Piles and Piles of empty bottles show that Beaux Freres had a great Thanksgiving Event

A Yamhill Thanksgiving Recap

Dozens and dozens of wineries and vineyards in Yamhill County offer such a range of events and tastings at Thanksgiving that, if I were a consumer, I'd have a hard time deciding what to do. With the help of some of our energetic wine tasting customers and friends, we tried to get to as many as possible.

Well, the dust has settled, the turkey leftovers are all gone, and it's time for a recap of the trends, the hot spots, and the wine finds of the event.

Trend- The More Limited the Access, the Bigger the Turnout

Wineries whose only public openings are Memorial Day and Thanksgiving weekend seem to have done the best among the small boutique wineries. Those who have a regular tasting room and easy access may have been passed by as consumers hit the places they cannot normally visit. Beaux Freres and Patricia Green Cellars were absolutely swamped. All those empty $60 and $70 bottles of Beaux Freres wines filling up their trash cans were a powerful testimony to their success.

Patty and Jim at Patricia Green Cellars looked like they'd been ridden hard and left wet in the stable when I saw them the Monday after the weekend. They were absolutely packed for both weekends and Patty must have gotten writer's cramp from all the bottles of wine she signed! They sold out of many of their single vineyard offerings.

Bergstrom reportedly saw hundreds of visitors, and Adelheim and Shea Wine Cellars, who joined forces at Adelsheim's beautiful winery just down the road from Bergstrom, also saw record numbers of visitors. They were able to taste the luscious 2002 Pinots from Shea, and the new Deglace Dessert wine from Adelsheim, along with the full range of wines from Adelsheim.

Trend- Higher Tasting Fees and More Goodies for the Money

While the wineries with the largest tasting facilities continue to welcome buses full of tourists with low or no tasting fees, the small wineries, with limited personnel and tighter budgets, have opted to raise tasting fees, in an effort to cover the many expenses involved in running an Open House. With charges between $5 and $30, the fees usually cover a free glass, munchies, and a partial to complete refund if wine is purchased. Reportedly, food and entertainment were excellent across the valley, with an art exhibit at Ken Wright Cellars a particular hit. Other wineries offered live music, sumptuous buffets, and of course, a chance to meet and talk to the winemakers.

The Wine Finds

Laurel Ridge had an exceptionally busy weekend, with their best Friday after Thanksgiving ever. The winery has just released two single vineyard Pinot noirs that are quite lovely, and their very reasonable price on a fruity, easy drinking Pinot noir Willamette Valley 01 ($10.99) made it a hit of the weekend. Laurel Ridge's Pinot noir Port $32.99 was scarfed up by wine lovers who appreciated its huge cherry flavors and warm finish.

Brick House released their Pinot noir 02 $27 and their Pinot noir Cuvee de Tonnelier 02 $42 to kudoes from all who tasted them. Evesham Wood showed the usually extremely hard to get "Cuvee J", made in a little larger amount this year and a February 2004 Avalon Reserve Pinot noir Club Selection. The single vineyard Evesham Anden Pinot noir 01 $30, and Evesham Wood Mahonia 01 $29 were mentioned to me by several experienced winery goers as hits of their weekend tasting.

The surprise hit of the Patricia Green Cellars event was the new "Reserve" Pinot noir 02. A blend of single vineyard barrels, the wine was just drinking beautifully and sld like crazy. Over at Shea Wine Cellars, several visitors told me they were most impressed with the "Block 23" Pinot noir 02.

Jean's Holiday Gift Picks

If I was to pick NW wines to send to friends and family, here's what I'd send:

For my friend who likes dessert wines:
Ankeny "Gold" Pinot gris
Dessert Wine 375 ml $12
Because it has all the richness and sweet fruit that anyone could want, but has a racy acidity that leaves your palate refreshed, not overwhelmed. And the price is great.

For my friends who hunt, fish, and love big red wines:
Hells Canyon's
Deerslayer Syrah $20,
Seven Devils Red $21,
and Retriever Red $15
Because these wines combine the richness and flavors that complement the heartiest meal, while offering really great labels and reasonable prices.

For my friends who are sensitive to sulfites, I'd send the Cooper Mountain Five Elements Pinot noir 02 $18.99. The wine is made without sulfites, and is about as low in sulfites as a wine can get (there is a tiny amt in the skin of grapes). This wine does not make me turn bright red and sweat, a most unattractive feature of wine tasting for my sulfite sensitive self.

For my friends for whom French Burgundy is the only Pinot noir to touch their lips, I'd send the Evesham Wood Cuvee "J" 02, because it'll make converts of them. Russ's inspiration comes from two of Burgundy's top small producers: the legendary Henri Jayer (Vosne-Romanée), and Michel Niellon (Chassagne-Montrachet). Russ says, "Even if, as "new world" vintners, we aren't ashamed to admit that we strive for certain subtle aspects of great Côte d'Or Pinot and Chardonnay, we appreciate the fact that there will always be identifiable Eola Hills’ characteristics in our wines, distinguishing them from every other region of the world".

For my friends who like Patricia Green Cellars, I'd send the PGC Eason Pinot noir 2000 $30, which we founda small stash of and is drinking fabulously. Maybe I could keep them out of their new 2002's, giving them a little time to age!

For my friends who want to try some of the best $20 Pinot noir around, I'd send the Bergstrom 02, followed closely by the Jezebel. It's hard to decide which one I like better, the Bergstrom for its wonderful balance and terroir, or the Jezzebel for its rich fruit forward flavors. Both show just how good $20 Pinot noir can be! And then again, the Ce Soir 01, also made by Peter Rossback, is pretty dang yummy- what a great situation, too many excellent and inexpensive Pinot noirs to list them all !!!!!

Last week- K Syrah,
Hottest new Walla Walla Reds, Shea 02's are stunning

Best Super Deals
This Week
Jean's Picks:

Griffin Creek Pinot noir 99
$16.99 was $33
A steal- closeout price

Brick House
Pinot noir 02 $27
It comes and goes so quickly,
grab it now.

Five Star Cellars
Cabernet Sauvignon $32
Merlot $32
Sleepers made from the fruit Leonetti used to use. Amazing richness and lush finish. Ugliest labels in Washington State.

Lattitude 46
Cliftons Cuvee $17.99
A big lush wine at a bargain price- gettting snapped up
in Seattle like crazy!

K Vintners
Syrah Milbrandt Vineyard $30
Elsewhere on the web $45,
Charles made this wine from one of Cayuse's vineyards, all rocks and dry sand, it's intense, complex and wonderfully elegant.

Patricia Green Cellars
Pinot noir Eason Vineyard 2000 $30
regular $45
Special sale price on this wonderfully drinking wine.
Check out the vintage!

This Week's Super Case
What I'd like to Take Home

Five Star Cellars
Cabernet Sauvignon $32
Merlot $32
Because the wine is so good.

Youngberg Hill PN 2000 $18/16.20
jammy and well balanced- the hit of a recent staff tasting, we kept comparing everything to it, and finding it the best.

Jezebel Pinot noir 02 $20/18
Hedonistic and huge,
Peter does it again. Yummy.

Fielding Hills Merlot 01
$30/27
And worth very penny- so much complexity and structure for a big lush Merlot

Solera Syrah 01 $16/14.40
Just shows you can get a giant juice bomb Syrah for less than $20.

Lattitude 46
Clifton Cuvee $18
A steal! Yumm.

Patricia Green Cellars
Pinot noir Shea 01 $32/28.80
Just keeps getting better, there's lots of options from Patty, but this one from 2001 is drinking so beautifully- had it again last week and it was a joy to behold.

Adea
Dean-O's Pinot noir 01
$26/23.40
Because I've always had a soft spot for Harley people, and this wine has a wild free spirit.

Andrew Rich
Cabernet Franc 01 $20/18
Because a customer made a special long distance call to me after trying this wine to make sure I knew how good it is, and because Andrew's wines are so consistently excellent, and I like his dog, Romeo, a lot.

K Vintners
Milbrandt Syrah 01 $30
Because Charles and his friend Christophe (Cayuse) are shaking up the world of Syrah and making some of the more interesting wines around today.

Kiona Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 01 $33.49/30.14
Because they always give great value for the price, although I wish they'd put their regular Cab back below $30, this Reserve is the best deal of their current releases and gives major "Big for the buck".

Andrew Rich Roussanne 02 $18.99/17.10
Because it takes courage to pioneer a new varietal, and to pull it off so well. Unusual, tasty, big, rich, hard to pull off and done beautifully. Andrew excells again.

So there's my "Bakers Dozen". Now what lucky friend am I going to send this case to? Hmmm...

The Avalon
Hot Ten
Best selling Wines
this week

1. Adea
Dean-O's Pinot noir 01 $25.99/23.40
Wine Spectator rating 90 points

2. Brooks
"Janus" Pinot noir
$29.99/27.00
Sent this out to the Pinot Club
and lots of people ordered more!

3. Beaux Freres Pinot Noir 01
92 points in Wine Spectator
$57.99/52.19
FEATURED WINE-
Regular price $69.99

More about Beaux Freres

4. Canon del Sol Syrah 2001
$30/$27 case
TOP SYRAH IN NW
Wine Press NW tasting of over 100 Syrahs!
More about Canon del Sol

5. Penner Ash Pinot Noir 01 $45/40.50
From the ultra talented team of
Lynn and Ron Penner Ash.
More about Penner Ash




6. Colvin Merlot 99
SALE $16.99
regular $25.99
From an up-and-coming
Walla Walla
maker of huge red wines
More about Colvin Vineyard

7. Fielding Hills
Cabernet Sauvignon 00
$30/$27 case
Wine Spectator 91 points
Avalon's hot new find-
less than 100 cases made,
big gorgeous Cab with espresso bean, bittersweet chocolate, rich berry and plum flavors- a cult winery in the making!

More about Fielding Hills

8. Shea Wine Cellars Pinot noir "Block 23" 2002 $48

9. Beaux Freres
"Les Cousines" Pinot Noir 01
$29/$26.10 case
Drinking wonderfully,
Beaux Freres second label!



10. Andrew Rich
Les Vigneaux
Gewurztraminer Ice Wine
92 points in Wine Spectator!
$19.99/16.99