Wine Bid

So here is my safely guarded secret. I buy wines on WineBid.com. Okay, so not that big a secret, an easily Googled website. But it is a site where for $5 you can get a perfect bottle of Hanna 1986 Cabernet Sauvignon, properly stored in a wine cellar, and in excellent condition. I know because that's one I bought. (It was so heavenly, and if you've read even one post you know I don't grab for Cab often.) Wine Bid has realistic prices on iconic wines, and you run the same risk with Wine Bid that you do with any other wine purchase, maybe even less because dusty bottles at a bottle shop may not have been stored as well as you'd hope. Yes I had a corked bottle, one leaked in transit once, and sometimes the wines are too old. But I have dumped more expensive bottles from bottle shops and wineries for the same reasons. I have accumulated several bottles from my birth year and even my siblings birth years. It's fun to see the wine produced in the year I was born, some of us are aging very nicely I might add.

You can access Harlan, Sin Qua Non, Screaming Eagle and other cult wines here, but I find the "$25 and less category" to be a more realisticly priced treasure hunt.

So, now that I have shared my WineBid.com secret with you, I hope you check it out. And if you see someone has bid on the item by the name of "NatyE" DON'T BID, THAT'S ME!! !

Wine Tasting: Oswego Hills

This winery is housed in an old horse stable. The buildings have all been fixed up and painted bright white, everything looked so beautiful I felt I should have been wearing a big floppy hat and white gloves. The vineyards were very well groomed but because of the harvest year, there was a lot of dropped fruit.

Wine: They poured 14 of their 16 wien portfolio, if I counted properly. There was a Chardonnay and Syrah that were aged in American oak that were both really nice. The Oak was actually Oregon White Oak, a rare specie to be coopered I'm sure. The Marechal Foch was lacking, it had an unpleasent earthiness to it of wet forest floor but the floral nose was nice. It had beautiful color too. The big reds were all alright, we bought the Syrah but I think it needs another year before we'll open it. They had 3 ports, a Foch, a Petite Syrah and the Tempranillo that they were not pouring. The Foch was thin and more like a tawny port but the PS was smooth and had a hint of coffee to it. We purchase the PS and the Tempranillo. I hope the Temp is like the PS not the Foch for our party.

Vineyards: There was a lot of sacrificed fruit which makes me sad. The 2011 vintage will be a beautiful one but a small on in the Willamette Valley. Very nicely kept, the vines were tall but spaced narrow enough they probably hand pick.

Tasting Room: They have a different clientel. They are right outside of Lake Oswego and they don't charge for tasting. They had a lot of West Linners that just sit infrom of the tables so no one else can get to the next wine. I think they should reduce the number of wines and pour a full ounce of each, I never quite got a second taste of those ports. The number of people would probably have been more manageable if they were open more than just Sundays from noon to 5pm.

Service: The owners and winemaker are their pour staff. They were nice and had great information about the wine.

Something special: They have Moonstruck Chocolate make their logoed dark chocolate circles for pairing with the Foch, that was fun.

Overall Wine Experience Score: 75

Stats: Oswego Hills
Address: 6750 Breyman Orchards Rd. Dayton, OR 97114
Tasting room is open Sunday noon-5pm
Tasting Fee: Complimentary
Website: http://oswegohills.com/
Wines: Everything - Tempranillo Port, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Marechal Foch, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Syrah, Viognier, Zinfandel

Christmas in October!!!

I am such a dork, the UPS man just dropped off my wine.com wines and I couldn't wait for him to go away so I could squeal with delight over my new case of vino. This makes my second package of wine in as many days.

Working in the Oregon wine industry I drink a lot of Pinot. Not that this is a problem, on the contrary, love me some pinot. But I am determined to branch out and try some of the delicious stylings of other growing regions around the world. We love Tempranillo and hope to travel to Spain in the next 5 years to experience the Riojas of the Old World mpre studiously.

Back to my wine shipment though...

The man in brown brought me my case of 6 bottles that included 3 different Tempranillos from Spain. They weren't expensive bottles but they are all going to be poured this Saturday for our wine pairing event "Tamales & Tempranillo" we're having with friends.

The case included 4 bottles of Protocolo 2009 Tinto, rated 89pts by Wine Enthusiast and #2 on their 2011 Best Buys list ($7.99 at wine.com). I also bought 1 bottle of Montebuena 2009 Rioja (all Temp). Google is now telling me it was rated bt Robert Parker at 90pts, awesome! The last bottle is a Marques de Riscal 2006 Tempranillo. It sounded good in the description and I couldn't help but purchase one more bottle so I could get $10 off my shipment. So that one was really only another $.29. Oh the joys of wien buying.

Yesterday I also got a package from Quilceda Creek. My allocation finally came through this summer. If you're still on their waiting list, I signed up in the winter of 2009. I can't get the good stuff yet, just the "Red Wine" but only time will tell how long it takes at purchasing a few bottles of red wine each year.

On the Hunt!

We've been on the hunt for Tempranillo for months now. We've found that more than just Purple Cow in Forest Grove makes good Temps in the Willamette Valley.

Here are some of our findings:
Vidon - purchases from CA but it's beautiful. I wish they would have left their current release in the barrel a bit longer and maybe with a bit more new oak on the wine but with a few years I think this one will make me cry. Dave said they will be planting some Estate Temp this year or next year. Can't wait for that!

Stoller - we bought 3 bottles of their 2009 Estate Tempranillo over Memorial Weekend. I can't believe it, a Willamette Valley Estate Temp. We had one bottle on International Tempranillo Day, 9/1/11, and can't wait for a good day to start a fire in the living room, snuggle up with a blanket, the cat and a good chick flick. This wine warms my heart and I really should go back for a few more bottles before it's sold out. They have a one acre triangle on their estate that is west facing and, in my opinion, a perfect spot to grow Temp.

Oswego Hills - We had to buy their Temp Port just to try it. They only had a few cases so they weren't tasting it at the winery but we needed it for our Tempranillo tasting party on the 15th (more about that later).

Purple Cow - We always love their wine. We joined for the Marechal Foch, it was a varietal we knew nothing about but it tasted amazing and so different than the Pinots we'd been drinking. They will have their first Estate Tempranillo for the wine club this fall. We've been waiting for this for a long time now, we've watched the vines grow for several years and are so excited to taste the fruits of their labor. (Puns always intended.)

On October 15th I will be hosting a Tempranillo and Tamales dinner party for several of our wine and foodie friends. I promise to post about the party, I promise!!!

Going Mushrooming

We went mushrooming this morning and it was awesome!!! I can't believe I've never done this before. I can't wait to select a few wines to drink with these little beautiful fungi. I will post more details including recipes and pairing as we use them. They dry very nicely so I will be able to use them over the next few months to a year.

We're going wine tasting

My hubby and I don't go tasting nearly as often as we'd like to. But this weekend we're going to Oswego Hills and August Cellars to check out some local Marechal Foch wine, as well as their pinots of course. There are over 420 different wineries/labels in Oregon now. I can't believe how many have popped up in just the past few years. I think I'm going to have to start a check list to make sure we get out there to try as many of them as possible. So much wine so little time.

My apologies - Long Time, No Writing

My apologies to anyone who reads my blog, all 6 of you? I have had an insane year+ and my wine cellar has changed dramatically. So here's a quick catch up...

***

We are still members of Purple Cow Vineyards, we love their unique take on wines and ability to find crazy varietals. I no longer work for the winery I was working for when I thought I was a wine snob. I have since learned that it is much more important to drink wine that you love rather than what Bob Parker says is the be all and end all. I don't get much wine from Grocery Outlet but I do poke my nose in every once and a while just to see what's up. I've found a few gems in there, Woodbridge Port and a few Botrytis wines from Australia, but other than that I just get my goat cheese there anymore.

I have started working at another winery. I am the Direct Sales and Hospitality Manager. That means Tasting Room Manager but doesn't it sound pretty? I won't disclose the name of the winery, I'm not bias or anything. Don't get me wrong, I love the wine we serve and it's the reason I don't purchase a whole lot of other wine anymore. But since I am not the best of writers and I can me snarky, I don't want to put the winery I work for in the wrong light.

Hoepfully I will be able to write at least a blog post every month, especially with all of the wine tasting I'm able to do now that I don't work weekends all of the time.

Cheers!

Guilty Pleasure: Buying Bargain Wine

I like good wine, who doesn’t. If you had an endless supply of money you’d probably be sipping on reserve labels and vintage wines every day, even cooking with it. Maybe you can, but I certainly cannot. So every once and a while I take a detour on the way home from work and stop off at the local Grocery Outlet (Bargain Market).

I have found some real treasures there. My first great find was 2 years ago, a 2005 Johan Pinot Noir for $8.49, retail $25.99, at the winery here in the Willamette Valley it was in fact $27 at the time. I wish I would have gotten a few more of them because it was such a great deal for an ’05 Oregon Pinot. Probably not something I’d have paid retail for but a good value at $8.49.

Now, I don’t think the Marilyn Merlot wines are too spectacular, but my father gets a kick out of collecting them. So when I found a Norma Jean young merlot for $6.99, I had my Father’s Day present for him. That was 2 years ago and since then I’ve found 2 vintages of Marilyn Merlot and 3 vintages of the Norma Jean. All of which I buy 3, 1 for him, 1 for me, 1 to drink. Someday they may be worth their retail prices of $25-35.

I never thought I’d buy a case of $3.99 wine, but I never thought Crimson Wine Group or one of their distributors (who knows who it really was) would dump the Domaine Alfred line into the bargain market. When I saw DA Red I grabbed a bottle, bought it, ran out to my car to taste it, capped it then went in to the store and loaded up a case of it. I then proceeded to tell everyone in the wine aisle that this was a $16 wine (and who it’s new sister wineries in Oregon and California are). It is amazing, it is my go to Grey’s Anatomy-Thursday night wine and I will probably cry when I run out. I think I have 4 bottles left and I am rationing them out cautiously.

The really cool thing is that another wine from DA was there just a month ago or so. It was the 2006 Syrah, not as good as the 3.99 DA Red, but at $6.99 ($20+ value) still a great find.

I have had some fun tasting various vintages from the Barossa Valley and other parts of Australia on a tight budget in the past few months, but nothing I’d say is worth stocking up on. Especially if you’re not looking for daily drinking wine. Collectors need not waste time at GO, it is for drinking not saving.

Recently there have been more Oregon labels that have filtered into the mix but I am hesitant to really recommend grabbing them as I believe we are about to enter into a glut where Oregon Pinot Noir is no longer the sexy wine but the over abundant, easily accessed, and over rated wine that is on every shelf and no longer the premium choice for shee-shee. However, if you find a pinot that is a 2005 or 2008 from Oregon, you might find a tasty treat at a better than reasonable price.

(NOTE: You do have to be careful when buying wine at GO because it is a dumping ground. Domaine Alfred was being removed from circulation because they changed the name of the winery and ownership, but some wines are just dumped to get them gone. If there is dust on the label, the labels are banged up or somehow “just not right,” pass on it. Anything that seems too good to be true probably is. You’ll find a lot of $3.99-$9.99 wines but remember, but most of them really are only worth what you’re paying.

Cross Your Fingers For Us!

So the Willamette Valley has been blessed to be skipped by all of this crazy weather. However, we haven’t been below freezing since December. All of the vines, and other plants, are in their final stage of dormancy that is regulated by temperature. To stay dormant the temperature has to stay low. We are seeing a lot of trees pushing new growth and the vineyards may too.

This doesn’t sound like a big deal, but Oregon is known to have frost days up until mid May. If we get a cold snap and all of these vines start sprouting, we could see a dramatic decrease in yields. Of course for this blog I am most worried about the tasty goodness that is Willamette Valley wine, but we have a lot of nurserys in Oregon and if this does happen a lot of young and bare root trees could die as well.

So please, cross your fingers our good weather stays good through till May! I know it’s a lot to ask, but there is a lot at stake.

Wine & Religion

As a christian I find it absurd when people are confused that I drink wine, beer, and (God forbid) spirits. I think my friends are watching way too much Big Love on HBO and have too many JW's knocking on their doors. We aren't all black and white on alcohol. Here are some of my babblings on wine and it's many biblical references. (Read with a pinch of sarcasm and of course a glass of wine.)

We’ve all heard this story about Christ attending a wedding and the wine running out. So what did he do? He turned the water in to wine. Sure wine back in the early ADs was not your 14.5% alcohol, chewy big reds. Probably more along the lines of 3%, or at least just enough that it was safer to drink than water. Although if Christ was your bartender it probably was some of the early mutations of Pinot Noir with bright cherry flavor, soft tannins, full bodied, aged 4-6 years. I think he would have great taste in wine and shared his cellar openly with the happy couple and his friends.

But the connection wine has to the Christian faith goes beyond Christ’s social circle. It has been adapted through centuries of the faith. I am referring to Christians, is not meant to exclude Judaism or Mormons, but to talk about Christ is to accept that he is the Son of God, and the first example is about the star of the New Testament after all.

There are a few Christian religions that do not consume alcohol as a practice of their faith. However there are so many more that believe that God wants us to enjoy the fermentation of the fruits of our labors. Catholics believe you should have the blood of Christ running through your veins at all times by attending mass daily and taking Holy Communion. Most religions that practice communion use wine, even for the children. My First Communion was in 8th grade, for Catholics I think First Communion is in 4th grade. For Lutherans, Catholics, and probably other religions First Communion is a big deal. It was bigger than 8th grade graduation for those of us in private school.

Consumption of wine was very important from a health stand point in Biblical times too. Let’s think about it, wine has antiseptic properties (that God gave it). It would have been a way of decreasing parasites and reducing bacteria loads in the GI tract as there was very little running water in the Holy Land. Wine acts as a preservative, so does vinegar (a sad but still usable end to wine). God not only knew this, he created it.

The first wine makers for many countries were Monk’s, this is because of the fact that countries outlawed alcohol for consumption other than communion. This was usually because of the debauchery taking place throughout the world due to intoxicants.

You can see religion with wine every day (well probably for special occasions) when you see large formats. These bottle sizes are not just big and tasty, most of them were kings spoken about in historical references. Mostly in the Bible. Jeroboam was the first king of ‘Northern Kingdom.’ A Jeroboam is a 3.0 L bottle of wine. Methuselah was the oldest man in the Bible. It is also a 6.0 L bottle. And Balthazar was one of the 3 wisemen, he stand proudly at 12.0 L. There was also Nebuchadnezzar, Biblical King of Babylon and 15.0 L. Melchior, another wise man, 18.0 L. And Solomon, Son of David and King of Israel, the mac daddy of them all at 20.0 L. I do not find in any of my research that there was a competition as to who could have the largest bottle of wine named after them. . But somewhere along the way people named these large capacity vessels with religious icons and it stuck. In all practicality no one really uses anything bigger than a Jerobaum at the table. You’d need a pump and a decanter the size of a swimming pool for your Solomon, not to mention 100 years of aging.

So next time I ask for a glass of 7 Deadly Zins, please remember, Christians have a great sense of humor, at least we do if we have a great sense of our faith.

It's been a while...

Sorry to anyone who was reading my blog on a regular basis. Our world turned upside down in June. We got our new house and well, it is a fixer upper. We are currently working on fixing up our new home. Our precious free time is spent tiling a back splash, scrubbing away that great Oregon mold, finding contractors to fix the roof, down a tree in the back yard...blah, blah, blah. We've been busy.

It's been a lot of work and that glass of wine to calm the nerves in the evening is just what one needs to get through extensive home repairs during a recession and limited time.

I did want to throw out a few comments about home repairs and wine to help put a smile on your face as well:

- Wine + weeding the garden = fun, though a bit dizzy when you stand back up.
- Wine + hammer = OUCH! Unless you're tearing out a bathroom, in that case it's a lot of fun.
- Wine + watching a guy down a giant oak tree = FREAKING AWESOME!!! (It would be awesome sober too, but if you're having a really bad week, why bother.)

I will apologize for falling off the face of the world. I'll be trying to get up some new posts of wineries I've been able to pop in to in the past 6 months and other wine things.

Remember - don't whine, wine, it's more fun without the "H."

Cheers!

Hmmm...BBQ season

Yea! Memorial Weekend is here. Start up the barbe...wait, what wine are we going to drink?

This weekend calls for something much lighter than the Oregon Pinots I love to talk about so much. Hmm...we have to think of something else. Don't worry, I have a few ideas.

Here's a bubbly for you. 2005 Argyle Brut. It's a $30 blend of Oregon Chardonnay, Oregon Pinot Noir, and it's a sparkling. This comes from their Knudsen Vineyard which produces yummy pinots, but that's not the point. They say fresh aromas of pears and lemon meringue pie. But I think there's a hint key lime to it too. Perfect for if you're segwaying into margaritas later.

One we won't be drinking this weekend is the Eyrie Pinot Gris Estate. Well priced at under $20 at a bottle shop. We aren't drinking this because I don't like to share. Enough said. But if you find this, enjoy, it is tasty! I recommend it with a cedar plank salmon spritzed in lemon with fresh cilantro. Oh, now I'm hungry.

A wine we will be drinking this weekend (at home, just the two of us probably) tickles the sweet buds of my tongue just thinking about it. Elk Cove Ultima. The 2006 Ultima is a blend of mainly Riesling and Gewurztraminer but has a touch of Muscat to send it over the top with 26% residual sugar. I'll take that over ice cream sundays any day! Something you may have to get from the winery, but at $32 (375 mL) I'd have them send 2, one for 4th of July and one Labor Day, just to be on the safe side.

And now for a wine I wish I could drink this weekend...Archery Summit's Vireton Rose 2008. I have had the 2007 vintage Rose and if the 2008 is even half what that wine was I will be overjoyed. I think it will be even better to be honest. However...it isn't released until JUNE!!! Eh, will just have to get some for the 4th of July. This is a wine I would jump on, if their A-list doesn't clean them out first.

Saving a buck, or two, w/o buying Two Buck

I have been making a few lists lately... here's another.

The economy is effecting my wine buying habit, mainly in that I haven't bought any new wine in over a month, and those I have bought in recent months haven't been for aging but more for instant wine-ification. Costs are rising for everything, and my paycheck isn't. Rather than sacrifice food or put my poor cat Foch out in the cold, I have forgone the luxury of wine tasting weekends and splurging at restaurants.

In true snobbery I would never suggest you go out and buy 2Buck. Heavens no, those words would never cross my lips! (What kinds of wine snob would I be?) Here are some ways that I have dealt with the slow and low economy. Hopefully some of them will help you, or can inspire some creativity in your own budgeting matters.

1)What am I saving it for? Sometimes you say "I'm saving it for a special occasion." I'm not breaking out those bottles just yet. But, every now and then a bottle or two fall through the cracks, get hidden in the back or just forgotten on the bottom rack. Now’s the time to go through your stash and clear out anything you can’t remember why you’re saving it. Don't forget those white wines that were really fruity, if you wait too long they will be tired and lack luster too.

2) Have a wine tasting party! I love going wine tasting, or just going to a tasting at a wine bar or bottle shop. But if the $15-30 your local bar is charging is too steep for 6 ounces of wine, consider hosting your own tasting. You’re in it for the same $15-30, but this time there’s a bottle per person, or couple in our party’s case, and everyone brings their own pot luck tapas so you don’t have to pay the extra $20 on that cheese platter and olives. Our party was a hit, we did wines of the world. Every couple was responsible for 1 bottle of red wine from their region of the world. There were 5 wines. We had a Shiraz from Australia, Malbec to represent Chile, Pinotage from Africa, to represent the US we had a Syrah from Washington. Someone didn't read the rules right so the fifth was a German Riesling, and it was delish. Everyone had a great leisurely time and drank and ate their fill for cheaper than you could have gotten this tasting at any wine bar. (Added bonus of the wine party – if you don’t like a wine, at least you don’t have to drink it all or dump it, someone will enjoy it.)

3) Second labels. Second labels can be the best bang for your buck. They are wines that are made by the great winemakers of the world, just not labeled and priced so high. In some cases, like Ken Wright with his Tyrus Evans label, the wines made are different varietals. He only does Pinot Noir under the Ken Wright label, but it is no secret he his branching out with the Tyrus Evans label to do other warmer weather varietals too. Cloudline is (shhh) Domaine Drouhin’s $20 Pinot Noir label. Again, not a big secret, I am not the first to break with this news. But if you’re wondering if it’s worth it, heck yes. You won’t find a second label wine if it doesn’t have some substance to it. A second label is really another way to produce good wine, and access another level of the wine market. It isn’t to dispose of the excess or lesser wine. There is a HUGE bulk wine market to dump your yucks into. A second label is not a winemaker’s sloppy seconds, it requires hard work and good grapes too. Second labels have been around for a long time, probably long before Robert Mondavi even got started with Woolbridge. Chateau Petrus, a wine that will put you out about $1k (hard to find, and really whom among us could afford, would buy and drink it even if we could find it), has a second label too. The $10 version, that is worth it’s price and maybe a bit more, is Christian Mouiex Merlot. This may actually be considered further down the line than 2nd, but well worth its association with Chateau Petrus. Good luck in finding these gems and more.

(Please add in the comments any second labels you know of, I of course really focus on Oregon so there’s a lot I don’t know about other worldly 2nd labels.)

4) Make your own. Now I have to say upfront I have not made my own wine. But I know many who have and they all say their wine is “drinkable.” My father makes his own beer, and I know that both can be easier to do than first imagined. There are many do it yourself stores, Mr. Beer kegs with concentrates and recipes, and many people who sell grapes around harvest time, as well as juice concentrate. Go to WineJobs.com and you can actually find bulk wine if you’re interested in more than a 5 gallon batch but don't want to bother with fermentation. Just be sure you know the laws. I don’t know if this applies outside of Oregon but I know you can only create 100 gallons of wine per year per person, up to 200 gallons per household with more than 1 person over 21 years old. Anything more than that is Moonshine, and as cool as that sounds, it comes with a price that doesn’t save you ANY money. If caught not only would you pay a hefty fine, they make you watch as they dump your hard work down the drain. (Sad day!) Let me know if you do try this, it could be interesting.

Ways to go green with your wine purchases

Okay, so I am not going to tell you to recycle, buy only from wineries who purchase carbon offsets or solar panels, or even be literal about buying green wine - aka Vino Verde. I'm just throwing out some practical GREEN-ish thoughts, some you already do and don't take credit for yet.

Being green is a way of life and a lot of wine consumers are already being responsible without knowing it. Here are some ideas, none of them new, most you already do. Now you can take the credit for being green you have due:

1. Buy local, even if you drive to the winery, you are using so much less gas to transport your wine than if you bought a wine from France or Chile.

2. Choose a different shipping method. Ground shipping requires less fossil fuels than 2nd day or next day air, and it's cheaper. Ship wine in the spring and fall, not the high heat of summer or dead cold of winter and you won't need to rush your wine home due to weather conditions.

3. Use a vacuum pump to keep open wine fresh. How many bottles of wine have you thrown out because you forgot to drink it the next day. Well if you vacuum seal it, it will usually stay good for almost a week even on the counter, add a day or two with refrigeration.

4. Use wine in your cooking. Don't use an "off" bottle (you can't salvage that), but if you didn't like the wine as a drinking wine, or it's a bit to oxidized for you to drink, it may still have use as a cooking wine. Also, if you don't want to drink it because it has been out for a few days (see #2 for a solution to that problem) you can still enjoy it incorporated into a meal elsewhere. We all know those reduction sauces are nice, but I substitute wine for water when slow cooking a roast, making taco meat (really peppery zins are great for this), and my favorite is to pour wine into a premade spaghetti sauce (Prego becomes gourmet in seconds, just pour it all in a sauce pan and stir until it all thickens up to the consistency you desire).

5. This isn't really a suggestion for greening up your wine life, and it may sound hypocritical because I do think we all need to do more than we are for the planet. Wine is not a necessity in life it is a luxury. Therefore I think you should stress less about justifying it's greeness and enjoy it freely and openly. You should indulge now and then and become extra green in other aspects in your life. Compost, grow a victory garden, walk to the store, bike to the gym, recycle your bottles, reduce your purchases of international wines, and reuse your wine shipping boxes by giving them to traveling friends or local wineries.

Reduce your carbon footprint in every other aspect of your life so you don't torture yourself about taking that vacation to see the world or buying that bottle of wine you have your eye on. It's a balancing act, learn to juggle.

Do's and Don'ts of Wine Festivals

I am going to the Astoria Wine and Seafood Festival this weekend. Here are a few suggestions for those going to festivals, in any state.

1) BRING YOUR OWN GLASS!!! It is so different to have a glass rather than use dixie cups or thimbles that the vendors have to pour into.

2) Bring $1's and quarters. Unless you paid $50+ at the door, you will most likely have to pay for the tastings individually. Vendors don't have a lot of change because the newbies all brought or had to use the ATM and had only $20's.

3) Don't buy any wine by the glass, or drink a glass with lunch. If it's so good you want more, buy a bottle to enjoy at home. Drinking by the glass at the event will dull taste buds way earlier and you won't get to taste as many new wines.

4) Taste varietals you've never heard of. There are so many varietals of wine you’ve never tasted before, and so many producers you’ve never tasted wines from. TRY THEM, you never know unless you try.

5) Read what they have to offer. They should have a tasting menu. Don't ask for their Merlot or Chardonnay if they only have Zins and Chenin Blanc. In fact, don’t ask for their Merlot or Chardonnay anyway, you’ve had so many of those in your lifetime, try something new (see #4 again if unclear).

6) Don’t ask for “sweet white wines only.” Statements like this or asking for specific varietals pigeon hole your pallet. You’re at the festival to expand your pallet, try new things, and build your cellar with a few new wines you’d never had bought if you hadn’t tried them first.

7) Consider the $2 tasting for that wine a bargain. At wineries I’ve paid up to $20 for tasting as little as 3 wines. Just think, if you’d have bought the bottle at the store and then found out you didn’t like it you could be out $40. If you taste it first, you save $38 bucks by knowing ahead of time you didn’t like it.

8) Dump! If you don’t like the wine in your glass, don’t drink it, your liver can only keep up for so long (see #3 about this point too). So many people dump wine, you won’t insult anyone. Don’t think you’re wasting it, you’re here to taste, not get drunk.

9) Don’t go if you want to get drunk. You won’t enjoy the wine or learn anything. It’d be such a waste of money too.

10) Spit! If you don’t like the wine don’t consume it (see #8 about this point too). You don’t have a lot of time and can only consume so much. You will get a buzz today, so pace yourself. Only swallow what you like, love, and can’t live without. You’ll get to taste so many more wines with this mentality.

11) NEVER, NEVER, NEVER drive after drinking. One sip will impair your abilities. Someone should always be sober, 100% sober.

(I am not responsible for anything you or anyone you know does. Whether you read this or not, your choices are your own. By reading any part of my blog you are agreeing that no one is responsible for your actions but yourself.)

Archery Summit Winery

***Please note, I have a bias about this winery. I compare ALL wines to the deliciousness that is Archery Summit (you've been warned)***

This is the best winery to visit, even on a busy day. If you don't love the wine, you're crazy, but that's beside the point. If you don't fall in love with the wine, you will the facility. They have the only cave’s in Oregon used for wine storage that were mined into the hill side. I am not making this up. When you visit them, check out the restrooms in the cave. They are beautiful. Yeah, $100 and $150 seems like a lot to pay for a bottle of wine, and many people don't think a Pinot Noir exists that is worth that much. Although Domaine Serene's Monogram may not be worth the $225 price tag, Archery Summit is worth its price, in fact the Cuvee is a bargain when you see all the details that go into the making of this fine wine.

The winery is 100% gravity flow, they have an elevator to lift the wine without using pumps so they can flow the wine into the bottling line, or back into barrels for the Archery Summit Estate and Red Hills Estate wines which spend more than a year in barrel, racked after about 1 year. The winery has a majestic view of the Willamette Valley, looking over the little town of Dundee. They have a patio you can sip the wine on and enjoy summer days, bring some cheese and bread and it's the perfect way to spend the day.

But I really suggest taking the tour! They are $25 per person; include drinking the wines along the way. It's about an hour, and the best education you can get for your money. You get a tour tailored to your desires, not just about Archery Summit Winery, they also discuss about the Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, and more general info like vineyard management practices and wine making details. There's so much to fit into 1 hour, and they do a great job of answering all of your questions. Call ahead for an appointment, try to get the 10:30 am tour rather than the 2pm if you want a private tour and more availability of tours during your stay in Oregon.

The wines are exclusively Pinot. Try the rose if you get a chance, it is 100% Pinot Noir, fermented completely dry and the first rose I ever considered buying. (And I did, about a 2 cases between my step-mother and I). Red Hills is my favorite vineyard, although I can't wait to open a bottle of Archery Summit Estate (in 10-12 years that is). They are very age-worthy wines and demand a fabulous meal to be paired with. However, if you can't wait 5+ years for the aging of the single vineyards, take home a bottle of Premier Cuvee instead. It's a blend of the 5 vineyards, very fruit forward and blended to be aged or consumed now. I suggest pairing this at a restaurant with a juicy steak or king crab legs. But if someone had a cream based sauce dish, it wouldn't over shadow the meal either. It’s the perfect wine when everyone orders something different.

6 more weeks of winter wines :)

Ground hog saw his shadow, or did he not see his shadow...I never know which is which, but I do know he said it's 6 more weeks of winter.

That's okay, young whites aren't released yet and I don't mind a few more weeks snuggled up with my cat Mmm Foch with a big glass of BIG RED wine. I love my big Pinots, Foch, and the occasional Cab that warms me during the blustery rainy days of winter. I don’t think wine is a mood indicator but I do gravitate to darker, heavier wines when it’s 5pm and pitch black outside.

Come spring I will be able to say “Amen, the roses are arriving!!!” But for now I will sit in front of the computer typing about my favorite rich and full bodied reds.

Who Do You Trust?

Who do you trust?

Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator have fabulous articles and of course lots of scores. But when someone like Domaine Serene advertises their Monogram ($225) for 6 months prior to release and then pulls all mid 90s, you have to wonder. I love their wine, but I still wonder.

Since 99% of what I know is about Pinot my examples may not be more than just regionally relevant and I apologize for that.

The Wine Advocate and Burghound do not accept advertising so $$$ for ads obviously can't sway anyone. And although I do not believe WE and WS ratings are skewed by those who contribute to their budgets, you still have the opportunity to be skeptical because there are so many ads. (and the whole fake restaurant thing that happened last year, you know that WS thing we're all thinking and not saying.)

Okay, I've had my fun, I mean this question sincerely. There are speculations about many different published magazines, but who do you trust? Does your pallet line up with Steve Tanzer, Robert Parker, Harvey Steinman, or Dr. Jay Miller? And do you believe them because they are renowned for what they do, or because your pallet matches theirs on so many occasions.

I am working on creating a cellar right now so I don't think I can say whether I agree with anyone across any sized board. I think my Pinot Pallet is closer aligned with Burghound than with Dr. Jay or Steinman. I would love to taste some of "Parker's Perfects" some day (wines Parker has rated 100 pts). But I don't feel inclined to buy a wine solely based on one man's opinion, I don't listen to my own father that much, let alone a stranger with a wine glass. If someone happens to have one, or I find one that is a bargain, I may swoop down on it like a screeching eagle.

If I am so fortunate to find someone to agree with, I will be able to pounce on wines I will probably like and that is the goal right? Finding the most delicious wine for you.

¡Salud!

¡Salud! is an amazing non-profit that provided health care for vineyard workers. The wineries of Oregon come together to create ¡Salud! exclusive wines to auction off. If you ever get to taste these special wines, you are among the special few. Places like Archery Summit, Cristom, Ken Wright, and Domaine Serene participate and use their finest single vineyards barrels for this event, so you know it's a big freakin' deal.

Anyway, yesterday I have the privledge of tasting several of the 1999 auctions ¡Salud! wines. We had Archery Summit, Cristom, Ken Wright, Domaine Serene, Sokol Blosser, Evesham Wood, and maybe even a few others. Let's just say we had a lot of fun. It's great to know people with big wine cellars (and in the industry, they have access to all sorts of things).

I'll keep it short, there wasn't one I didn't love, 1999 was an amazing year for Oregon Pinot Noir.

Cheers! no, no, no, I mean

¡Salud!

Different Glasses

I have never done a formal taste test with Riedel. However I have 5 different Riedel glasses that I wanted to share my notes on a personal taste test.

The glasses I used were all Riedel, although I have others glasses I could have tried with too.

Glass #1 Small tasting glass that I don't really know the series of
Glass #2 "O" series Bordeaux
Glass #3 Nebiolo/Pinot Noir (similar to the Oregon PN w/o the lip)
Glass #4 Oregon Pinot Noir
Glass #5 Vinum Extreme Pinot Noir

The wine - Archery Summit 2006 Premier Cuvee

I found that at no time did the wine taste like a completely different wine. However, I did prefer the aromatic expression some of the glasses allowed. I think the crystal of the Vinum Extreme enhanced the wine well and allowed for the greatest amount of aroma, making some of the more delicate characteristics stronger and more available for the nose. The Oregon Pinot glass did similar in the way that it didn't allow the aromas to fly out of the glass when swirling. I chose to do this with a wine I already love and has interesting qualities and is very complex, to really test a glass's ability to open up these complex characteristics.

Glass 1 gave this wine an iodized aroma, masked all but a faint cherry fruit quality, and lacked any smoke or spice you commonly see in this Cuvee. Glass 2 was a bit better in that it did allow a brighter fruit quality to show through. I also hinted at a bit of rose tea on the latter half of my sniff. There was also no sharp heat that I felt when using #1. Glass 3 turned out to be the best glass for me. You could really pick up on the acidity and the fruits I distinctly smelt included bing cherry, blackberry, huckleberry, and fresh juicy raspberries. I definitely got more floral notes with this glass too. Stronger anyway. I didn't get any smoke, since I don't care for this aroma much I was very pleased. Glass 4 relaxed some of the fruit notes but brought on a bit of smoke. There was a bit more heat from this glass too. Glass 5 is my second choice as I got similar results as the Oregon Pinot Glass without the smoke, not as much fruit on the nose as my 1st choice.

Each taste of this wine had the same notes, in that the glass was not really as important to the mouthfeel or the finish. Only the first part of the taste is influenced by the glass.

Next time I open an '06 Pinot I'm going to see if this glass is better than the Oregon Pinot for me, it probably won't be true as there are other characteristics expressed and I may like or not like them. All the more important to try a wine in several every time (okay, not every time, but every once and a while to test your pallet and be sure you're getting the fullest satisfaction from that bottle of wine. Archery Summit Premier Cuvee is $48, lets just say I'll take the extra 5 minutes before sitting down to dinner to consider my glassware options and get the most bang for my $48 bucks.

I suggest everyone do something like this from time to time. Line up your glasses and find which one will help you enjoy your wine more. There was more dramatic of a difference than I expected. Trust me, until now I was still skeptical too.