A Long Benton Lane and a Short Brigadoon

Yesterday was our pick-up day for our Benton Lane Wine Club. Linda and I decided many years ago that we would only belong to two wine clubs, so with that in mind we now belong the five. So much for will power.
Benton Lane was our second club and we visit them often. When I have occasion to lead a group on a local winery tour they are often a starting or ending place.
Steve and Carol are strong advocate of tourism and the development of the Oregon wine bussiness.

Steve is involved with another project that I wholeheartedly support, Salud!. He recently joined the board.
The small show I recently had at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art displaying etchings of 17 of the regional Lane County wineries left me with 17 framed and museum ready works of art. What better place for them than in the wineries.
They were very happy with the work and I walked away with more than I had bargained for;)

While there I tasted through some of the wines, including the 2010 Pinot Gris, again rated as one of the top 100 wines in the world. Also tasted was the Pinot Blanc. This wine can be a surprise. If you chill it and serve it cold it looses some of its richness and character but if you let it get to around 65 degrees it unleashes such romantic smells and flourishes of clover honey and melon in the mouth that you will think someone switched wine on you! I paired it last night with some hard cheese and peaches and it held up beautifully!
Then came the Reds. I love the Pinot Noir that come from their vineyards. The place was an old sheep farm so you know the soil has a lot going forit and they continue to use best management practices to keep it that way, so the richness and complexity of the wines is always there.
The first sniff of the 2010 Pinot Noir was filled with cherry, waffle, and sweet strawberry jams. The taste was blueberry, strawberry jam, and a wonderful finish of baked red berry that lingered pleasantly.
Next came the big one; the 2010 First Class. This wine has just been released and is complex, rich, and full of flavor. Beautiful nose and dark fruit, jam, and earth in the mouth. This will only get more interesting as time goes by. If you have the chance you MUST see Steve's racking room for the first class Pinot Noir. The barrels are supported on an upside down skateboardesque shelf that allows you to turn the wines while on the leas instead of opening the barrel and stirring. Pure genius!

I left there and did a quick check up on Brigadoon's new tasting room, under construction .
On the way up I stopped and looked at the grapes to see where they were in veraison.

 I  was pleased to see how much color was showing. I hope the weather holds for a while and we don't get too much rain. Just a few more weeks of sun and we can have an outstanding year!

"The Art of Wine" Prints

 These are all the prints that are in the Art of Wine show at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum through the 28th of August.

A few years ago I embarked on a journey that has been life changing. There was an  opportunity to visit as many Oregon Wineries as possible and to ask for one bottle of wine for Oregon Mozart Players auction and I took it. From over 150 to over 270 bottles the second  year.
During these visits I have learned more about wines and wine making, been afforded the opportunity to take part in all aspects of the industry from planting to harvest to bottling. Along the way I have sat quietly in a vineyard as the sun cam up waiting for bud break, listened to the murmur of activity as the grapes are picked and sorted, and sat down satisfied with a hard day of labor stacking cases, with a glass of freshly bottle Pinot Noir.
Giving something back for all this has become very important for me and a few months ago I came upon the idea of creating photographic etchings to show, sell, or give away to help promote the wineries here in Oregon. I started with Saginaw Vineyards and a picture of their big Birch tree. After turning it in to an etching I became obsessed with getting an image of a tree somehow related to the different wineries here in Lane County. The culmination of this, after a chance conversation with Jill Hartz the Director of the JSMA, was a show of the works printed on wood, a series of wine tastings at the museum, an edition of 30 etchings of 17 wineries, some very happy studio assistants, and a dinner on the 27th of August to celebrate our bounty.
The next project for me is a set of ten etchings of ten Salud! wineries each year for the next 4 years to be auctioned off at the November Salud! Auction.

The program follows below:

Passports are $75 and are your ticket to the exclusive Winemakers dinner at the Museum on August 27th where you will enjoy a pre-event wine tasting and sit with one of our winemakers at their table. You will enjoy a 20% discount at all the participating winery tasting rooms between August 2nd and August 27th. Get your passport stamped and you will qualify for incredible wine gift baskets and more!

Event Dates:

August 2nd – Kick-off wine tasting at the Eugene Cascades and Coast Adventure Center

August 13th – Wineries without walls tasting at the museum (joined by other local favorite wineries)

August 20th – Wineries without walls tasting at the museum (joined by other local favorite wineries)

August 27th – Winemakers Dinner at the Museum.

Price: $75.00

Questions? Call 541-221-8592 or 541-346-3027

The Passport to Culture is supported in part by an award from the Oregon Arts Commission and a Lane County Tourism Special Projects Grant.

In order from the top: Territorial, Benton Lane, Brigadoon, Chateau Lorane, High Pass, Iris Hill,King Estate, LaVelle, Meriwether, Noble, Pfeiffer, Rain Song, Saginaw, Sarver, Shadow Mountain.
All the prints are on acid free white paper that is torn to 8X11 inches and the images are 5X6 inches done with Burnt Sienna Charbonnel etching ink. The edition size is 30 and all are numbered and signed.
The set of 17 prints sells for $25 or individually for $35. Set numbers 1, 7,19, 11, and  29 are already sold.

General News of Late: Day Trip

Not much to report save a bus trip with the famous Bob Sogge, wine expert and teacher. We took an LTD bus that was donated to Oregon Mozart Players on a 5+ hour tour of Benton Lane, Pfeiffer, and LaVelle wineries.
This was a good chance for novice wine lovers to learn wine from the ground up. Steve, at Benton Lane, took us up in to the vineyards and gave us a detailed explanation of soils, varietals, removing leaves, dropping fruit, and everything else about how to bring in a great crop. He even told about his methods of selecting the best practices from all the different growing methods such as organic, sustainable, bio-dynamic, etc. and putting them to use. His methods seem to work as he just got voted on of Wine and Food magazines top 20 Pinot Noirs of the world. of the world.
We tasted the wines starting with a very good Pinot Gris, then moved to one of  the best Pinot Blanc I have had all year.
His First Class Pinot Noir is exactly that! If you have to sell something to afford a bottle, do it! Absolutely lush and warm and soft in the mouth with all the lovely layers of berry, fig, leather, and earth you can imagine on the nose. The tastes range from raspberry, plum, and figs to leather and spice. It livens up with each sip and if you take the time to let it settle under your tongue, it is like a delightful celibration of fruit and spice that you will want to repeat often.
Next stop on the trip was Pfeiffer Vineyards, home of the famous Blue Dot Pinot Noir.
cont. later

Special Wine Tour with Bob Sogge!

Board a 40 passenger LTD bus for an afternoon of wine tasting and a history tour with famous wine instructor, Bob Sogge. The 5 hour tour starts at 12:00 at the LTD Park and Ride lot at River Road and Belt Line.
We will leave the Park and Ride at 12:00 noon and travel to LaVelle Vineyards for a taste and a walk in the vineyards, then we will travel to Pfeiffer Vineyards where you will taste great wines and learn how to hold a glass!. Then we will finish up at Benton Lane Winery with a tasting and tour.
Call (541) 345-6648 ‎ for information and tickets. Tasting fees are included in the $50 ticket price.
Gain insight in to history of wine in Oregon and Lane County, plus you will learn more about wine than you ever thought possible!
This tour will benefit Oregon Mozart Players
Bob Sogge is a pioneer in the Oregon wine industry, and has taught wine classes for about 35 years mentoring over 700 students including me, twice. Bob has traveled to many of the premium wine growing areas of the world to select wines for import. He is  member of the International Society of Wine Educators. Bob chaired the 2001 annual convention that was held in Eugene, Oregon and presented a conference session, "Oregon from the Inside" in 2005. Bob currently teaches two courses, Wine Appreciation and Wines of the World, and authored the adopted textbook, "Wine: An Introduction to Study," for these classes. Bob is one of the most respected wine teachers in America.
I look forward to seeing you!

Cool New Eugene Restaurant

Sabai just opened the doors last Wednesday and already the buzz has started! I dropped by after book shopping at Borders and met Jake the barman. Always a good person to know after a long day of meetings and driving. First taste was my favorite Martiniesque concoction, the Lafayette (named after me). Coat the martini glass with Grand Mariner, toss it out, then add Sapphire Gin (shaken) and a crushed mint leaf. He did a great job on it and then tempted me with a as yet un-named drink made with Old Overholt and  Bonal Gentiane with a twist of orange. Great drink! Made me think of sitting on the patio of the Galle Face Hotel with an old Englishman.
The food menu look great as does the wine list. Though it is still small they attend to the local wines well. Benton Lane, King, Erath, and a couple more. No doubt the list will expand as their audience grows.  They are located just inside the entrance to the courtyard across from Chapala in the Oakway Mall.

Quick Trip for Tasting and Art

Pfeiffer Vineyards was my destination as I drove my new Subaru out on the country roads of Lane County and along Terroirtoial Road. Past Alpacas and roadside attractions and then to the winery. I came bearing paperwork asking for "one Bottle" for the June event for OMP but the boss was not around.
Not wanting to waste a trip, a wine tasting was in order so I choose the  whites. I am intimately involved with most of Pfeiffer's wonderful reds but less tuned in to the whites.
Imagine pulling a coconut cream pie out of the oven, one with a buttery crust. Now close your eyes and breath that wonderful smell in. THAT is the smell of the Viognier! The taste is bright and pleasing with a hint of lime and  a mouthwatering finish. I highly recommend this wine for a stand alone or with lighter fair such as  salads, and fruit.
The Chardonnay was equally pleasing, with a clean, un-oaked flavor of fruits and spices. There is little left of this one so get it while you can.
I took a few pictures for my etching project, one etching of an iconic tree in or near the vineyard of all the Lane County Wineries.
I drove out past the ponds, sheep, and alpacas, past the Grange Hall, and back to Terrirtorial then left toward Monroe. One of my favorite golf courses, Diamond Woods, stretches out along the left and you can see the Inn at Diamond Woods up on the hill overlooking a few brave souls out swinging their clubs. Benton Lane sits almost atop the border between the two counties, hence the name. Their wines are consistently good to great. Their '04 Pinot noir was rated in the top 100 wines in the world, as was their '06 Pinot Gris!
The last club release was a three bottle Pinot noir pack of '07, '08, and '09. I am so pleased that the '07 is now being respected . When they first bottled it the wine was weak, flutey, and had little backbone, now it has evolved into a Burgundian red with lush mouthfeel,  complex mid pallet flavors, and a long complex finish. It is elegant and ready to drink now but I am keeping a few bottle rack for a few years to see what happens.
The '08 is perfect now but it will be even better by next year and the '09 is even better as far as I can tell.  It is worth the drive to visit this winery for so many reasons, among them are the wines, the views, and the people. Lots of fun for all the senses.
I took a picture of the big oaks that stand guard at the entrance to the vineyard and will create their etching from it.