Saturday, October 27th — 2pm
Come by this Saturday when we will be pouring some tasty wines from Oregon and Washington. The Northwest is bursting with great wine and we’ve rounded up these examples that have great quality and are modestly priced. Come wet your whistle. Local oenophile Steven Brown will be on hand to tell you all about them.
2011 Anne Amie Pinot Gris $18
From Yamhill-Carlton and the Chehalem Mountains the grapes for Anne Amie’s showcase the heart of the Willamette Valley. The cooler 2011 vintage was great for white wines. Their Pinot Gris has intensely aromatic floral notes that give way to a palate of Asian pear, Meyer lemon and rose petal. The body is balanced and crisp,
2008 Vista Hills Winery, Treehouse Pinot Noir $20
Vista Hills is a 40 acre estate in Oregon’s Dundee hills that uses a consortium of winemakers. The 2009 Treehouse was produced by Dave Petterson at Panther Creek Cellars who also manages Vista Hills. The Treehouse Pinot Noir offers an earthy nose with notes of roasted coffee, dark chocolate, plum and nutmeg on the palate. Round tannins provide sturdy length and structure. It is a good example of Oregon Pinot at a great price.
2008 Cana’s Feast Brico Red $15
Located in Carlton Oregon, Cana’s Feast specializes in Italian varietals. The fruit for the Brico red comes from Coyote Canyon, Ciel du Cheval vineyards in Columbia Valley. This Sangiovese-predominant blend is a full-bodied and lively wine with zesty Old World appeal that is complemented with a rich and full palate more often expressed in the New World.
2008 St. Laurent Winery, Syrah $16
Fruit growers who expanded out into grapes and then wine, the folks at St Laurent make some tasty Washington wines at quite reasonable prices. The Syrah comes from their Wahluke Slope vineyard which they sustainably farm. Bright and flavorful, this Syrah has a juicy mouthful of dark blackberry and raspberry with hints of spice. It was barrel aged for 18 months mostly in French oak with 21% of that being new.
2008 Bunnell Family Cellars, Mourvedre $36
After winemaking at Chateau Ste. Michelle, Beringer and Kendall-Jackson, Ron Bunnell turned his hand to making his own wine. Bunnell specializes in small handmade lots of wine from Rhône Valley grape varieties. The Mourvedre, from Northridge Vineyard on Wahluke Slope, has aromas of white pepper and grapefruit pith, soft tannins, complex flavors of cassis and Rainier cherries, white pepper, star anise with a hint of grapefruit rind.