Exploring the Grand Terroir of Gérard Bertrand with Tautavel and La Clape

May 17, 2019

Gérard Bertrand wines of Limoux, Tautavel & La Clape

Even if you are not an expert on French Wine, you are sure to have heard of Gérard Bertrand. He produces that stunning bottle of rosé Côte des Roses. You know, the bottle with the rose embossed on the bottom. It’s hard to miss! And…it’s a lovely wine, that actually comes from the Côte des Roses, an area near Gruissan in Languedoc in the South of France. But Gérard Bertrand is much more than simply rosé….

Gérard Bertrand – the man

Gérard’s family had an estate vineyard. He learned alongside his father. Of course he went off on his own and found a passion for Rugby, which he played professionally for many years. But he always had a passion for wine. When his father passed in 1987 he returned to take over the family’s Villemajou Estate and later created the Gérard Bertrand wine company.

Languedoc -Roussillon

Map of the Languedoc-Rousillon Wine Region in France — The Languedoc-Roussillon Wine Region in France

Even if you enjoy French wines, Languedoc is rarely one of the first regions you will encounter. This region is in the south of France to the West of the famous Provence. It is the region that wraps around the mediterranean sea from Nîmes to the border with Spain.

The red grape varieties here include Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Carignan, all of which can be beautifully blended. We will explore two of these blends below, as well as dipping our toes into a bit of Crémant from Limoux.

Gérard Bertrand – Expressing the Terroir

At Gérard Bertrand they are dedicated to biodiversity and to the area of Languedoc-Roussillon. They expanded from the original Villemajou vineyard to purchase Cigalus Estate, Château Laville Bertrou and the Aigle Estate. Beyond that they now include Château la Sauvageonne, Château la Soujeole, Clos d’Ora, Clos du Temple, Château les Karantes, Château Aigues-Vives, Cap Insula winery, Château des Deux Rocs, Château de Tarailhan and the Estagnère Estate, in their portfolio.

Biodynamic practices

After becoming interested in homeopathic medicine in the early 2000’s, Gérard became interested in Biodynamics and in 2002 started farming the Cigalus Estate biodynamically. They have since converted all their estates to biodynamic practices.

Many of the pieces you will see below will focus on the Biodynamic Cigalus Blanc, the wine that Gérard Bertrand provided as samples to many of the French #Winophiles. With many people interested the list had to be limited. Late to the party we did not receive the samples, but we were able to find several other bottles of Gérard Bertrand wines that peaked our interest!

The Grand Terroir range of wines they produce allow you discover each unique region. In addition they produce a Crémant de Limoux, claimed to be the region where sparkling wine originated. I mean how could we pass that up?!

Limoux

So we have all probably heard the story of the famous monk Benedictine Dom Pérignon who lived in Hautvillers in the Champagne region of France, discovering bubbles and tasting the stars! Dom has, in legend, often been credited with inventing Champagne. He lived from 1638 to 1715. Well… in Limoux they say that in 1531, the monks of Saint Hilaire were the first to discover the bubbles and begin using the “traditional methode” to produce sparkling wines. I’ll let them duke it out, you can pour me a glass of either and I will be happy to watch them debate while I simply enjoy the delicious wine.

Limoux sits in the cool foothills of the Pyranees, an area perfect for growing grapes for sparkling wine. For more on this area, I highly recommend visiting the Limoux AOC page on Languedoc Wine site!

Gérard Bertrand Cuvee Thomas Jefferson Crémant de Limoux Brut Rose 2016

Gérard Bertrand Cuvee Thomas Jefferson Cremant de Limoux Brut Rose 2016 Bottle shot — Gérard Bertrand Cuvee Thomas Jefferson Cremant de Limoux Brut Rose 2016

Crémant de Limoux is said to be the only sparkling wine that Thomas Jefferson kept in his cellar. I like to picture him receiving the sparkling bottles from the chilly basement through his wine elevator…leave it to Thom to invent this stuff. (We visited Monticello a few years ago, hence the photos).

Wine Cellar at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
Wine Elevator at Monticello.

This particular wine is a blend of 70% Chardonnay, 15% Chenin, and 15% Pinot Noir.

The Grapes are harvested when their acid-sugar balance reach their best. The fruit is transferred to the winery and immediately pressed in a pneumatic pressing machine. In addition to reinforce the perception of freshness and balance, the dosage is very precise. The Pinot Noir grapes are not macerated, in order to preserve their colour. The must is transferred to the vats for alcoholic fermentation using the same process used for still wine. After malolactic fermentation in the vats, the wine is blended together and then transferred to the barrels to mature for 8 months.
From Gérard-Bertrand.com

La Clape

During the Roman era, this area was actually an island. No longer an island, La Clape is bordered to the east by the sea, to the west by the low-lying alluvial plains of the Aude and to the south by the lagoons. The soils here are loose limestone.

Map of La Clape in Languedoc courtesy Gérard Bertrand
Photo of La Clape courtesy Gérard Bertrand

Gérard Bertrand Grand Terroir La Clape 2015

The wine is a blend of 50% Syrah, 35% Carignan and 15% Mourvèdre. It sits at 13.5% abv

A slow ripening process and a late harvest (end of September to mid-October) are the key ingredients for producing grapes that are ripe, healthy and concentrated and also aids the extraction of colour and aromas during fermentation and maceration. The grapes are harvested by hand when they have reached peak ripeness and transported to the winery in special bins. They are then de-stemmed before being transferred to the stainless steel vats for maceration, lasting 20 to 25 days. The wine is then decanted into barrels for 8 months of ageing.
From Gérard-Bertrand.com

Tautavel

Tautavel is a village in the Roussillon region, located between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean. This region lays claim to some of the oldest hominid remains in Europe. In 1971, the remains of Tautavel Man were discovered. These remains date to 450,000 years ago, and the area is thought to be one of the cradles of civilization.

Map of Tautavel courtesy Gérard Bertrand
Photo of Tautavel courtesy Gérard Bertrand

Gérard Bertrand Grand Terroir Tautavel 2015

This wine is a blend of Grenache, Syrah & Carignan and sits a 15% abv

Work in the vineyard starts by selecting the most suitable plots of land for each variety. The grapes are harvested once they have reached peak maturity, determined by regular tasting, and are sorted twice: once in the vineyard and again in the winery. The fruit is vinified in the traditional manner, the grapes are de-stemmed and then undergo maceration for 3 to 4 weeks. The must is then pressed before malolactic fermentation begins. 33% of the wine is transferred to barrels and matured for 9 months, while the rest matures in the vats.
From Gérard-Bertrand.com

The Pairings

I sat with the tech sheets for each of these wines and prepared a menu, which began and ended with the Crémant de Limoux Brut Rose.

Salmon Crostini

Salmon Crostini with raspberry jam or caviar
Gérard Bertrand Crémant de Limoux with Salmon Crostini

The salmon crostini was simple, just crostini, (sliced baguette, brushed with olive oil and baked 8-10 minutes) topped with smoked salmon, a dot of creme fraiche and then either a dab of raspberry jam or a dab of caviar.

The Crémant was beautiful in the glass, clear with fine bubbles and a light salmon color, that looked gorgeous next to our salmon crostini. The nose hit you first with tart fruit followed by whiffs of toast.

This was beautiful with the salmon, the acid and bubbles cutting through the fat. The creme fraiche mirrored the tartness in the wine and the crostini brought in those toasty elements. It was interesting to see how the difference of salt or sweet on the top affected the experience. I enjoyed the jam matching the fruit in the wine and balancing it with that hint of sweetness, but the crostini with the caviar was my favorite. The caviar contrasted beautifully, pulling forward the fruit notes in the wine. This was a delicious bite and pairing.

Cheese & charcuterie

Cheese and Chacuterie platter Gouda, triple creme, manchego, berries, nuts, honey, sopresso — Cheese and Charcuterie platter

We opened the two red wines and put together a cheese & charcuterie platter, which included gouda, manchego and a St. Angel triple creme cheese. I added some sopresso, honey & walnuts, as well as an assortment of berries; strawberries, raspberries and blackberries.

I found that the triple creme cheese went beautifully with both wines, with the wine pulling forth some beautiful floral notes in the cheese. The Tautavel was surprisingly nice with the salmon crostini with caviar, brightening and highlighting the food.

As expected the sopresso was wonderful with the La Clape with the mouvedre in the blend. The La Clape was also very nice with the crostini with the jam. Together both the jam and the wine felt brighter in my mouth.

Sous vide pork in caramel sauce & Roasted fennel & Peppers

Pork in Caramel sauce to pair with the Gérard Bertrand 2015 Tautavel
Sous Vide pork w/caramel sauce & roasted fennel and peppers

Gérard Bertrand’s suggested pairings for the Tautavel included “grilled peppers, pork in caramel sauce and rabbit with prunes and fine cheeses”. The tasting notes also listed red fruit and raspberry aromas underpinned by spicy notes…delicate notes of scrubland and spices on the palate”. In addition they noted “Ripe black fruits, chocolate, licorice and smoked herbs…”

Intrigued by the pork in caramel sauce, I found a recipe for sous vide pork to riff on. The pork went into the sous vide with a rub of salt, pepper, paprika (for those subtle spices on the palate) and rosemary (for the scrubland herb notes). 2 hours later, we seared the chops and drizzled with a caramel sauce with salt pepper and rosemary. This plated with roasted fennel (pulling forward those licorice notes) and peppers with a bit of rubbed sage (more scrubland). We garnished with fresh fennel and sage leaves and blackberries to tie in the “ripe black fruit”.

Roasted Chicken on a bed of cous cous with arugula and cranberries

Roasted chicken on a bed of cous cous with rosemary, cranberries and arugula

The La Clape suggestions included roasted poulty and creamy cheeses. We had already enjoyed this with the triple creme, so now it was onto tasting it with the roast chicken. I served this on a bed of cous cous with cranberries to pull those fruit notes and arugula to pull some of the peppery notes, as well as add a bit of green.

Both of the wines paired well with the food. These wines are lovely on the nose, but feel lighter on the palate, so that they were beautiful to pair with these lighter meats without overpowering the flavors of the dishes.

Dessert – Deconstructed Berry tart

Deconstructed berry tart with the Gérard Bertrand Cuvee Thomas Jefferson Cremant de Limoux Brut Rose 2016

With a Brut Rosé you can rarely go wrong with a red fruit desert, and this was no exception. I created a simple deconstructed berry tart, with crumbled shortbread, raspberry jam, a puree of raspberries an strawberries, fresh blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, mint and a raspberry sorbet.

We poured another glass of the Gérard Bertrand Cuvee Thomas Jefferson Crémant de Limoux Brut Rose 2016 (which we had stoppered, pressurized returned to the fridge to preserve the bubbles while we enjoyed the rest of the meal). This pairing did not disappoint and was the perfect end to an evening of delicious wines.

This was a beautiful exploration into this region and this winery for me. I encourage you to search for Gérard Bertrand wines, beyond that beautiful rosé and taste a bit of Languedoc.

The French #Winophiles

Read on for more great pieces on the wines of Gérard Bertrand. As I mentioned before, many of these will focus on the wonderful 2018 Cigalus Blanc, an exceptional white blend that I look forward to tasting in the future.

And join us on Saturday May 18th at 11 am EST on twitter to discuss these wines! Just follow #Winophiles to find us!

Michelle Williams – Rockin Red Blog: “Celebrating Biodynamic Viticulture And The Beauty Of The Languedoc With Gérard Bertrand #Winophiles”

Lynn Gowdy – Savor the Harvest: “This Biodynamic Wine Is a Summer Pleaser + Saturday Culinary Concoction.“

Wendy Klik- A Day in the Life on a Farm : ” New Wine Paired with an Old Favorite.”

Camilla Mann – Culinary Adventures with Camilla: “Lemon-Caper Halibut + Gérard Bertrand 2018 Cigalus Blanc”

Linda Whipple, My Full Wine Glass : “Languedoc Wine Meets Lebanese Cuisine”

David Crowley – Cooking Chat: “Savoring a Special White Wine from Souther France”

Pinny Tam – Chinese Food and Wine Pairings: “Exploring Languedoc-Roussillon with Chateau Millegrand Minervois Mourral Grand Reserve + Chinese Charcuterie Board #Winophiles”

Jeff Burrows – Food, Wine, Click: “Butter Roasted Fish with Gérard Bertrand’s Cigalus Blanc”

Jane Niemeyer – Always Ravenous: Chicken Korma with Gérard Bertrand Cigalus Blanc”

Cindy Lowe Rynning – Grape Experiences: “The Wines of Gerard Bertrand: Expect Joie de Vivre with Every Sip”

Susannah Gold – Avvinare: “A Wine from Gerard Bertrand: A Larger than Life Figure”

Deanna Kang – Asian Test Kitchen: “Gerard Bertrand Rose Paired with Subtly Spiced Shrimp”

Cynthia Howson & Pierre Ly – Traveling Wine Profs: “Comfort Food and Sunny Red: Gérard Bertrand Côtes des Roses with Senegalese Mafé and Fonio”

Jill Barth – L’Occasion: “A Name To Know: Gérard Bertrand”

Gwendolyn Lawrence Alley – Wine Predator:”Bertrand’s Biodynamic Cigalus Paired with French Sausage”

Liz Barrett – What’s in that Bottle: “Get to Know the Winning Wines from Languedoc Icon Gérard Bertrand”

Nicole Ruiz Hudson – SommsTable: “Cooking to the Wine: Gérard Bertrand Grand Terroir Tautavel Grenache-Syrah-Carignan with Saucy Lamb Loin Chops”

Rupal Desai Shankar – Syrah Queen: “A Commitment To Languedoc – The Biodynamic Wines Of Gerard Bertrand”

Payal Vora, Keep the Peas: “Aude: Alive in More Ways Than Wine”

L.M. Archer: “The Hedonistic Taster: Gérard Bertrand 2018 Cigalus Blanc”

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

It’s Oregon Wine Month

May 9, 2019

Vista Hills Vineyard in the Dundee Hills AVA

It’s no secret that I’m kinda infatuated with Oregon wines. More than just the wines…it’s the people behind them. That whole “Keep Portland Weird” thing, kinda speaks for much of Oregon. But then again, with all the delicious weirdness, there is a simple, elegant classy side also. I love it so much, let’s delve in a little.

The Oregon Wine Trailblazers

This is a relatively new region for wine. The first winery, post prohibition, appeared in southern Oregon’s Umpqua Valley back in 1961, thanks to Richard Sommer who refused to listen to the UC Davis folks who told him it wouldn’t work. There were a couple of other UC Davis grads who bucked the trends in the mid to late 60’s and headed North including David Lett (Eyrie Vineyards), Dick Erath (yep, you guessed it, Erath) and Charles Coury (which is now David Hill Winery). If you have been into a wine store (or a grocery store) you will recognize Erath. Obviously growing grapes here worked.

My Introduction to Oregon Wine – At Home in the Vineyard

I’ll admit that my knowledge of early Oregon wine history came from reading Susan Sokol Blosser’s book “At Home in the Vineyard”. this memoir is her personal story of the struggle to build the Sokol Blosser Winery in the Dundee Hills. These were not people with money looking to invest and have a retreat in a vineyard. They were idealists and they struggled with the weather and the soils as they figured our this new area for wine. This was the way for many of the early vineyard owners and winemakers and it’s still that way for many today. (I had a wonderful conversation with Annedria Beckham of Beckham vineyards in the Chehalem Mountains that I will share with you soon, about the continuing struggles of planting and growing their vineyard and winery).

I encourage you to visit the fantastic site of the Oregon Wine Board and read all about the history of this great region.

Early visit circa 2011

My introduction to Oregon wine came with a visit back in 2011. We came to spend 3 or 4 days, visit wine country and catch up with an old friend of mine. We stayed at the cottage at Winter Hill. Winter Hill Winery is in the Dundee Hills, the cottage was over the hill with a separate entrance. There were chickens running about and an amazing view of the area and the stars from the porch.

On this visit we took in, Winter Hill Winery, Erath, Youngberg Hill, Stoller Family Estate, Lange Estate, Argyle, Cana’s Feast, Willakenzie, Rex Hill, Trisaetum, Domaine Drouhin Oregon, Sokol Blosser, Torii Mor, Vidon & Vista Hills. It’s a list, I know!

I remember them all. Here are a few of the stories…

Winter Hill

Winter Hill at the time was tasting in the middle of the working winery on a folding table. It was a humble for a tasting room, but warm and friendly, and we got a first hand look at the wines with the people who were putting their heart and soul into the endeavor.

Youngberg Hill

Michael was driving to get to us Youngberg Hill and Adam (my friend who had been married there just a year before) was giving directions. Adam and I got busy talking and we missed a turn, and then another. We arrived to views and VIP treatment thanks to Adam. The views here are wedding worthy that’s for sure!

Stoller

At Stoller, Adam was also a member, and he was doing a pick up, so we got a little extra special treatment. I remember a Tempranillo they had that I wish we would have taken home with us. And I remember a story about the honey that they were hoping to get from hives in a black berry patch part way up the hill.

Lange

View from Lange Vineyard back in 2011.
Jack the Cat at Lange Estate

Up on the hill at Lange, we were greeted by Jack, the vineyard cat and stepped into the tiny tasting room where they were boxing up their wine club shipment. I remember a moving experience tasting their Pinot Noir (if I close my eyes, I can still taste it).

Argyle

At Argyle we enjoyed some bubbles and I got hooked on their Black Brut. This was back when Rollin Soles the pioneering vintner was still the winemaker. I remember thinking how cool it was that Lyle Lovett was his friend from college. They are two unique and iconic individuals in their own right.

Vidon

When we visited Vidon, we met Don the owner, when he came in off the tractor. Don was still busy in the vineyard back then. He was a particle physicist by training and worked with NASA before he purchased the property in the Chehalem Mountains in 1999. We also visited Vista Hills. It was late in the day, and close to the cottage and they snuck us in as their last tasting. The views are stunning and the wines delicious. We returned to them on our last trip again, just before the announcement that they had been purchased by Coppola.

We’ve waxed poetic on some of this before…

You can read a little about the Stoller Tempranillo, the Lange Pinot Noir and the Argyle Black Brut in our piece Wines I can’t forget Part 1

Or about that Trisaetum Coastal Riesling in Wines I Can’t forget Part 3.

And in our piece on Gravity flow wineries, we talk a bit about Willakenzie.

Returning to Oregon in 2018

Last year we returned to this region that had so enchanted us. We spent 5 days exploring AVA’s within the Willamette Valley. Actually trying to visit each of the AVA’s and the proposed AVA’s. We gathered so much content, that we are still putting out pieces! We also were able to enjoy the last “Uncommon Wine Festival” at Vista Hills, where we spent a day tasting and talking with up and coming wine makers.

Winemakers setting up for the Uncommon wine Festival at Vista Hills
Deven & Calli with Joyful Noise
Vista Hills Uncommon Wine Festival Ryan Pickens
Libertine Wines, Alex Neely
Libertine Bottle Shots
Libertine Pouring Botrytis Reisling
a Cheerful Note, Ariel Eberle
A Cheerful Note with Ariel Eberle, the story behind the label
Ross & Bee Maloof
Maloof 2017 Where ya Pjs at?
Leah Jørgensen Wine – inspired by the Loire Valley
2016 Oregon “Tour Rain” Vin Rouge
Fossil & Farm Jim & Jenny

You can see Mega Mix Video and read about the day at Vista Hills Vineyard and the Uncommom Wine Festival.

Willamette Valley AVAs

Willamette Valley Map courtesy of Willamette Valley Wine Association Map data by everyvine.com, design by John Fisher, geologic cross section by Timothy A. Cross, special thanks to Patrick Reuter.”

We did a Primer on this that you can read here. We managed to visit most of the AVAs.

Current Willamette Valley AVAs

We managed to visit a winery or tasting room representing each of the current AVAs

Chehalem Mountains AVA from Beckham Vineyards
Trisaetum Vineyard in the Ribbon Ridge AVA
Sunset in the Willamette Valley (Vista Hills Vineyard in the Dundee Hills AVA)
View of Yamhill-Carlton from Fairsing vineyard
Johan Vineyards in the proposed Van Duzer Corridor AVA
Vineyards in the McMinnville AVA
Brittan Vineyards in the McMinnville AVA
The Eola Amity Hills

Chehalem Mountains AVA – est 2006 where we visited Beckham Vineyards and met both Annedria and Andrew.
Dundee Hills AVA – est 2005 where we visited Vista Hills to taste their wine as well as enjoy the hospitality of the Uncommon Wine Festival
Eola-Amity Hills AVA – est 2006. We visited the Evening Land tasting room in Dundee and then drove to see the vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills.
McMinnville AVA – est 2005. We visited Brittan Vineyards tasting room and then did a drive by of the McMinnville vineyard on the way to the coast.
Ribbon Ridge AVA – est 2005, where we revisited Trisaetum.
Van Duzer Corridor AVA – est 2019, actually established after we visited! We visited Johan here and fell in love.
Yamhill-Carlton AVA – est 2005. We spent a wonderful evening enjoy the sunset view at Fairsing Vineyard (along with smores!)

Proposed Willamette Valley AVAs

In addition there are 4 more proposed AVAs, which include:

Illahe Panorama view
Lowell Ford on the patio at Illahe Vineyard
Montinore Vineyards
Rudy Marchesi of Montinore Estate
Panorama from Ponzi

Mt Pisgah/Polk County AVA. Located near Salem, we spent 1/2 a day with Lowell Ford owner of Illahe Vineyard.
Laurelwood AVA. We visited Ponzi Vineyards in this proposed AVA which is the Northern facing slopes of the Chehalem Mountains.
Tualatin Hills AVA. Located North of Yamhill-Carlton and West of Chehalem Mountians, we visited with Rudy Marchesi of Montinore Estate.
Lower Long Tom AVA. Okay…we didn’t make it here. It is far south between Corvalis and Eugene and there was just not enough time.

Do it!

Our trailer on Willamette Valley AVAs and proposed AVAs

Get yourself to Oregon. You won’t regret it. Be it the Willamette Valley or further south in the Umpqua, Applegate or Rogue Valleys. Or maybe you head to some of those border areas that share AVAs with Washington. (they are good about sharing in Oregon)

You can find great information on Oregon from the Oregon Wine Board, Willamette Valley Wineries and the Southern Oregon Winery Association to get you started!

And don’t forget to check back here! We have loads of posts on our last trip and there will be more as we head back again this July!

More on Oregon wine Country

Here are a few you might want to check out:

And there are more, check the bottom of each page for other related pieces.

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Elephant Mountain Vineyard in Yakima Valley’s Rattlesnake Hills

May 1, 2019

Looking South from Elephant Mountain Vineyard across the Yakima Valley

We finished our breakfast and morning flyover seminar, courtesy of Wine Yakima Valley. With caffeine ingested and a little more information to give us a some perspective on the Yakima Valley, we headed to Elephant Mountain Vineyard.

Rattlesnake Hills AVA

This is a super nested AVA, inside the Yakima Valley AVA which is itself nested within the Columbia Valley AVA. (It is the darker region north of 82 to the West side of the map).

Map Yakima Valley 2019 courtesy of WineYakimaValley.org

Located on the North Western side of the Yakima Valley AVA the Rattlesnake Hills AVA was established in 2006 with vineyards dating back to 1968. It’s about four miles south east of the city of Yakima, where we were staying. The AVA spans over 74,000 acres with around 1,800 under vine.

Rattlesnake Hills take in the hills running east to west, that are north of the Yakima River. Elevations for here are high, starting at 850 feet and going to over 3,000 feet, with most vineyards planted in the lower elevations.

Want to get really geeky on this area? Visit the washingtonwine.org page for Rattlesnake Hills https://www.washingtonwine.org/wine/facts-and-stats/regions-and-avas/rattlesnake-hills

Elephant Mountain Vineyard

It was October and harvest as we drove into Elephant Mountain Vineyard. We passed bins filled with fruit harvested that morning and had to stop and take grape glamour shots.

We climbed up the mountain through the vineyards surrounded by high desert landscape. I will admit to it feeling a little odd. We are from Vegas and to see a vineyard in the midst of this landscape was a little disconcerting. We climbed the hill to the picnic area on top, where picnic tables were set out with bottles of wine and plates of wine grapes.

The Vineyard itself is located on the southern slopes of Rattlesnake Ridge which sits at the base of Elephant Mountain. The ridge sits above the Missoula Flood plain. Elevations here sit from 1320-1460 feet.The high elevation here means that they have about 30 more frost free days than the rest of the Yakima Valley.

Varieties Grown at Elephant Mountain

First planted in 1998 with Merlot and Cabernet, the vineyard has expanded to almost 120 acres which now includes Cab Franc, Mourvédre, Grenache, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Sangiovese, Cinsault, Counoise, Barbera and Viognier, Marsanne & Roussanne.

I mentioned the grapes on the table. It was a gorgeous line-up for tasting the ripe grapes of Cinsault, Counoise, Mouvédre, Grenache, Syrah, Marsanne & Roussanne.

Cinsault grapes
Roussanne grapes
Marsanne & Counoise

Co got started giving us a little background on the area and then, Joe Hattrup, the owner of the vineyard met us to speak about the vineyard.

Joe Hattrup speaking to us about his Elephant Mountain Vineyard

Joe has been a farmer all of his life, but when they started this vineyard, he was new to wine grapes. So they set up a test block to see what worked and learn about the grapes before planting them in the commercial blocks.

They began as I said with Cab & Merlot and quickly got into Syrah. From there they found tat this site with it’s high elevation was good for many of the Rhône varieties. Most Rhônes are late ripening and the elevation here gives them those 30 additional days frost free, as well a great southern exposure late in the year to help with ripening.

They do have a second vineyard, Sugarloaf, also in the Rattlesnake Hills. He mentioned that they had pulled out the Viognier here at Elephant Mountain to plant Grenache which is in high demand and grows better with the protection this site provides.

A little on the Geography

We mentioned the elevation here, but Co put this into perspective with a few stats. At this point in the Yakima Valley, the river sits at 900 feet, and we were standing at about 1450 feet. When you head east to Red Mountain, the river there sits at around 400 feet. So you can see the valley is much lower there.

Desert, Vineyard and basalt at Elephant Mountain.
Basalt at Elephant Mountain Vineyard

We were standing in a ring of basalt lava rocks which informs the soils. Up on the ridge behind us, if you look closely, you can see a tree line. A band of trees sites at about 1600 feet, right at the line for moisture, fog and snow.

The views

Spectacular panorama of the Yakima Valley from Elephant Mountain Vineyard

View of Mount Adams from Elephant Mountain Vineyard
Looking South from Elephant Mountain Vineyard across the Yakima Valley
Vineyard View Elephant Mountain.

The wines

The lineup of wines on the table, all from wineries who source from this vineyard, was diverse and impressive! The grapes are concentrated and the wines from these grapes tend to be really inky.

We tasted a wide sampling of Rhône varieties and blends from an assortment of wineries, all with fruit from this vineyard. It was really interesting to see the reflection of the fruit with it’s similarities and then the expression of the various winemakers on top of this.

Wines made with Elephant Mountain fruit

We were treated to a great lunch following this tasting. A food truck with Authentic Mexican food arrived to fill our bellies. I felt even more at home, with food truck the desert sage brush. Once full, we climbed back into our vans and headed to Walla Walla for the start of the Wine Bloggers Conference. But along the way, we took in some spectacular views and our driver filled us in on the history of the area, ancient as well as recent.

I’ll do yet another shout out to Barbara Glover at Wine Yakima Valley. This visit that she planned for us was entertaining, informative and beautifully paced. Thanks also to Co Dinn and Joe Hattrup for taking the time to give us these great insights into the Yakima Valley Wine Region. And of course to WBC18, without which we might not have visited this beautiful region.

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Yakima Valley Seminar

April 24, 2019

Owen Roe Winery in Yakima Valley Washington

We spent a glorious evening at Owen Roe Winery, tasting wines and meeting winemakers from all over the Yakima Valley. Now it was time to get into the nitty gritty geeky stuff.

Wine Yakima Valley, set us up with a morning seminar for a video flyover of the Yakima Valley with Co Dinn and Kerry Shiels to orient us on the layout of the valley.

Co Dinn

Co Dinn Cellars

I had met Co Dinn on the first evening in Yakima. As the party was winding down, and the table emptying out, he came to my end of the table and introduced himself. We spoke for quite awhile in the shadows, my shot of the wine I tasted with him, with attest to that.

Co has been a winemaker in Washington for over 20 years. A UC Davis master’s grad, he worked in Napa and then came to Washington in 1996. Since then he has worked with vineyards all over the state to make his wines.

He spent 12 years working with Côte Bonneville before diving into his own label Co Dinn Cellars, where he makes wines of the Yakima Valley and is devoted to learning everything about this areas soils and climates. His knowledge is expansive as you will see as he speaks with us.

Kerry Shiels

Côte Bonneville

We mentioned that Co had spent time working with Côte Bonneville. The Côte Bonneville estate vineyard is Du Brul Vineyard. It was planted by Hugh and Kathy Shiels back in 1992 with the winery founded in 2001. Kerry Shiels, daughter of Hugh and Kathy and the current winemaker at Côte Bonneville joined us for this conversation.

DuBrul Vineyard

Did I mention that Co was devoted to learning about the climates of the area. Yes, that was plural climates. When you talk about DuBrul vineyard, they have multiple microclimates within their 45 acre site.

“In distance measured by hundreds of feet or less, we observe different growing conditions and tailor our farming practices to provide for the individual needs of the vine.
Quote courtesy the Cote Bonneville website https://www.cotebonneville.com/vineyard

This vineyard is recognized as one of the top in the state.

Part 1 – Overview and comparisons

In Part 1 below, we begin with Barbara Glover, the Executive Director of Wine Yakima Valley giving us an overview of the Yakima Valley AVA, it’s sub AVA’s and some of the surrounding area. She then turns it over to Co Dinn. Co gives us a little perspective on the size of the wine region here compared to other regions. He and Kerry move on to a comparison of Washington to Burgundy and then moving on to talk about the soils and geology within this region.

Part 2 – Soil overview and Union Gap to DuBrul Vineyard

Part 2 continues with details on the soils and top soils. They don’t have clay here, the soils here are gravel or sand. As they don’t have clay, they don’t have phylloxera. They are also in a rain shadow. We zoom in and begin our flyover where Kerry details some of the vineyards that we will be driving by shortly on our way first to Elephant Mountain and then on to Walla Walla.

Kerry mentions the world class vineyard research happening here in the Yakima Valley. She also tells us about the Red Willow Vineyard. They focus on Syrah here and have a replica of the Chapel at Hermitage on the hill at the vineyard. They also are looking deeply into the nuances of the different microclimates of the vines on different sides of their hill. Red Willow is a vineyard and at least 18 wineries source fruit from this iconic vineyard. Our flyover takes us from Union Gap on the western end of the valley discussing areas and vineyards as we travel east. We get to DuBrul Vineyard in Rattlesnack Hills AVA, where Kerry takes over speaking of their vineyard.

Kerry gives us a great quote from Bob Betz, Master of Wine

“Every grape would be red if it could. Every grape would be cabernet if it could, and the best cabernet in the state of Washington is DuBrul Vineyard merlot.”

Part 3 – DuBrul to Red Mountain

In Part 3 Co continues us east from DuBrul ending in Red Mountain. This hill is an extension of Rattlesnake Ridge. Red Mountain provides excellent structure and tannins and is used often in blends. This is a southwest facing slope, not an entire mountain. It is one of the warmest grape growing region in the state, so the cabernet grown there always ripens fully.

We had a little time for questions which got into climate change. Kerry says the hillsides help to protect them according to most projections, but they are working on water management. (She goes into some great details on why this is so)

Thanks to the Wine Media Conference https://www.winemediaconference.org/ (then known as the Wine Bloggers Conference) and Wine Yakima Valley https://wineyakimavalley.org/ for setting us the enjoyable and informative Pre-Conference tour.

Next up – Elephant Mountain Vineyard

From here we head out to Elephant Mountain Vineyard in the middle of the Yakima Valley

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Mont de Milieu Premier Cru Chablis from Simonnet-Febvre and Pôchouse #Winophiles

April 19, 2019

Chablis Premier Cru Mont de Milieu Simonnet-Febvre 2013 and Pôchouse

Pôchouse. What is that you ask? That was my response when I was researching what to pair with the Chablis I had picked up for this tasting. Quick answer…

pôchouse
La pôchouse, or pauchouse, is a recipe of French cuisine based on river fish, cut into pieces, and cooked with a white wine sauce, traditional Burgundy and Franche-Comté cuisine.
https://educalingo.com/en/dic-fr/pochouse

How did we get to pôchouse? Let’s start with the Wine.

Chablis with the French #Winophiles

Panoramic view of countryside and vineyards in Chablis area, Burgundy, France

This month the French Winophiles are dipping our toes into Chablis. (scroll down to see all the stories by the Winophiles on the subject this month! AND… you can follow the conversation on Twitter using #Winophiles).

I found my wine, a Simonnet-Febvre Premier Cru Chablis from Mont de Milieu.

But lets back up a little more. I suppose we should start with a little breakdown of the region.

Chablis

Chablis is part of Burgundy. Although if you look at a map , you might find that surprising. It sits 80 miles Northwest of the rest of Burgundy and is actually closer to Champagne than Burgundy. (take a look at the small inset map to see what I mean). In Chablis, one grape rules them all and that grape is Chardonnay. In fact, it is the only permitted grape in the region.

Kimmeridgian soils and a bit better sun

This region is has cool summers and cold winters, much like Champagne, but being further south and planted on South facing slopes it is protected from North winds and gets more sun exposure than they do in Champagne, allowing for better ripening. It is perhaps best known for it’s Kimmeridgian soils. Those south facing slopes are on an outcrop of Kimmeridgian marl, which provides great mineral nutrients for these grapes.

Breaking down the region

Chablis has but one Grand Cru. The Chablis Grand Cru is a 254 acre vineyard that is made up of 7 parcels. Then there are 40 premier cru vineyards, 17 of which are considered “principal” premiers. Mont de Milieu is one of these 17.

After that you have “Chablis” (you can see that in the brightest yellow on the map below), and finally the “Petit Chablis” which are tucked in and around the other vineyards and typically have less ideal slopes for sun and lesser soils.

Map of Chablis and it's vineyards, courtesy Pure Chablis — Map of Chablis and it’s vineyards, courtesy Pure Chablis

Mont de Milieu

So the wine we chose came from Mont de Milieu, and as I mentioned above, this is one of the 17 “Principal” premier crus. It sits on the right bank, on the east side of the Serein river. It is often compared to the Grand Cru site because it has similar sun exposure, which is important for ripening the grapes (remember it’s chilly up here in Chablis). The climate here is one of the warmest in Chablis which creates a rich wine.

The Kimmeridgian marl with clay and limestone rich soil is not as stony here. The soils make the vines struggle and they tend to produce fewer leaves. This again, helps with sun exposure to the berries for ripening.

A Border between Dukedoms

The area gets it’s name, which translates to “middle hill” from the fact that it marked the border between the dukedoms of Burgundy and Champagne.

Simonnet-Febvre

Founded in 1840, this is among the oldest wineries in the area. It has undergone several name changes over the years and specialized in Sparkling Chablis before Crémant de Bourgogne was even a thing. Here is a great story of their sparkling wines and current owner Latour…

Simonnet-Febvre is the only one in Chablis to perpetuate since its origin the production of sparkling wines from the traditional method – now called Crémant de Bourgogne. The grapes still come from the slopes of the Grand Auxerrois area, located a few kilometers away from the famous Chablis vineyards. Ironically, Louis Latour from the 4^th generation had celebrated the purchase of the Château Corton with bottles of Sparkling Chablis from Simonnet-Febvre. These bottles were ordered on December 8th, 1891, which was 112 years before Louis Latour finally purchased Simonnet-Febvre.
Courtesy https://www.simonnet-febvre.com

Alas…we are not talking about crémant, but rather their Chablis. But I did think that was a fun story.

Simonnet-Febvre Chablis Premier Cru Mont de Milieu 2013

This wine comes from vines that average about 35 years old, fermented and then aged for 12 months in stainless steel on the lees.

This wine was clear and golden in the glass. On the nose I got slate and warm golden fruit. On my first taste I got tart fruit, rich like golden raisins. As it opened minerals and chalk became more present. As it continued to open and warm it flooded into warm blossoms, the rich fragrance of flowers on a hot humid afternoon.

We did taste a Chablis a little while back that I loved also. The difference between that wine and this were pronounced. The other Chablis was young, vibrant and full of mineral. The Mont de Milieu, an older wine and age worthy wine, was richer and fuller, less bright, less mineral driven, but rounder with greater depth. You could see this in color in the glass.

Pôchouse

Okay, back to the Pôchouse. So I was looking for a pairing for the Chablis and searching different sites. One of my go to sites is Fiona Beckett’s Matching Food and Wine. Fiona had lots of suggestions, broken down into the different styles and ages of Chablis’. Of course when I see something that I’m not familiar with, I’m intrigued. “Pôchouse” caught my attention. What was that?

So I googled it. Some of the fish stew recipes, looked delicious but humble. I was looking for something a bit fancier. Then I came across a recipe that looked so elegant and delicious… Gourmet Traveler’s version of Pôchouse was so pretty, I was determined to make it. Of course I couldn’t find perch, eel, sandre or hapuku all of which they offer as options in the recipe. So we went with rainbow trout for our river fish, which I love anyway. Also, no sorrel or watercress were to be found, so I substituted spinach and arugula. Oh…and I never have Bay leaves in the house when I need them, so I used dry thyme. The dish was fairly easy to make and the sauce…OMG it was heaven!

I’ll let you check the link for the full recipe, but here is the quick version.

Making Pôchouse

Cook sliced onions, mushrooms, bacon, garlic and your dried herb in grape seed oil and butter. Do this in a roasting pan you can then pop in the oven. Lay the fish fillets on top, bake a few minutes then pour about a half of a bottle of chard over it and cook a bit more. (I didn’t use the Chablis…I wasn’t cooking with a half a bottle of that! It was reserved for drinking.)

Pop it out of the oven, put the fish aside and drain the liquid to make the sauce. You will put that delicious blend of bacon, onions and mushrooms to the side for plating also.

Add some more butter to the liquid, plus olive oil and lemon juice and whisk. (This golden elixir is truly amazing).

Now take the sorrel (or spinach like me) and cook it until it wilts in butter.

Okay, now make it pretty! Mushrooms etc spooned in the bottom, top with the fish, then the sorrel butter, a dollop of sour creme, spoon the sauce over (and let it puddle on the bottom) and finish with the fresh arugula (or watercress, if you are lucky enough to have it).

The elegant pôchouse. Rainbow trout, on a base of mushrooms, onions and bacon, in a white wine sauce topped with spinach butter, sour creme & arugula

Our pôchouse made with rainbow trout on a bed of mushrooms, bacon & onions, with a white wine sauce, topped with butter sauteed spinach, sour creme and arugula.

How was the pairing you ask?

The dish was heaven and sang with the wine. The roundness of the wine paired beautifully with the sauce. The mushrooms and sour creme along with the mineral notes in the wine, the tang from the spinach and the peppery arugula all made for a delicious bite that was so well paired. Yep it was a close your eyes while you eat moment. That bit of Zen when deliciousness all comes together in your mouth.

The French #Winophiles on Chablis

On Saturday, April 20, we are convening on Twitter at 10 a.m. CST for a Chablis chat. If you like Chardonnay, ahem, Chablis, join in! Just use #winophiles and you’ll find us. We’ve got a fantastic group of bloggers posting about Chablis. We’ll talk about the region, the wines, food pairings and travel! Here’s a peek at all the posts you’ll be able to explore:

Cam at Culinary Adventures with Camilla Brings Us “Cracked Crab, Cheesy Ravioli, and Chablis”

Gwendolyn at Wine Predator Shares “Chablis is … Chardonnay? Comparing 2 from France, 1 from SoCal Paired with Seafood Lasagna”

Liz at What’s in That Bottle Shares Chablis: the Secret Chardonnay

Deanna at Asian Test Kitchen Writes about “Top Chablis Pairings with Japanese Food”

Jennifer at Beyond the Cork Screw Has “French Companions: Chablis and Fromage Pavé”

Payal at Keep the Peas writes about “Chablis: A Tale of Two Soils”

Jane at Always Ravenous has “Pairing Chablis with Marinated Shrimp Salad”

Jeff at Food Wine Click shares “All the Best Food Pairings with Clos Beru Chablis”

Jill at L’Occasion writes about “Metal Giants: Windfarms and the Chablis Landscape”

Susannah at Avvinare writes “Celebrating France with Chablis and Toasting Notre Dame”

David at Cooking Chat writes about “Sipping Chablis with Easter Dinner or Your Next Seafood Meal”

Pinny at Chinese Food & Wine Pairings writes about “A Delicate Pair: Jean Claude Courtault Chablis and Sichuan Peppercorn-Cured Salmon”

Nicole at Somm’s Table writes about Domaine Savary Chablis Vieilles Vignes with Scallops and Brussels Sprouts Two Ways”

Kat at Bacchus Travel & Tours shares “The Delicate Face of Chardonnay: Chablis”

Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm Brings Us “Chardonnay? White Burgundy? Chablis!”

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

Guilty pleasure – wine reading on the beach – Root Cause

April 12, 2019

I’m not a literary critic, but I love to read. I also find myself knee-deep in wine study these days, but I had vacation. How can you study wine and enjoy a relaxing vacation at the same time? Well, find a beach (or a pool) and pick up a copy of Steven Laine’s novel Root Cause.

I was lucky enough to have someone with Book Publicity Services reach out to me to see if I would be interested in reading this book, and with my upcoming vacation, of course I said yes.

This book is the perfect vacation read, and was especially perfect for me as it allowed me a piece of fiction filled with wine facts, so I didn’t feel too guilty as I took a break from my studies.

A glass of wine and Steven Laine’s book Root Cause, on the balcony overlooking the pool.
Reading Steven Laine’s Root Cause by the beach.

You don’t need to be a wine expert to enjoy this book, but if you pour a glass and read this adventurous romp, you will come out knowing wine trivia to impress your friends.

The basics on the story

The story follows a flying winemaker around the world as she investigates and tracks the plant louse “Philomena”. “Philomena” is actually a strain of phylloxera which is no longer put off by American root stock. (The name comes about due to a typo in a printed article).

Philomena (or phylloxera)

If you are in the wine industry, or just a wine lover, that may be enough to put fear in your heart. If phylloxera is a new term to you, let me give you the quick lowdown. This louse was taken to Europe on American Vines and infected vineyards all over Europe in the 1800’s. Vineyards were ripped out or burned to stop the spread of this louse. 70% of the vines in France were destroyed.

There was a happy ending to this real life story. It was discovered that American root stock was impervious to the louse and vines the world over were grafted onto this root stock. So the wine industry did not disappear, and many French winemakers set forth about the globe at this time, influencing wine making practices (and making them better) around the globe.

None-the-less, you can see that the word “phylloxera” sets fear into the hearts of wine lovers. So this is an edge of your seat ride to see if the vineyards of the world and wine can be saved.

A beach read

I said this was beach reading right? It is. While it is full of great information on vineyards around the globe, fancy wine auctions and cellars in Champagne, it gives you that information in an entertaining way. The chapters are set up in bite size bits, perfect for taking a break between chapters to take a dip in the ocean or refresh your beverage.

It’s easy reading, sometimes a bit contrived and silly. A little like a Dan Brown novel with the Scooby Doo gang. Okay….perhaps not quite that, but…it’s built to be approachable like Zinfandel or Shiraz. (There is a Super Villain with an underground lair!). We ARE at the beach! We don’t want to have to work too hard! This is perfect. I absorbed some great wine knowledge and got insights into different aspects of the industry.

This book is a page turner! I read this over the course of 2 days at the beach. I assumed the outcome would be good, but chapter to chapter…it was a quick breathe to look at the ocean, a sip of a drink and back in to see what happened next.

This is a perfect introduction to get you addicted to the complex world of wine. Are you a wine lover with a bunch of friends who are just casual wine drinkers? This is the perfect way to get them hooked on wanting more wine details, and guarantee you some better wine conversations!

About Steven Laine

Here is a little about the author provided to me by Kelsey at Book Publicity Services. He has a ton of wine knowledge that he works beautifully into this novel. You can picture the vineyards, the wineries, the cellars…and by the end of the book, you will probably be googling these places to see and hear more about the history and stories. I’m inspired to learn more about the cellars and connected tunnels underneath Champagne.

Root Cause Author, Steven Laine. (photo courtesty Book Publicity Services) — The Author, Steven Laine. (photo courtesty Book Publicity Services)

Steven Laine was raised in Ontario, Canada and has dual Canadian and British citizenship. He has travelled the world working in luxury hotels for international brands including The Ritz, Hilton, Starwood, Marriott, and Jumeirah. When he was Beverage Manager of a five star hotel in London, he learned all about wine and has since visited over one hundred vineyards and wineries in Napa, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Lebanon, and South Africa. As the only North American ever invited to be a Member of the Champagne Academy, he had the privilege to tour the major Champagne Houses in France. His circle of friends is made up of winemakers, Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, restaurant managers, and wine distributors from all over the globe.

Steven’s debut novel, Root Cause will be released on February 19, 2019, published by Turner Publishing.

Steven currently lives in Singapore and is now working on his next novel. To learn more, go to www.StevenLaine.com.

Readers can connect with Steven on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Goodreads.
BookPublicityServices.com

How to find a copy

This 400 page wine thriller can be found through Turner Publishing. You can download or order the paperback version. I like holding a book, especially at the beach with the sun, but it is also available to download on your Kindle.

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

Owen Roe’s Union Gap Vineyard – A tour with David O’Reilly

April 3, 2019

Glasses were clinking, wines were being poured, great conversations were happening, the weather was perfect and Flavor Camp was about to begin.

Wine Yakima Valley treated those of us who attended the WBC Pre Conference tour to 2 incredible days exploring the Yakima Valley. (You can catch our overview here). This first evening was spent at Owen Roe Winery. We managed an impromptu winery tour with Co-Owner David O’Reilly and now we were on to Flavor Camp.

The Yakima Valley is an agricultural region and in addition to grapes for wine, they also produce apples for cider and hops for beer. We were treated to an in-depth look at these with Flavor Camp.

You will get to hear about the Cider and Hops also, but we are about wine here, so….

David O'Reilly with Owen Roe Vineyard explained that we are about as far West in the Yakima Valley as you can go. — David O’Reilly With Owen Roe Vineyard

Vineyard Tour with David O’Reilly

We are at the Owen Roe Union Gap Vineyard in the Yakima Valley. As we climb into the back of the all-terrain vehicle with about a dozen wine writers, David explained that we are about as far West in the Yakima Valley as you can go.

“From east to west there is not a big temperature difference.” David tells us, but Walla Walla, where we would be going the following day, was at 30 degrees the night before, where as Yakima was at 40. The cold air rushes down the valley.

For a bit of perspective, take a look at this Wine map of Washington State, Courtesy of Washingtonwine.org you can see Yakima about at center east/west in the state, with the cascades to the west, compared to Walla Walla to the east.

Washington AVA Photo Courtesy of washingtonwine.org — Washington AVAs Photo Courtesy of washingtonwine.org

Here on this map of the Yakima Valley courtesy of WineYakimaValley.org you can see the Union Gap Vineyard all the way west.

This tour would take us through 3 of the distinct soil types on the vineyard and we would taste the flavor profile from each.

Missoula Flood Loess and Bordeaux varieties

We drove up the hill and stepped out at the top, into soft loose dusty soil that immediately covered my shoes. As people walked, little puffs of dust erupted in their footsteps. “Loose soil” is your clue here. This is loess.

Loess soil at Owen Roe's Union Gap Vineyard. — Loess soil at Owen Roe’s Union Gap Vineyard.

David pulls out his altimeter app to check the altitude (we all scrambled to find this app). We were standing at 1199 feet.

Remember those Missoula Floods?

Now it’s time to talk a little soil history. If you read our piece on Montinore, you may have some of this history! If not, you can find it here, where Rudy Marchesi explains the Missoula Floods.

This property sits at the convergence of Glacial Lake Missoula. We would pass the Wallula Gap tomorrow as we headed to Walla Walla. This is where the Ice dam backed up the water, eventually lifting and flooding the valley, creating the Columbia River Gorge and impacting the land and soil all the way into Oregon.

The water here in Yakima came up to about 1150 feet, so the soil we were standing on was above the glacial flood. The soil here are silts (really fine). David pointed out the hillside where you could see the sub soils of basalt and ancient rock that are about 22 million years old.

Owen Roe 2014 Bordeaux Blend. — Owen Roe 2014 Bordeaux Blend in the vineyard

Soils here on top are shallow making it good for Bordeaux varieties. At the top of the hill where we are standing, they grow their Cabernet Sauvignon. This is clone 47, David tells us, a clone with small berries, this wine retains it’s fruit and has beautiful acid. We are tasting the 2014 bordeaux Blend with is a Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot & Malbec blend, with Cabernet Sauvignon from this vineyard block.

In the summers, up here, the sun is up at 6 am and the soils tend to stay warm overnight. They have less of a diurnal (day to night temperature) shift then Red Mountain. Photosynthesis is maximized when the soil is warm so the grapes here ripen earlier and the wine is less tannic and more textural.

We strolled down the hill, creating little dust storms and ending at the block of Cabernet Franc.

Elevation, terroir and matching varieties

David explained the planting method. The soils that are most shallow are planted to the latest ripening grape varieties (cabernet sauvignon), the deeper soils toward the bottom of the hill are planted to merlot, which has big clusters that ripen early. Here in the middle is where the cab franc grows, ripening later than merlot and before the cabernet sauvignon.

Cabernet Franc at Owen Roe

Cabernet Franc is a favorite of mine and of David’s it seemed. He spoke of this ancient grape, father to cabernet sauvignon and how it likes cooler temperatures. In hotter years it gets finicky. This end of the Yakima Valley is about 4 degrees cooler than other sites in the valley during the day, but it stays warmer at night. This gives the cabernet franc “gorgeous texture and keeps that perfume in the grape”.

We taste the 2015 Cabernet Franc. This year was warmer and the cabernet franc was finicky. They had to pluck out the green berries by hand from the bunches. The first major heat will shut photosynthesis down. The 2014 by comparison was very Bordeaux in style and was chunky and tannic.

Irrigation in the Yakima Valley

We noticed the irrigation drip. Washington is extremely dry and they must irrigate here to keep the vineyard growing. The water here comes from wells from the Ellensberg Formation Aquifer. Due to the soil type, it tends to be slightly acidic. The soils are basic and low in nitrogen so this is one of the nutrients they will add in the winery. (We talk about that in our winery tour)

Drip Irrigation, a necessity when growing in the high desert conditions in the Yakima Valley

In so many wine regions we are trained to think of irrigation as bad and dry farming is good. That would be to stress the vines and keep those roots digging deep. Here, with the lack of rain fall, it is necessary.

The region gets only 7 to 8 inches of precipitation each year, and the definition of a true desert is anything less than 10.
http://wineyakimavalley.org/climate/

The cherries in the valley, David tells us, use 10 times the amount of water as the vines here.

Into the glacial soils & Rhône varieties

Calcium Carbonate in the rocks at Owen Roe Vineyard.

Further down the hill we get into the glacial soils where you find calcium carbonate, the white substance we had seen above. These glacial silts have a little deeper soil and give you rock and minerality, the wines are finer than if they were grown in loess & deeper soils, that present as more aromatic and textural.The Oldest soil type here is the Ellensburg Formation, which is old Columbia Riverbed. This predates the Yakima River & the basalt activity. These are actually “anti-clines” that formed through earth movement. The upthrust that we were standing on at this point was at almost 1200 feet. This is not glacial. Anything lower than this was not upthrust, it was just washed away.

Ellensburg is found in high elevations. In Walla Walla the famous Rocks AVA is all on riverbeds at the Valley Floor.

What makes this great for Grenache is that Grenache is cold sensitive, so you want it high in the vineyard so the cold air rushes down. Sounds counter intuitive, it’s at one of the highest elevations & yet it ripens early.

Okay…all this talk about soils and wine, are you thirsty now? Search out a bottle of Washington wine, Owen Roe if you can find it, and enjoy our video tour with David O’Reilly.

Washington Tasting room

Open Daily from 11-4 in the Yakima Valley, they do require reservations for more than 8 guests.

They also offer Barrel Room Tastings on the weekends started each day at noon. You can reserve this for a fee on their reservation page. It includes a tour, private tasting, an expanded flight and a cheese and charcuterie platter.

The Union Gap Vineyard and tasting room can be found at 309 Gangl Rd in Wapato WA 98951. 509-877-0454

Oregon Tasting Room

Again open daily from 11-4 their tasting room off Hwy 219 outside of Newberg requires reservations for more than 6 guests. You can bring snacks, or contact them ahead of time and they can have a snack plate ready.

Here they have a Cellar Table Experience that you can reserve to do a more private tasting geared toward your palate. Contact them ahead of time to set this up.

The Willamette Valley tasting room is located at 2761 E 9th St. Newberg OR 97132. 503-538-7778

More to come!

Watch for more on Yakima Valley Wine, coming out soon!

And visit our Yakima Valley Wine page on our site for more details on this great region.

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

Full fermentation bins! A walk inside Owen Roe Winery at Harvest.

March 29, 2019

While we were in the Yakima Valley for #WBC18, we had the opportunity to go to Owen Roe Winery with the Pre-Conference Tour with Wine Yakima Valley. You can read all about Day 1 of our adventure in the Yakima Valley here at Yakima Valley Wine and Beyond with Wine Yakima Valley’s Flavor Camp.

While enjoying our afternoon, tasting the wines and getting set for Flavor Camp, I peeked around the side of the winery, where work continued. We were deep into harvest and cleanup was happening outside the winery, behind where the tables were set out for dinner and wine was being poured. I always lean toward the backstage (I am a Stage Manager after all), so I snuck around the side and found a couple fellow wine writers peeking as well. As luck would have it, David O’Reilly, owner of Owen Roe, had spied us, and offered to give us a tour inside the busy working winery.

Full Fermentation Bins!

The Winery was full of bins filled with fruit that was fermenting. Pulling back the tarp, that was spring clamped on as a lid, we looked in at the berries (grapes) that looked remarkably like blueberries (as someone noted).

Whole berries in a fermentation bin at Owen Roe Winery in the Yakima Valley

David informed us that this was a whole berry ferment. They don’t use a crusher to crush the berries, the weight of the berries pressing down on each other does that work for them.

The room was filled with these white bins full of berries fermenting. Someone asked if this was like a carbonic ferment. Well….carbonic fermentation (as David explained) is a whole berry fermentation like this, but….it is done in an enclosed system with CO2. They do this with the Cinsault that goes into their Sinister Hand Blend. He pointed out the room in the corner, their cold room. The carbonic masceration, does with the Cinsault, what is does with Beaujolais Nouveau, it give the wine a fresh fruit note.

So many Stories

You know I love a good story. While David O’Reilly told us the tales of the winery and the vineyard, I dug a little deeper to find the inspiration for the name of the Winery and beyond that, of the Sinister Hand wine that David mentioned to us and that I got to taste later.

Behind the Name Owen Roe:

Owen Roe O’Neill was a seventeenth century Irish Patriot, who dedicated his life to upholding the highest principles of political equality and freedom. His commitment to great things makes him an ideal model for us at Owen Roe, for we share his dedication to principle in our work to produce the wines of Owen Roe. At Owen Roe we do not compromise: only the best is good enough.
Courtesy Owen Roe Winery

I reached out to Taylor at Owen Roe and she told me that David O’Reilly had spent his first 14 years of life on a farm in Ireland. His family then moved to British Columbia and he fished and raised vegetables and grew up living off of the land.

The name on the Label

Owen Roe Winery, in Yakima Valley Washignton

A letter written in 1649 by O’Neill was found in David O’Reilly’s family castle, but because the letter was written in Spanish, O’Neill penned the signature with his Spanish name. David cut out the letters from the document to create Owen O’Neill’s signature. O’Reilly is related to O’Neill through marriage.
Courtesy of Taylor Boyle Wine Club Manager at Owen Roe

The story of the Sinister Hand

Sinister Hand Label from Owen Roe Winery (courtesy of Owen Roe WInery) — Sinister Hand Label from Owen Roe Winery (courtesey of Owen Roe WInery)

THE STORY BEHIND THE LABEL: Long ago, pre-dating the 11th century, the families that became modern day O’Neills and O’Reillys were feuding over the land that became their ancestral home. To settle the dispute, a competition was organized and several rowing teams agreed that the first to touch the land, after rowing across the lake, would become ruler of the land. O’Neill’s boat was falling behind so a member of the crew grabbed his own sword, cut off his hand and threw it ashore, and touching first, winning the title to rule the land. The island fortress on this land can still be visited on Lough Oughter in County Cavan.
From OwenRoe.com

Dipping into fermentation

Owen Roe Winery, Grapes in Fermentation Bins

David opened up a bin that was about half way through its ferment. You could feel the heat. The bin was sitting at about 32 ° C that would be about 85 ° F. David explained that with Interns in the winery from all over the world, they use celsius temperature and metrics here (easier than teaching another language!).

We looked in another bin and you could see some skin separation. The color was also leaching out of the skins into the juice adding those wonderful phenolics that make red wines so tasty and interesting.

When asked about regulating temperature, David said that they regulate the ambient temperature in the winery. We had arrived at the change of seasons, when the daylight temperatures tend to plummet. Often it is actually too cold for fermentation in the winery. They do have their cold room in case a fermentation gets running too hot. They typically keep their fermentations at around 80 ° here and let them do a nice slow 2 week fermentation.

Jackie Evans, Winemaker

Jackie Evans, Owen Roe Winery, Winemaker

We met Jackie Evans, the winemaker here at Owen Roe, as she was making her rounds adding nutrients to keep the fermentations on track. They had their lab where they check levels and add nutrients to be sure the fermentation does not get stressed. This avoids stuck fermentations. As David puts it “Band-aids are easier than mouth to mouth resuscitation.”

Later in the evening the crew would be in for punch downs. I had planned on trying to get back in to see that, but the wine, the food, the conversation, and that sunset…well, suffice to say, I got distracted.

None the less, we did go on to do our Flavor Camp which included a vineyard tour with David. You will see that coming up next!

Visiting Owen Roe

Owen Roe has 2 tasting rooms, one in Washington at the Union Gap Vineyard that we visited, as well as another in Newberg Oregon (they make wines in the Willamette Valley also)

Washington Tasting room

Open Daily from 11-4 in the Yakima Valley, they do require reservations for more than 8 guests.

The Union Gap Vineyard and tasting room can be found at 309 Gangl Rd in Wapato WA 98951. 509-877-0454

Oregon Tasting Room

Here they have a Cellar Table Experience that you can reserve to do a more private tasting geared toward your palate. Contact them ahead of time to set this up.

The Willamette Valley tasting room is located at 2761 E 9th St. Newberg OR 97132. 503-538-7778

More to come!

Watch for our vineyard tour with David O’Reilly, coming out soon!

And visit our Yakima Valley Wine page on our site for more details on this great region.

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

Illahe into the Cellar, out to the vineyard and back in time

March 21, 2019

We continue our visit with Lowell Ford of Illahe Vineyard in the proposed Mt. Pisgah/Polk County AVA in the Willamette Valley, by leaving the upper level of their gravity flow winery and heading into their new wine cave completed in 2015. Both the winery with it’s barrel shaped ceiling and the wine cave, set into the hill behind the winery, were designed by Laurence Ferar and Associates from Portland.

Illahe Vineyard-Cellar
Illahe Vineyards Cellar
Illahe Vineyards Cellar Skylight

The Cave is cool and the walls are lined with barrels and our voices echo as we enter it’s dark interior. Once inside the cave, even before Kathy turns on the lights, you find there is still light, due to an skylight at the end of the cave inset into the ceiling. There is a sense of reverence in here. While the cave can hold around 200 barrels, at this time of year there are fewer, so we have ample room to quietly walk in and take in the space.

Lowell tells us how the cave was installed in three sections that were precast, with rebar sliding into place to fit the puzzle pieces together. There are wall sconces to light the space, although those get turned off when they are working on the 1899. The Bon Sauvage, Percheron and 1899, all barrel age here before release.

Vineyard Practices

We leave the cool confines of the cave to walk out to the Vineyard, where Lowell shows us some bunches that are still full of bright green hard berries (it was early July when we visited). These bunches are filled with evenly sized berries, something he’s pretty happy about. “I don’t see any hens and chicks!” “That’s good news!”

We proceed to talk about vineyard maintenance, the use of sulfur to prevent downy mildew and other practices. They are LIVE Certified, and they have 6.5 acres that are farmed organically. The difficulty with that, it that to keep away the downy mildew, and other issues, they must spray every 7 days, which means they have to run a tractor through. These are the difficult choices in agriculture do you use the organic sprays which must be used more often to be effective, but then cause you to get out the tractor twice a week and burn fossil fuels?

They also use no coppers here. They are Salmon Safe and were named the Hero of Salmon in 2018.

We take in the view again as we move to the beautiful front patio, where we sit down and talk about the 1899. (I promised to give you some insights on this wine right?)

Illahe 1899 Pinot Noir

Lowell Ford, Illahe Vineyards — Lowell Ford on the patio at Illahe Vineyard

What he came up with was the process in which we take the winemaking activity and break it down very distinctly into it’s individual components. And there’s the genius of it.
Lowell Ford, speaking of his son and winemaker Brad Ford and his idea to create the 1899 Pinot Noir

Illahe Vineyard 2015 "1899" Pinot Noir — Illahe Vineyard 2015 “1899” Pinot Noir

The 1899 is made with the resources that would have been available in 1899. That means, without modern equipment and without electricity. Bea and Doc, the Percheron Draft Horses do a bit of work helping to get the grapes to the winery. In 2017 Bea had a lame leg on the day they were harvesting, and couldn’t pull the wagon. So while the harvest crew kept harvesting, the winemaking team got busy hauling the small buckets of ripe berries up the hill from the vineyard into the winery.

Once in the winery, everything gets de-stemmed by hand and goes into their wooden fermenting tanks. Here they are foot stomped.

After a 10 day soak they have a wooden basket press and then it is pumped into barrel. They have a bicycle that provides the power for the pumping and there are races to see who can fill a barrel fastest.

Illahe Vineyard Tasting room, 1899 Bike Pump

Bottling, corking and labeling are done by hand. The label is printed by a letterpress.

Then how to get it to market? They don’t skimp on this process either. It travels by Stagecoach to the river, by canoe 96 miles on the river and then by cargo bike into Portland.

We got the story from Lowell, but if you want to check out Brad (Lowell’s son and the winemaker at Illahe) you can watch this great video that they produced. Illahe 1899 Pinot Noir

For more details on Illahe you can check out these additional pieces we have done on this remarkable vineyard and winery.

Where and how to find them!

Illahe Vineyards is located at 3275 Ballard Rd, Dallas, OR 97338.

Give Kathy a call for an appointment at 503-831-1248 or drop her an email at [email protected].

Tastings are $25 per person and are waived with a $100 purchase.

While they don’t serve food, they have a lovely patio with tables overlooking the vineyard, where you can bring your own lunch and enjoy the view.

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

Where are the Women in Champagne? #Winophiles

March 14, 2019

Nathalie Falmet Brut & Champagne, by the Artist RuBen Permel of Act2Art

Women in Champagne. It’s a simple title. I looked forward to learning and researching about Women in Champagne as we put together our piece for the Winophiles this month. As I set forth to do some research, I found two stumbling blocks, Champagne and Women. Do a search, try it now…I’ll wait.

Probably the first things that popped up were dresses or shoes in the color of champagne for women. Ugh!

Dig deeper.

Once you’ve waded through the photos of ladies in champagne colored gowns sipping flutes of Champagne, you might come across pieces on “The Women of Champagne”. Okay, this has a bit more merit. It will discuss the Grand Dames of the Champagne region, beginning with the Widow Cliquot and moving on to the women in the industry who work for or are part of the families of the big Champagne houses.

Kudos to all of them! You can read a great piece on them here at Food&Wine https://www.foodandwine.com/wine/champagne-sparkling-wine/future-women-in-champagne , but this was not what I was looking for.

I was looking for the boots on the ground women in Champagne. Where were the female winemakers, owners of a small vineyards or women working with their families in Champagne for small wineries. I wanted to talk about women on the ground getting their hands dirty, making delicious wine, not about a large corporation.

In my online research I did stumble upon the perfect piece to send me down the rabbit hole that I needed. It was a research piece by Professors Lucia and John Gilbert of Santa Clara University in California. (You can read it here https://webpages.scu.edu/womenwinemakers/champagne.php) Researched and Written by Professors Lucia and John Gilbert [email protected] Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA 2018

They discussed several organizations in Champagne for/by women including La Transmission and Les Fa’Bulleuses. Ahh….at last. These were the women I was looking for.

Les Fa’Bulleuses

I reached out to Les Fa’Bulleuses for some information and Charlotte de Sousa of Champagne De Sousa was happy to provide me with some additional information.

Les Fa’Bulleuses are a group of women in Champagne who have gathered together to market their family wineries in Champagne. More than that, this group has become an indispensable resource for each other.

“Each of us comes from a different village and has a very singular history … But what unites us, above all, is this unconditional love that we have for our wines and our terroirs.
Versatile and dynamic, we practice the noble profession of winegrower in its entirety. At the same time present in our vineyards, in vinification and cav, we like to learn, observe, communicate and especially share.
Convinced that “unity is strength” we are a real team. Through our associate the Fa’Bulleuses of Champagne we wish to defend with femininity but without feminism our work, our values and our passion”
Courtesy Les Fa’Bulleuses de Champagne

Charlotte was kind enough to give me her thoughts on the group.

“There were seven of us at the beginning. Two girls met during a wine fair and decided to create a group. One girl called another, and they called another and soon we were 7 for the creation of the group in 2014. It is important to us, because we have the same questions, the same issues. It is important to have each other for advice, help etc… we are oxygen for each other, working in a family business every day is not easy. Here we know we are not alone. It is not always so easy to work in a world of men when you are a young woman, so we are happy to know that the other Fa’Bulleuses are here to help!””
Charlotte De Sousa of Champagne De Sousa

The group includes:

Les Fa'Bulleuses photo on Stairs — Les Fa’Bulleuses courtesy Les Fa’Bulleuses

Laureen Baillette of Champagne Baillet-Prudhomme

Hélène Beaugrand of Champagne-Beaugrand

Claire Blin of Champagne Mary Sessile

Mathilde Bonnevie of Champagne Bonnevie Bocart

Charlotte De Sousa of Champagne De Sousa

Sophie Milesi of Champagne Guy Méa

And

Delphine Brulez of Champagne Louise Brison

They have a map of 7 of the houses linking all the areas of Champagne.

Femmes de Vin Map of Les Fa'Bulleuses — Femmes de Vin Map of Les Fa’Bulleuses

I encourage you to check out the Les Fa’Bulleuses site and dig deeper into each of these houses!

Finding a wine made by a female Winemaker in Champagne

So I went to look for a bottle of Champagne. The same issues as before came up. It’s hard enough to find Grower Champagne, but then one made by a woman? I hit up wine.com. They pointed me to Veuve Cliquot. I explained that I was looking for a female winemaker. They pointed out that the Champagne houses typically have teams of winemakers that often change so finding and keeping track of a female winemaker there can be exciting for research (I would have said challenging). I had to come back around to “Grower Champagne” and while they did not have any wines by the wineries of Les Fa’Bulleuses, they were able to find me one by Nathalie Falmet.

Nathalie Falmet, Vigneronne Oenologue

Nathalie Falmet was the first female oenologue in Champagne. Her label proudly lists “Champagne Nathalie Falmet, Vigneronne Oenologue. I was able to find a piece written about Nathalie on the Scala School of Wine site.

With a degree in chemistry she went on to become an Oenologue. In addition to making her wines, she runs her Bar-sur-Aube consulting laboratory. The tiny estate (which is just 3.2 hectares is in the Côte des Bar in the Aube department. An area which has been getting more and more attention.

We tasted the Brut NV. Tim Hall with the Scala School of Wine spoke about the style and production method.

A perpetual solera-type reserve begun in 2009 provides the reserve wines, giving a growing complexity of options to a small producer who does not have the volume to store a high proportion of reserves each harvest. The solera is replenished with about 20% of the assembled Brut NV (currently about 80PN 20CH) each year after 20% has been decanted for reserve wines. The Brut NV is thus based on a single year plus 20% solera reserves…
Champagne Nathalie Falmet – A Profile
Scalawine.com
Posted on February 21, 2015 by Tim Hall

Art, wine and Inspiration

Champagne has always seem feminine to me. It is elegant, festive and comforting. The bubbles cheer you and that waft of yeast, like fresh baked bread, wraps you in a comforting aroma. A few years ago we did a project with my dear friend RuBen, where he created beautiful art inspired by wine and we did pairings. The event was called Crushed Grapes and Open Minds.

One of the pieces he painted, I am lucky enough to still have gracing a wall. This piece was based on his interpretation of Champagne. The painting is vivid, yet soft and I always have the impression of a mother cradling a child. This felt like an appropriate backdrop for this piece.

I encourage you to visit RuBen site at Act2Art. He is a brilliant artist, working in multiple mediums. His art, writing, costuming, photography and other design are amazing. I am truly lucky to call him a friend.

On to the pairings

We were popping this beautiful bottle from Nathalie Falmet on the day before my birthday, which happened (kizmet) to be International Women’s Day. So there was much to celebrate.

Elegant yet comforting

In looking for pairings, I wanted to span that gap of elegant and comfort. So we started with caviar and creme fraiche on a beautiful salty potato chip combining two classic pairings, caviar and potato chips.

It was a gleeful and blissful pairing. We also enjoyed some classic pairings, brie, raspberries, nuts and lobster pate (although the lobster pate did not go as well as I would have wished).

Classic Champagne pairings caviar, raspberries, brie, pistachios — Classic Champagne pairings

Then, we did a high brow mac & cheese. I found a recipe for lobster macaroni and cheese and dove into this! The recipe seemed manageable and still a little fancy. More than once I worried that I had done a step wrong, but in the end, it came out beautifully. You can find the recipe here.

Ingredients for our Lobster Mac & Cheese

And…we ended up with lots more than I expected! So the celebrating continued throughout the week. (Lobster mac and cheese makes for a spectacular leftover!) I did add some vivid green vegetables to make this a bit healthier of a dinner.

Lobster Mac & Cheese, green vegetables and a Nathalie Falmet Brut Champagne

We finished it off simply with another great pairing for champagne…shortbread! Wrapped up with the mac & cheese, I didn’t bother to make this myself, but it was delicious and easy.

So that is my take on Women in Champagne. I cannot wait to read the perspectives by the other French Winophiles. I encourage you to dive in and enjoy some additional terrific reads below. And…you can join us to chat about the Women in Champagne on Saturday March 16th at 11 am EST on twitter! Just pop in #Winophiles and follow along, or join in! Tell us about your favorite Women of Champagne!

2019.03 #Winophiles Chat – Champagne
Julia from Julia Coney.com speaks on “Women of Champagne Making Shift Happen”
Pinny from Chinese Food & Wine Pairings whips up “Women Who Make Champagne AND Woman Who Helps Us Learn About Champagne #Winophiles #tastelikehappy”
Cynthia and Pierre from Traveling Wine Profs talk about Biodynamic Grower Champagne with Make-Your-Own Sushi Dinner “Biodynamic grower Champagne with make-your-own sushi dinner.”
Martin from Enofylz Wine Blog writes on Overcoming the Odds Twice – The Women of Champagne Duval-Leroy “Overcoming the Odds Twice – The Women of Champagne Duval-Leroy”
Gwendolyn from Wine Predator talks about the Wonderful Women of Champagne and Halibut 4 Ways for #Winophiles “Wonderful Women of Champagne and Halibut 4 Ways for #Winophiles.”
Jill from L’Occasion talks about Working With the Classics: Advice from Women in Champagne“Working With the Classics: Advice from Women in Champagne”
Camila from Culinary Adventures with Camila makes you hungry with Glazed Beet & Burrata Toasts + Alice Paillard“Glazed Beet & Burrata Toast + alice Paillard”
Nicole of Somm’s Table shares with us “Champagne Dames, Lamiable Extra Brut, and a Hot Cheese Mess”

Barrel Tasting with Rudy Marchesi at Montinore Estate

January 24, 2019

After a wonderful interview with Rudy Marchesi of Montinore Estate discussing the Missoula Floods, the history of Montinore estate and their wines as well as Biodynamics in the vineyard and garden, Rudy invited us to the cellar for a barrel tasting.

Winemaker Stephen Webber

Montinore_Estate_Stephen_Webber, courtesy of Montinore Estate

On the way, we went through the lab, where we met Montinore Estate winemaker, Stephen Webber. Stephen started with Montinore as Assistant Winemaker over a decade ago in 2006 coming from DiStefano winery in Seattle. He became the Co-Winemaker in 2009 and took over as head winemaker in 2016.

On to the tasting

We stopped briefly in the tank room for a taste of the Red Cap Pinot that was fermenting in tank. Before heading to the cellar with room after room filled with barrels and a few clay amphorae style vessels (which we later found out were on loan from Andrew Beckham).

The original plantings of Pinot Noir in the Montinore Estate Vineyard in 1982 were very typical of the early Oregon plantings and were Pommard and Wadenswil clones.

High density vineyards

The vineyard we tasted from next were some of the first high density vineyards in the area, planted 2500 vines to the acre. Rudy feels high density works better here. With high density vineyards, each vine is asked to do less work. Here, instead of each vine needing to produce 6 lbs of fruit, they are only asked to produce 2 lbs per vine.

I remember speaking with Jason Haas about high density vineyards. He was very much against them in Paso Robles. But here is where perspective comes in. High density planting in Central California during a drought is much different from high density planting in Oregon, where moisture is much more abundant. So much of vineyard practice is determined by location and climate and available natural resources.

Soils and their affect on the taste of a wine

We moved on to taste from another barrel that came from a block about 100 yards from the first. The difference was immediately apparent in nose and color. This was the same elevation. The soil is Missoula Flood loess over basalt. Rudy conjectured that these 35 year old vines had worked their roots into the basalt and this was where the differences came from. This pinot had more earth with herbal and cherry notes. Basalt, Rudy explained, often had this cherry note. The first block we tasted from had deeper loess. He noted that the basalt in Dundee was different, but still had these cherry notes.

The Red Cap Pinot Noir is a blend of all of their Pinots. Everything is barrelled separately, then they pull reserves from each vineyard and block and the remaining blends into the Red Cap. The very best blocks make up the estate reserve. They then make several vineyard designate wines. They make 200 cases of a single vineyard Pinot Noir from Parsons Ridge. Which we tasted next.

We tasted again, from a block in Helvetia soil. This is a different soil series but still part of the Missoula flood loess and is known as Cornelius. The slope on this block is a little different. The color in this wine was more purple, which they seem to get from the southern part of the property. You could taste a bit more wood (the barrel this was in was newer oak) on this wine. There was more floral, and the fruit on the nose was more boysenberry than blackberry. This is the soil on Rudy and his wife’s 1 1/4 acre property

The next wine was from the Tidalstar vineyard which has marine sediment soils. This vineyard is located in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA on it’s western edge. This wine will be part of the Red Cap, as well as all 3 tiers of single vineyard wines. They are thinking of creating a new brand exclusively from this vineyard.

Michael commented on this being the perfect way to taste wines. Comparing blocks and soils in the cellar and seeing and smelling the differences, guided by someone who knows the vineyard.

This is the beauty of Pinot Noir, it is so expressive.
Rudy Marchesi (our interview in July 2018)

More than just Pinot Noir

As Rudy searched for the right varieties for his early vineyards on the East Coast, he set up a research project to go to Northern Italy and explore indigenous varieties. His father was born there, so he had some people he could contact. They went to 5 different cultural research stations. He learned quite a bit, but didn’t put it into practice until he arrived in Oregon.

Lagrein

We tasted the Lagrein. (disclosure – a varietal I love and find all too rarely). Lagrein’s parentage is Pinot Noir and Dureza (which is also a parent of Syrah). In the glass it is very Syrah like.

You can really see in the glass, something syrah like going on. This has been doing well. We just bottled the 2016. I planted these in 2010-2012, so they are just starting to come in stride.
Rudy Marchesi (our interview in July 2018)

Teroldego

We moved on to Teroldego a grape related to Pinot Noir, Lagrein & Syrah.

Elisabetta Foradori, she inherited her family winery at 19 or so, they grew Teroldego, at the time it was meh. She went through and selected the best vines and clusters and bred for quality….I got material from her. We only have 2 acres of it, like the Lagrien. But I think it needs warmer sites, this might be our global warming hedge.
Rudy Marchesi (our interview in July 2018)

Different Vessels

At this point we came to the beautiful clay fermentation tanks.

Clay breathes more than concrete, you can feel it. That’s what we want. I want that evaporation of water through clay just like barrel. In amphorae you get alot more fruit. Pinot producers worry, they get so much fruit…would it have the ageing ability without the tannins from the wood? As a blending component it could be very exciting.
Rudy Marchesi (our interview in July 2018)

Unfortunately, the Clay tanks have no sampling valves. So there was no tasting to be done there. Andrew Beckham is making him several of these clay vessels which Andrew calls “novum”. (these clay vessels are rounded like amphorae but do not have the conical bottom). You will get to hear all about the “novum” soon, as we spent a morning at Beckham and some time with Andrew on this trip also.

This was the end of our joyous trip to the cellar with Rudy. He was off to lunch with the grand kids and led us back to the tasting room for a tasting of their wines already in bottle.

Person of the Year 2018 – Oregon Wine Press

What an amazing visit. Rudy Marchesi has such expansive knowledge and a drive to keep learning. He was so generous with us sharing his time and his knowledge. He was just named Person of the Year 2018 by the Oregon Wine Press

For his work in Biodynamics and its advocacy, and, more importantly, for his generosity of spirit, OWP is pleased to honor him.
Oregon Wine Press, January 8, 2019 by Jade Helm

I knew of his work in Biodynamics. We spoke with him during our interview about it. But I truly had no idea of what a true leader in this field he is.

Most recently, Marchesi was one of nine growers — and the only American — asked to join the International Biodynamic Viticulture Group. This new committee will endeavor to integrate more viticulture into the annual Biodynamic Agriculture Conference held in Dornach, Switzerland, and to create a web-based forum for exchange of information among the world’s Biodynamic winegrowers.
Oregon Wine Press, January 8, 2019 by Jade Helm

Here, here Oregon Wine Press! Well done! And well done Rudy. I am humbled at the time and knowledge you so graciously shared with us.

More on Montinore

We documented all the time he spent with us that morning. The fascinating information fills 4 posts in addition to this one. There are links below as well as a pairing we did over the holidays that Rudy’s daughter Kristin (President of Montinor Estate), so graciously shared with us:

Visit them! Montinore Estate

The Estate is beautiful. You will find it in the Northwest corner of the Willamette Valley in Forest Grove.

3663 SW Dilley Road Forest Grove, OR 97116

503.359.5012
[email protected]

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

Biodynamics at Montinore Estate

January 5, 2019

In our conversation with Rudy Marchesi of Montinore Estates, we asked him about biodynamics. The winery was Certified biodynamic in 2008. Rudy had set this process up while he was still working for the Montinore Estate as an employee.

The Motivation & learning

Pheloxera was what originally motivated him to look at biodynamics. They had so much vine loss and he was looking at how to combat this, instead of just ripping everything out. So he started studying soil microbiology.

When he started out, he was more into organic farming. I would imagine his own garden informed this. But working with the wholesale importer on the east coast, he just kept finding that the biodynamic wines he sold in the French Portfolio, were the wines he liked the best.

At the time there were only a few books available and only two places in the US that had training. He found a tiny college in NY state teaching a course. This was just 1 class per month for 5 months and then a 5 day intensive. He took this information and tried it out and had tremendous results right away.

…biodynamic practices were established as agricultural practices. …Biodynamic winemaking is an extension of the thought process.
Rudy Marchesi, in our interview July 2018.

Biodynamics the practical and the mystical

I expressed my skepticism regarding some of the practices. I have never been one to believe in “leaf days”,

Rudy told me a story about his home garden. He always planted fall vegetables. Two weeks before the recent solar eclipse in 2017, he planted his fall endives. He planted a second row on the day before the eclipse. He had read that you shouldn’t plant anything for a few days around an eclipse, but he needed to get them in. The first row was beautiful. The second row only had 15% germination.

Rudy says that big events are significant. They don’t pick on black out days. They have to prune from January 1st to March 20th and it’s all got to be done. So they don’t take days off, blackout, leaf day or not. With racking and tasting they just watch to see if it makes a big difference.

80% of wine making is done in the vineyard anyway. It’s all about the quality of the fruit you get. I think that’s why, it’s perceptible but not understood, why biodynamic wines have that certain something that’s…. you put them in your mouth, they’re lively they’re interesting, they’re there, they have a presence. What is it? You can’t measure it. There is so much in life we can’t measure anyway you know, so it’s some sort of life force that we are creating in the vineyard in the farm to begin with. That translates through the vineyard to the fruit and to the bottle. And that’s what I think it is. You can’t measure that. You can taste it!
Rudy Marchesi, in our interview July 2018.

There is more to come…

We will have more with Rudy…he took us to the cellar after this to do some barrel tastings which were delicious and fascinating. In the meantime feel free to check out the rest of our conversation with him:

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

Wine Travel

Gérard Bertrand – the man

Languedoc -Roussillon

Gérard Bertrand – Expressing the Terroir

Biodynamic practices

Limoux

Gérard Bertrand Cuvee Thomas Jefferson Crémant de Limoux Brut Rose 2016

La Clape

Gérard Bertrand Grand Terroir La Clape 2015

Tautavel

Gérard Bertrand Grand Terroir Tautavel 2015

The Pairings

Salmon Crostini

Cheese & charcuterie

Sous vide pork in caramel sauce & Roasted fennel & Peppers

Roasted Chicken on a bed of cous cous with arugula and cranberries

Dessert – Deconstructed Berry tart

The French #Winophiles

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The Oregon Wine Trailblazers

My Introduction to Oregon Wine – At Home in the Vineyard

Early visit circa 2011

Winter Hill

Youngberg Hill

Stoller

Lange

Argyle

Vidon

We’ve waxed poetic on some of this before…

Returning to Oregon in 2018

Willamette Valley AVAs

Current Willamette Valley AVAs

Proposed Willamette Valley AVAs

Do it!

More on Oregon wine Country

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Rattlesnake Hills AVA

Elephant Mountain Vineyard

Varieties Grown at Elephant Mountain

A little on the Geography

The views

The wines

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Co Dinn

Kerry Shiels

DuBrul Vineyard

Part 1 – Overview and comparisons

Part 2 – Soil overview and Union Gap to DuBrul Vineyard

Part 3 – DuBrul to Red Mountain

Next up – Elephant Mountain Vineyard

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Chablis with the French #Winophiles

Chablis

Kimmeridgian soils and a bit better sun

Breaking down the region

Mont de Milieu

A Border between Dukedoms

Simonnet-Febvre

Simonnet-Febvre Chablis Premier Cru Mont de Milieu 2013

Pôchouse

Making Pôchouse

How was the pairing you ask?

The French #Winophiles on Chablis

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The basics on the story

Philomena (or phylloxera)

A beach read

About Steven Laine

How to find a copy

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Vineyard Tour with David O’Reilly

Missoula Flood Loess and Bordeaux varieties

Remember those Missoula Floods?

Elevation, terroir and matching varieties