It kills me to pour wine down the sink, especially when I know that some winemaker sweated bullets to get the grapes to the glass. As a writer who tastes wine frequently, I am often left with multiple half-and-nearly-full bottles of wine that I will never get to in time to really enjoy them at their fullest potential.

In my kitchen, these stalwart bottles are lined up like soldiers, waiting to learn their fate—will they become part of a sauce, a marinade, or the ultimate humiliation, poured down the kitchen sink? If they fail the nose test, down the drain they go. And, that makes me feel that I have somehow wasted the efforts of the wine’s maker.

As I recently went through bottles stacked on the counter—some resting since Christmas, I kept smelling vinegar. Suddenly it was like warm tropical air smacked into the Northwest chilly winds and lightening bolts crackled and lit up the sky. I could make vinegar from these wines and assuage my guilt of contributing to good wines gone bad.

There is nothing better than a very good wine vinegar. Most of the anemic wine vinegar purchased in grocery stores is really flavorless and diluted, performing the simplest task of providing a little acidity to foods and sauces. Homemade vinegars are generally so much more flavorful. Some of my favorite gifts have been homemade vinegars made by friends generous enough to share.

Keep in mind that wine vinegar is not balsamic vinegar, a more flavorful (and more expensive) vinegar made from grape pressings that have never been fermented into wine. These are glorious aged vinegars that originated from Italy and quite difficult to make at home.

You can go online and find hundreds of recipes for wine and other flavored vinegars, but honestly, making simple wine vinegar is almost done by accident, when your partial bottles of wine are left on the counter too long. After all, vinegar can be made from almost anything that contains sugar or starch, although it is best made by first converting sugar into alcohol and then turning the alcohol into vinegar. You are already ahead with wine. However, the results of allowing wine to sit on the counter for a long time provides sporadic results and there are far better methods.

The first time I made vinegar many years ago, I used a sun tea jar with a spout. You can use a glass jar or ceramic container, but find something with a wide mouth since you want an easy airflow. Avoid plastic containers since there could be a reaction with vinegar and plastic. You will also need cheesecloth, kitchen twine or rubber bands, the magical leftover wine, a funnel and a vinegar starter.

The Mother Lode

A vinegar starter, known as “Mother of Vinegar,” is a bacteria that encourages fermentation. Although you can leave the wine on the counter without a mother, you will definitely get far better results with the help of starter bacteria. These mothers also propagate (thus the nickname mother) and you can store them for future use in other vinegars. People who make vinegar on a regular basis have multiple generations of vinegar starters that you can actually manipulate, like breeding for certain characteristics. This bacteria can be purchased at wine and beer supply stores for around $10. You can also pick up vinegars recipes when you buy the starter bacteria.

Check out vinegar recipes on YouTube or your favorite search engine. I recently followed an online recipe from Food and Wine Magazine.

Now, I have to be patient and wait about two to three months. I’ve sterilized and recycled my leftover wine bottles to use when my vinegar is ready, so it was a triumph all the way around. My kitchen no longer has half-empty bottles of some tasty beverage slowly wasting away. However, I have now spilled the beans on what my friends will be receiving for Christmas this year!

Happy tasting!

The conditions are perfect in eastern Washington State to grow the dark-blue-colored grape. When it is cultivated properly, the wine produced is lush and velvety, a little soft, and can be as silky and sexy as a great Oregon Pinot Noir. I’ve generally found that Merlot falls into three styles—a fruitier style with little tannins, a middle-of-the-road wine expressing fruit and some tannic structure, and a beefy, highly tannic style that stands up to a classic Cabernet Sauvignon.

Because it is so prolific in the vineyard, winemakers tended to over-produce the grape and the resulting wines were cheap, thin and offered little character. In some respects, those California merlots were the target of Myles disgust in “Sideways.”

I’ve tasted the grapes on the vine and know how great this fruit can be, especially in the hands of a skilled winemaker. In fact, a few years ago, I interviewed Zelma Long (at right,) a terrific winemaker and consultant who travels globally in her consulting business. She also believes that Washington State grows some of the best Merlot in the world (http://www.northwest-wine.com/zelma-long.html).

About five or six years ago, I noticed that some wineries were no longer offering Merlot from their portfolios, such as Quilceda Creek and Andrew Will. The grapes are used in many of the top blends, but I thought it odd that the grape that really put Washington State on the wine map had suddenly taken a side role, a backseat to the more preferred Cabernet.

Last night, I opened a bottle of Abeja’s 2009 Merlot, made by John Abbott in Walla Walla and wanted to scream, “Merlot is Back Baby!” Abbott also stopped making Merlot, even though he produced some very nice versions when he was the winemaker at Canoe Ridge. While perusing through a wine shop with a friend recently, I spotted the Abeja and immediately bought it.

Abbott calls it a “gentle giant,” and I would agree. It has beautiful structure and classic descriptors for Merlot—black cherries, dark plums, chocolate and espresso, but this wine also has an earthiness and subtle wood flavors that make it something more unique and delicious. It is achingly good with food and a prime example of why winemakers should be embracing this variety as a star instead of a bit player.

Happy Tasting!

below, an April rainbow over Willamette Wine Country

Other than Gov. Kitzhaber reading a proclamation and shaking hands with leaders in the wine industry, what does it mean for consumers? Actually, it can mean plenty, especially when combined with consumer, trade and media activities and events are included.

Restaurants will feature Oregon wine specials, liquor stores will pass along special sales to customers who purchase wine, events will showcase the variety of the Oregon wine industry, from Pinot Noir to Cabernet, Pinot Gris to Chardonnay. The emphasis is focused on getting the word out on the great wines now produced in Oregon. Tourists will be exposed to Oregon’s wine bounty and those who are “locals” can taste new and established wineries at events such as “Unwine’d: Celebrating Oregon Wine,” a grand tasting of Oregon Wines on April 29 in Portland. This is Oregon’s version of Taste Washington and is open to the public, featuring more than 100 Oregon wineries.

Take advantage of the promotion and go to the activities. If you go to the grand tasting, be careful to taste and spit and keep track of wines you would like to taste further. If you don’t spit, by the time you reach your fifth winery, you won’t really taste the nuance of the wines. It simply becomes red or white alcohol, and you will miss spectacular wines and hidden gems that could send you to heaven and back. As they say in Washington, “it’s hip to spit.”

There are several other things to keep in mind if you attend Oregon’s wine events in May. Don’t wear white or light-colored clothing. If you spit, you could splatter. Also, take a plastic cup, or ask for a plastic spit cup (I’d bring my own, just in case). At big events, the wineries generally have dump buckets for the public to spit out the wine. It is so…disgusting to spit into a bit spittoon. Bring your own cup, and then you can pour the contents into the bigger bucket, rather than lean over and spit. I have this creepy image of “Sideways,” when Myles picks up the dump bucket…well, most of you know the rest.

Happy tasting…

This was the time when the Washington Wine Commission (WWC) was created and today, 25 years later, the commission is representing a much larger group of wineries, winemakers and grape growers. I think there were about 40 wineries in the state when the WWC kicked in; today, there are 750 bonded wineries and even in a harsh economy, most are toughing it out.

above, Taste Washington in 2002

It also represents 15 years of Taste Washington, the state’s premier wood and food weekend (March 31-April 1 this year, www.tastewashington.org). I remember attending the second Taste, in the Paramount Theater in 1998. The setting was intimate because the state only had 129 wineries at the time, and not all of those wineries attended. It was the first time I met Steve Burns, the affable former executive director of the WWC, who was nearly floating on air with excitement as writers and reporters (no bloggers back in the old days), sampled Washington wines with the cuisine of the Northwest.

As I flit from booth to booth, I was ecstatic to have so many wineries represented in one place. As a budding wine writer, I generally had to travel from Walla Walla to Woodinville—across the state—to sample wines and meet winemakers. A few years ago, I found my tasting book that covered my notes from that event. Nearly every entry said something about “promising,” or “one to watch,” or “far better than the previous vintage.” I’ve only missed a handful of Taste Washington events, and am looking forward to celebrating its 15th year.

Leif and Martin gave it a strong effort and turned out good to outstanding wines, but in a harsh economy, could not get the buzz to showcase and distinguish their wines from the many bottles occupying shelf space in wine and high-end grocery stores. In an interview a few years ago, the two cousins said they would give it about five years to make a profit, and 2011 was the fifth year. Sadly, Olsen Estates closed its doors for winemaking in 2011, after a valiant effort.

There are still Olsen wines in the marketplace and I recently tasted the 2008 Malbec and 2008 Petit Verdot with a stewed beef and vegetable dish, the kind of hearty meal that sticks to your ribs, warranting a heartier wine. The malbec tasted lighter than the 14.2 percent alcohol, with spiced plum, blackberry and a lingering pepper in the back of the throat. It has heft with tannins, so a little cellaring would make it even better. The petit verdot was much more muscular and yet more floral, with violets, lilacs and hints of tobacco and leather.

I will miss what the Olsens could have done, had they managed to keep the doors open, but I also know that some of their fruit will land in some of my favorite Washington and Oregon wines. I wish them luck.

Happy tasting!

Typical of my dinners, we blind-tasted two cab blends. Both wines were blends of 69 percent cabernet and 31 percent merlot, although the price between the two bottles was vastly different—nearly $100 versus $20.

The economy is not going to force me to give up special wines, but I am also looking for greater value, more than ever. The blind tasting didn’t fool anyone and the more expensive wine, Rasa Vineyards 2008 Creative Impulse, was outstanding, with black cherry, vanilla and truffle notes, followed by a very long finish. However, everyone thought the second wine, Renegade Wine Company’s 2009 Reserve Red Wine was a steal at $20. Renegade is a second label of Sleight of hand Wines.

“We make $20 wines to taste like $40 wines,” says Renegade Winemaker Trey Busch. “About three years ago, we saw the opportunity in the market and purchased very good juice at great prices. We passed it along to the consumer.”

I loved Rasa’s very limited bottling of Creative Impulse and will cellar the other bottle for another night when splurging seems like the right thing to do. The winery also offers more affordable wines that I am now curious to try. But I will search for more values like the Renegade label. This isn’t like the two-buck Chuck phenomenon where mediocre wine was touted as a really good deal. In reality, that wine was a good deal for a very short time, during a grape juice glut in California.

Renegade wines and many other second labels are values because they offer the luxury of tasting like a much more expensive wine, and pair just as well with foods as their more expensive counterparts. In fact, some of the second label wines compliment food even better.

Happy tasting!

Tasting note: Fresh black cherry and raspberry, with a dusting of Christmas spice towards the back of your palate. The heart-melting interplay of sweet fruit, juicy acidity, a savory-resin awesomeness and classic Le Puits Sec dried herbs whisks you away. I can talk about a food match (duck confit, anyone?) but this is comfort food in a glass. – Marcus

Ingredients

Pork:

1 five-pound (more or less) pork loin roast

A handful of sage, (all to taste) leaves chopped

A handful of thyme leaves chopped

1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 (12-ounce) bottle hard cider

1 cup chicken broth

1 lemon, juiced optional

Apples:

8 Honey crisp or other sweet apple

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 large corn muffin, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup golden raisins

6 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (more or less to taste) hard cider

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the pork roast in a roasting pan with the ribs facing up, braced against each other. Add sage and thyme to olive oil. Brush the pork roasts with oil mixture and season with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Roast the pork loin for 2 1/2 hours, until the skin is crackled. (Put the apples in the oven along with the pork roast in the last half hour of cooking.)

Remove the pork roast to a cutting board and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving. Pour out some of the excess fat from the roasting pan and put it on the stove over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the flour into the hot pan juices, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk to prevent lumps. Cook and stir the roux until its light brown. Add the cider and continue to stir to incorporate. Pour in the chicken broth; boil and stir for 5 minutes until the sauce is thick. Check for seasoning – add lemon juice if necessary. Serve the cider gravy with the pork roast and baked apples.

To make the buttered apples: Core the apples with an apple corer, making a good size cavity to hold the stuffing. Douse the cut sides of the apples with some of the lemon juice to prevent them from browning while you make the stuffing. In a mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, muffin crumbs, raisins, sage, garlic, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Spoon the stuffing into the cavities of the cored apples; stand them up, side by side, in a baking dish and sprinkle the tops with the reserved muffin crumbs. Pour the cider around the apples and bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 375 degrees F, until soft when pierced with a knife. Place the warm apples in the center of a round serving dish. Spoon the cider sauce around the apples and serve with the pork loin.

Served with braising greens or Swiss chard.

Heat a small amount of butter in a dutch oven, brown 4 chicken thighs skin side down, turn and repeat.

Remove browned chicken and half the fat, add one diced onion, cook for 3-4 minutes, then add
1/2 inch segments of celery and carrot (or ideally, small bunch carrots, tops removed)
and quartered small potatoes – cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Add 1 12 ounce bottle of dark beer, plenty of salt and black pepper, a dusting of smoked paprika or ground chipotle, and a couple sprigs of rosemary. Stir.

Put the chicken back in the dutch oven, rearranging the vegetables so the things are in as much beer as possible (the veg can be out of the liquid). Bring to a low boil, cover, and simmer for an hour-plus. Remove from heat when the chicken is fork tender.

The fun part: remove the things and place a baking sheet. With a ladle, remove 3/4 of the braising liquid and transfer to a small skillet. On medium heat, reduce to a thick sauce, then brush the thighs with the sauce, reserving 1/3.

Turn on the broiler on high and when it’s ready, put the chicken underneath and broil until the skins crisps a bit/the sauce begins to char. Remove. Serve vegetables and braising liquid in a deep bowl first, a chicken thigh on top, spoon the last bit of reduction on top. Eat with abandon.

Works with a wide variety of wine and beer. I recommend something earthy, like a lighter Nebbiolo or a medium-bodied Pinot.

Here’s the link:

http://www.avalonwine.com/Oregon-Wine-Industry-Impact.php

It’s hard to believe with things as hard as they are for so many, but Oregon’s wine industry is bucking the trend.

It’s easy: join a club, get the discount.

This month the Reserve Pinot Club features our Winery of the Year for 2010 – Arterberry Maresh.

JUNE SELECTIONS

Arterberry Maresh Maresh Vineyard Pinot noir 09 $55/$46.75

J. Albin Laurel Vineyard Pinot noir 08 $29/$24.65

Rasa Vineyards VOV Populi Mourvedre 09 $45/$38.25

Guardian Cellars Gun Metal Red 08 $36/$30.60

Arterberry Maresh Dundee Hills PN 09 $25/$21.25

Evesham Wood Blanc du Puits Sec 10 $15/$12.75

Big Reds Club members get a massive style Red Blend and a Mourvedre from a hot new winery – it’s going to be one of Walla Walla’s most sought after – you taste it before the whole world finds out.

New Discoveries Club has my favorite go-to summer white and one of Oregon’s best bargain Pinots.

Also in this month’s newsletter -
“It’s the Season for Barbeque! – The Ten Commandments of Grilling”

A lot of what we do at the store is look for wines that go in those interesting wine slots – the wines that winery insiders are buzzing about, or a local-made party slurper at a killer price, a bit of something super popular that got overlooked in the warehouse, or the new release that’s already sold out at the winery. We’re featuring one of each online this week. Without having to drive and park and walk and get no satisfaction.

1 – The Buzzy Walla Walla Syrah – PB Wines Yakima Syrah 08 $25.88 any 12.
I firmly believe that Billo Naravane is a genius. And that Rasa Vineyard is one of the biggest “next big things” in Washington wine.  We opened a bottle of his PB Yakima Syrah for our friends from Houston yesterday, serious wine guys who’ve tried ‘em all, and it turned all the heads in the room. Ah, his Rieslings, his upcoming Dubrul Cab (!!!!) and the one I love, the VOX Mourvedre.

You have a favorite wine memory? A wine with that indefinable little something extra that made it unforgettable? I have a few, and one of them is Billo’s Rasa VOX. It’s a Mourvedre, but unlike any I’ve had from the northwest before. Smoke and mystery – meaty and sophisticated – big and intricate. It’s a study in opposites and is just completely different.
Above, Pinto and Billo Naravane.

2 – The local slurper – Grochau Red $14.35 any 12.
John knows his audience, and and he’s always got his A-game on. Try to get this wine outside of  Portland. It’s the “gotta have a case or two for summer” red that rocks. When it comes to red party-wines, GC has nearly everyone beat. Even wine snobs like Marcus will put this down their gullet.

3 – The Orphan – Evening Land The Table Cabernet Sauvignon 07 $17.50 any 12.
Evening Land owner Mark Tarlov is one for the grand gesture. He likes his vineyards Famous, his Sommeliers World Famous, his winemakers Stellar Famous, and yes, Evening Land is well on its way to Fame, after only three vintages.

A few years ago, Mark put together a program for Sommeliers and Chefs to blend their own wines. This one was blended for Thomas Keller’s Boucon Bistro, across the road from the French Laundry.  I suspect that a glass of it there will set you back about twice what this entire bottle costs.

4 – The new release that’s already sold out -  Guardian Cellars “The Wanted” 08 $35.05 any 12. Former narc and law enforcement officer Jerry Riener’s monster reds are made in the style of his friends Mark McNeilly (Mark Ryan) and Chris Gorman. Our job is to grab them as they go flying by and make sure the slot isn’t empty. Right now it’s full and we’re restocking regularly.

at right, Isabelle and Mark

Mark Tarlov is a film producer with a deep knowledge of wine. He has a wide circle of friends including many of the world’s top sommeliers. He now lives in New York City, and in just two years’ time, he has gotten Evening Land wines on the wine lists of numerous “A” List restaurants.

He recruited his longtime friend, the uber-famous Master Sommelier Larry Stone, (formerly at Rubicon) last year to be Evening Land’s President. Evening Land has relationships with a veritable who’s who of the world’s highest profile sommeliers – Daniel Johnnes of restaurant Daniel in New York (and premiere Burgundy event in the US, Le Paulee), Raj Parr of Michael Mina, Bernie Sun of Jean-Georges (Vongerichten), and Paul Roberts, formerly of The French Laundry.

Having winemaker Dominique Lafon involved with Evening Land is nothing short of amazing. Dominique is “the” white Burgundy expert in France, and wines from his Domaine des Comtes Lafon sell for hundreds of dollars a bottle.

Impressive credentials and contacts aside, the proof is in the bottle. Based on our tasting last week, Evening Land is going to keep and expand their reputation for making great wine.

Put yourself in Burgundy when you try Evening Land wines. Particularly with the Chardonnay, it all becomes clear when you think about Lafon’s French wines. There’s the weightless, deceptively delicate quality of a great white Burgundy in the La Source and Mad Hatter Chardonnays. There’s the expansive, constantly evolving flavor, texture and scent – the complexity that elaborates and eludes the more time you spend with the wine. The little extra that makes a wine memorable.

The Evening Land wines are hard to write about. While we were tasting, I kept trying to figure out how to describe them, to come up with something I already know to compare them to, to find a way to resolve my pleasant confusion. I finally came to realize that the key to their beauty is the inability to simplify and pigeonhole them. In keeping with Mark’s philosophy of the infinite nature of the tension of opposites, the wines keep changing and evolving, defying categorization.

If you want to understand the Evening Land wines, you have to talk with Mark Tarlov. He has a philosophy of wine you’ve never heard before. Quirky and at times as hard to understand as Douglas Hofstadler, he relates the duality of big and small Alice, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and the Red and White Queens in Alice in Wonderland to what makes a great wine. Thus the references in the names of the wines – Red Queen was his top of the line Pinot noir for the 2008 vintage, White Queen was a tiny bottling of stratospheric Chardonnay, and Mad Hatter is a new Chardonnay.

In explaining his experience of wine, Mark will reference ideas from quantum mechanics to Greek mythology to the nature of infinity. He uses the tension of opposites and the idea that there is no finality in true complexity to describe the experience of tasting good Pinots. He compares them to Cabernet, which he dismisses as a black and white, on and off kind of wine that is easily understood. Tasting the 2009′s I got a sense of what Mark is trying to describe. You have to suspend judgement and allow yourself some confusion to “get” what the wines are about.

Of the many things you can say about Evening Land, it’s never boring!

Buy the wines of Evening Land on northwest-wine.com

Evening Land Vineyards
La Source Pinot noir 09

$53.95 in any 12 bottle order
$59.94 retail

Previous Vintage Wine Spectator 96 Points

It’s a huge feat to make a worthy successor to a 96-point wine. Evening Land has done it with a La Source that is attractive, even seductive while it’s fresh, structured, and balanced. Personally, I think it’s a better wine than the 2008. I’m charmed by the red fruits that fan out in all directions, the ribbon of minerals that adds verve, the dusting of spices and herbs that make me smile and think of Seven Springs Vineyard. – Marcus

Evening Land Vineyards
Estate Pinot noir 09
Seven Springs Vineyard – Eola Amity Hills

$38.66 in any 12 bottle order
$42.95 retail

A pull and pour Pinot noir from the Seven Springs Vineyard, ohhh yeah. The nose is wonderful red fruit with a touch of greenhouse. The initial splash is signature 09 – read delicious, well-controlled fruit that will appeal to the whole spectrum of Pinot drinkers. Following is a balanced middle that echoes off the roof of your mouth without being overwhelming. The finish is lush with a puff pastry creaminess that I completely dig. Needless to say, the Evening Land Estate Pinot noir 09 has a little something for everyone.
- Andy

Evening Land Vineyards
La Source Chardonnay 09

$53.95 in any 12 bottle order
$59.94 retail

Previous Vintage Wine Spectator 94 Points

Focused, bright, and stylistically in a world of its own in American Chardonnay. White flowers, green apple, and flinty minerality coax you in – white peach and tangy lemon build intensity. Like all of the Evening Land Chardonnays, this is made for aging. – Marcus

Evening Land Vineyards
Mad Hatter Chardonnay 09

$39.55 in any 12 bottle order
$43.95 retail

A blend made from Evening Land’s
top Chardonnay blocks -
Summum and La Source. Only available from Oregon.

New this vintage, 200 cases made and exclusive to Oregon. The name “Mad Hatter” is another reference to Alice in Wonderland (they also make a Red Queen, White Queen, etc.). Seven Springs Vineyard Estate fruit and 20% nearby Roserock Vineyard.

In Alice in Wonderland Mark finds the tension of opposites – big and small Alice, White and Red Queens, Tweedledee and Tweedledum – the book is full of unresolved opposites. Mark relates the mysterious quality of uncertainty in Alice in Wonderland and in science and mythology to the indefinable complexity of great wines. – Jean

“The 2009 Evening Land wines have a lush tranquility.”

- Mark Tarlov, Owner Evening Land Vineyards

Abeja
Cabernet Sauvignon 08
$39.83 in any 12 bottle order

($44.25 retail)

New release from John Abbott.

Being a fan of Abeja Cab means that the bar is set high – each vintage has to be as good, or better than the last. Such is the 2008 Abeja Cab, my favorite since the 2005 vintage. The pairing of fresh and rich Washington dark berries with Bordeaux-style leather, cedar, and warm earth totally rocks my big-red world. It’s powerful and structured but tastes delicious right out of the bottle.

In addition to 90% Cab, winemaker John Abbott blended 7% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot (a first for Abeja Cab), and 1% Caberbet Franc. – Marcus

Abeja
Chardonnay 09
$35.96 in any 12 bottle order

($39.95 retail)

In the tradition of the best Chardonnays of Washington State, rich flavors, but classically styled, with gentle aromas of white peach and stone fruit, floral notes, and wood spice, Full of fresh apricots and a light smattering of vanilla, lively citrus and minerals in the finish. The wine is lightly toasty – the oak is present but slight. Winemaker John Abbott suggests that the wine will pair well with a rich chicken dish like chicken breasts baked with morels and tarragon in cream sauce.

There are some remarkable 2008 vintage Pinots on our website. Omero Cellars, Expression 44, Johan, Colene Clemens, Roots Cancilla, Libra, Brittan, Shea – I count over 150 wines.

LAST CALL
WINE SPEC 93 POINT
AVALON BEST SELLER

Witness Tree Vintage Select
Pinot noir 08
$35.96 in any 12 bottle order

($39.95 retail)

Wine Spectator 93 points.

Time to say goodbye to one of our best-selling 2008 Pinots.

Lushly silky and caressing. The Vintage Select shows a flavor profile I love – licorice-infused black cherry, mixing with cream and hint of caramel and a burst of freshness on the finish that holds your attention for what seems like minutes…and it doesn’t matter how long it was because you’re thinking about wine! – Marcus

Both winemakers work for bigger wineries fulltime, and their employers let them make a couple of barrels of their own wine on the side.

The Omero Corral Creek Pinot noir 08 was made by Sarah Cabot (at right) while she was assistant winemaker at Belle Pente. The winery made a real score, getting grapes from Chehalem’s estate vineyard, Corral Creek.  Corral Creek Vineyard was planted in 1983 and it has produced some killer Pinots over the years.

Marcus and Andy thought the Omero was one of the best wines at a recent Chehalem Mountain trade tasting, where they tried over 50 different Pinot noirs. It’s $32.25 in any 12 bottle order. Omero Cellars owns sixty spectacular acres on Ribbon Ridge. It’s an Oregon Pinot noir producer you want to know about.

Today’s other 50 case lot wine from a new winery is a Cabernet Sauvignon 07  from Phillip Leigh Cellars. Phillip Fromherz is business manager at Mark Ryan in Woodinville, WA. He’s worked in the cellars of a lot of the wineries along the Woodinville warehouse row – Gorman, Sparkman Cellars, Darby, and Guardian Cellars among them.

Along with managing Mark Ryan, Phil is allowed to use the winery after hours to craft two barrels of his own Phillip Leigh Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s $26.95 in an order of any 12 bottles.

Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought I could taste the influences of Gorman, Mark Ryan, and Guardian Cellars in the Phillip Leigh Cab. It’s Phil’s own take on what I think of as the “Woodinville warehouse style” – big big big, earthy, surging fruit, toast and spice. It might still be dang cold, but I’m heading for the barbeque grill in my backyard. Writing about the Phillip Leigh has me craving some big seared meat along with a big glass of “warehouse red.”

Pretty much all of the wines we add to our website are on the New Oregon Pinot noir and Washington Wines page (duh.) We add at least a  few every day.

View from hills above my house, out hiking last week

View from Cameron Winery into the WIllamette Valley, Tuesday April 19th

April Reserve Pinot Noir Club

More Oregon Pinot noir

Johan Three Barrel 08 $60
Unique is an overused word, but I’m using it anyway – there are flavor components of this wine that I haven’t tasted in any other 2008 Oregon Pinot. Fascinatingly complex, it’s almost as if the wine was “aromatized” – the botanicals that are interwoven from nose to finish flipped my lid.

Juicy black cherry and raspberry provide the fruit center, with a sweet-bitter interplay that adds a perfect tension. Expect this to age extraordinarily well, with spot-on balance and alcohol at 12.8%. One of the last 2008 new releases was entirely worth the wait – Johan Three Barrel 08 is one of our top 10 2008 Oregon Pinots.

As you’ve likely guessed, the “Three Barrel” aspect of the name refers to the production level – only 72 cases were made. If you collect Oregon Pinot, you need this wine. Give it the right amount of time and I bet you’ll say the same thing I did…

Laura Volkman St. James 09 $25

This is the richest and plushest of Laura’s last three vintages of St. James. She took advantage of the riper 2009 vintage to make a balanced wine with big, upfront juiciness and smooth tannins. The St. James has her trademark aroma of incense, roses, and
spice. It’s a bigger style than her usual Pinot — almost California big — and with plenty of acid to lift and round out the succulent blackberry, raspberry and cherry fruit flavors.

April Northwest Big Reds Club

Buty Rediviva of the Stones 08 $50

Violets, blackberry and black raspberry engage with earth and stones in this dynamite red from the ancient Walla Walla riverbed cobblestones. The Cabernet brings a cassis thread that carries the finish. Tons of volume and  ntensity without any undue heaviness.

A blend of 79% Syrah and 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, Rediviva of the Stones is made from grapes grown outside the town of Milton-Freewater, on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla AVA. The area’s vineyards are world famous as the source for Cayuse Winery’s highly rated Syrahs.

Phillip Leigh Cabernet Sauvignon 07 $30

This wine offers wonderful fruit aromas of cherry, current and blackberry integrated with alluring vanilla, tobacco, and exotic spice aromas. The bouquet entices the palate with rich red fruit, highlighted with spice, fine-grained tannin, and a lengthy finish. It shows great balance, offering generous fruit, texture and complementary oak flavors of vanilla and chocolate.

The 2007 Cabernet is – 100% Cabernet Sauvignon – 50% from Klipsun Vineyard and 50% from Stillwater Creek Vineyard. Production: 50 cases

April New Discoveries Club

Cameron Willamette Valley Pinot noir 09 $19

What doesn’t make it into Cameron’s other Pinots becomes the Willamette Valley. All Dundee Hills, from the best neighborhood in Oregon (Worden Hill Road outside of Dundee), these misfit barrels band together. Drinks like a Bourgogne rouge, with high-toned red fruits, clove, and pepper that moves throughout the nose and palate. Simply put – a screaming deal.

At right, John Paul, Cameron owner and winemaker

Gilbert Cellars Left Bank 08 $21

This is one of the top value Bordeaux blends from Washington. 58% Cab, 15% Cab
Franc, 12% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot, and 5% Malbec create a red that’s as massive
as it is suave. Heaps of blackberry and black current intertwine with dark chocolate
and crushed herbs. A little bit of black cherry and creamy oak fill out the finish, with
just-right tannins. You can pour this for your friends all day and they’ll think you went
deep into the cellar for a bottle.

Recent Wine Club Wines

BELLE PENTE MURTO VINEYARD 07 34.95
CLUB PRICE $29.71
BELLE PENTE ESTATE RESERVE 07 $44.95
CLUB PRICE $38.21
LUMOS TEMPERANCE HILL 08 $32.95
CLUB PRICE $28.01
TENDRIL 08 $47.95
CLUB PRICE $40.75
BERGSTROM SHEA VINEYARD 09 $47.95
CLUB PRICE $40.75
WHITE ROSE DUNDEE HILLS 08 $41.95
CLUB PRICE $35.66
CAMERON ARLEY’S LEAP PINOT NOIR 08 $39.95
CLUB PRICE $33.95
VOLKMAN ST. JAMES PINOT NOIR 09 $24.95
CLUB PRICE $21.21
VOLKMAN VINEYARDS “JACOB” PINOT NOIR 08 $44.95
CLUB PRICE $38.21
BRITTAN “GESTALT” PINOT NOIR 08 $44.95
CLUB PRICE $38.21
AUBICHON PINOT NOIR 08 $34.95
CLUB PRICE $29.71

GILBERT CELLARS
RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 07 $41.95
CLUB PRICE $35.66
TYRUS EVAN WALLA WALLA SYRAH 08 $37.95
CLUB PRICE $32.26
REYNVAAN “THE UNNAMED’ SYRAH 08 $41.95
CLUB PRICE $35.66
ELEMENTAL SYRAH 06 $19.95
CLUB PRICE $16.96
BUTY REDIVIVA OF THE STONES 08 $49.95
CLUB PRICE $42.46
PHILLIP LEIGH CABERNET SAUVIGNON 07 $29.95
CLUB PRICE $25.46
OWEN ROE RED WILLOW CABERNET SAUVIGNON 08 $69.95
CLUB PRICE $59.46 VERY LIMITED
SOOS CREEK CAB SAUV CHAMPOUX VYD 08 $32.95
CLUB PRICE $28.01
SOOS CREEK CIEL DU CHEVAL VYD RED 08 $29.95
CLUB PRICE $25.46

ELEMENTAL CELLARS SYRAH 06 $19.95
CLUB PRICE $16.96
BRIGADOON LYLEE PINOT NOIR 09 $18.95
CLUB PRICE $16.11
CAMERON DUNDEE HILLS CHARDONNAY 09 $18.95
CLUB PRICE $16.10
LUNDEEN PINOT NOIR 09 $17.95
CLUB PRICE $15.26
LIBRA WILLAMETTE VALLEY PINOT NOIR $19.95
CLUB PRICE $16.96
CAMERON WILLAMETTE VALLEY PINOT NOIR 09 $18.75
CLUB PRICE $15.94
GILBERT CELLARS LEFT BANK RED 08 $20.95
CLUB PRICE $17.81
PLANET OREGON PINOT NOIR 09 $19.95
CLUB PRICE $16.96

April Feature Article

Oregon Wine Country Earthquake
A Wobbling Willamette Valley

What will happen when an earthquake hits Oregon wine country,
the heart of the Willamette Valley? Note the when, not if. Two
active fault zones run right beneath some of the most densely
planted stretches of the Willamette Valley AVA.

Three hundred years ago, Native Americans knew about Oregon’s
shifting personality. Some of the Willamette Valley’s first inhabitants
named the region after a Kalapuya word which translates to “spilled
water.” The last major quake was in 1700, some 140 years before
settlers started Oregon’s first winery. According to geologists, we’re
about due for another large-scale rattler.

Small quakes have shaken Oregon wine bottles in the past, with the 5.6
magnitude Scotts Mills quake in 1993 the most recent. But if what’s
predicted actually arrives, we’ll have an awful lot of glass to sweep up.

continued in the wine club newsletter……

Braised Rabbit a la Marcus

You know a wine is good when it inspires you to do something you’ve wanted to for years. In my case, it was the newest direct import from Evening Land: a white Burg, Dominique Lafon’s Saint Veran 09, and cooking a whole rabbit.

If I go to a restaurant and there’s rabbit on the menu, I order it. So don’t ask why I’ve never cooked one – I’ve cooked all my other favorite foods. As I was strolling through Corvallis’ first Saturday outdoor farmer’s market, I knew I’d be drinking the Lafon that night. I’ve walked by our local rabbit vendor hundreds of times without buying one, but something in my coffee-fueled brain clicked…braised rabbit would be perfect with that Lafon Chardonnay.

Several hours later, with the help of a friend’s poultry shears and the encouragement of my wife, I put the pan in the oven. The house started smelling amazing, I plated the rabbit, poured the wine, and inspiration became reality.

Domaine Dominique Lafon Saint Veran Chardonnay 09

Here’s the tasting note for the wine – Arresting aromas of lime blossom, white peach and flint – mouthwatering (the rabbit didn’t hurt, either!). I loved the intensity and harmony of fruit, acidity, and minerals – it carries weight while staying clean. The richness of the rabbit reduction was complemented supremely by the lemony acidity in the wine.

I’m far from a white Burgundy expert, but I know exactly what kind of Chardonnay I like, whether from France or Oregon. And this is it.

Dominique Lafon is one of the world’s most famous white wine makers – he directs the famed Comtes Lafon in Meursault. We have Lafon’s Saint Veran because of his connection to Oregon’s Evening Land Vineyards, where he is the consulting winemaker. Just like Lafon’s involvement with Evening Land in Oregon (think Summum Chardonnay), this wine pushes the envelope for the appellation.

BRAISED RABBIT A LA MARCUS

Here’s what is in the pot:
First, salt and pepper the rabbit pieces, and brown them in butter.

Remove the rabbit from the pot,

Add 1/2 onion, 2 celery stalks, and a handful of diced carrots – cook for a few minutes.

Add 2 cups of chicken stock, 1/2 cup of white wine, one diced tomato, fresh rosemary, oregano, and thyme. Add rabbit back into the pot.

Remove from heat and cover.  Pop in the oven at 350 degrees for 1.5 – 2 hours, or until super tender.
Remove rabbit and let sit, reduce the braising liquid as desired.

A couple minutes before serving, put the rabbit back in the pan.

Note: I’m not a recipe guy, so I may have omitted a step or ingredient here…

The bottles are stunning. David’s labels (image below) are hand engraved photogravure prints of the castles and ruins near his ancestral home in Ireland.

Owen Roe Yakima Red Label Image

It’s a hassle to bottle magnums. They don’t go through the machines so it’s all by hand. Imagine spending a sunny day in a cold dark winery hand pumping wine through a rubber tube into big bottles, making sure it’s filled to just the right level, then gluing on the labels. And doing that about 1000 times.

David O’Reilly, owner and winemaker at Owen Roe, has never been much for large format bottles. He makes a few for donations, charities and trade events. But I’ve dreamt of offering customers magnums of Yakima Red for years. Back in 2008, he promised he’d make some for us. And he came through. And with one of his best wines, and a favorite of ours.

If you are a fan of Owen Roe, you know about the Yakima Red – David calls it his signature wine. Marcus reviewed it earlier this year. Here’s what he said:

The Yak is back – and with a freaking vengeance! My go-to Washington blend, Yakima Red has an even brighter nose than the 08, dishing out heady sweet red berries and cedar. Epically tasty, the red velvet flavors remind me of panna cotta with amarena cherries on top, adding that signature caramel note on the finish. Of all the Owen Roe wines, this is the one that I most enjoy selling – it puts a smile on everyone’s face.

We have a few dozen bottles. Let us know.

Shea’s Homer is one of the richest, showiest Oregon Pinots. Here’s Marcus’s notes: Saturated dark fruits, powerful and plush, the 09 Homer is a show-stopper. Opening the bottle is like unrolling a mile-long satin carpet through a field of juicy black plums, currants, berries and violets. Broad and ripe, this will undoubtedly be a candidate for wine of the vintage among the critics and as usual, will be sold out long before the reviews are in.

“Mile-long satin carpet” — I get visions of Dorothy, the tin man, and the scarecrow facing the field of poppies, with a long satin carpet replacing the yellow brick road. The poppies turn into plums berries and violets, they stagger with intoxication, and fall to the ground, muttering “must buy wine – must buy wine.”

The Evening Land La Source comes from the one of a kind Mark Tarkov, who is determined to bring Oregon wine to prominence on the world stage. He’s doing it, too. He was a big part of this month’s Food & Wine Magazine article about Oregon Pinot noir. He’s best buddies with a whole bunch of top sommeliers in Manhattan – and he hired Larry Stone to run his marketing — and Dominique Lafon as consulting winemaker.

It’s a huge feat to make a worthy successor to a 96-point wine. Evening Land has done it with a La Source that is attractive – even seductive, while fresh, structured, and balanced. And if the critics don’t pay attention, phooey! We just got back from trying the wines, there will be more tasting notes etc on the website next week.

Other wines just in – a lineup of new vintages from Evening Land – Evening Land’s “Mad Hatter” Chardonnay, only sold in Oregon, Evening Land’s La Source Chardonnay 09, Evening Land’s Estate Seven Springs Pinot noir 09, Shea Wine Cellars Block 5 Pinot noir 09. That Block 5 is a MONSTER.

The celery, shallots and garlic were “setting up” in the sauté pan, just as Alida Marie had counseled during my Cajun cooking lesson 27 years ago.  It was time to toss in a bit more olive oil, a few tablespoons of flour and stir like mad to create a roux.  The concoction turned a lovely chocolate brown:  time to add the chicken stock, mushrooms and a cup of last week’s leftover wine.  The grill outside was ready for the London Broil, lightly marinated in red wine vinegar, a smattering of brown sugar and oil.  I dashed from the range with the slab of meat destined for a few minutes outside in the Weber, smoking in the drizzly Oregon rain.  As our last guest arrived, the voices of Spring Break reunion swelled above the sizzling of asparagus in butter and pesto.

Our featured guest waited at the table as we finally joined her.  With bowls circulating, Laura Volkman (Rachel Estate 2009 Pinot Noir) laughingly greeted the bold flavors of beef, wild rice and greens.  She shouted “Wake Up!” inside our mouths between forkfuls.  This bright, bold wine races between breaths scattering a touch of sun-ripened berries.  She offers a shining palate ready to embrace the next wave of flavors – and sweeps up after herself.   Only Oregon can produce this level of summer in a bottle.  Enjoy her as you wait for the long days ahead!

Robyn Lillehei

Below, Laura Volkman with a tank of her 2009 Pinot noir