| Ciel du Cheval Vineyard
by Cole Danehower
When wine experts consider Washington
State’s great vineyards,
one name that consistently appears near the top of any list
is Ciel du Cheval Vineyard in the Red Mountain AVA. Famed
for the
elegance and complexity of the wines it produces, Ciel du
Cheval and its owner Jim Holmes have become near-legendary exemplars
of what Washington wine is all about.
It's the Soils, Silly
by Cole Danehower
In one of the most felicitous
phrases in wine writing, the great Hugh Johnson once called
vineyard soil “the unseen dankness where the vineroots suck.” It
is in this deep and dark place where many people believe wine
is really made.
Cool Climate Viticulture and Global Warming
by Harry Pederson-Nedry
It's not a question of IF or
even WHEN, since it has already begun, it's a question of
HOW BAD IT WILL BE! No one doubts that we are warming
due to the
greenhouse effect and greater solar intensity from ozone
depletion— just
consider anecdotal examples such as the loss of glacier mass
sufficient to unearth long-buried animals and humans, the
reduction over the last century of frost days in October
in Germany from
6 to fewer than one, or the statistically undeniable high
temperature records over the last two decades on all
continents.
Cataclysm
Light & Passion
How Washington came to Produce Some of the World's Greatest
Wines
by Tim Seury, Washington State University
Think about the greatest floods
ever documented on Earth—about
a wave 500 feet high bursting through the ruptured ice
dam of Glacial Lake Missoula, sweeping south across Eastern
Washington
at 50 miles an hour. Think about the brunt of 2,500 cubic
kilometers of water rushing with a flow 10 times greater
than the combined flow of all the rivers in the world,
scouring the land to its bedrock bones—not just once,
but as many as 90 times, as the ice dam repeatedly formed
and
failed, over intervals of 35 to 55 years, beginning some
15,300 years
ago—creating an enormously complex geological riddle
and hundreds of publication topics for scores of geologists
since J Harlen Bretz first realized how the tortured landscape
of the Channeled Scablands was formed.
 |
Klipsun
Vineyard
by Sarah Powell
reprinted with permission
Foris Winery
David, a metallurgical engineer and Trisha, an avid
English wine aficionado, raised on the great wines of Bordeaux
share
a love of agriculture and great wine. From the beginning
they have worked closely with and entrusted the stewardship
of their land to the careful management of Fred Artz, "Mr.
Red Mountain", as I like to refer to him. Fred’s
intuitive, thoughtful and dedicated attention to detail has
allowed Klipsun to both grow to 120 acres, and lead the way
on Red Mountain to understanding the quality potential of
this microclimate.
Weather and Winemaking-
The Ways that Winemakers think about the Weather
by Jean Yates
What do winemakers and vineyard managers talk about when they
get together? Chances are, the topic over a beer at Lumpy's
(a tavern in Dundee frequented by lots of wine people) will
be the weather.
There is no shortage of opinions- (seems like there's one
for every person involved in the wine industry) - about the
weather and its effects on the vintage. In an area of the world
where every vintage has the chance of being ruined by rain,
and where the vagarities of the weather can change a vintage
from stellar to problematic in the course of week of rain or
heat, the weather is disected, diced, graphed, and sworn at
depending on the situation.
 2004
is Avalon's Year of the Vineyard
For all of 2004, Avalon's website articles and columns is focusing
on the vineyards of the Northwest. Why? Because as Oregon and
Washington's wine industries mature, it is increasingly obvious
that the vineyard makes the difference.
Trellising
the Vineyard- Unsung Aspect of Wine
by Cole Danehower
Most wine drinkers never think
about how the grapes that made their wine hang on the
vine. Yet every winemaker worries intensely about the
details of how to best trellis their vineyard vines in
order to get the optimum ripeness for their grapes. Grape
vine trellising is, for us consumers, an unsung yet vital
component of what we finally taste in the bottle.
Shea
Vineyard in Depth
by Cole Danehower
Shea Vineyard name
has become one of the most prestigious labels in Oregon,
placing it squarely among the elite terroirs of New
World Pinot noir. “We’re working with people
who are pushing the envelope,” says owner Dick
Shea, “discovering new things every vintage to
make their wine better. You have to constantly be on
top of things—you can never rest on your laurels.”
Climate Change and the 2002 Vintage
by Harry Peterson-Nedry
The assessment of the 2002 vintage
of Oregon Pinot noirs doesn’t
seem to be overly generalized or overly generous. No caveat
emptor needed here, as this is likely the best overall vintage
since 1998.
Balcombe Vineyard -- Patricia Green Cellars
by Jean Yates
Balcombe Vineyard
is only 7.25 acres, but its importance to PGC, and to Oregon
pinot noir lovers, is greater than its size would suggest.
From this vineyard, divided into five sections, come some of
the best Pinots made by Patty.
Dry
Rosé - Perfect Summer Quaffer
by
Christina Kelly
As spring reveals
longer days and the deck becomes more inviting to stay
and linger
into a warm, dusky night, I love
the taste
of a cold, frosted glass of a dry Rosé wine and simple
foods for hotter weather.
Quail Run Vineyard
Don and Traute Moore own one of the most important Southern
Oregon vineyards, producing grapes for Oregon and Washington
wineries. Washington Wine News
Low Temperatures may distress crops
by Anna King
Washington
Wine News- Winter Worries-
Cold Temperatures can mean Devastation
by Andy Perdue
Oregon Vintage 2003 "What the Grapes
Gave us"
by Cole Danehower
How & Why
Pinot noir Ages
by Lisa Shara Hall
About
Oregon Pinot noir
by Jim LaMar
Oregon Pinot noir Flavor Dscriptors Chart
from UC Davis
Italian
Varietals Thrive in Pacific Northwest
The Range of Grapes has been
Growing Rapidly
Focus
on Syrah
NW Wineries producing this spicy
wine to high aclaim
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