Oregon Wine and ART Project: wineries of oregon

Showing posts with label wineries of oregon. Show all posts

Friday, February 13, 2009

Certificate vs Bottles

I think we need to have a few gift certificates mixed among the bottles in each region to encourage people to go to the wineries and spend some time tasting the other wines they offered and explore the other wineries..
Setting that president is Melrose Vineyards in the Umpqua region. They have graciously given a certificate for a bottle of 06 Pinotage. This is a wine found almost exclusively in South Africa and it has very unique qualities. Linda and I had dinner in Amsterdam at Puri Mas and when I ask for a wine to go with the spicy food, the waiter came out with a red...."Oh?' ask I " and what would THIS be?" He smiled and told us about Pinotage, the way it is grown, and why they serve it with spiced foods. Chilled a bit to around 52 degrees, it takes on an astounding quality. It approaches the spice and instead of masking it as some big reds would, it enhances the subtle flavors and enjoys the contest without trying to win. Needless to say I was excited when Melrose uncorked a bottle for me to try. VERY big fruit nose! More subtle ion the pallet. A keeper that will be good for at least 5 years if you can control yourself.
So look for some paper in your cases of wine you bid on and you may discover a real treat!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

The response so far!

After about two weeks we have had over 60 wineries respond possitivly! What an amazing thing, to have so many Oregon wineries sharing their skill and taste with Oregon Mozart Players' patrons, one bottle at a time!
I will be posting photos and comments about the trips to collect the wine so stay tuned

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!