• About
  • Indiana Wineries
  • Michigan Wineries
  • Wisconsin Wineries

Howard W. Hewitt

~ … The "W" stands for wine!

Howard W. Hewitt

Tag Archives: Adelsheim

Oregon Day 3: Meeting a Pinot Pioneer

31 Monday Oct 2016

Posted by Howard in Food & Travel, Oregon, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Adelsheim, David Adelsheim, Donna Morris, McMinnville, Republic of Jam, Saffron Fields, Thistle Restaurant, Trisaetum Winery, Winderlea Winery, wine travel

WILLAMETTE VALLEY, OR. – Saturday was a day of Pinot, great luck, and fabulous food.

Four wine dudes traveling for the first time together in Oregon’s Willamette Valley rocked it with great wine, friendship, and a bit of good luck. We’re here for three days of wine tasting and other adventures.

fullsizerender

Amy and Lynette – the Jam ladies.

When you go to wine country it’s all about great tasting experiences, learning about the vineyards, and getting acquainted with the wonderful people of wine country. But a great trip should include more. You should explore the area’s restaurants, sites, and the unique businesses.

 

We started our Saturday with one of my favorites – The Republic of Jam. Lynnette Shaw’s brainchild is now six years old and thriving as tourism continues to boom in the valley. Yes, they sell jam. They also sell cocktail enhancements, flavored ketchups and mustard.

Marionberry, Pacific berry, strawberry basil, and so many other combinations really test your taste buds. Republic of Jam is in Carlton nestled in the middle of the main street of the small village. The jams are a wonderful experience for the taste buds. Lynette and Amy have a unique business that has become a must-stop when visiting. I bought six! The have a small jar for $7.50 and larger one for $10. It’s a real taste of Oregon produce with a twist.

fullsizerender-10

Winderlea co-owner Donna with Dude Patrick T.

We made our first winery stop at Winderlea in the Dundee Hills. Co-owner Donna Morris was hosting a wine club pick-up reception and she invited us to join in the fun. Great food bites and a tasting of their new 2014 vintage wines was a treat.

 

Winderlea is truly boutique at about 6,000 cases. Veteran winemaker Robert Brittan uses the well-sourced fruit to make beautiful Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines. The Chardonnay is soft, round and has real depth. Tasting through the new releases was a great experience of really well-made wines. Brittan was winemaker for Napa’s Stags Leap before moving north.  Winderlea wines run from $38 to $85. And since we’ve been talking about costs and tasting fees, it’s nice to note the Winderlea makes an annual and  substantial contribution to a local charity providing health care to vineyard workers.

fullsizerender-11

David Adelsheim shared a few moments with us.

This weekend is my fifth trip to the valley and another of the guys has been here four times. Two of the guys are making their initial visit. With about 500 wineries now, it’s hard to get everywhere. But through my five visits I had missed two important wineries. We visited Bergstrom Friday and Saturday we had a great visit to Adelsheim.

 

Adelsheim is one of the valley’s pioneers. The tasting room offered several different tastings at the $25 level. Adelsheim, like most here, waive the fee if you buy wine.

We had a very “Oregon experience” during our stop. Our friendly tasting room associate Sandy was telling us all about the wines we were tasting and someone came up behind us to introduce himself. Yes, it was David Adelsheim. He talked about changes in the valley and the future of his winery for a good 15 minutes. It was an awesome experience. He then called Sam Schmitt, head of marketing, over to give us a full vineyard and winery tour. Adelsheim’s Pinot runs roughly $60 to just over $100 a bottle. They have a couple of different whites including a $25 Pinot Blanc that I thought was terrific.

fullsizerender-12

Schmitt talking vineyard with our group.

Next was a quick visit, by our standards, to Trisaetum Winery. A couple of the guys are big Reisling fans and Trisaetum is widely praised for their efforts with the German varietal. I tasted the Pinots and a couple Reislings. The guys assured me Trisaetum lived up to its billing. I drank a lot of Reisling when I started getting interested in wine but not much of a fan as my palate has evolved. I could tell they were well made wines and priced at an affordable $20-$30 range.

 

Saffron Fields was our final stop of the day. I’m a club member so a big fan. Their wines are made by Tony Rynders, who rose to fame making wines for Domaine Serene. It’s a beautiful setting and great Pinot. There price points range $40-$60. Saffron has a nice Chardonnay, one of the best Rose of Pinot I’ve had in the valley, and their reds.

Now, a note to newbies. I’d never recommend more than three wineries a day for someone making their first or second wine country visit. Frankly, I’m most comfortable with just three. You get palate fatigue and even if you take small sips or spit, you are absorbing alcohol. But our group knows when to say when and is anxious to visit several of the iconic wineries and the quirky ones.

fullsizerender-13

Rabbitt, Pork, with rockfish in middle.

We wrapped up Saturday with another great dinner. We dined at Thistle in McMinnville. We had planned on having the chef’s tasting menu but the manager just convinced us to have ‘everything.” So that’s exactly what we did. Thistle is a chef-driven, farm-to-fork, hipsters and upscale eatery at affordable prices.

 

The food was wonderful. We enjoyed a chicken liver and a pork pate’ as well as some squash soup and a couple of salads. We shared on dish of about everything. Entrees were pork, rock fish, and rabbit. The chef weaved interesting flavors and ingredients. It was a very enjoyable meal.The dinner came to about $50 apiece. We brought our own wine and the restaurant waived the $20 corkage fee.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Oregon Wine Keeps Raising the Bar!

10 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by Howard in Oregon

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Adelsheim, Bergstrom, Crumbled Rock, Evening Land, Jesse Lange, Joe Dobbes, Lange, Lynn Penner-Ash, Oregon, Penner Ash, Willamette Valley, Winderlea

Thursday's Tasting Mob at Chicago's City Winery

Thursday’s Tasting Mob at Chicago’s City Winery

Oregon wine long ago found its niche on the world stage as a home for great Pinot Noir. That reputation is growing as the wines become more widely available.

A tasting Thursday in downtown Chicago proved the wines are getting better. I’ve visited the Willamette Valley several times and find the wines improve with each visit.

More than 60 Oregon wine producers poured for 500 trade and media members Thursday afternoon and another 500 that night to customers shelling out $65 a person.

Many Oregon wineries, particularly the better boutique efforts, sell all of each year’s vintage. Jesse Lange, a winemaker who has always treated us like a friend, noted his winery has increased production nearly 10,000 cases the last five years.

The tasting was spectacular. Most of these wines are widely available in Midwestern states but not in huge supply. Obviously, the Willamette Valley Wineries Association thought it was time to expand Oregon’s presence in the Midwest with the first-ever Chicago event.

I managed to get to many different tables and still missed out on many I had never before visited. I do have quite a bit of material to use for future print stories and the blog.

Most of the wines listed here are top shelf offerings. After all, who wants to taste the entry level bottles at a tasting? Here are some of the real winners I tasted:

David Adelsheim

Adelsheim

Adelsheim 2010 Elizabeth’s Reserve Pinot Noir – It’s always safe and smart to turn to a region’s pioneers for a great bottle of wine. Big fruit, nice strawberry, and incredible balance make this one worth $55.

Bergstrom

Bergstrom

Bergstrom Sigrid 2011 Chardonnay – Karen Bergstrom defines this wine the “very best of the best” from their vineyards. It was bright and fresh Chardonnay. $80

Crumbled Rock 2010 Julliard Vineyard Pinot Noir – I tasted the Crumbled Rock wine in 2007 from their first vintage as winemakers. Gerard Koschal, owner and winemaker, had been growing and selling grapes for some time before making wine. That first vintage, released in 07, was more unremarkable than memorable. So it was a delightful surprise to be blown away by their beautifully wine in Chicago. $35.

Evening Land 2010 Mad Hatter Chardonnay – Brace yourself regular readers, the Evening Land might have been THE best wine I tasted all day. Largely whole cluster Chardonnay with Chablis-like characteristics of acid and minerality. It might have also been the most surprising wine I’ve tasted from Oregon. Without mentioning names, this was a wine more than one producer said I must taste. They were right. $40.

Dobbes

Dobbes

Joe Dobbes Grenache Blanc – Hobbes is a winemaker and consultant who wanted to use his experience to do something different. He is buying all of the grenache blanc grown in Oregon from the southern Rogue Valley and making a light, spectacular version of the southern French classic. If you’re unfamiliar with Grenache Blanc, one critic suggested thinking of Pinot Gris with more richness. I’d agree. I loved this wine! $26

Lange

Lange

Lange 2011 Reserve Pinot Noir – It’s simply one of the most consistent wines, at a reasonable price, you can find at the price point from Oregon. Full disclaimer: Regular readers know I’m a Lange fan. Jesse and Don have always been available and accomodating during my visits to the valley. But their wines just get better and better. Don wasn’t one of the original pioneers, but his name belongs right beside them. $32

Penner-Ash

Penner-Ash

Penner-Ash 2011 Dussin Vineyard Pinot Noir – A classic bottle of Oregon Pinot with nice big fruit and the balance of one of Oregon’s great, great winemakers – Lynn Penner-Ash. $65.

Sweat

Sweat

Winderlea 2009 Ana Vineyard Pinot Noir – Winderlea makes the term ’boutique winery’ work every time you taste their wines. Bill Sweat and Donna Morris produce just 2,000-3,000 cases annually but they make gorgeous Pinot and wonderful Chardonnay. The Ana Vineyard is classic Oregon. $48

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Recent Posts

  • Huber’s – Not just about wine anymore
  • Where have the all the biscuits gone?
  • Just what is a ‘bad wine?’

Grape Sense on Instagram

Curt Is here for a shift or two on weekends. He and I will be here Saturday for Sipps. This weeks lineup includes a new very affordable Prosecco, a great value white burgundy, and a wonderful Grand cru red burgundy. Join this Saturday pouring starts at 11 AM and we go until four or five. Bring a friend and tell a friend!
Have you met Karen? She works mid week mornings at the shop and is reminding everyone to join us for Saturday Sipps this weekend. We will be pouring the popular Auntsfield Sauv Blanc, another new Rose, and a Pinot noir from the Loire Valley! It all begins at 11 AM through the afternoon
Very mixed thoughts about an unplanned visit to Nonna’s Italian Italian in Plainfield just off I 70 from last night. Unexpectedly stuck in town for a couple of hours thought I would try it out it’s an odd set up where you have to order at the register. Calamari was great my salad was great the lasagna was good except for some odd white sauce top of the marinara which was delicious the white sauce was congealed and tasted bitter… The home-baked roll was delicious… The glass of Gabbiano Chianti was OK well I paid 1150 for a glass that sells for eight bucks … total bill $36 for those items which I thought was a little high mostly the wine cost. Service seem confused and disjointed but they were all very pleasant I’d probably give it a second chance not sure
Join Curt and I Saturday at the Wine Shop for Saturday Sipps. We will be pouring an unusual and delicious Austrian Rose, Italian Vermentino, and Sicilian red! Of course, all three 20 percent off Saturday only!

Categories

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 3,651 other followers

Howard’s Wine Ratings

"Very Highly Recommended" - Drop everything and rush out to buy this wine!

"Highly Recommended" - Wine is varietally correct, well made, great balance, a must buy!

"Recommended" - Good wine and a good value. Not spectacular but a solid choice.

"Not Recommended" - Run the other direction.

Wine Travel Photos

My Magazine Stories

Friend Me On …

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Archives

My Summer With Lymphoma: Lymphoma, My Stem Cell Transplant

Good news on cancer and eyes

I have failed miserably at keeping ‘the cancer blog’ updated – and that’s a good thing, I suppose. I have now been “clean” since my April autologous stem cell transplant. I had a PET scan in June and a CT scan this week (Sept. 11) and both showed negative results. My oncologist was very pleased […]

Decisions, Decisions – Job & Health issues

  It’s been two weeks since my last update, one week-plus since I dropped one of my three antibiotics, and 97 days since my stem cell transplant for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.   So there are a few things to update and a few thoughts to share. Let’s start with the cancer. My team of oncologists at […]

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Howard W. Hewitt
    • Join 3,651 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Howard W. Hewitt
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: