Oregon Wine and ART Project: November 2011

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Double '07

I am sipping the '07 Iris Hill Pinot Noir right now. Plum and tart berry on the nose with hints of baked apple and spiced quince. Very soft mouthfeel with lush, soft taste of black fruit and plumb. Really one of the outstanding Pinot Noirs of '07. Get it if you can and sit one it for a few more years just to see how much better it will get!
Jason D. Brumley says that '07 is a collectors vintage not a drinkers. I agree! But it is drinking VERY well now.
I have also just tasted an '07 Baco Noir from Girardet and found the wine to be wonderful. I love that I called the '07 as a great vintage and lots of wine writer said it would suck!:)
If yiu can get your hands on an '07 Pinot noir, buy it now!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Patchwork Cellars

Tonight I had an opening of my prints at a little cafe called The Washburne Cafe in downtown Springfield. Good crowd with lots of good questions. The best thing about the evening was the winery that came to help out and give tastes to all comers 21 and over.
I was impressed by both wines Stirling Fox , the owner and winemaker at Patchwork Cellars, brought to taste.
His '09 Pinot Gris has a nice mineral nose with hints of fresh crushed grape and floral overtones. The taste is caramel and ripe pear with a nice acid back. I had it with Lobster Bisque and it stood up very well. It is nice to have a Gris that will stand up to creamy soups and enhance the flavors.

The Pinot Noir was a great '09. Very mellow flavors with small hints of earth and leather. I came away with the impression that like his '07, this wine will be very drinkable in 2014-15 though it is very good now.
This is one of the '09s that is flavorful enough to last. Great buy.

About the "One Bottle" Project

A number of years ago I was tasked with finding a way to raise money to help with operation costs fora local chamber orchestra. I have many friends in the wine business and know that they are continually ask for cases, half cases, bottles, tastings, etc, and that it gets old fast. They are all very giving and caring people but they can't give away all their wine to help other people.
With that in mind, I decided that if I were going to ask anyone for wine, I would do it in person and just ask for one bottle. I drove my Subaru Legacy Wagon all over the state, putting on 180,000 miles.
The first year I gathered over 150 and last year I ended up with 259 bottles of Oregon wines for our auction. This year I gathered less because I knew that too much wine would be a problem for a "mixed" auction. This year I plan to create an auction for just the wine, separate from any other event.I was given wines from every wine region we have. I drove from Cave Junction (Foris) to Milton Freewater (Zerba) and to Bend (Volcano) Bonanza (12 Ranch) and the coast(Flying Dutchman). I traveled all over the Willamette Valley and Southern Oregon on my quest, met hundreds of wonderful wine people, made new friends, and tasted the bounty of Oregon.
I look forward to this years journey in my brand new Subaru Legacy and the support of all who helped last year and the year before, and of my wonderful wife, who puts up with this crazy idea!