Summer looms

Despite the wet spring we've had in the Willamette there have been a handful of absolutely gorgeous, warm, sunny days. We erected a fantastic backyard canopy on our deck that provides a beautiful space for us to enjoy dinner on those warm evenings. We've even fired up the grill and enjoyed some delicious smoky fare. Lynnette has a knack for making perfect grill marks on both her chicken and the tofu Amy and I enjoy. Vegetables have made a large appearance as well: spring potatoes, red and yellow bell pepper, asparagus, and an assortment of summer squashes.

Summer is looming, and it's just a matter of weeks before this becomes our daily routine. With this all in mind I start thinking about quintessential summer beverages. For my purposes one thing comes to mind: gin and tonics.

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Something a little different

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the posting lapse. I've been busy with work and editing a bunch of great wine stories for Palate Press.

That said, I recently got to explore some of Portlands local distilleries, and had a great experience. I've written a piece for Palate Press, which I hope you'll check out.

I promise I'll get back to wine ASAP!

Cheers,

Ryan

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Palate Press: Good Vapors, or Finding the Hearts in Stumptown's Distillery Row

WBW #66: Your Tenderest Two-Some, Dessert & Wine

Argyle Brut Rosé (2007)
Argyle Winery
52% Pinot Meunier | 48% Pinot Noir
Dundee Hills, OR

So today is Wine Blogging Wednesday #66 which is being hosted by Jennifer Hamilton, The Domestic Goddess. Combining two of my favorite things, Jennifer has joined WBW with Sugar-High Friday for today's challenge. We were asked to come up with a dessert and wine pairing.

Desserts can sometimes be difficult to pair with wines, and I think many of us first just jump to sweeter wines. Rule of thumb there is to make sure your wine is as sweet of not sweeter than your dessert, otherwise it'll taste sour. Also keep in mind tangy/tart flavors vs. savory/milky ones in your desserts. Based on that (is it apple pie or chocolate mousse?) you'll want to pay attention to the wine's acidity.

Since I tend to gravitate towards more acidic wines, and away from overly-chocolate'd (I know, there's not supposed to be such a thing... just think, more chocolate for you!) desserts my thoughts got a little bubbly. Lucky for us, Argyle is less than 30 minutes from here!

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Seven of Hearts - Part 3: "Estate Grown Pinot Noir" or "The Pinot Clone Wars"

In a late-coming third part conclusion (see part 1 and part 2) here are my final notes from our visit to the Seven of Hearts tasting room in Carlton. These last two wines are both estate-grown from Byron's Luminous Hills Vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton District AVA. Pommard as well as clones 667, 777 and 115 are used...

Wait, wait, wait - what clones? Makes wine sound like some kind of science-fiction plot from Lucas Films, right? And just when you thought all you needed to know were some basic French (noir, blanc, gris) color words to get you through Pinot.

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Seven of Hearts - Part 2: Exploring Burgundy & Pinot noir

Hopefully you enjoyed the first part of this series of posts on Seven of Hearts.

Today we'll explore four different Pinot noirs which we tasted in their Carlton tasting room with owner and wine maker Byron Dooley. As mentioned, Byron's focus is to create wines that reflect the old-world French styles of Pinot noir from Burgundy. So let's start by briefly exploring this famous French region.

First and foremost, I love maps, and this is a useful one showing most of Burgundy.

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Seven of Hearts - Part 1: White Wines

We joined owner and wine maker Byron Dooley for a flight at the Seven of Hearts tasting room in Carlton, OR. With a proclivity for old-world style French wines, Byron and his wife Dana moved to the Willamette Valley after leaving their tech careers in Silicon Valley and establishing their passions in Napa. Dana is the owner of locally based Honest Chocolates with two locations and a candymaking kitchen in the same space as the tasting room.

Inspired by classical French wine labels, the wines at Seven of Hearts depict an old playing card embellished with a crest-like image of one of the couple's cats, Seven.

I'll be sharing my tasting notes for these wines in thee parts this week - our first tasting notes will cover the two whites that Byron shared with us.

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New publication in Willamette Valley

You'll know find my work published in Willamette Valley Life Magazine. This is a new quarterly publication that will be distributed throughout the Willamette Valley in Oregon. I'm very pleased to be working with Randy Hill, owner and publisher, and am looking forward to many issues to come.

If you're not in the area you can also read the online version of the magazine at their website in an easy to download pdf. You can access the first issue by clicking on it's image to the right.

Cheers!

Ryan

Quick Sip: 2005 Soléna Wooldridge Creek Zinfandel - another for the "dont like" Merlot crowd

Soléna Wooldridge Creek Vineyard Zinfandel (2005)
Soléna Estate
Zinfandel 96% | Merlot 4%
Applegate Valley AVA, OR

The third warm weather varietal tasted at the Carlton, OR tasting room with Lynnette.

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Quick Sip: 2005 Soléna Wooldridge Creek Merlot - for those that "don't like" Merlot

Soléna Wooldridge Creek Vineyard Merlot (2005)
Soléna Estate
Merlot 96% | Zinfandel 4%
Applegate Valley AVA, OR

The second of four warm weather varietals offered by Soléna. We tasted the Merlot at the tasting room in Carlton with Lynnette.

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Quick Sip: 2004 Soléna Del Rio Syrah - rich, inky, and delicious

Soléna Syrah Del Rio, Rogue Valley (2004)
Soléna Estate
Syrah
Rogue Valley AVA, OR

This is the first of the warm weather varietals produced by Soléna. The Syrah you can try at the Grand Cru Estate or you can sample it and the other WWVs at their tasting room in Carlton, OR where we joined Lynnette for a flight.

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Quick Sip: 2006 Soléna Domaine Danielle Laurent Pinot Noir - the vineyard that began it all

Soléna Pinot Noir Domaine Danielle Laurent Vineyard (2006)
Soléna Estate
Pinot Noir
Yamhill-Carlton AVA, OR

The last Pinot Noir tasted at Soléna Estate's Grand Cru tasting room. The grapes are sourced from a special vineyard.

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Quick-Sip: 2006 Soléna Willakia Pinot Noir - super fruity single vineyard

Soléna Pinot Noir Willakia Vineyard (2006)
Soléna Estate
Pinot Noir
Eola-Amity Hills AVA, OR

Our fifth Soléna wine, fourth Pinot Noir tasted at the Grand Cru tasting room.

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Quick-Sip: 2006 Soléna Vista Hills Pinot Noir - premium vintage, single vineyard

Soléna Pinot Noir - Vista Hills Vineyard (2006)
Soléna Estate
Pinot Noir
Dundee Hills AVA

The fourth wine tasted at Soléna's Grand Cru tasting room. Moving to the 2006 vintage we start with another single vineyard Pinot.

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Quick-Sip: 2007 Soléna Hyland Estate Pinot Noir - single vineyard complexity

Soléna Pinot Noir - Hyland Vineyard Estate (2007)
Soléna Estate
Pinot Noir
McMinnville AVA, OR

Third wine from Soléna Estates. This is another 2007 from a single estate.

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Quick-Sip: 2007 Soléna Grand Cuvée Pinot Noir - fruity new world pinot

Soléna Pinot Noir Grand Cuvée (2007)
Soléna Estate
Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley, OR

The second of my reviews from Soléna Estate after a visit to their Grand Cru tasting room in Yamhill. This is one of the lower cost bottles of Pinot offered by Soléna, but certainly that shouldn't be taken to mean that it's lower quality.

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Quick-Sip: 2008 Soléna Pinot Gris - sharp with loads of fruit

Soléna Pinot Gris (2008)
Soléna Estate
Pinot Gris
Oregon (Willamette and Rogue Valley AVAs)

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Visiting the Willamette Valley Vineyards Wine Center

So, "oe•no•phile HQ" has moved from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest, and I'm excitedly getting to know my new home in McMinnville, OR (Mac for short). Arriving this past Thursday I was giddy to drive past many wineries and tasting rooms that I've been enjoying back in Ohio. Now living here I'll get to visit all of them and many others all the while tasting and writing about many new wines. I'm very excited for this adventure that will definitely help oe•no•phile to grow and help me in learning more about wines, new regions, and being a better taster/writer.

One of my first stops this weekend was to visit the newly opened Wine Center right here in downtown Mac, run by the folks at Willamette Valley Vineyards. The center is a tasting room of sorts for WVV but also so much more. In addition to their own wines, visitors can taste samples from other area wineries which change weekly. There is a small tasting fee, and the staff there is very knowledgeable and eager to help.

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WBW #60 - I have Zinned... and it felt so good

Old Vine Zinfandel (2006)
Sineann
Zinfandel
Columbia Valley

This month for Wine Blogging Wednesday, the fifth anniversary of the project, we've been "burdened" with the task of drinking Zinfandel. Seeing as this is one of my favorite varieties, I really didn't anticipate any issue. The only problem was choosing what bottle yummy California Zin to choose - then the clouds opened, and it all became clear. Not California... but Oregon Zin!

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Oregon blend offers great value and quality

River Rock Red (NV)
Rock Point
63% Syrah | 37% Cabernet Sauvignon
Oregon

This wine was brought to my attention by a customer I was talking with recently at Western Reserve Wines. It was part of their "10 Under $10" feature for January and February, and having enjoyed Rock Point's Pinot Noir I thought I'd see how this red blend compared. As an added bonus since the blend isn't listed on the bottle I got to test myself and see if I could figure out what it was. Here are my notes:

Appearance: A clear red wine, ruby hedging garnet red in color, medium intensity - text is visible and mostly legible through glass.

Nose: Clean, with some development from oak aging. Intense non-fruit aromas of oak, tobacco, and earthiness paired with fresh dark fruit notes of plum and black cherry. Also some subtle hints of licorice and smoke.

Palate: Dry wine with medium acidity, body, and tannins. They grip on the tongue mostly, and roll away after a couple moments. More non-fruit flavors reminiscent of nuttiness, oak, and vegetation. Fruit is dark but softly spiced - blackberry, black cherry, and plum. Very smooth finish.

This was an amazing wine given the cost - much more complexity than I would expect from a $10 bottle certainly. A good example of using both old and new world styles, the fruit and earth tones are balanced very well on both the nose and palate. And while the wine is smooth enough to drink on its own I think it would be well paired to food as well. Definitely a great buy!

Cheers!