Hello from Jean at Avalon Wine -

Here's a story of irony, of fate, of the road not taken, of opportunity lost for some, and gained for others.

Sometimes the world is just not fair.

After years of struggle, Antica Terra owners Marc Peters and Marty Weber sold their vineyard and winery a few months ago. They made a series of really nice but virtually unknown estate vineyard Pinot noirs through the late '90s and early '00s, finally throwing in the towel this summer.

No sooner had the winery sale gone through than the irony began. Ever win a lottery after you tore up the ticket? Ever see a stock go wildly upward the day after you sold? Ever close the barn door after the cows got out?

Within two months of the winery's sale, famed wine writer Steven Tanzer gave the Antica Terra 03 Pinot one of his highest ratings for Oregon wine and a glowing review.

Tanzer said: rating 91+ points: "Bright ruby red color. Voisse-Romanet-like aromas of black cherry, blueberry, black plum, violet, pepper, and tar. Juicy, bright and intensely flavored...finishes long and oaky, with form tannins that call for at least a couple of years of aging. A serious, structured wine with impressive black fruit intensity and excellent grip and thrust".

A moonth later, on November 4, Wall Street Journal's Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher named it their favorite Oregon Pinot.

Wall Street Journal said of the Antica Terra Pinot noir 03:
"Rating: Very good/Delicious."
"Taster's comments: Best of tasting: ... filled with black earth, rich fruit and coffee but also was surprisingly light on its feet, especially on the finish. A nose of prunes and chocolate and a taste that is dry and serious, with the earthy guts of a fine burgundy and the rich fruit of an American wine."

So the Antica Terra 03 won the "flavor of the month" lottery after the owners had torn up the ticket. Argh.

The new owners, a group of investors from California, plan to change the name, perhaps figuring that the winery is not very well known. Their winemaker told me they are planning to make alterations to the vineyard and to make a different style of Pinot noir.

It's a shame. The 2003 is not the first excellent wine from Marty and Marc. We sent several vintages of their wines to our Reserve Pinot Club.

The new owners offered us the last of this orphaned Pinot star.
Suggested retail is $42, we have it at $33.75 by the case.

You can order it here:
Antica Terra Pinot noir 03 $33.75/$37.50
http://www.northwest-wine.com/anticaterra.html

I didn't change the writeup about the winery on our site -- it does not reflect the change of ownership.

Marcus wants to sell this one and move on, so order in the next four days, when we'll be done. It's a real deal.

Note to Marc and Marty- let us know about your next wine - we know you have the bug - and we'll try to do a better job of getting the word out.

================================
AVALON WINE CLUB TASTING - WHAT YOU LIKED

A merry group of Wine Club members tasted through both wines they'd received over the last year and new wines we're considering for future shipments. The Coleman Pinot noir Reserve 03 was the hit of the tasting:

Coleman Pinot noir Reserve 03 $33.29/$36.99
http://www.northwest-wine.com/coleman-pinot-noir-reserve.html
Color is dark garnet, the wine starts with scents of fresh cherry fruit, a hint of smoke, and a bit of barnyard. Flavors are of black stone fruit, black berries, a distinct streak of warm pie spices, fresh earth, and white pepper. The finish is very long and echoes the complex flavors. Very well balanced, a hint of the rich flavors in this warm vintage integrate well in the overall "big" style of this Pinot noir.

Talking to customers who went to the wineries this weekend, we kept hearing about the Owen Roe and Sineann Cabernet Francs. I haven't tried them, but from the number of people raving about them, I'd say they're worth a try.

Owen Roe Cab Franc Roas Mystica 04 $32.36/$35.95
http://www.northwest-wine.com/owen-roe-cabernet-franc.html

Sineann Cabernet Franc 04 $37.76/$41.95
http://www.northwest-wine.com/Sineann-Cabernet-Franc.html

===============================

If we may help with an order for any of these wines, please let us know. We're available by phone at 541-752-7418 from 8AM Pacific time until 6PM Pacific time. Or you can call me at my direct line at 541-424-8004.

Thanks for your support -we appreciate your orders and your suggestions. Our customers always give us our best ideas!

Jean, Marcus, Chris, Kevin, and Wendy
541-752-7418

Avalon Wine
201 SW 2nd Street
Corvallis OR 97333
541-752-7418
www.avalonwine.com
store@avalonwine.com