Oregon Wine month
Wine in Oregon really needs an entire month to be celebrated. While the first thing that will inevitably come to your mind is Pinot Noir, there is much more to discover. Not just different varieties, though, you will definitely find those, but also different expressions of Pinot Noir!
There are diverse regions in Oregon. The Willamette Valley (remember Willamette rhymes with Dammit) is the best known, but even within the Willamette, there are significant differences between the 11 sub-AVAs contained in the Willamette Valley.
Outside of the Willamette, you find the Umpqua and Rogue Valleys in Southern Oregon and then the Columbia Gorge, Columbia Valley, and Walla Walla Valley AVAs that Oregon Shares with Washington. It shares the Snake River Valley AVA with Idaho on the eastern border.
So many climates and soils! You will find over 100 varieties of grapes grown in the state, and the styles range from dry to sweet and still to sparkling. In fact, sparkling wine is growing in dominance in the state!
This is also the land of small wineries. While a few big companies are playing here, and many have moved in, the region is still dominated by small vineyards and wineries. The early winemakers here were rebels. Told that they couldn’t grow wine grapes here, they were determined to prove the naysayers wrong. They have! Many vineyards here are in their second generation!
So Celebrate Oregon Wine Month!
The Oregon Wine Board has an “Oregon Wine Country Adventure Sweepstakes” going on!
Head to https://www.oregonwine.org/events-programs/oregon-wine-month/sweeps/ to enter to win!
Get out and visit, or if you can’t, pick up a bottle and celebrate!
Michigan Wine Month #DrinkMIWine
“What? Michigan makes wine?” you say! Yes, yes, they do.
Michigan has over 13,000 acres of vineyards, many of which are used to make grape juice, but 4,000 acres are wine grapes.
They have 5 AVAs in the Lower Peninsula (you know, the mitten). 2 regions, Fennville and Lake Michigan Shore sit in the state’s Southwest corner, butting up to Lake Michigan. On the northern edge of the mitten, you find Leelanau Penisula and Old Mission Penisula that jut out into Lake Michigan. Then, the top of the mitten is the “Tip of the Mitt” AVA.
How can they grow grapes this far north? Those Great Lakes help moderate the climate, so summers near the lakes are not so hot and winters not so cold. They sit on the 45th parallel, as does Burgundy, & Bordeaux in France, the Piemonte of Italy, and Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
What are they growing, you ask?
They grow a wide variety of European Varieties, including the Cabs, Chardonnay, Riesling, and many others. There are also many French/American hybrids grown here. These are grapes that are resistant to the cold weather of this region.
As to wineries? You will find them scattered all over the state, including in the UP (the Upper Peninsula.)
There are multiple wine trails, and you will find over 150 wine and cider-tasting rooms!
Governor Gretchen Whitmer proclaimed May of 2021 Wine Month in Michigan, and they have been celebrating it each May since!
Find out more at these Michigan sites and celebrate Michigan Wine Month!
https://michiganwinecollaborative.com/
https://www.traversecity.com/traverse-city-uncorked/
https://www.michigan.org/article/5-things-know-about-michigan-wine-0
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine and WSET 3 Certified. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
Check out our book series, “Tempting Spoonfuls” available through Amazon!
Inspired by the flavors and aromas in wines, these books create “tempting spoonfuls” of flavors to pair with wines.
“Tempting Spoonfuls – Pairing single bites with glorious wines” – Our first book paired wines from boutique wineries on the west coast, in California, Oregon, and Washington, with delicious spoonfuls.
This book is 60 pages, 18 recipes, lots of beautiful photos, and insights into some fantastic small wineries!
“Tempting Spoonfuls – small bites paired with wines from around the Globe” – This book takes us around the globe to explore 12 wine regions, a wine from the region, and then gives you a recipe for a pairing!
A slightly larger book at 104 pages, this time you learn about pairing with a type of wine from a region. Rather than a specific bottle, you can look for a style of wine from a region and feel confident that it will go well with the recipe pairing we provide. We give you 12 recipes, each to pair with a wine.
The goal is to make your mouth water and encourage you to create your own “Tempting Spoonfuls.”
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