Kegs… They're Not Just For Beer Anymore

The word keg conjures up images of high school and college fraternity parties, beer bongs, keg stands—more or less, a whole lot of drunken debauchery. Today's stainless steel kegs are growing up though, getting a whole new image. Some forward-thinking Oregon wineries are putting their wine into kegs to save money (for the winery, restaurant and consumer). They're also reserving resources and protecting the environment by producing less waste (minor added bonus). Read about the benefits of wine kegs here on today's Palate Press.

A Tasting Room Nightmare

This is my first attempt at video, animation and satire (well, I may have tried satire once before). Watch the world's most obnoxious tasting room guest as he drives the staff crazy!

Discover Aliens, Ghosts and Great Wine in McMinnville

McMinnville, Oregon—home to Linfield College, the Evergreen Aviation Museum, the largest annual UFO gathering in the Pacific Northwest (second in the country to Roswell, NM) and a fantastic wine bar or ten. Though I didn’t see any aliens in town that day, I did hear the voice of McMinnville’s past luring me to the couple of tasting rooms I hadn’t yet visited and found myself magically bellied up the bar at the NW Wine Bar.

General Manager Jonathan Trusty (JT) described the NW Wine Bar as a tasting room and bottle shop on steroids, which was a fairly accurate description. Located in a spectacularly renovated historic location, with high ceilings, stained glass windows and comfortable seating, the NW Wine Bar’s all pumped up, featuring 25 different Oregon wines (the company produces) from 15 wine growing regions and 55 vineyards. Wines are offered by the sip, glass, flight, bottle or case and a tempting menu of small bites, grilled Panini sandwiches, soups, flatbread pizzas and desserts are available to make the experience complete. JT spoke passionately about being able to open whatever bottle he thinks may dazzle a particular guest, knowing he can then add it to the tasting menu of by-the-glass pours for other guests to enjoy as well.

The NW Wine Company, founded by winemaker Laurent Montalieu (of Solena Grand Cru Estate) in 2003, produces nearly 85,000 cases for over 25 different clients out of the old Mrs. Smith’s pie factory. The wine production facility utilizes some of the most innovative winemaking equipment in the US, including two receiving lines to process the fruit at warp speed, two Europress destemmers, 100% temperature and humidity controlled barrel rooms, rare rotary fermentors and a Ganimede fermentation tank that harvests and utilizes the energy produced in the fermentation process (something I’m still not sure I understand).

The wine bar focuses on educating guests about Oregon wine and JT is as generous with his knowledge as my Jewish mother is with food. While JT tasted me through his vision of the NW Wine Company, it was as if the wines all came together to tell a cohesive, synthesized and colorful story of region, winemaking style and limited production wines that have been crafted, nurtured along and allowed to reach a potential they could never have reached otherwise.

It’s for all these reasons (and more) NW Wine Bar is a must visit on your McMinnville wine tour… exquisite wines, a hospitable staff and a chic, contemporary, yet historic venue to enjoy it all in. One tiny caveat, be ready to shell out more than just a couple of bucks for perfection.

As if going from day to night (so if you decide to do this tour, I’d actually recommend going here first), I next found myself in the Golden Valley Brewery unable to both peel the patrons off me or get the bartender’s attention while I stood there aiming to taste their two house wines. Eventually, I was poured a glass of 2006 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir from Golden Valley Vineyard in a granny wineglass (small and thick), but the first swirl sadly revealed chunks of cork floating around in it. When I pointed this out to the bartender, instead of pouring me a new glass, he took a spoon and fished the cork out for me… so kind. After all that buildup, the wine unfortunately tasted overly oaked (or was it over-corked?).

The 2006 Oregon Big Red was an unmemorable blend of Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Grenache and Pinot Noir. The Golden Valley Brewery’s wines are both made by prominent winemakers whose wines I’ve often enjoyed, however, these I did not. I perused the menu and determined the wine’s not what people come here for. If I choose to visit this place again, I’ll be sure to order some pub food and stick with the beer (they looked mouthwateringly deeelish), you should too. Until we sip again…

Cheers!

Ponzi Vineyards 40th Anniversary Gala

Celebrating 40 years of crafting some of the finest Oregon wines, on August 21st, 2010 at 6PM, the Ponzi family welcomes you to a very special evening at their brand new winery facility, Collina del Sogno, honoring their history of winemaking in the Willamette Valley. The evening's festivities will include a tasting of wines from the family cellar (I'm dreaming of '99 Abetina), a memorable dinner by Chef Jason Stoller Smith of Timberline Lodge (formerly of The Dundee Bistro), dancing with music by the David Cooley Band and toasts to the past, present and future of Oregon wine. Seating is limited. Cocktail attire requested. $125 per guest.

Proceeds benefit the Youth Employment Institute, a Portland non-profit.

Contact Laurel Dent at 503.628.1227 or laurel@ponziwines.com for more information.

A Couple of Bloggers Unite at Owen Roe

I don't typically make a habit of accepting invitations from strange men, but when fellow blogger Josh Chang of PDXploration asked me to meet him for a private tasting of Owen Roe wines, I knew it was one invitation not to be overlooked. Not only was I intrigued to learn about a fellow Portland blogger who focuses on all the undiscovered and delicious things around Portland, I was also dying to pick his brain for the inside scoop on where to dine. The fact that I'd actually been meaning to visit Owen Roe and would be able to cross this tasting room off my list was just the icing on the cake.

I’d heard Owen Roe’s winery has no sign and is not-easy-to-locate. When given directions to their facility, I was instructed to look for the driveway flanked by English ivy (thanks portlandoregonwine), really? Stealth locale discovered (are they trying to keep people away?), I joined my buddy Josh and his visiting family for a private tasting of Owen Roe’s wines. Owen Roe sources the fruit for their wines from premium vineyards sites in Washington and Oregon and operate a production facility in Washington as well. In addition to the Owen Roe label, they also produce Sharecroppers, O’Rielly’s and Corvett A.

To say I was immediately impressed with the 2008 DuBrul Riesling ($21) would be an understatement—blown away might have been a more accurate description. I’m not typically a huge Riesling fan, but the wine was slightly worshipable—viscous, almost honey-like in color and sweet on the nose, presenting apricots and candied almonds. The minerality and brilliant acidity played well against the hint of residual sugar, and though there is .4% RS, the wine was far more dry than it was sweet. The fruit for this luscious bottling came from a small block of grapes in one of the oldest vineyards in Washington’s Yakima Valley.

Inquiring about the winery’s intriguing black and white labels was a bit like opening up Pandora’s Box. Rose told us story after story of Owen Roe O’Rielly (anscestor of founder and winemaker David O’Reilly), a 17th century Irish patriot who battled all his life with rival Oliver Cromwell. The Riesling’s hand-drawn label features an original woodcut of Clough Oughter Castle where Owen Roe eventually died. Each wine and each label depicts a different chapter in the Owen Roe saga, utilizing the back label to convey the story.

One of the most memorable and impressive of these tales (though I haven’t a clue if the wine is as memorable and might have even given up my left hand to try it) was the story behind Sinister Hand (a blend of Rhone varietals from vineyards in Washington State) whose label prominently features a severed bloody hand. Legend has it, during a boat race across a lake between the O’Rielly’s and the O’Neills, whomever touched land first would be awarded the land as a prize. Land being so valuable, when the O’Rielly’s were losing, one of the crew cut his own hand off and threw it onto land to claim their prize. Rose retold the story with such grim reality, it felt almost like a Monte Python movie, “It was just the left hand… no big deal,” she said sinisterly.

The Owen Roe Kilmore 2008 Pinot Noir was thin and elegant with mouthwatering acidity and earthy components of soil, mushrooms and leather. The mouth opened up to reveal dark, black cherries, blackberries, coffee and a hint of floral perfume that was all but beguiling. Whereas the 2007 Cabernet Franc Mystica Rosa was a bit too vegetal for my taste, with bitter tastes of green pepper that stole the show (and not in a good way), the 2006 DuBrul Cabernet on the other hand, was, in a word, fabulous. Rich and complex flavors of black fruit and lingering spice fill your mouth, laying across your tongue like the finest silk sheet… purely luxurious, especially at $72 a bottle.

Owen Roe also makes a late-harvest Semillon called “The Parting Glass.” The 2007, tropical and floral on the nose, tasted of pineapple, figs, vanilla and toasted caramel… a lovely finish to a great tasting. The Parting Glass is a tribute to winemaker David O’Rielly’s father and the bottle features a popular Irish toast used both to mark the end of a gathering and to honor those who have died: “But since it falls unto my lot that I should go and you should not, I’ll gently rise and softly call, good night and joy be with you all.” Until we sip again…


Cheers!

Anything But Pinot Gris - Oregon Whites For Summer Sipping

Now that summer may finally be here, the time for enjoying white wines with everything has finally arrived. So, in the spirit of the season, I've taken a closer look at some Oregon whites perfect for warm weather and lighter summer fare. Read about it on Cork'd.

Wrap Yourself Around Me — Wordless #WW