From My Friend at Wineopolis

WINEOPOLIS News
Hi Everybody,
Looking out the window as I write this, it's hard to believe that rain is in the forecast. I was thinking about writing about some of the rose' that we have left from 2010, but that may be jumping the gun. Especially if it turns sodden for a week. Maybe I'll just wait for the 2011s to start arriving, and go for it then. It was nice and clear last night as I looked for some form of the northern lights, but the plasma storm the sun sent us the last couple of days wasn't as strong as predicted. It would have been nice to see a real show, but I guess it's just as well we didn't have problems with electronic communications that might have ensued. Not that I was personally worried, since I line all of my hats with aluminum foil (shiny side out), and that little precaution has proven effective on many occasions.
Since a little cloud cover should provide a little extra protection, you'll have to pop around for some wine tasting. Our free Saturday tasting will visit northern Italy, and feature the Veneto tomorrow. Since I'm expecting the 2011s to start rolling in soon, I thought that we might take one last look at the 2010 Cecilia Beretta Soave Classico. The Classico designation puts this Soave's origin in the old pre-expansion (and best) hilly portion of the vineyards of Soave. Where all the best garganega is grown. This balanced and elegant expression of flowery apple, apricot, and almond, massively outperforms its normal price of $10.75, but at its new (to make way for 2011?) price of $9.75, well, you know what I mean.
The red wine is a new vintage of an old favorite. But what a new vintage! The new 2010 version of Vaona's Valpolicella reminds me of the great 2007, but maybe a touch fresher and brighter. In fact, with that proviso, I'll repeat what I said about the 2009. "The medium weight, balanced and graceful, Vaona 2009 Valpolicella Classico is back. Slightly sour red and black cherry on both the nose and palette, earthy, with a nice herbal edge, this blend of corvina, corvinone, rondinella and molinara from the Veneto, is incredibly versatile with food. Only $12.75. Another direct imported small family owned bargain." Except for the slightly fresher and brighter part, the only other thing I need to change is the price. You will save half a buck from last time, only $12.25.
So, come on by, it will be good to see you.

2011 Pinot Gris by LaVelle

I just stopped in to pick up our bottles of Pinot Gris from LaVelle's 5th Street location, next to the new Inn at the 5th. The wines this year will be amazing across all the varieties, especially Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir and this one is a fine exsample of what to expect.
The wine is lush and has a citrus and tropical fruit nose and a dry, very pleasent mouth feel.
But the thing that I liked most was the complexity that it is showing only a few weeks after bottling! By the end of the year this will be absolutly dramatic!
Here are some notes about this wine from Mathew LaVelle, the wine maker.

Stone's Throw '08 Pinot Noir

One of the wines I was lucky to get at the Eugene Ballet's "Table Dances" event Friday night, from the wall of wine, was a Territorial Vineyards Stone's Throw Pinot Noir, '08.
This is a big wine with bold dark cherry, a bit of oak and lots of layers of soft, dark fruit. The smell drifts up at you with over notes of hay, and sweet berry. We opened it early today and let it open for a while before we had a taste, now many hours later it is tasting quite remarkable and will be a nice companion for my computer, my cats, and me.
Tonight we tried a new, to us, place for dinner, Rabbit Bistro here in Eugene. It is located in a PC Market shopping center, is small and quite, and has a bit of friendly pretence that did not put me off.
My wife is vegetarian and we eat away a lot. I all of our wanderings I have had little trouble finding something for her on the menu, or, if the menu is limited, something off menu to satisfy her. One of the best examples was trip to Scottsdale and a meal at Lon's. They are known for MEAT, MEAT, and more MEAT, yet they went out of their way to make a very complete and perfect meal for both of us. This is the case more often than not, unless you are in some podunk little town where vegetarian means a cheese sandwich, grilled if you are lucky.
Rabbit has no vegetarian items on the menu, and after I was warned that no special meal would be made, they made a very nice little Pot Pie with mushrooms, onions, broccoli, carrots, and potato. She enjoyed the butter lettuce salad also.
I had he hanger steak and the same nice little salad. The meat was well cooked, tasty, and done on a Yorkshire Pudding which was a nice touch.
We each had a glass of '09 Haden Fig Pinot Noir. Erin Nuccio has a great story and is someone to watch in the exciting new crop of Oregon wine makers. They also make a Pinot Noir Blanc that is very good (but not nearly as amazing as Ghost Hill's Pinot Noir Blanc, this is a must drink!) Read about Erin here.
We recomend Rabbit Bistro for a well prepared meal, a glass of good wine, and least I forget, a fine desert ( mine was the Apple Crisp with Guinness Icecream!)
Now back to the last sips of this tasty little wine local!

High Pass Surprize! High Pass '08 Walnut Ridge Pinot Noir

There are many wineries in Oregon whose name comes to the tip of ones tongue such as King, Ken Wright, Domaine whatever, but some of the lesser knows have big things to offer.
Last night I dug in to the cellar for a wine that would be good for our kitchen rack, a wine that Linda could open while I was gone and not feel guilty about not sharing.
I was very surprised to find a bottle of High Pass' Walnut Ridge Vineyard '08 Pinot Noir. I had forgotten gathering this one but as we bought it at auction, I felt compelled to taste.
When I opened it and sat it on the counter I walked in to the living room and sat down for some TV. Moments later I began to smell red berry and chocolate. I got up and went in to the kitchen and poured a glass of this aromatic wine.
As it warmed and opened it began to display a much more complex nose. Heavy notes of dark berry, cooked rhubarb, chai, and chocolate were almost overwhelming!
I sipped a bit, expecting a heavy, hard taste but instead was greeted with a most pleasant and soft fruit forward taste that lingered, with top notes of sweet apple and a perfect balance that left me wanting another sip.
This is one of the most interesting and complex Pinot Noirs I have tasted from the lower Willamette Valley. I would highly recommend this wine to keep for at least 5 more years or drink now with lots of salad and game meats as it will stand against any heavy gamey meats and have room to spare. 

Cherry Hill Surprise!!!

On the way home tonight I stopped at Grocery Outlet on River Road in Eugene to check out what cool stuff they had hiding in the isles. I found an Australian Olive Oil, some really good salami, and an '07 Cherry Hill Papillon!!! This wine is just sooo good! Dark cherry nose with notes of anise, straw, and must, and a taste of ripe berry, black fruit, and clean acids that pair really well with red meats. I opened a bottle with a roast beast, odvacodo, and onion combo and it held up wonderfully!
And the killer! They are selling it for $4.95!!!
Those bastards who underrated the '07's should burn in heck. But those of us who bought all the '07 we could get our hands on know the truth!
Run, do not walk, to you Grocery Outlet and SCORE!

Oregon Wines in Kegs in Washington

The good folks at Wooldridge Creek  and others are making huge strides in educating bar owners on the value of tap wine. I checked in to the Heathman Lodge up in Vancouver WA. last night and went next door to the club room for a snack before turning in only to find two fine wines ON TAP!
Wooldridge's very good Pinot Noir (I did not think to check the year but from the taste I would guess '08) and Boedecker's Pinot Gris, again I have no year but from the taste I would say '10.
What a joy! The woman serving was very engaging and fully vested in the idea of wine in a keg.
She said men would come up and point to the tap and say "I'll have a beer." and she would have to explain that beer comes in a bottle,  wine comes in a keg.
She went on about how much it saved them in wasted wine, bottle disposal, and how well the argon system keeps the wine perfectly drinkable.
I was so pleased to see this. Here is a link back to a post I did a couple of years ago.
They also have kegged wine at Sfizio in Eugene and many other locations around the Northwest. Ask you favorite restaurant  about their house wine and see if they have figured out how to save money and the environment and still serve excellent wines.

From My Friend Jerry at Wineopolis

Hi Everybody,

Please disregard that big bright thing in the sky. It's supposed to be there. The solar flare that's being reported today, isn't even aimed at us. Also disregard the unusually high river, since it will overrun the east bank before it gets us. That's why Corvallis is still here and Orleans isn't.

Both of the featured wines for our free Saturday tasting are from the Marche, the Italian region on the Adriatic coast, east of Umbria. The white wine is one of our (and yours, apparently) favorite bang for the buck all-rounders, the Fattoria Laila Verdicchio. Yes, we tasted this last October, but now we have a new 2010 version, and the 2010 vintage strikes again. Only $9.75, the lowest price we've ever asked for this wine. Yes, the exchange rate is starting to improve with these recent arrivals.

The red wine signals the return of a marque that some of you may remember from five years ago, when they were direct imported by Portland importer, Greg Zancanella. Saladini Pilastri, one of the finest estates of the Marche, then decided to go with Leonardo Locascio's Winebow, a national importer specializing in Italian wines. Apparently, that didn't work out as expected, because they are back with Zancanella Importing, and are back on the shelf at WINEOPOLIS. Saladini Pilastri's 2007 Montetinello is a montepulciano and sangiovese version of Rosso Piceno, the regions most dominate red DOC, or Denominzione Di Controllata. This is a quintessentially italianate mouthful of intense plum, blackberry, herb, earth, and spice with a hint of licorice as well. That all totals up to just plain savory, a wine that just begs for all the usual suspects of non-fish foods. Only $12.95, a very special introductory price.

So, disregard all dangers, and come by, it will be good to see you.

Central Oregon to Become Official 'Wine Region'

Maragas Winery Gets 'Incredible Christmas Present'

From KTVZ.COM News Sources

POSTED: 12:33 pm PST December 29, 2011

Maragas Winery Maragas Winery in Jefferson County was first to grow wine grapes in Central Oregon's challenging climate

CULVER, Ore. -- The Oregon Wine Board will recognize Central Oregon as an official wine region, according to the founder of Maragas Winery near Culver, the first to make wine solely from grapes grown on the climate-challenged High Desert.Doug Maragas said Thursday he received confirmation of the news last Friday from Charles Humble, marketing and communications director for the Oregon Wine Board."It was an incredible Christmas present,” Maragas said.For a decade, Maragas had been working on getting recognition for wine-making and grape-growing in the Central Oregon area.“When we started here and released our first wine, I fielded numerous comments that the venture was foolish and I was a bit crazy to put forth the effort,” he said.But a decade later, Maragas said he has been exonerated.“It’s an enormous step forward in recognition and credibility, which directly relates to marketability,” he said.Soon, when people contact the Oregon Wine Board, the official state representative of the Oregon wine industry, rather than have Maragas Winery listed under the “other” category, it will be listed in its own category.And, what category is it? Maragas said it didn’t take long to respond to Charles Humble’s question on what he’d like to call it – “it seemed obvious to me – “Central Oregon.”” Maragas explained that the region would range from Warm Springs to Bend.“The tipping point of finally convincing the State to recognize the Central Oregon wine region was the fact that we now have two other licensed wineries in the area – Volcano Vineyards, and Faith Hope and Charity," Maragas said. "With Maragas Winery, that makes three wineries and six small but still commercial-sized vineyards.”Maragas had tried a year ago to get the recognition for the area when the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest competition globally for American wines, awarded Maragas Winery Beat Red a silver medal. This was significant, because this wine was made entirely of Central Oregon grapes. (read the rest)

Anam Cara '07 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir.

I am very excited about our dinner at Linda's mom's tonight. Salmon, and I am opening a bottle of Anam Cara '07 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir. http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=784084
2007 Anam Cara Pinot Noir Estate Reserve, USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains -
Average of 91 points in 6 community wine reviews, professional notes, label images, wine details, and recommendations on when to drink.

'10 May be the Best Yet!

I have had a few opportunities to tast the '10 Pinot Noirs ove rthe last few months and I must say that they are just about perfect.
The other night we (Travel Lane County) had a celibratin at our one year old Adventure Center and King Estate was thee pouring the Signature Pinot Noir from '10. I was blown away! Complex, black fruit with hints of clove, honeysuckle and island spice layered with smokey peat and jam.
Loved it! And it will lay in wait for many years as the acid and body are both present and pleasant.