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Viento
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All of Viento's wines are crafted to emphasize balance, fruit character and the vineyard site. New oak is used very judiciously. They work closely with several exceptional vineyards in Washington and Hood River that are growing varieties beyond the ordinary - including Viognier, Riesling, Syrah, Grenache and Sangiovese. Some of these vineyards are already well known and the others will be. Interestingly for a winery based in Oregon, many of their wines are made from Washington State fruit. Production Viento uses production methods that Rich believes in from many years of winemaking in Oregon. The first quality determinant is of course the vineyard, and Rich visits the sites regularly and works with the growers over the course of the year to get what he believes is exceptional fruit. In the winery the white wines are made by whole cluster pressing in a modern membrane press and then settled cold prior to fermentation in either barrels or stainless steel. They are bottled young to capture and showcase the essence of fruit. The red wines are gently destemmed leaving as many whole berries as possible and then given a cold prefermentation maceration before going through a short, warm fermentation. Pressing is gentle with the heavy press fraction being kept separate from the free run wine. Barrel aging is done in a mix of predominately one and two year old barrels so that the character of the vineyard is not subordinated and to be true to the history of the varieties Viento is working with. New French or American oak is used to highlight certain lots of wine. All of the wines are bottled and labeled with care by hand. Packaging The label was masterfully designed by Susan Bard
of Portland. It reflects the creation and the movement of the wind and
the rich color of exceptional wines. The label illustration Viento uses
is from Albrecht Durer's "The Holy Trinity", 1511. The wax capsules
are all applied and embossed by hand. To remove the cork simply insert
your corkscrew directly through the wax cap. The Vineyards Alder Ridge Vineyard, Alderdale, WA - Syrah, Grenache
Noir The name Viento, Spanish for "wind", was chosen to reflect the constant vibrancy of the wind in the Columbia River Gorge, where Rich was born and raised. The Wines 2001
Riesling
2001
Viognier GOLD MEDAL WINNER
2000 Syrah SILVER MEDAL WINNER Recent Reviews & Awards McMinnville Wine & Food Classic, March 2002 Northwest Wine Summit, May 2002 Oregon State Fair, August 2002
A third promising voice for Oregon Riesling is Rich
Cushman, who has been making wines here for over 20 years. Having worked
for numerous wineries as a consultant over the years, Cushman recently
launched his own Viento label. He is producing a few hundred cases of
a very pretty Riesling from a vineyard he planted in the Columbia Gorge
back in 1981. He had spent the previous year working at Northwest Palate Northwest Palate Northwest Palate The Wine Iconoclast,
April 2002 Statesman Journal
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Viento
wines are created by Rich Cushman. Rich has made wine in Oregon for over
twenty years. His family now works together to make these limited production
wines in McMinnville, Oregon. 
