Wine Sorting: Almost Done!

Delivering one more case to the collection building at The Abbey was very satisfying. Rebecca and I uncased over two hundred wines and sorted them by varietal. We ended up with almost 100 Pinot Noirs, lots of Gris, Cabs, and assorted reds and whites.Exciting to see them all laid out! Thibaud Mandet, the winemaker at Willakenzie Estates, gave a Magnum of Alliette and a mixed case of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris for the tables at the auction.
I still have about a case of Willamette Valley wines to gather, and a trip to Hood River, Bend, Lakeview, and Cave Junction the I think I am done for this year!

After sorting, Thibaud and Rebecca took me to Cuvee in Carlton for a wonderful meal and a bottle of  great red, then a bottle of Gamay Noir made by Thibaud at Willakenzie. The food was superb. I started with a liver pate' with bread crisps, hot mustard, and home made humus, followed by pork loin. Gilbert Henry outdid himself on this one!
This morning I drove through to mountains to Hebo and then back on 22 to Dundee just to find out where the road went. Its a guy thing... Back to the Abbey and listing wines for the table, the "wall of wines" and the Mystery wines that will be the center pieces on the tables. Rebecca decided what wines would fit best together in the case lots and put some very special cases together. One lot of two cases consists of 12 wines made by women, and twelve made by men. Another is just signed bottles, 4 regular, four Magnums.

A quick lunch at Farm to Fork: Duck Confit Salad. Presentation was 4 stars. Blue cheese, black figs, crumbled hazelnuts, greens, and cooked table grapes, Duck leg done to perfection for a mid day repast! The wine I chose was more out of curiosity. It was the "Open Book"  and it was a little to big and fruity for what I had. I should have ordered a great '07 that had more complexitty and grace.
The "Open Book" was good alone and also would have worked with a darker meal.
Two days off to go to a play in Portland and the Daffodil Festival in Junction City, then back on the road!

A Short but Rewarding Trip

Got a late start today but still got what I needed done and made a nice contact that resulted in a bottle of really fine wine.

Just at the north edge of Dundee sits a little old farm cottage that houses the tasting room for The Four Graces. The Blacks had put aside a bottle for me to pick up so that was my first stop of the day. Jason Senior greeted me and handed over a magnum of '05 Black Family Estate Pinot Noir($150) hand signed by  the owners. They also included a tasting certificate for 6 people($60).

I always forget to take a picture of the tree and barn outside the farm house but today I remembered.


Next stop was to drop off wines at Northwest Wines to You, located at The Abby outside Lafayette. Rebecca Pittock Shouldis
takes care of the business and will also be, along with Steve Baker from Authentica, our wine experts with Bob Sogge at this years auction.

We had a nice long lunch with Mike Steele, VP of Pioneer Packaging and some friends at Farm to Fork in Dundee where Paul made us some truly delightful food. Duck Confete salad for me. Can't praise this place enough!
During lunch Paul de Lancellotti and he handed me a bottle of his '07 Estate Pinot Noir($65).
Paul is one of the owners of the Inn at Red Hills where Press, and Farm to Fork are located. I recommend that you eat both here and at the Dundee Bistro every chance you get.

Last stop for the day was at the place I stopped first in the Dundee area when I started all this in December of '08, Stoller Vineyard and winery.
Grace and Emily were there getting ready for an event so I did not take up much of their time with a tasting, just begged politely, and was rewarded with a bottle of the '05 Cathy's Reserve Pinot Noir ($100). Wow!
I must say that there are a lot of really good looking people in the Oregon wine industry. Must be all the wine.
From their web site:
Wine Overview: The 2005 Cathy’s Reserve comes from a 5-barrel lot of our oldest planted Pinot Noir; Pommard clone planted in 1995.  Three new, one 1-year and one 2-year barrels were used to articulate the high quality of the 2005 vintage.
Vintage Notes: 2005 was a classic vintage in Oregon.  The growing season was ideal for Pinot Noir: moderate in temperature and leaning towards the cool side, even through the summer.  The fall brought intermittent rains, leading to a long and spread out harvest.  The result of this vintage is elegant wines with moderate alcohol levels (13.5% average) and bright natural acidity.
Harvest Notes: We began harvest September 24th at Stoller Vineyards, and concluded October 20th.
Tasting Notes: Elegant and powerful, with a nice balance of earth and fruit.

Another thing about this winery, along with a growing cadre of like minded businesses in the Northwest, is their commitment to conservation and energy management. 

From their web site:

Stoller's Gold LEED certified winery.

The Stoller winery is the first Gold LEED Certified winery in the United States. It integrates gravity-flow winemaking techniques, energy-efficient heating and cooling, and waste-water reclamation to reduce negative environmental impact.
This environmental consciousness goes hand-in-hand with the Stoller's belief in a sustainable workplace, where the people whose efforts go into producing Stoller wine are cared for as diligently as the vineyards they tend. (more)


Next trip will be Saturday to Marsh Ann Landing for Oregon Mozart Players -- A Tale of Two Wolfgang's: A European Romp. Rich bassoon and vibrant strings with works by Mozart, Dohnani, Wolfgang, and Devienne -  and a little wine tasting.