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Howard W. Hewitt

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Howard W. Hewitt

Tag Archives: Domaine Serene

Ingredients for Valentines’ Lovers

04 Saturday Feb 2017

Posted by Howard in Holidays, Newspaper Column 2017, Uncategorized

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Adelsheim Winery, Bergstrom Winery, Best Chocolate in Town, Chocolate for the Spirit, Domaine Drouhin, Domaine Serene, Lange Estate Winery, Meiomi Pinot Noir, Valentine's Day, Winderlea, wine and chocolate, Wine for Valentine's Day

One of the great marketing slogans of all time might be “Virginia is for Lovers.” Who knows, they might still use that one. Valentine’s Day is for lovers. And here’s an argument that Valentine’s Day is for Pinot Noir lovers.

grape-sense-logoOver the past few years holidays like Halloween and Valentine’s Day have grown in popularity and celebration.

Valentine’s Day is the second largest card-sending holiday every year. There are estimates that more than 2.5 billion cards are sent each Feb. 14. The wine numbers are equally impressive. It’s hard to narrow down exactly when consumers pick up their Valentine wine but industry experts estimate more than $8.5 million is spent on wine for the lovers’ big day.

No column on Valentine’s Day would be complete without a quick history lesson. Yes, there was a Saint Valentine but that’s about where the agreement begins and ends. Officially, in the Catholic Church at least, Saint Valentine of Rome is the Saint most associated with Feb. 14. He is known as the patron saint for beekeepers, epilepsy, and of course engaged couples and happy marriages

saint-valentine

Saint Valentine

And for all those engaged couples, happily married, or dating duos, it’s time to think about the lovers’ day on our annual calendar. A dozen roses, a nice dinner, great chocolate and an even better Pinot Noir can create an awesome and memorable holiday.

Let’s start with the chocolate and state the obvious. The names you know are not the ones you want to be pairing with your wine. Even with Pinot you want a darker chocolate. A good starting point for your chocolate is buy one with at least 60 percent cacao. Ghirardelli is a pretty good place to start. It’s easy to find and a really good mass-produced product. They flavor it up lots of different ways but keep it fairly simple with your wines.

Two great Indy area chocolatiers, and there are more than two, are Best Chocolate in Town on Mass Ave., and Chocolate for the Spirit, available online. Both make a high-end and elegant chocolate truffles and other treats worthy of your significant others. Sure, artisan chocolates aren’t going to come cheap – you can expect to pay $2-3 per chocolate truffle. But that’s the sort of gift your loved one is really going to appreciate.

Recommending a great Pinot in various price points and easy to find is tough but someone has to do it. If you are on a tight budget hit the local grocery wine aisle or liquor store and look for Mark West. The West pinot is almost always under $10, light bodied, but has correct Pinot Noir flavor.

It gets easier if you step up between $10-$20 price range there are many decent picks. Meiomi Pinot Noir is very widely distributed and sells around $16-$17. Meiomi Pinot is the biggest selling Pinot in the U.S. It’s a consistent product, perhaps a tad sweeter on palate than some, but a good choice.

Step up to the $20-$30 range then you’re talking significantly better wine. I’ve suggested in this column space many times that Lange Estate Winery’s Willamette Valley’s Pinot Noir is one of the best buy wines of any varietal. You can find it in better wine shops in the mid-$20 range.

If you want to splurge and go above the $30 price point, I’d recommend a great Oregon Pinot Noir. Bergstrom, Lange, Adelsheim, Winderlea, Domaine Drouhin, and Domaine Serene are just a few of the great names from Oregon. Those wines will be in a silky and refined style.

If you want something bigger look to Sonoma’s Russian River Valley or the California Central Coast.

Buy your bestie some really good chocolate and a nice Pinot Noir and your Valentine’s Day is sure to be a great one.

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White Pinot – Different, Expensive

16 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by Howard in Oregon

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Coeur Blanc, Domaine Serene, Erik Kramer, Oregon, white Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley

Many serious wine drinkers are serious Pinotphiles. Count me among the serious Pinot Noir junkies when it comes to great wine.

That’s partially why I couldn’t resist trying Domaine Serene‘s Coeur Blanc in the summer of 2011 while visiting Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

The Coeur Blanc is Pinot Noir – but it’s white wine!

A handful of Oregon wineries have experimented with turning Pinot to a rich and smooth white wine. Read Ryan Reichert’s story here from Palate Press.

A shot taken during my 2011 visit.

A shot taken during my 2011 visit.

Domaine Serene is largely credited as one of the pioneers of white Pinot Noir. I tasted it for the first time during that 2011 stop and was taken by just how much I enjoyed it. On the nose, it smells like a light and red Pinot Noir. On the palate it tastes like a very light bodied pinot but with an unusual richness and mouth feel.

It doesn’t have much acid but different should be different. It’s lovely wine!

coeur blanc“I like creating a white wine like this on the feminine side of things, polished, with richness and creaminess,” Domaine Serene winemaker Erik Kramer told the Eugene Register-Guard. “It’s a special wine for us. You have the varietal character of a pinot noir, but above all, the texture is that of a white wine.”

It’s a light gold color with a very faint hint of pink, almost salmon. This is not inexpensive wine and I’m not sure it’s worth the price but it’s definitely different than any white wine you’ve ever tried.

On Cellartracker and other sites, I found it ranging from $75-$95. My memory is that I paid $80 for this wine. The suggested retail price on the current 2010 release is $85.

Domaine Serene Coeur Blanc, $85, Very Highly Recommended, – for those who can afford it and love trying something different!

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Domaine Serene Delivers Vintage to Vintage

29 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by Howard in Oregon, Videos

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Domaine Serene, Lucas Willett, Oregon, Willamette Valley

Domaine Serene Tasting Room

I visited Oregon’s Willamette Valley in July, 2011, and had one of the best ‘wine times’ of my life hitting up a number of prominent wineries.

I did a photo essay for Palate Press, blogged each day here about the trip, and wrote a newspaper column about the experience. Part of my wine-writing work got left in a folder for way too long. I had pitched a full video about the experience to Palate Press but they never bought into the idea. So I have some really interesting interviews with prominent winemakers and others who make Willamette a special place.

Obviously, those pieces have set too long. But the information is as fresh today as the day I first heard it. I’m going to share a number of those over the next two weeks. I had a long chat with Don Lange of Lange Vineyards, Don Hagge of Vidon, the two delightful ladies who own/make and entertain at the Republic of Jam and more.

One of our most enjoyable stops on that trip was Domaine Serene. That winery consistenly scores big points from the two leading national magazines and wine critics for its supurb Pinot Noir. The price points are a bit higher than the already significant prices of most Oregon premier Pinot. But you have to taste the wines to understand.

Talking and touring with Serene’s Willett

The entry level is “Yamhill Cuvee” at $45, though you might find it slightly lower at retail stores. What you learn when you visit vineyards is how premium producers take extraordinary care in every step of the winemaking process.

During my July visit we met Lucas Willett, Hospitality Director, who gave a great tour and fabulous tasting of the Domaine Serene wines. He also shared what was my first white Pinot Noir. Yes, you read that right.

These videos I’ll share over the next two weeks are largely unedited or raw. It puts you in the tasting room and vineyard in a way that a slick edited piece doesn’t. I decided to leave the vids as they were shot.

Below is Willett talking about the care Domaine Serene takes in making its wines and also about Serene’s very unique white Pinot Noir.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

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To Bordeaux and burgundy for this weeks Saturday Sipps at the Wine Shop, 11-4 pm. Taste these great wines and you can buy them Saturday only for 20% off.
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