow the wine to go straight back. It is so fruit sweet and feminine, that's predominantly the Cab Franc. Now for the second taste, chew it, swish it, get it everywhere in your mouth. The peppery power of the Cab Sav is now dominating and is soooo amazing! Gabby is named after Gallo's daughter, I think because she's sweet and packs a peppery power, but I've never met her so I'm going on Gallo's word ;)
***If you don't purchase your favorite wines when you're there, you'll be sorry. They are a true boutique winery and made only 600 cases of wine last year. If you sit on your hands you won't be able to get more next time. They have a small supply and a large following!!! So get out there and get your stash!***
Overall Wine Experience Score: 97
Stats: Purple Cow Vineyards
Address: 52720 NW Wilson School Rd. Forest Grove, OR 97116
Tasting room is open Saturdays 11am-5pm
Tasting Fee: $5
Website: purplecowvineyards.com
Wines: Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, Marechal Foch, Muscat, Chardonnay, GABBY
Wine: The wine is wonderful! We love their Tempranillo. There is a reserve and the Elena Edition. Both are fantastic! I really love the 2005 just released, but can't wait until December to get my hands on the 2004!!! Now, my fiance and I have a debate over their whites every time we drink them. He's leans towards more acidic wines than I do, so he prefers the Muscat, I prefer the Chardonnay. When you actually break down the Chards they have released, I prefer the 2006 to the 2005. The winemaker, Jon Armstrong, told us that the 2005 is significantly more acidic too.
Vineyards: As you come onto the property, there they are, the Marechal Foch. Cute little red grapes that make me very happy. The Foch is delicate and light bodied for mellow picnic drinking, there were only 25 cases made this year, and I have 1 of them :) . The vineyards surround the Armstrong Family's home, which is also the tasting room. They have mostly young vines, they are a young vineyard and have many new Tempranillo vines planted this summer. One of the vines took off and really showed her power in the vineyard. While her neighbors grew at a healthy rate through the season, she wasted no time and at harvest time had gargantuan clusters. They appear to use the native vegetation and grasses to induce water stress in the vineyard. Unlike the Dundee hills, the soils are rich and fertile. But the slopes lend themselves to limited agriculture, thus, the perfect vineyard site.
Tasting Room: Their tasting room is awesome, they are really relaxed and sometimes have a football game on. That's because it's their house! They don't have your typical bar, it's one my friend has at her home too. They have a great "staff," including Gallo and Matt, two very charismatic men you don't want to miss out on knowing, that are funny and down to earth people. They aren't pretentious about their wine, maybe that's why it's so good. They are about making good wine for good people, and they do a great job making it.
Service: Always fabulous, especially if you catch them having an event. For a small winery, they sure go all out for their events. I don't know any large winery that has as friendly a face and such great personality as a whole. They have more events than most wineries I know, and they have less than 10% of the case production of almost every other winery in the WV. They also serve Dublander cheese which is without a doubt my favorite cheese!!!
Something special: Everything...They actually plant Tempranillo up in Forest Grove! That's super cool, no one grows it north of Roseburg except them -- I think. They ferment their Muscat dry, they keep the membership low so it's pretty intimate at the events, they are very generous people, the list goes on and on. They are warm people and even when the day ends and they are technically closed, they are willing to chat with you and show anyone a great time. I wanted to include my details about the Gabriela wine here, because Gabby is a very, very special something. Gabby is a Cab Sav, Cab Franc blend that I could talk about for hours. It is a delicious combination and I think anyone who didn't get out there just to taste this wine is insane! You have to taste this wine twice to get the full effect. First taste it just on the tongue. Allow the wine to go straight back. It is so fruit sweet and feminine, that's predominantly the Cab Franc. Now for the second taste, chew it, swish it, get it everywhere in your mouth. The peppery power of the Cab Sav is now dominating and is soooo amazing! Gabby is named after Gallo's daughter, I think because she's sweet and packs a peppery power, but I've never met her so I'm going on Gallo's word ;)
***If you don't purchase your favorite wines when you're there, you'll be sorry. They are a true boutique winery and made only 600 cases of wine last year. If you sit on your hands you won't be able to get more next time. They have a small supply and a large following!!! So get out there and get your stash!***
Overall Wine Experience Score: 97
Stats: Purple Cow Vineyards
Address: 52720 NW Wilson School Rd. Forest Grove, OR 97116
Tasting room is open Saturdays 11am-5pm
Tasting Fee: $5
Website: purplecowvineyards.com
Wines: Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, Marechal Foch, Muscat, Chardonnay, GABBY
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