Tag Archives: Oregon wine

Fourth of July wine 2017

Fourth of July wine 2017Four delicious and value-oriented wines for Fourth of July 2017

The extra long Fourth of July 2017 weekend means more chances for great, cheap wine – always welcome when one is enjoying the United States’ birthday. But since it’s also summer, with hot and dry weather, the best way to celebrate is with lighter, less alcoholic wine – yes, even for red. That means summer wine (and porch wine); even though the food matters, lots of oak and high alcohol aren’t especially refreshing when it’s 98 degrees outside

Consider these Fourth of July wine 2017 suggestions:

• Masi Pinot Grigio Verduzzo Masianco 2015 ($13, sample, 13%): There was much more to this Italian white than I expected — some pinot grigio tonic water, but also a little pear and almost tropical fruit, and the verduzzo grape in the blend adds some softness.

• Feudo Maccari Sicilia Rosé Noto 2016 ($16, sample, 12%): This is a terrific Sicilian rose made with nero d’avola – light and refreshing (pears and cherries) and an example of hoe versatile the grape can be. Look for it closer to $12 or $13, though, because the suggested price is someone sitting in an office poring over a spreadsheet and doesn’t reflect the wine’s value.

• Firesteed Pinot Noir 2014 ($10, sample, 13.4%): This red was the first affordable Oregon pinot noir to get national attention, but it hasn’t been well made for a long time. This vintage, though, is infinitely better, Look for some cherry fruit, some earth, and the correct tannins. Of course, as soon as I tasted this, the brand was sold to a company with more than two dozen brands, so who knows what will happen next?

• Segura Viudas Cava Brut Rosado NV ($9, purchased, 12%): This pink Spanish sparkler is one of the world’s great wine values, and every time I taste it I marvel at how Segura does it. Cherry and cranberry fruit that finishes softer than it has in the past, but still bubbly and delicious.

More Fourth of July wine:
• Fourth of July wine 2016
• Fourth of July wine 2015
• Wine of the week: Bogle Essential Red 2014

Wine of the week: A to Z Pinot Gris 2015

A to Z Pinot GrisThe A to Z pinot gris is widely available, well made, and shows off the Oregon style

Once, for a cheap wine talk, I used an A to Z wine. The audience was mostly dumbfounded, since they had never heard of A to Z, an Oregon producer, and didn’t believe that a wine without the Winestream Media seal of approval could be that well done.

Well, it is, and the A to Z pinot gris ($14, sample, 13.5%) is just one more example.

Pinot gris is the same grape as the Italian pinot grigio; the difference is in approach and terroir. The Italians prefer an austere, almost tonic water wine, with little fruit, while the Oregon style has lime and tropical fruit with a fuller and richer middle. The A to Z pinot gris is firmly in the Oregon camp, and the lime and lime zest practically jump around your mouth. The finish isn’t what it could be – a bit bitter, from all the acidity in the wine – but it’s still enjoyable and worth drinking.

Drink this chilled, and it’s yet another white wine as summer arrives, either for porch sipping, for chicken on the grill, or those bratwursts have that been sitting in the freezer.

A word about the price – the winery sells the wine for $15, it’s $14 on Wine-Searcher, and I’ve seen it for as little as $10 or $12 in grocery stores and the largest chain retailers. At $10 or $12, it’s that much more of a value.

Mini-reviews 95: Geyser Peak, Triton Tridente, Cloudline, Anne Amie

geyser peakReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the fourth Friday of each month.

• Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc 2015 ($12, sample, 13%): I’m sure the current owners of Geyser Peak, once a great cheap sauvignon blanc, had their reasons for blending this vintage with riesling. The reason, though, escapes me, since it adds an almost syrupy consistency and sweetness to a wine that is supposed to be crisp and fresh. Plus, $12?

• Bodegas Tritón Tridente 2013 ($16, sample, 15.5%): This Spanish tempranillo sat in the wine closet for more than a year, and the age made all the difference in the world. Much better than I expected – rich and lush with cherry fruit but not hot despite the high alcohol.

• Cloudline Pinot Noir 2015 ($16, sample, 13.5%): This Oregon red from the well-known Domaine Drouhin is not for all tastes, made in an almost old-fashioned French style. That means tart berry fruit and very simple in style.

• Anne Amie Cuvee A Amrita 2015 ($15, sample, 12.6%): This Oregon white blend, from one of my favorite producers, is a cross between a frizzante riesling and a sweeter, more Prosecco style sparkling. It is well made, as all Anne Amie wines are, with citrus and white fruit, but could use more acidity to balance the sweetness.

 

 

Wine of the week: Anne Amie Cuvee A Muller-Thurgau 2015

Anne Amie Muller-ThurgauThe Anne Amie Muller-Thurgau is an interesting and enjoyable white wine from a top Oregon producer

Small, interesting producer? Check.

Weird grape? Check.

Something no focus group could ever love? Check.

In other words, the Anne Amie Cuvee A Muller-Thurgau ($15, sample, 12.7%), a white wine from Oregon made with a German grape that is seldom grown much anymore. What’s not to enjoy?

The Anne Amie Muller-Thurgau offers white spice, a little lime fruit and the acidity that goes with it, some green apple, a freshness and minerality that I didn’t expect, and maybe a touch of sweetness if you swallow a certain way.

In this, it’s a shrimp and shellfish wine if you’re tired of sauvignon blanc, a roast chicken wine if you’re tired of chardonnay, and a porch wine for the first nice afternoon in the spring.

My only complaint? The tasting notes say it pairs with something called a kati roll, and I’m not nearly hip and with it enough to know what that is.

Wine of the week: Castle Rock Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2015

Castle Rock Pinot NoirThe Castle Rock Pinot Noir is affordable, well-made, enjoyable and even tastes like pinot noir

After years of complaining that it was almost impossible to find affordable pinot noir that tasted like pinot noir. we’ve already had two as wines of the week this year. The second, the Castle Rock pinot noir, may be the more interesting.

That’s because the Castle Rock pinot noir ($12, sample, 13.5%) is a negociant-style wine, where the people making it don’t necessarily own any grapes or winemaking facilities. It’s a common practice in France, but much less common in the U.S. In the case of the Castle Rock pinot noir, it works well.

Look for the telltale red and black berry fruit in this red wine from Oregon, a little freshness, a competent finish with a touch of length, and what tastes like nicely done fake oak. Also, there are surprisingly professional tannins that hide in the background and don’t get in the way of the wine; in fact, they even sort of complement it. In much cheap pinot noir, the tannins are either missing completely or are so harsh that they overpower the wine.

Is this classic Oregon pinot noir? No, but it’s not supposed to be. It’s supposed to be affordable pinot noir that tastes like pinot noir, which is as rare as it is welcome. Enjoy this on any weeknight, and be glad you didn’t pay $20 for a pinot that you didn’t like nearly as much.

 

Expensive wine 96: Eyrie Vineyards Original Vines Pinot Noir 2013

Eyrie Vineyards Original Vines pinot noirars of Oregon winemaking traditionThe Eyrie Vineyards Original Vines pinot noir speaks to more than 40 years of Oregon winemaking tradition

Once, wine was about history and tradition, and not descriptors. The story of the wine was what mattered, and not whether it was redolent of graphite and cigar box aromas. It’s the latter that makes the Eyrie Vineyards Original Vines Pinot Noir so special.

The Eyrie Original Vines pinot noir ($80, sample, 13%) is made with grapes from the vines that the late David Lett planted more than 40 years ago when he came to Oregon to grow pinot noir. Lett, who pioneered the grape in Oregon, was considered crazy for doing so – why would anyone leave California for the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest to make wine with a grape that only the French did well?

This wine answers that question. It speaks to Lett’s vision and passion – an elegant and graceful effort that reminds us that wine can be about terroir and the people who make it, and not focus groups, sales charts, and price points. It also shows that winemaker Jason Lett has taken his father’s vision and updated it to the 21st century

Look for elegance and grace, a wine that can hold its own with any of the world’s best. It has Oregon’s telltale brambly cherry fruit, but so much more – layers and layers of complexity, black pepper interspersed with the fruit, tannins that hang around just long enough but not too long, a memory of oak that is just enough to do the job, and who knows what else going on. It will age well for the next several years at least, and maybe even longer.

Highly recommended, the kind of wine to buy for someone who loves wine and will appreciate the effort and history that went into it.

Wine of the week: Wine by Joe Pinot Noir 2014

Wine by Joe Pinot NoirThe Wine by Joe Pinot Noir shows it’s possible to make great pinot that is also affordable

Joe Dobbes is an Oregon winemaking legend, which makes this wine all that more amazing. When do winemaking legends make wine that most of us can afford?

In fact, the Wine by Joe Pinot Noir ($16, sample, 13.5%) is about as cheap as real pinot noir gets, and it’s a better quality pinot than many that cost twice as much. But Dobbes’ decades of experience with pinot noir has given him both the experience and the mindset to make this kind of wine. Dobbes worked in the French region of Burgundy, the heartbeat of pinot, and helped put Oregon pinot on the map when he was the winemaker at Willamette Valley Vineyards.

The Wine by Joe pinot noir is not just varietally correct, but tastes like Oregon pinot noir. This matters in an age when the goal seems to be to turn pinot into a red blend, tarting it up with sweet fruit and even residual sugar. Instead, the wine has the spicy, brambly quality that an Oregon pinot noir should have, along with bright cherry fruit; those essential, barely noticeable pinot tannins; and a balance that made me wish I had a bottle to taste, and not just a few sips at a trade event.

Highly recommended, and more than worth the extra cost. Serve this with roast chicken or lamb, and be glad Dobbes understands quality is not something reserved for expensive wine.