They Make Wine There? New Hampshire Edition.

Just when you thought we couldn't get any more obscure than Indonesia or Texas in our "They Make Wine There?" series, we've done it. New Hampshire. Live Free or Die? Well I don't know about that, but I do know about wine so here we go.

The Story

At the Block 15 Beer Dinner, Matt and I were talking about this particular series on the blog and he mentioned that there were a few wineries in his home state of New Hampshire. I chuckled. More of a guffaw, really. Well, next thing I knew the holidays had passed with Matt's obligatory trip home and my wine rack was suddenly graced with the presence of two bottles of New Hampshire's finest. Matt's only stipulation in sharing this delight was he be invited when I cracked it open. With a pending move to Seattle at the end of January, I needed to get rolling and drink some wine.

Sunday night I invited Matt and Chris over to play some scrabble, but I had ulterior motives. It was the perfect time to crack open the first of the New Hampshirian selections. Jason and Clare, new friends of the Blog, joined and we had us a party. I asked Clare to bring some "snacks" suitable for wine expecting a hunk of cheese and some crackers, boy was I surprised when she unloaded a veritable cornucopia of awesomeness on a platter in my kitchen.  On the pairing menu included:

• Whole grain herbed bread with dill, cumin, flax, and sunflower seeds
• Organic extra virgin olive oil with cracked pepper and rosemary
• Herbed Utah chevre and Salem bleu cheese
• Moab apricot and nutmeg preserves
• Roasted garlic hummus
• Balsalmic vinegar and honey reduction

With snacks, friends, and a few words on the Scrabble board we were ready to taste.

The Location and Winery

New Hampshire is relatively new in the world of wine production, starting in 1994 with vintages produced by 2 wineries. While still small with 5 vineyards and 15 wineries, the state produces primarily white and specialty varietals. A number of the wineries use imported fruit from New York, California, and Canada.

Located in Amherst, New Hampshire, LaBelle Winery produces wines made with grapes and other fruit from New Hampshire and New England that reflect the orchard spirit. The winemaker, Amy LaBelle, is a corporate attorney turned winemaker, a pursuit of her lifelong passion.

The Wine

LaBelle Winery Blueberry Wine

When Matt brought the wine too me, he mentioned that it had been marketed as a merlot-like style despite it's blueberry roots. My only experience with blueberry wine was from the Flying Dutchman Winery on the Oregon coast, a super sweet dessert wine. I really didn't know what to expect. Here's what LaBelle has to say about the wine:

This wine is not sweet… it’s like a dry, light Merlot in body and style. A light red, meduim bodied wine, it pleases the palate with rich but soft notes of vanilla and fresh fruit. Made with 100 % New Hampshire wild blueberries and aged in French oak, this light dinner wine has something for everyone with a hint of sweetness and a lingering, dry finish. LaBelle Winery Blueberry Wine is light and refreshing for spring and summer, yet full bodied enough to accompany pork, turkey, chicken, pasta and even grilled meats.

We found a fruity bouquet of cherry and clove on the nose. If we didn't know better, none of the tasting crew would have predicted blueberry origin based on the aroma of the wine. A deep gorgeous purple graced the glass and upon first taste, Jason declared the wine to be different. That matched Chris' initial reaction of unique. It was dryer than expected, however, had we read the description of the wine beforehand I think our expectations would have been a bit different. On the palate the cherry and fruit-forward characteristics continued, although the finish was relatively mellow and almost flat. When sipped with some of the bleu cheese, the wine picked up some depth and complexity that led Matt to the analysis that it would pair well with traditional Vermont style apple pie, cheddar cheese and all. We had pie later in the evening, but the wine was gone by then.

All in all, the wine was good although I was slightly disappointed. Based on comparisons to either merlot or a dessert wine, I was looking for something close to one or the other when I tried this wine. Finding neither, my expectations weren't met although in reality I should have been looking for an entirely different wine all together. Darn those preconceived notions! I'll still take Oregon or Washington any day!

Next up in the series, Utah.

They Make Wine There? Idaho Edition.

Last week, Clive and I took a jaunt to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on non-wine related business; well, mostly non-wine related if you want to be technical about it.  Clive will be posting soon on our awesome experience at Coeur d'Alene Cellars, an Idaho winery that uses exclusively Washington fruit.   After that visit, I had the opportunity to visit another Idaho winery that uses both Washington and Idaho fruit and as such, is the focus of this Idaho edition of our "They Make Wine There?" series:  Pend d'Orielle Winery in Sandpoint, Idaho.  You may have read about it...right here on this blog, in fact.  Rick and I have written about Pend d'Orielle here, here, here, and here.  If you hadn't noticed, we're quite fond of their wine and I was excited to visit the place where the magic happens.

I rolled into Sandpoint, Idaho in the early afternoon and was immediately struck by a cute, quaint, yet somewhat hip downtown area in the town of approximately 6800 residents.  Despite spending 4 years in the Spokane area, the only time I had seen Sandpoint was from the backseat of a car when I was 15 on a 24 hour run to Canada while working at a Northern Idaho summer camp.  That's a story for a different day.  Like many small communities in the Pacific Northwest, Sandpoint is steeped in Native tradition, with Lake Pend d'Oreille serving as a summer encampment site for the Salish Tribes.  In the early 1900's, railroads and timber drove the economy and in 1963, Schweitzer Mountain Resort opened nearby turning Sandpoint into a tourist mecca.  Presently with the lake and the resort, Sandpoint is an interesting collision between hip, urban, outdoor tourism and old-fashioned timber culture.  Sandpoint is quickly becoming an arts and culture capital of Northern Idaho, and yes, they make wine there!

Pend d'Oreille Winery, founded in 1995 by Steve and Julie Meyer, is the only Idaho winery north of Coeur d'Alene.  By the way, if you're going to visit Northern Idaho, better practice up on the use and pronunciation of apostrophes.  I walked into the PO tasting room at the appointed time and was immediately struck by an environment that was reminiscent of a urban environment; a hip tasting bar area surrounded by a small restaurant and lifestyle store with hints of country charm.  It could have easily been Portland or California. I was met by the Pend d'Oreille's cellarmaster and jack-of-all-trades, Jim, who poured two different 2007 Malbecs from the Terrior Series, one from Washington and one from Idaho.  We'll get to that in a minute.  After the Malbec, Jim asked if I wanted to head back to the cellar for some barrel samples.  After rearranging my extremely packed (nonexistent) schedule for the rest of the day, I was in.  Jim started pulling the 2010 vintage out of the barrels and by time we had made it through some very promising Viognier and a few strains of Chardonnay, the man himself, Steve Meyer, joined us.

As Steve and I thieved into the 2009 vintage of PO red wine, I had the opportunity to ask him some of the questions that you are probably thinking right now - why Idaho being at the top of the list.  Steve started sharing his background and I quickly got a glimpse inside the workings of a visionary winemaker and winery.  Steve started making wine in Burgundy 25 years ago during an errant ski trip.  After cutting his teeth in France and California, a wife from the area and proximity to some of the best fruit in the world brought Steve and Julie back to Sandpoint.  With a dual-mission of creating the greatest wine in the Northwest and invigorating a wine culture in the Sandpoint area, Steve takes his role in the industry very seriously as he creates wines of smaller varietals to both educate consumers in the area and promote business during the shoulder seasons of a tourist town.  Pend d'Oreille surprises many as Sandpoint isn't exactly wine country, but a quick drive to both Eastern Washington and Southern Idaho growing regions makes it the perfect locale.  Always pushing boundaries, Steve has placed a heavy emphasis on sustainability in operations with a "Think Green, Drink Red" motto.  To that end, the winery has implemented a refillable bottle program out of their tasting room.  Think of a growler in the beer world.  For an initial $25 bottle purchase, customers can have a refill of either Bistro Rouge or Bistro Blanc for just $16 at any time.  In the first year of the program, Pend d'Oreille kept over 10,000 pounds of glass out of the landfill and averages 350 fills per month.  How cool is that?

On to the wine!  While at the winery, I probably tasted 15 different wines from bottles or barrels so can't possibly speak to all of them.  I can say they were all good, and if you've read our previous coverage we love pretty much everything PO puts out.  One of the cool things that Steve does is called the Terrior Series, a side by side varietal comparison from two different winegrowing regions.  For 2007, Malbec was the varietal of choice with representation of vineyard designated Washington and Idaho fruit, presented with identical winemaking styles. Here's the rundown:

2007 Malbec, Freepons Vineyard, Yakima Valley, Washington: With a lot of dark fruit on the nose, this wine has a mellow tannin structure and a smooth mouthfeel. A relatively classic Malbec, it would pair well with some bolder food such as chili. Very nice. Case production of 74 with a very reasonable price point of $28.00.

2007 Malbec, Wood River Vineyard, Snake River Valley, Idaho: Tasted second, I found the Idaho Malbec to be a bit more tannic with some rose petal on the nose. Hints of plum and vanilla on the palate meld into a very delicious wine and a quite pleasant surprise coming out of Idaho. This is a gorgeous representation of the Snake River Valley. With a case production of 73 and the $28.00 price tag, it won't stick around long.

My preference leaned slightly towards the Idaho Malbec for this vintage.  The 2010 and 2009 vintages are showing a lot of promise, keep your eyes open for the Primitivo and Zinfandel to hit the streets.

So...Idaho, huh?  An often-forgotten area of the Pacific Northwest, wine grapes were introduced to Idaho in the late 1800's and were grown until Prohibition.  For those familiar with the area, the old Potlatch Lumber mill site near Lewiston was a vineyard in forgotten days.  In the 70's, Idaho saw a resurgence of vineyard development and the area is now home to 38 wineries.  Many believe that the Southern Idaho area is ideal for growth, with high heat summers and cold winters.  With over 1500 acres of grapes, and AVA designation for the Snake River Valley, Idaho is staking it's claim in the marketplace with primary production of Chardonnay, Riesling, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

After 2.5 hours in the tasting room and cellar with one of the most visionary winemakers in the region, it was time for me to leave and experience the rest of Sandpoint.  When you visit, other highlights of the area include Eichardt's Pub for a great beer selection and elk burger and the Coldwater Creek Wine Bar for a nice by-the-glass selection.  Yes, it's the same Coldwater Creek that sells women's clothing.  The Best Western Edgewater Resort offered comfortable, reasonably priced accommodations with a fantastic hot tub.  If you're looking for a scenic and fun place to visit with some awesome wine, put Sandpoint on your list.  If you want to avoid the tourist mobs, November is a great time to do it.  Be careful, though, as you may wake up to snow on the ground as I did the next morning.

They Make Wine There? New Mexico Edition.

Yes, they make wine in New Mexico.  Continuing our "They Make Wine There?" series after this summer's feature on Texas wine, we bring you the finest New Mexico has to offer.  I'm not talking about Alamogordo, of nuclear test fame, or Roswell, home of Area 51 either.  My wine horizons have certainly been broadened through the crack investigative reporting of The Oregon Wine Blog Special Correspondent Chris Heuchert, and I hope yours are too.

This shit got real a few weeks ago when Chris was driving on a rural highway near Santa Fe heading back to his rustic mountain getaway.  Between the rumbling of his stomach from hunger, the blazing sun, a mild headache,  it appeared on the side of the road as if a desert oasis:  the Estrella Del Norte Vineyard.  Wait, what?  New Mexico, right?  He had to stop and see what this foolishness was all about.

It was true, there was wine inside the quant stucco southwestern style building.  And a nice lady who made Chris and his posse feel quite welcome throughout the wine tasting experience.  They tasted 6 reds in short order, sharing the experience with a quite engaging staff who clearly knew a lot about the wine.  After tasting through the big reds one might expect from a dry, high-heat region like New Mexico, Chris saw something on the menu that literally turned his world upside down:  Pinot Noir.  But Josh, you ask, isn't Pinot Noir rather a fickle varietal?  One that likes a cooler, moist climate?  Why yes, it is, thanks for asking.  You can understand Chris' surprise to find it in the middle of one of the most extreme climates in the US.  Unfortunately, there wasn't a bottle open for him to try to compare to the love of our lives, Oregon Pinot.  Chris was so intrigued by the experience, he took the red pill and was a member of the wine club when he got back in the car.  Fast forward two weeks, you'll find a case of wine from New Mexico delivered to his apartment,  and an enterprising Managing Editor of The Oregon Wine Blog on the couch ready to see what Estrella Del Norte is all about.

As an aside, did you know that New Mexico is the oldest wine growing region in the United States?  The first grape vines were brought to Senecu, a Piro Indian pueblo, in 1629 by a Franciscan and a Monk.  No, this isn't a variation of a "Franciscan and a Monk walked in to a bar..." joke.  By 1880, there were 3150 acres of grapevines in the state, and by 1884 New Mexico was producing almost a million gallons of wine per year.  Currently, New Mexico boast 42 operating wineries and tasting rooms.

To kick off my New Mexican experience, Chris popped open a bottle of the 2007 Estrella Del Norte Cabernet Sauvignon, one of my favorite varietals.  Not quite knowing what to expect, I gingerly swirled the wine in my glass and took a big old sniff.  I immediately detected notes of....booze.  Once I got past the boozy features on the nose, I found a rather pleasant cacophony of dark red fruit.  Upon taking the coveted sip, we detected an immediate heat related to the boozy nose, with an otherwise rather mild and dry profile laced with dark fruit and a peppery finish.  The winery describes it like a "starry Northern New Mexico evening", and while I'm not sure I agree with that, I can definitely attest that it was better than expected.  I'll be the first to admit that my palate has been shaped around Eastern Washington cabs, hard to beat, I know.  All things considered, "better than expected" is a glowing endorsement for a non-Washington offering.

So, there you have it.  We brought you Texas.  We brought you New Mexico.  What's next in the "They Make Wine There?" series?  You're just going to have to wait to find out, because frankly, I don't know yet.  Any suggestions?

There's wine in Texas?

Life is inherently unfair, this I know.  This timeless wisdom offers little console when I get the short end of the stick, or make crappy wine easy to drink when the rest of the staff is drinking the crème de la crème, as was the case this last week.

This past weekend, our staff had the opportunity divide and conquer some of the best wine events the Pacific Northwest has to offer; Rick visited Cana’s Feast in Carlton for the Southern Mediterranean Celebration, Clive was on assignment on Red Mountain for the Post-WBC event, Micheal served on the judging panel for the East Valley Winery Association New Release Festival in Canby, and Jesse was enjoying California’s finest Three-Buck Chuck.  Reviews forthcoming on the aforementioned.  As Managing Editor of this humble blog, you may think it’s all truffles, champagne, monocles, and top hats for me.  While that’s often true, sometimes I slum it with the common folk as I did this weekend – in Austin, Texas – Texas of course being the Napa Valley of the Gulf Coast region.   They tell me that sarcasm is sometimes hard to infer from prose.  Rest assured, there is plenty in this post.

With the twitter machine humming from WBC, my pals Steve, Rich, and I decided to make the most of Texan hospitality and promptly located a liquor store to inquire on the vinological offerings of Texas.  Did you know Texas made wine?  Don’t worry, I didn’t either.  In the midst of a quite impressive wine collection, we found a rack of approximately 15 wines labeled as Texas creations, so we picked up 4 reds covering a few varietals and price points.  When in Rome, right?  What follows is chronology of two evenings of passion, love, and retching spent with the fine wines of Texas as transcribed from text message records.

Bottle 1:  Becker Vineyards 2005 Syrah (Tallent Vineyards, Texas, $13.99).   This wine had a shelf-talker denoted it as a “Twin Liquors Wine Committee Pick”, so we were feeling like it had the best shot of not sucking. There were immediate notes of coffee, cinnamon, and chocolate on the nose.  Upon taking a sip, Steve and I looked at each other with a glimmer of hope in our eyes. It wasn’t that bad!  According to Steve, “I’ve had much worse.  Starting to feel a bit of heartburn, but that could be because of all of the meat we just ate.”  Having just consumed a large BBQ dinner, I agreed with Steve.  The bottle didn’t last long, this was to be the best wine of the offerings.

Bottle 2:  Alamesa Wine Cellars 2001 Syrah (Tio Pancho Ranch, Texas, $16.99).  This was the oldest Texas wine we found, so old that there was a nice layer of dust on the bottle.  We soon found that the dust wasn’t due to fine aging practices, rather, was certainly because of the fact that not even a hobo would enjoy this wine.  Rich’s glass was poured first, and we noted an immediate grimace on his face as he swirled and smelled.  Upon taking a sip, the gag reflex was nearly immediate.  I soon repeated the swirl, smell, and sip; Steve reported that I mirrored Rich’s reaction with more intensity.  Steve grabbed the wine out of our hands, and down the drain it went.  “If I’m going to have a night cap, I’d like to know that I’m not going to vomit,” he said as he was dumping.

Bottle 3:  Becker Vineyards 2008 Reserve Merlot (Texas, $19).  We cracked this bottle open in an attempt to erase the taste of bottle 2 from our palates, hoping to end the evening on a good note.  This wine was fair to decent, but nothing special.  #1 was still in the lead.

Bottle 4:  Sister Creek Vineyard 2007 Red Blend (Texas; Cab Sauv, Merlot, Sangiovese; $14.99).  The next evening, bottle 4 emerged.  Out of three wines, we had experienced good, mediocre, and horrible.  This wine was very drinkable, however, not notable for any particular characteristic.  It took a place as number 2 in our unsophisticated rating system.

Now I’m told there is some really good wine in Texas, however, I can report that it isn’t available at Twin Liquors in Austin nor did we see any on wine lists in the area.  There was some great local beers and vodka, but wine lists were dominated by California Central Coast and Oregon offerings.  As they should be.  Three of the bottles we had were definitely drinkable, and if your palate isn’t programmed for Washington and Oregon stuff, I’m sure it’s fine.  I have a bias, and left Texas disappointed.  I’ll give Texas another shot when the opportunity arises, as Dallas Wine Chick wouldn’t do what she does if there wasn’t something to it.

Until then, Clive, Rick, Micheal, and Jesse will taunt me with tales of their awesome wine weekends.

Hatten Wines AGA Red

Regular readers of The Oregon Wine Blog may have noticed that it's been quite some time since I last posted. I assure you that I neither lost my passion for wine nor forgot my OWB login and password. Instead, I have actually spent the last couple weeks on a work-related trip to Indonesia. While I would love to be able to say I spent the majority of my time on the beach, I must admit there was actually very little time for recreation.

One thing I did do, however, was pick up a bottle of Indonesian wine. Wine? From Indonesia? Yes! I have to admit that the main reason I picked it up was because I told Josh (completely jokingly) that I'd pick up a bottle of wine while away. It turns out I had to cash in on my request as I found this bottle in the airport in Bali.

Hatten Winery & Vineyard has been producing wine in Northeastern Bali for the last 14 years. Unlike wines of the Pacific Northwest, the vines in Bali create grapes year-round in 120 day cycles. You won't find any big reds from Bali, but definitely some whites and other sweeter varieties.

I picked up their AVA Red, which is described as "a young light red wine made from the local Alphonse-Lavallée grapes. This medium bodied wine is often associated with the genre Beaujolais-Nouveau." Also recommended is to serve it chilled. I'm going to be completely honest in that any requests of red wines to be serve chilled automatically makes me think of Night Train. While I'm a bit scared, it's time to dive in.

Appearance: Immediately noticeable is that this wine pours pink. Granted it's a dark pink, but pink none the less. Think a dark Rosé. Very low viscosity with virtually no lace.

Smell: Light cherry notes with heavy sugar backing. This has also been described as "cheap" and "medicinal".

Taste: Boxed. It tastes like boxed wine. There's no other way to describe it. Find a box of wine with red on it and there you go. In more helpful terms, it's pretty close to a white zin or a blush.

In the end, I'm actually quite glad I found a bottle of Indonesian wine. It may have been completely underwhelming and against our general policy of not reviewing bad wine, but I think the educational message here is that you can actually grow and produce wine on an equatorial island. In retrospect, it would have made much more sense to stick with a white or a sparkling wine. Would I try another Balinese wine in the future? Sure! Would I choose AGA Red over any NW wine? Not by a long shot.