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Howard W. Hewitt

~ … The "W" stands for wine!

Howard W. Hewitt

Tag Archives: Willamette Valley Vineyards

Another reason to love Oregon wines

20 Wednesday Feb 2019

Posted by Howard in Oregon, Uncategorized

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Copper Cane, King Estate Winery, Oregon Solidarity, Oregon wine, Willamette Valley Vineyards

EDITOR’S NOTE: Well crap. This country, and particularly Indiana’s, wine laws strike again. After writing this post I went to order my three pack to learn they’re not shipping to Indiana. I’ll update if that changes or if other options become available.

 

Sometimes I feel like the Willamette Valley Wine Association should put me on the payroll. I love Oregon wine, Oregon wine country, and most of all the people of Oregon.

Wine folks have probably heard about the recent Solidarity Wines being produced from Rogue Valley vineyards. The back story is 2,000 tons of Rogue Valley grapes were to be sold to Copper Cane of Napa Valley. Copper Cane dropped out of the contract late in the season citing ‘smoke taint’ from the west’s forest fires.

The video above tells the story beautifully.

OregonSolidarity3-PackThe great part is a group of Oregon winemakers in the Willamette Valley bought up some of the grapes and made a Chardonnay, Rose’ and Pinot Noir which will be released over th$e summer. Proceeds from those wines will benefit Rogue Valley vineyards. A website is up telling the Solidarity Wines story and giving consumers a chance to buy a three pack of Chardonnay, Rose’ and Pinot Noir. I’ve ordered one.

The effort is being led by Willamette Valley Vineyards Winery and King Estate Winery.

I’ve tasted smoke-tainted wines. I tasted Pinot Noir in 2011 during a wine press trip to Mendocino County just north of Sonoma. There was a hint of burnt wood but the wine wasn’t off-putting. Oregon grape growers and winemakers are claiming there is no taint at all in the Rogue Valley grapes.

Great story and one that’s going to be interesting to follow. The wines are being released starting Mar. 1 with the Rose’ with the 3-pack shipping August 1. I’ll be sure to post when mine have arrived.

Check out the video above and consider ordering some Oregon wine for a good neighborly cause.

 

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Rose’ Growth; Vineyard Harvest Time

30 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by Howard in France, Newspaper Column 2014, Oregon

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Don Crank, Provence Rosé, Rose', Willamette Valley Vineyards

Long-time Grape Sense readers know of my passion for dry rosé. The latest numbers show more and more Americans are enjoying the dry pink passion.

Grape Sense LogoThe Nielsen growth statistics have been rather astounding the past few years. The last reporting period covered May 2013 to May of this year showed 20 percent growth in volume of imported Provence Rosé. If that’s not impressive enough, consider mid-summer sales ending June 21 for the previous 52 weeks showing an incredible 55 percent growth in Rosé imports.

But anecdotally I’ve witnessed growth beyond the French sales. At least two of the more prominent Indianapolis-area wine shops had a considerably larger rosé selection this summer than previous years.

RoseloresDuring summer trips to Oregon and California it certainly appeared more wineries were designating precious grapes for their first or second vintage of dry rosé.

So if you haven’t tried dry Rose, what are you missing? Rosé hits just the right spot between dry white and red wines. It may be the most flexible wine in your wine rack. You can enjoy rosé with a very wide range of meals well beyond reds and whites. It’s also the best sipper in the wine rack for those evenings of small bites and a glass of wine.

My other personal favorite wine is Pinot Noir and particularly Oregon Pinot. It’s always interesting to talk to winemakers and get their take on what’s happening in the vineyard this time of year. I met Don Crank, Willamette Valley Vineyards winemaker, a couple of years ago at the Indy International Wine Competition.

“The winemaking and vineyard team and I are now working around the clock to bring in fruit from our three estate vineyards,” Crank said of the on-going fall harvest. “The grapes have reached optimal ripeness from the evenly warm vintage, and have retained their naturally bright acidity from the cool nights. What sets 2014 apart from other warm weathered years is we didn’t experience heat spikes in the vineyard, sending the grapes into sun-shock. Instead, the fruit is healthy and near-perfection.”

Crank picks Pinot Noir and Chardonnay first to make his ‘traditional-method’ sparkling wine.

Don Crank

Don Crank

“The grapes were pressed immediately to avoid picking up color or tannin from the skins and are now fermenting. We will bottle this wine after some time in barrel, and then inoculate for its secondary fermentation, which creates the sparkle.”

Harvest time is always chaotic in any wine region. It’s a little extra chaotic this fall in Napa after the Aug. 24 earthquake. The estimated losses have constantly been upgraded to nearly $80 million.

You can support some of the hardest hit wineries by going online and buying wine. Look for Robert Baile, Page Cellars, Laird, and Yates Family Winery. There are many more but those are smaller operations which can really use your wine shopping dollars.

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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.
Panko, breaded, shrimp and Michigan, Leelanau, peninsula, Shady Lane cellars” Chardonnay. Pretty great small dinner after a night at the Wine Shop. #shadylanecellars

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