A Celebration of Cycling and Wine!

If you've been following The Oregon Wine Blog recently, you know that over the past month we've been participating in Le Tour de Vino -- a cycling journey to 6 wineries in the Willamette Valley. The tour brought blown tires, gravel roads, dead ends, torrential downpours, tight spandex, and a lot of great wine and scenery. As a finale celebration, Rick and I hosted Drew from TOWB as well as Nick, Kristin, and Chris from Block 15 Brewing Company for a feast featuring local, fresh food and some of the best wine from our tour.

We started menu development by choosing the wine, featuring selections from Tyee, Spindrift,

and Belle Vallee. Then came the quest of matching gourmet culinary features that would highlight the wine. We consulted a number of resources, but I want to give a plug for a cookbook that provided the majority of the recipes for the evening -- Best Places Northwest Cookbook. The book is amazing and we suggest picking up a copy from Powell's Books in Portland or another fine book purveyor. From there, Rick and I toiled in the kitchen for many many hours, getting ready for the perfect evening. All dishes were made from scratch with the exception of the Lemon Sorbet.

As we've already discussed the wines in previous Le Tour de Vino posts, I'll highlight the food and how the pairing worked, taking you through the courses as we enjoyed them:

Appetizer -- Oregon Honey Wheat Hazelnut Bread with Aged Gouda, Farmstead Smoked Fontina, and Rogue Oregon Bleu cheeses; paired with the 2007 Tyee Gewurztraminer. A great start to the evening, the cheeses were wonderful and our guests noted that the crisp wine cleaned the creaminess of the cheese off of the palate. We're particularly proud of the bread and it was probably the technically best executed dish of the night.

Salad -- Pepper Steak Salad with Mango, Avocado, and Jalapeño Vinaigrette; paired with the 2002 Belle Vallee Merlot. We knew we wanted to feature the merlot and also knew it wouldn't pair with our desired main dish, so the challenge became finding a pairing that would work using a non-traditional wine progression. This salad hit a homerun! We found it to be a flavorful, spicy salad with quite a bit of heat, although the avocado and mango had wonderful mellowing effect. The wine stood up to the spice and helped temper the heat. The salad had the best presentation of the night and the merlot was our favorite wine.

Palate Cleanser -- Lemon Sorbet. This allowed us to go from the bold merlot with the salad to a more subtle pinot with the main course. Thanks Dryer's!

Main Course -- Rosemary Lamb with a Curry Yoghurt Sauce and Ginger-Garlic Grilled Carrots; paired with the 2007 Spinnaker Pinot Noir from Spindrift Cellars. By far the favorite overall dish, the lamb from Cattail Creek was tender, flavorful, and perfectly prepared. The Pinot complemented both the lamb and the carrots, and we couldn't have hoped for a better match. The lamb melted in our mouths and the curry / rosemary flavor profile was exquisite.

Dessert -- Espresso Creme Brule with Espresso Crumb Cookies. Initially, we hadn't planned a wine pairing with dessert as we hadn't picked up anything sweet on Le Tour. Also, we figured folks would have had enough by that point in the evening. Well, we ended up cheating and making a last minute addition not from the tour and cracked open 2007 Willamette Valley Vineyards Riesling. The approximately 5% residual sugar was perfect. The creme brule tasted wonderful, however the texture was a bit off due to a broken custard. The cookies, however, were the biggest surprise of the night and melted in our mouths.

All in all, Le Tour de Vino Finale Dinner was a smashing success. It was the first time that Rick or I had prepared a multi-course meal of this magnitude, and it was the perfect capstone to a month of biking and drinking. Send me an email if you'd like the recipes and leave a comment and share your perfect pairing experience.

Cheers!

TdV Stage 6: Benton Lane Winery

As you may have noticed, our stages for the 2009 Tour de Vino have been switched up somewhat from our original plan. Some wineries were deemed unreachable by bike due to long gravel roads (we ride road bikes) and some would require bikes of greater technology. We generate absolutely no income from this blog, so no pair of Bianchi 928 Carbon SLs for us.

One of those last minute changes was a decision to ride out to Benton Lane Winery in Monroe, OR. From where we're at, this means an approximately 42 mile trip back and forth. That may not be far in cycling terms, but keep in mind neither of us are cyclists first and that part of the trip involves carrying wine back. Needless to say, the distance seemed worth it and off we went!


Benton Lane Winery is a family-owned winery that mostly produces pinot noir and pinot gris. They're also very environmentally-conscious; ensuring that all of their wines are salmon-safe as well as a variety of other certifications. Another aspect worth noting is their consistent postage stamp themed branding. You'll see this on all of their signage, labels, and even their wine club shipment wrappers. I point this out only because I'm the Marketing guy and am impressed, so kudos.

Benton Lane's tasting room is actually a rather large facility with both an indoor facility as well as a large outdoor patio area with an amazing view. Upon walking up to the tasting area, Josh and I had the opportunity to taste the only two wines they were currently tasting; their 2007 Pinot Noir and 2008 Pinot Gris. Unfortunately, their 2006 First-Class Pinot Noir (a top 100 wine) was not available for tasting. The reviews:

2007 Pinot Noir: A relatively classic Oregon pinot, this wine is relatively fruit-forward and is very drinkable. The winemaker notes two specific qualities -- a "sexy, spicy character, and incredible fresh cherry flavors." At $26, this is a great bottle to pick up either to pair with a meal or have sitting around for the random occasion.

2008 Pinot Gris: Like the Pinot Noir, this is another wine that aims to be a regional classic for its genre and succeeds. From the winemaker -- "This pale straw colored Pinot Gris has generous floral and pear aromas. In part, this comes from the addition of a small amount of estate grown Viognier grapes. Pressing the juice from whole grape clusters instead of individual grapes minimizes skin contact and this, along with a very cool fermentation, accentuates the delicate aromas." A 93 from Wine & Spirits Magazine doesn't hurt either.

While the wine was fantastic, one thing I do want to point out about our experience at the winery is that it was easily the least-inviting of any winery I have ever been to. While the experience wasn't necessarily negative, I felt as though it didn't matter if we were there or not. We generally don't share about writing for a wine blog until towards the end of our visits, so by no means did we expect any sort of differential treatment. Josh and I were the only two people there at the time and no effort seemed to be made to educate us about the wine nor the property. Perhaps the person behind the counter was just having an off-day, but it left a metaphorical bad taste in my mouth (the wine taste was great).

All in all, the wine and the ride definitely made the trip worthwhile. I'll also make sure to visit their tasting room at another date in the future to see if maybe I experienced an off day. If you're already in the Willamette Valley wine tasting and want to try some great wine, I'd suggest putting Benton Lane on your list of places to go. I caution, however, that their tasting list may not be as robust as others and also that the atmosphere may be a stark contrast from other wineries in the region.

TdV Stage 5: Springhill Cellars

The 5th stage of Le Tour de Vino was unique in that we did it in two parts. Last weekend, temperatures reached triple digits and while we're all about making sacrifices to enjoy great wine, dying in the heat didn't sound very fun. To keep in the spirit of LTdV, we ultimately decided to do this stage in two pieces. Last weekend we left early in the morning and rode to Springhill Cellars well before their tasting room opened. Today, we revisited and actually tasted wine.

Springhill Cellars is a small, 1ooo case/yr producing winery located just as you enter Albany from Corvallis. As we pulled up to the winemaker's house, we were quickly greeted and escorted to their airconditioned tasting room. Here we were introduced to three wines available for tasting; two pinot noirs (one estate-grown) and an estate-grown pinot gris. Of the three, here are what Josh and I picked up:



2007 WV Estate Pinot Gris: This pinot gris delivers at about .7% residual sugar, yet one may think its higher due to its strong floral aromas. Aside from being slightly sweeter than most pinot gris, I'd say it sticks to the genre fairly well without much deviation. This is very much more of a utility pinot gris that would be enjoyed by a wide audience. At only $15/bottle, you can't go wrong having a bottle of this sitting around.

2005 WV McLain Vineyard Pinot Noir: While not technically estate grown, McLain Vineyard is owned by the founder of Springhill Cellars, Mike McClain. The 12-acre vineyard in the Eola-Amity AVA yields both 115 and Pommard Clone Pinot Noir, and produces a nice drinkable Pinot. Relatively fruity, this Pinot will be a nice utility on the rack.

All in all, you should definitely check out Springhill Cellars if you're wine tasting around Benton County. It's always a treat visiting small-production wineries such as this and getting to pick the brain of the winemaker himself. If you go by bike and ride up Highway 20, be prepared to tackle some hills up to the winery. While it may be frustrating getting to the winery, riding back down is a blast.

Anybody else have the opportunity to visit Springhill Cellars and try a wine we didn't? I hear they have a delictable Rose depending on the time of year.

Le Tour 4: A Journey to Belle Vallee Cellars

After Friday's hot and intense ride to Tyee, The Oregon Wine Blog staff made the wise decision to revise Stage 4 of Le Tour de Vino to a more relaxing journey in which others could participate. I know what you are thinking -- those lazy bums -- but we found a treasure in downtown Corvallis that was totally worth the modification. Alyssa, Rick, Megan, and myself headed to the Corvallis Farmers Market and hit up Belle Vallee Cellar's new tasting room located in the Water Street Market building at 1st and Monroe.

I have driven by Belle Vallee's winery on Buchanan for a few years and have always been intrigued, so the opening of a new tasting room was the perfect opportunity to check out the winery. Immediately we were struck by the gorgeous tasting room and expansive deck (where they serve appetizers and wine by the glass on the riverfront), and were greeted by Brad, the new Director of Sales & Marketing. Belle Vallee offers a few different flights for tasting; we decided to go for the big red flight.

Upon chatting with Brad, we found that not only is he a heck of a nice guy, but it's clear he knows the Oregon wine industry inside and out and was a great rep for Belle Vallee. They haven't done much retail business prior to the opening of the tasting room, so Brad was pouring some of the 2002 vintage reds from the first year of production. Belle Vallee sources from some wonderful vineyards, the wines we tasted were from Quail Run and Del Rio in the Rogue Valley. After taking a small deviation to the Whole Cluster Pinot Noir, which winemaker Joe Wright learned in his time at Willamette Valley Vineyards, we dug into 4 big reds. We walked away with two bottles:

2002 Merlot: As one of the inaugural vintages, we were lucky to taste this wine and I immediately knew I was coming home with one. It's obvious the years have treated it well, and it was very nicely received by our non-merlot drinking friends. With "opulent black fruit flacors" and a nice finish of blackberries and chocolate, our taste was quite enjoyable despite the heat of the day.

2006 Southern Oregon Red Wine: This Southern Oregon red blend consists of mostly Cab Sauv with Merlot and Cab Franc rounding out the finish. While this is not a wine that I predict will win many awards, what's great about this blend is that it's one of those perfect "utility" wines. It's blended in a fashion that it will go well with a variety of food pairings, is inoffensive to both enophiles and non-enophiles, and can even hold its own by itself. Just enough spice on the nose with a healthy dose of fruit behind it made this one a winner for all of us.

As Brad noted, it seems that Belle Vallee is better known in New York than in Corvallis due to the distribution model -- and they are hoping to change that. We look forward to seeing that change as they are putting out some wonderful wine from great fruit. I foresee many a Friday evenings spent on their deck sipping some vino by the river.

Up next, we have Stage 5 which will take us to Enoteca, also on the Corvallis waterfront.

Le Tour de Vino 2009 Poster

To further celebrate Le Tour de Vino 2009, I recently finished a tabloid-sized poster. The photo was taken by Josh from our trip to Tyee. Prints can be discussed if demand is high enough. For now, enjoy a little design project of mine.



Also, expect a full Stage 4 review as well as an updated tour schedule later tonight.

Tour de Vino Stage 3: Tyee

After today's stage 3 ride for the Tour de Vino, I can confidently proclaim three things: we chose the hottest day of the summer for this ride, this was the first stage we have completed successfully, and we look good in spandex! Oh yea, today yielded some great wine as well.

Today's stage took us on a 25 mile roundtrip ride to Tyee Wine Cellars, located between Corvallis and Monroe, Oregon. Specializing in "well balanced food wines", Tyee was the first winery in the Willamette Valley that I visited a number of years ago. I've enjoyed their wine ever since. One of the unique things about Tyee is that they produce only estate wines, with three whites and two pinot noirs.

Our experience today placed Tyee in the rare category of wineries that in our opinion don't make a single bad wine. We tried 5, but we'll focus on two.

2007 Estate Pinot Gris: The Gris was the first wine we tasted, and given that we were sweating like you wouldn't believe it was incredibly refreshing! With a temperature of 96 degrees, we needed refreshing. With apple, pear, citrus, and floral notes, I look forward to popping open a bottle with some seafood in the coming weeks.

2007 Estate Gewürztraminer: What good timing! We in no way planned this ahead of time, but today was the debut of their 2007 Estate Gewürztraminer. Another internet debut? Either way, Tyee's Gewürztraminer was another hit with both of us. This one was very dry, very crisp, and once again very refreshing. It also had a healthy amount of spice, which dissipates almost as quickly as your palate has the opportunity to enjoy it. Yet another perfect wine for a ridiculously hot day of cycling.

We took the scenic route back and even though we ended up on a gravel road for longer than desired, it was a great end to a rough week. As a result of the grueling ride and some scheduling challenges, we are modifying stage 4 tomorrow -- look for a review of Belle Valle in Corvallis. If you are in Benton County, though, stop by Tyee and Jennifer will give you a great tasting!

Tour de Vino Stage 2: Edgefield

After a grueling Stage 1 of the Tour de Vino, Stage 2 was planned as a much needed rest day. Just as the elite cyclists participating in the Tour de France are doing today, The Oregon Wine Blog Staff decided to take it easy and spend the day at McMenamins' Edgefield Winery. Aside from having a large assortment of wines from the Pacific Northwest, it is also noteworthy that they host a summer concert series. We just so happened to have tickets to see Steve Miller Band.

I had never had the opportunity to visit Edgefield before, but had heard great things. In a nut shell, Edgefield hosts a winery, brewery, distillery, multiple bars and restaurants, a golf course, day spa, concert venue, and a hotel. I'm probably leaving something out, but the point is that it is a very large estate with plenty to keep you busy for a day.



Our first stop (surprise!) was straight to the winery. McMenamins' wine selection is rather robust and tasting can be done through four different flights. Because we weren't staying the night and had to drive back the same day, it wasn't a good idea for us to try all four. Instead, Josh and I split their red flight as well as a "special selections" flight of mostly miscellaneous wine that didn't fit in any other category. Instead of reviewing all ten wines, here are some quick thoughts of two that particularly stood out:

2005 Blanc de Noir, Brut: I'll have to award this wine as the most surprising of the day. This dry, champagne-style sparkling wine is the result of using pinot noir grapes. I normally don't give much thought to sparkling wines, but this proved to me that there is a lot more potential for uniqueness in this category than I originally thought. While dry, it proved a much richer, deeper fruit content than your average champagne. Very well done.

2007 Cuveé De L'Abri Rouge: A relatively traditional Rhone blend, the Cuvee has been a favorite of wine blog staffer Drew Desilet since his first taste a few years ago. While I don't remember the specifics on the blend, the lions share is grenache balanced out by syrah and viognier. Sourced from Del Rio Vineyards in Southern Oregon, this wine is a softer blend that pairs well with lighter red meats or saucier white meats. This is one of those bottles that is nice to have sitting around to drink because you are thirsty.

In short, the rest are solid wines that are in all intensive purposes good, but not great. They appeal to a very broad range of people and are absolutely perfect if you're catering to both enophiles and non-enophiles alike. This is certainly not a bad thing at all and I think McMenamins' success with wine stems from this very fact. We even have a couple of bottles on the rack ourselves. The most notable wine we had that fits this description is their 2007 cabernet sauvignon.

As for Steve Miller Band, we elected to cut the night short due to torrential downpours and a lack of appropriate rain gear. We may be two stages in and yet to complete a full stage yet, but there's still plenty of hope. We're definitely looking forward to Stages 3 and 4, so stay tuned for more excitement from the 2009 Tour de Vino.

The OWB 2009 Tour de Vino Stage 1 Results

It's no secret that we at The Oregon Wine Blog love wine, but a littler known fact is that some of us are big fans of cycling as well. To both celebrate the 2009 Tour de France as well as the beautiful scenery of the Willamette Valley, we're starting our own (mostly) cycling tour. Let me introduce you to our very first cycling event; the 2009 Tour de Vino.

The Tour de Vino has been designed as a tour for amateur cyclists from all difficulty levels. Each stage is optional and instead of being a race, this tour is essentially one giant group ride where we all end up winning. Of course, how can you lose when wine is involved? Here's what we've set up so far with all dates subject to change:

7/4 - Spindrift Cellars | Philomath, OR
7/12- Edgefield (rest day) | Troutdale, OR
7/17 - Tyee Wine Cellars | Corvallis, OR
7/18 - Springhill Cellars | Albany, OR
7/20 - Enoteca | Corvallis, OR
7/26 - Airlee Winery | Monmouth, OR
8/1 - OWB Headquarters (French-style wine dinner) | Corvallis, OR

What you may have just noticed is that the first stage already happened. We apologize for not publicizing our tour ahead of time, but the first stage was a mix of incredible wine and tragic mechanical problems. First, to the wine:


Spindrift Cellars is a small, family-owned winery located in downtown Philomath. We made this ride a little longer than the typical straight shot from Corvallis to enjoy the beautiful scenery via back roads. We ended up arriving exactly as Spindrift was opening and were delightfully surprised by a rather beautiful tasting room. Neither Josh nor I had tasted many wines from Spindrift before, so we elected to do a full tasting of both their reds and whites. Of the ten total wines we tasted (don't worry, we split each tasting), a few specifically stood out to us.

2007 Pinot Gris - This wine is rated a 90 and a best buy from Wine Enthusiast magazine. Needless to say, this wine was the perfect way to begin a wine tasting after cycling in 90F+ weather. What won me over with this wine were its strong hues in the realm of more citrus fruit than some other pinot gris. This also won Josh over indicated by his purchase of a bottle.

Spinnaker 2007 Pinot Noir - What's interesting about this pinot are a few things: Spinnaker is Spindrift's restaurant wine label, the wines aren't certified sustainable or salmon safe (as are the rest of Spindrift's wines), and the initial feeling is that these wines may not be replicable. Long story short, something went very right in the fermentation process and an 88 score from Wine Enthusiast was awarded. Spinnaker's 2007 pinot noir is lighter on fruit than some other pinots, but still manages to convey bold flavors of darker fruit. At only $18 a bottle, this is a steal.

2007 Syrah - We like big reds and it is always a pleasant surprise to find a Willamette Valley winery putting one out on the street. The 2007 Syrah has some spicy oak and black pepper, and was a nice end to our tasting flight. Produced with fruit from Seven Hills Vineyard from the Walla Walla AVA, this new release provides a solid anchor point on the red end of the spectrum. With a relatively small production, better grab some soon.

With tasting out of the way, it was time to ride back home. At approximately .25 miles away from Spindrift, our very first mechanical issue of the tour reared its ugly head. As we rode through our first green light in town, I somehow ended up popping my back tire. This was no ordinary flat as instead of a normal puncture like most flats, a large section of the sidewall of my tire completely blew out. This is where our stage ended and we had to wait for our team car to come pick us up. Even with our stage ending sooner than we thought, Stage 1 was still a really fun ride and a great day tasting wine.