Rob Folin talks Viognier

Date: Wed, Apr 14, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

Whole cluster ferments, destemmed/decrushed, barrels, cold soaks, stainless steal, staves- these are the variables Rob Folin, winemaker at Folin Cellars, has controlled in his latest vintage of Viognier. What started out as three separate trials, will soon be selected for one fabulous wine. Bottling is estimated to occur the first week of May. Listen to Rob talk about his Viognier creation process:




Folin Cellars in Gold Hill currently produces around 2,000 cases annually. They focus on 100% estate grown, warm climate varietals such as Viognier, Tempranillo, and Syrah and elect to use Vino Seal closures on all their wines to ensure all of their wines are as Rob has intended them to be.

Folin Cellars' Tasting Rooms are now open for the season! Their Estate Tasting Room welcomes visitors Saturdays and Sundays 12-5 p.m. and weekdays by appointment. Their Carlton Tasting Room is Saturdays 1-6 p.m. and Sundays 12-5 p.m.

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Pinot Noir "performs" for Del Rio Vineyards

Date: Tue, Apr 13, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

I'm laughing that I am posting two Matt Kramer article excerpts in two days. But, what can I say? Matt Kramer gets how great Southern Oregon wines are. It is exciting to see a Southern Oregon producer, Del Rio Vineyards, highlighted for their Pinot Noir efforts. I told you Southern Oregon was versatile!

Vintage makes a difference in these two Oregon pinot noirs

Few subjects are more aggravated than the matter of vintage. The word itself is simply a synonym for a single growing season: A vintage is the year the grapes were harvested.

The phrase "a vintage year" has the connotation of something exceptional and fine. This is because vintage-dating a wine is actually a recent practice. Well into the 20th century, most wines from most places were either sold in bulk from barrel or bottled with no more information than a brand name invented by a bulk bottler. For a wine to display a vintage date was exceptional, in every sense. Today, of course, the great majority of fine wines sport a vintage date.

But not all do. For example, most French Champagnes are sold as nonvintage bottlings. Wines such as Spanish sherry never have a vintage date, as the complex blending process of that wine precludes a single-vintage version. So why are vintages so vexing?

Partly because generations of wine lovers were told that some vintages are better than others -- which is to say the growing season was better. Here in Oregon, just ask any grower or wine buff about the growing season difference between the 2007 (rainy during picking) and 2008 (cool spring but glorious fall) vintages. Does the difference reveal itself in the wines? It sure does.

Del Rio Vineyards"Rogue Valley" Pinot Noir 2008: One of the complaints -- justified -- of southern Oregon winegrowers is that vintage information about Oregon wines is skewed to the Willamette Valley. As anyone who's traveled the length of Oregon knows, the climate (and terrain) of southern Oregon is considerably different from that of the 100-mile stretch of the cool, moist Willamette Valley.

The 2008 vintage, however, was an equal-opportunity growing season for north and south. Both zones suffered a cool spring that affected flowering. That, in turn, reduced the crop size by as much as one-third and also set back the likely harvest date. (Grapes need 100 days to ripen once the tiny berry is formed.) Both zones saw a triumphant harvest thanks to glorious late fall weather with warm days, cool nights and little rain.

In short, 2008 is a handy, one-size-fits-all vintage: It turned out great everywhere -- not least, in the bottle. Evidence of the exceptional quality of the 2008 vintage is found in the 2008 Del Rio Vineyards pinot noir from the Rogue Valley. Southern Oregon has a spotty track record with pinot noir, in part perhaps because it's warmer than the Willamette Valley.

Pinot noir likes what growers call a long "hang time" where the grape acquires more flavor components in the fall while barely increasing in sugar content, thanks to cool weather. Southern Oregon's sunny, warm weather reduces the opportunity for such long hang time for the ultra-sensitive pinot noir grape. However, in 2008, the fall weather obliged and pinot noir performed, at least as evidenced by this lovely example from Del Rio Vineyards in Gold Hill. Del Rio Vineyards is one of Southern Oregon's largest vineyards, with 180 acres planted with 15 varieties. Many of these grapes are sold to other Oregon wineries.

Del Rio Vineyards "Rogue Valley" Pinot Noir 2008 is a superb pinot noir brimming with the signature berry and wild cherry flavors of the variety along with a distinctive, attractive earthy note. This is a wine, by the way, that really comes alive when served in a large wine glass, as there's a lot on offer, as it were. The winemaking is deft, with the barest touch of oak and a delicacy rare in southern Oregon pinot noirs, as well as an alcohol level of just 12.8 percent. This is worth seeking out. $26.95. (Distributor is Young's Columbia.)

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Thoughts from "Get out of that taste rut with these originals"

Date: Mon, Apr 12, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

Abacela once again gets much deserved recognition for their winemaking efforts, this time with their Vintner's Blend #10 in yesterday's Oregonianarticle by Matt Kramer,"Get out of that taste rut with these originals." I have posted the excerpt along with a few added comments in green.

It's said repeatedly among wine producers, retailers and, yes, wine writers, that wine drinkers everywhere are in a taste rut. That consumers want and drink only the same wines repeatedly- namely, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and pinot noir, a relative newcomer to the ranks of wine repetition.

Now, there's some truth to this. After all, familiarity doesn't breed contempt. Rather, it breeds content. (I've always thought that whoever first wrote "familiarity breeds contempt" must have misheard it.) Agree!

The wines this week handily address this state of affairs. They are nothing if not original. But trying new wines hardly precludes drinking the familiar pleasures. There's room for both, don't you think?

Abacela "Southern Oregon" Vintner's Blend #10 Red Table Wine: Various wines from Abacela winery in Roseburg have appeared in this space numerous times over the years. The reason is simple: Abacela makes terrific wines with grape varieties that other in Oregon never previously pursued.

Most of these exploratory varieties were Spanish grapes such as tempranillo and albariño. But Abacela also planted grapes that other in southern Oregon were already tinkering with, such as syrah, malbec, grenache, cabernet franc and viognier.

Abacela regularly purchases grapes from its southern Oregon colleagues. And that, in effect, is the story of its annual bottling designated Vintner's Blend red table wine. This latest version, Vintner's Blend #10, is sourced from five vineyards in addition to Abacela's own plantings: Alta Seca Vineyard, Delfino Vineyard, McCorquodale Vineyard, Pheasant Hill Vineyard and Steelhead Run Vineyard.

This red table wine is composed of a boggling 14 grape varieties: tempranillo (39 percent), syrah (16 percent), merlot (10 percent), cabernet sauvignon (9 percent), petit verdant (5.5 percent) and minor amounts of Grecian, cabernet franc, dulcet, malbec, viognier, ternate, mourvédre, albariño and grenache. I really can't imagine this blending process!

Too often, such wildly disparate assemblages result in a wine of no real character. Such blends can be muddy-tasting and lack flavor focus. That's not the case here.

Abacela "Southern Oregon" Vintner's Blend #10 Red Table Wine (which does not show a vintage, by the way) is a ripe-tasting, rich red with the bright focused spiciness and refreshing acidity of tempranillo enhanced- rather than diminished- by the addition of all those other varieties.

This is a red wine that fairly begs for hearty, robust foods such as bean stews, chili, grilled meats, sausages and the like. Linda, Abacela's Tasting Room Manager, called it the "pizza and burger wine."Also, it will surely benefit from additional bottle age as the fruitiness of this red is substantial and still quite youthful. This wine's purpose is to be an everyday all-star. Drink now.Worth noting is that this freshness is enhanced by the use of a screwcap closure. Hmm...

At $15.95 a bottle, this is an outstanding deal in flat-out good red wine of real character with not a shred of pretension.

Kramer continues the article talking about a 2008 Grecante "Grechetto dei Colli Martini" from Italy. I couldn't find the article online yet, so you will just have to take my word for it.

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Obselidia at The Ashland Independent Film Festival

Date: Sun, Apr 11, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

This weekend was the epitome of spontaneity and that means many blog posts are coming out of it.

On Friday we pulled up the schedule for the Ashland Independent Film Festival, saw a 12 o'clock showing, got in the car making it just in time to be let into the Varsity Theater to see Obselidia.

Synopsis: Believing he's the last door-to-door encyclopedia salesman in the world, George decides to write The Obselidia, a compendium of obsolete things. George believes that love, among other things, is obsolete. In his quest to document nearly extinct occupations, he befriends Sophie, a beautiful cinema projectionist who works at a silent movie theater. Sophie believe that nothing is obsolete as long as someone loves it. When they interview a reclusive scientist who predicts 80 percent of the world's population will be obliterated by irreversible climate change by the year 2100, the two must fact the question, if the world is going to disappear tomorrow, how are we going to live today?

I couldn't have written anything I agree with more than this review from Variety,"From the striking title cards to the beautifully composed visuals and unusual collected items that litter the protagonist's home, Obselidiahas the look of a hand-crafted piece, something meticulously sculpted or painted in an artist's studio."

After the showing, Diane Bell, writer and first time director, got up in front of the audience for Q&A. Previously a yoga instructor in Barcelona, Diane moved to Los Angeles to pursue writing. After feeling dissatisfied writing Hollywood horror movies, Diane started working on Obselidiawith inspiration from encyclopedias and climate change. Filmed in 17 days, on an extremely low budget of $500,000, and casting literally off the LA street,Obselidiawas a Sundance Film Festival selection. This showing in Ashland is only the second festival the movie has been involved in, but plans to participate in film festivals in Texas, Florida, and in Diane's home of Edinburgh, Scotland are next up for the indie film. Hopefully the film gets picked up so more can enjoy its message, but if not, Diane and her husband, Chris Bryne, talked about taking the film a more viral route.

While leaving the theater, a woman asked me what movie I saw and I responded with my favorable recommendation of Obselidia and how impressed I was with my first visit to the film festival. She too saw the film and said it was movies like that which bring her back year after year to the Ashland Independent Film Festival. Next year, attending the film festival will not be a spontaneous event in my Friday, but rather a planned out trip to catch as many wonderful films as I can.

Obselidia will have one last showing at the festival tonight at 6 p.m. I cannot urge you enough to go see it. For more information go tohttp://www.ashlandfilm.org/.


If you miss its last showing tonight, or want to followObselidiasuccess, join thefacebookfan page.



*** The winners of the festival were announced and Obselidia took home the award for "Juried Best Feature!" Congratulations to Diane, the cast and crew. Fortunately that also means additional showings will take place this week at The Varsity Theater.

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Wines up North from grapes down South • Genius Loci 2007 Folin Vineyards Syrah

Date: Wed, Apr 7, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

Here is the first post in a new ongoing segment called "Wines up North from grapes down South." Many Willamette Valley wineries are now making wines from grapes grown in Southern Oregon (Dobbes Family Estates, Domaine Serene, Penner-Ash, Willamette Valley Vineyards, Wildaire... just to name a few). They, along with the rest of the world, are discovering the high-quality fruit that is coming out of the region. It is a great way to diversify their Pinot-dominated portfolios.

I am 75% excited to see these grapes getting into the hands of esteemed winemakers and creating additional buzz for Southern Oregon, but I am slightly hesitant that this could backlash on Southern Oregon. Southern Oregon could stay in the shadows of the Willamette Valley by being seen as a supplier rather than an equal producer in the Oregon wine industry. And we all know that Southern Oregon has much more potential than that!

In early March Chris took a field trip with his fellow enology students to Genius Loci in McMinnville. Genius Loci Wines are the labor of Michael Lundeen, the son of Pat Lundeen, an instructor at the Northwest Viticulture Center that Chris attends. Genius Loci is a boutique winery making wine from their estate Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris and teaming up with Folin Vineyard in Gold Hill to source their Syrah.


Last Friday night was as stormy as they come in Oregon. Stormy evenings and Syrah go hand in hand for me. We popped open the 2007 Genius Loci Folin Vineyard Syrah and aerated the magneta-colored wine and let it sit for "a while." Okay, "a while" turned out to be about five minutes after we caught a whiff of the nose of this wine. We stood around the decanter like vultures ready to swoop down on some tasty decay. As you can tell, we contain a lot of restraint! This Syrah was fruity and bright with a marathon of a finish. It has made it onto my favorite Syrah list and shockingly retails for $24 a bottle. When a wine like this comes across my palate at a price like that, I am thankful for Michael's generosity!

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Shameless Self Promotion! :)

Date: Tue, Apr 6, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

The 2010 Wine Blog Awards are coming up and it'd be awesome if you nominated The Southern Oregon Wine Blog in the category of Best New Wine Blog. The competition is tough and time is almost out (ends tomorrow, April 7th!).

Awards are given based on a combination of judges' opinions and a public vote. The public vote will take place from May 17-23rd and I will definitely let you know if I need you to help out.

Click here to nominate The Southern Oregon Wine Blog.

Thanks! You're the best!

I am attending the 2010 Wine Bloggers' Conference in Walla Walla, Washington this June and am so excited to share Southern Oregon wines with my fellow bloggers!

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Event to Celebrate "Artisanal" Oregon Winemaking

Date: Fri, Apr 2, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

Of all the new-to-me wine events this year, I am most looking forward to the Portland Indie Wine Festival. In its sixth year, the festival celebrates the top 40 Oregon craft wineries selected to pour their artisanal wines at the festival's Grand Tasting held on Saturday, May 8th from 2-8 p.m. The festival takes place at the spacious, industrial-chic Bison Building in Northeast Portland. Fifteen of the city's top restaurants will be pairing food with the wines.




The 40 wineries and 81 wines were selected from a blind tasting conducted with 12 professional wine judges on March 15, 2010. Quady North and Velocity Cellars were among the list chosen, but many wineries up north had wines selected from grapes grown down south.

Ancient Cellars
2008 Rogue Valley Terebinth Cabernet Franc
2008 Rogue Valley Amphorae Cabernet Sauvignon

Genius Loci
2007 Rogue Valley Folin Vineyard Syrah

J. Scott Cellars
2007 Rogue Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
2008 Rogue Valley Petite Syrah
2008 Rogue Valley Viognier

Quady North
2006 Rogue Valley Arsenal
2007 Rogue Valley 4-2, A Syrah
2007 Applegate Valley Cabernet Franc
2007 Applegate Valley Viognier

Velocity Cellars
2006 Rogue Valley Velocity
2007 Rogue Valley Velo

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Big News for the Southern Oregon Wine Institute!

Date: Fri, Apr 2, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

This is no April Fool's Joke! Umpqua Community College's Southern Oregon Wine Institute announced it received a gift of $800,000 to get the school's winery jump-started. The generous donation was made by Sutherlin attorney Danny Lang.

According to The News-Review article, Lang admitted he drinks only about three glasses of wine per year, and he couldn't pronounce most wine names. Still, he said, he recognized the importance of the industry in the region.

The Southern Oregon Wine Institute will use the money to build a commerical-scale winemaking facility that is modeled after a similar structure at Walla Walla Community College in Washington (design by Fletcher Farr Ayotte pictured). The total cost of the project will be $8 million and if that money is raised through loans and donations, ground breaking will begin this summer.

Currently, the Southern Oregon Wine Institute is mainly an online-based program that serves approximately 50 students working to earn a one-year or two-year degree in viticulture and enology. The institute will be releasing its first wine vintage this summer.

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Britt Festival Schedule Announced!

Date: Wed, Mar 31, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

As of 16 minutes ago, the 2010 Britt Festival schedule of performances was posted! If you're like me, you have been eagerly awaiting the schedule in order to plan your summer around all the great concerts!

The Britt Festival is a staple to Southern Oregon life. In its 48th year, it is the premiere outdoor summer concert (and performing arts) festival attracting up to 70,000 music lovers to historic Jacksonville each year. Britt brings in world-class artists in classical, jazz, blues, folk, bluegrass, world, pop and country genres.

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"25 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee"- Ashland Independent Film Festival

Date: Wed, Mar 31, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

Every Spring, Southern Oregon is buzzing with the excitement of the Ashland Independent Film Festival. Over 6,000 film-lovers gather at the historic art-deco Varsity Theatre in downtown Ashland to watch over 90+ films in five days.

This year marks the 9th Annual Ashland Independent Film Festival from April 8-12th. Check out the full schedule online with links to film synopses and trailers. General film ticket prices are $10, but student and senior discounts are available

Filmmakers of the documentaries, features, and shorts come from around the world to engage with the audience after each screening. The festival hosts an Opening Night Bash and Award Celebration with local wine, beer, and gourmet food.

The film festival is one of the reasons Ashland is included in the popular travel guide A Thousand Places to See Before You Die.

*Photos courtesy of Rory Finney Photography

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The Steroid Vines of Valley View Winery

Date: Mon, Mar 29, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

On the drive out to a hike in the Red Butte Wilderness area, Chris and I got distracted as we saw Valley View Winery's huge grape vines on the right-hand side. Look at these Cabernet Sauvignon veteran vines:

We gained composure and talked ourselves back into continuing to Stein Butte for a fabulous 9.4 mile hike in 70 degree weather. However, visiting Valley View didn't escape our mind, so we returned the next day to see these steroid vines up close and see what kind of wine they produced. Valley View Winery has been on our "to-visit" list for quite some time, but it bumped up in priority when Chef Bill Huebel of The Jacksonville Inn Dinner House mentioned their Tempranillo as a favorite of his.
The dreary day was brightened the minute we stepped into Valley View's cozy Tasting Pavillion and were greeted by Adrian. We tasted through their Anna Maria label Viognier, Chardonnay, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, and Port. Chef Huebel was absolutely right as the Tempranillo ($26) was incredible and the definite standout in the offering.

While tasting we were reminded that Valley View Winery was originally established by pioneer Peter Britt in the 1850's. The winery ended when Britt died in 1906 and was restored in 1972 by the Wisnovsky family for their vineyard and winery planted in the Applegate Valley just nine miles from Jacksonville. Twelve acres of vines were planted in 1972 and an additional thirteen in 1976.

The Tasting Pavillion showcases the early vintages of Valley View, which is really fun to browse through and see the evolution of their brand. The bottles pictured on the left are from the mid-seventies.

The Valley View Winery Tasting Pavillion is open daily from 11 a.m. -5 p.m. I am anticipating my return to Valley View this summer for a glass of Tempranillo prior to attending a Britt Festival concert- to pay homeage of course! Which reminds me, the schedule of Britt Festival performances will be released in two days (March 31st)!

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Spangler Sweeps "Greatest of the Grape" Award

Date: Mon, Mar 29, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

The wines of Southern Oregon were the stars of last Saturday's Greatest of the Grape event held at Seven Feathers Casino Resort & Spa.

A sold-out crowd of 850 guests and volunteers attracted to the oldest wine celebration in the state of Oregon. This year's tribute to "40 Grapeful Years" featured vintages from 28 Umpqua and Rogue Valley wineries along with food pairings from 14 area restaurants.

The 2010 wine competition was judged by Sara Schneider, Wine Editor for Sunset Magazine, David Seaver of Wine Press Northwest, and David Tomsic, Sommelier at Feast Restaurant. Throughout the event guests enjoyed voting to name the "People's Choice Awards" for their favorite wine and wine & food pairings.

Food Awards
Winner:
Umpqua Community College Culinary School, Thai Chicken Sausage Canapes with Fresh Mango Salsa


First Runner Up:
Tomaselli's Pastry Mill & Café, Grapefruit Poached Scallops in Mascarpone Cream & Black Pepper Strawberries

Wine Awards
Platinum:
Spangler Vineyards, Umpqua Valley, 2008 Malbec

Gold:
Troon Vineyard, Applegate Valley, 2006 Old Vine Meritage
Girardet Wine Cellar, Umpqua Valley, 2008 Bonnie's Barrel Zinfandel
Foris Winery, Rogue Valley, 2008 Riesling
Bradley Vineyards, Umpqua Valley, 2008 Dry Riesling
Cliff Creek Cellars, Rogue Valley, 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon

Silver:
Brandborg Vineyard & Winery, Umpqua Valley, 2008 Pinot Gris
Anindor Vineyards, Umpqua Valley, 2007 Pinot Gris
Melrose Vineyards, Umpqua Valley, 2008 Viognier
Daisy Creek Vineyard, Rogue Valley, 2008 Sangiovese Rosé

People's Choice Awards
Best White Wine
Winner:
Trium Winery, Rogue Valley, 2008 Pheasant Hill Vineyard Pinot Gris

Runner Up:
Becker Vineyard, Umpqua Valley, 2008 Muller Thurgau

Best Red Wine
Winner:
Palotai Vineyard, Umpqua Valley, 2006 Attila

Runner Up:
Abacela, Umpqua Valley, 2005 Tempranillo Reserve



The "Greatest of the Grape" Award
Spangler Vineyards, Umpqua Valley, 2008 Malbec

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Found: The Best Pizza in Southern Oregon with a HUGE Surprise!

Date: Sat, Mar 27, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

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Southern Oregon Vineyards Spring Update

Date: Sun, Mar 21, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

The weather in both the Umpqua and Rogue Valley AVAs has been dry, dry, dry this year. They have received only about one third the average rainfall. The weather has been consistent with predictions made by Climatologist Greg Jones, and is due to El Niño currents that cause a warming trend. This has also meant that bud break is likely to be very early, which has winegrowers in the valley very concerned, since early bloom means greater potential for frost damage. According to Michael Moore, Operations Manager for Quail Run Vineyards (who has 10 vineyards sites in the area) and South Stage Cellars, "Our buds are swelling, especially in the warmer sites, but haven't yet pushed. We've got our fingers crossedthat temperatures will drop and bud break will be delayed until early April."

Warmer weather will induce bud break and if that happens Harvest will be earlier. But overall, having Harvest come earlier is not worth the stress and headache of trying to ensure that frost doesn't damage the vines. Because if the buds are out and the temperature drops too low they die. If they re-bloom, Harvest is pushed way back and the grower might not have the opportunity to harvest grapes at the level of maturity thats needed to make a balanced wine.

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