Taste of Terroir: 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir (2 of 2)

Part 1 of our most recent Taste of Terroir began in the Northern AVAs of the Willamette Valley, examining 2008 Pinot Noir from Oregon's Chehalem Mountains AVA and Ribbon Ridge. We also covered a little bit about the 2008 growing season in the Willamette Valley. You can read all that here.
But time waits for no man, and so we must continue our journey South through the Willamette Valley and onto the Yahmill-Carlton District.

Yamhill-Carlton District
The Yamill-Carlton District was designated an AVA in 2004. Its vineyards are predominantly planted on the south-facing slopes of the ridges that surround the district in what resembles a horseshoe pattern. In order for a vineyard to fall within the Yamhill-Carlton District AVA, not only must it be within the proper geographic location, but it must also be between 200 and 1,000 feet of elevation. The soil types are comprised mostly of marine sedimentary soils (Willakenzie), as well as some of the volcanic soils known as Jory. Yamhill-Carlton has some of the oldest soils in all the Willamette Valley.


Our Yamhill-Carlton wine came from Luminous Hills. It was not a winery I knew much about, but it’s a sustainably farmed and LIVE certified winery and a part of the Seven of Hearts winery. Byron Dooley is the owner and winemaker of both labels. The particular Pinot clones for this wine were 115, 667 and Pommard. The 2008 Estate Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir had one of the most, if not the most, beautiful aromatics of the wines we had that evening. In fact, the nose of the wine was a dead ringer for a 2004 Chambolle-Musigny, by Jacques Fredrique Mugnier, which I had recently had the good fortune to taste. The aromatics, beautiful and Burgundian, gave way to a palate that many of us experienced as a more steely minerality and spice than fruit or earthen characteristics. This wine retails for $28 and is a very small production at only 142 cases. (I should also note that I sadly poured some of this wine all over one of the guests. Sorry, Michelle.)

Dundee Hills
The Dundee Hills are probably the wheelhouse for visitors experiencing Willamette Valley. They’re located, right down the middle of the corridor and encompass some of the biggest names in all the Valley: Erath, Sokol Blosser, Argyle and Ponzi. When people think of Willamette Valley, whether they know it or not, they often think of Dundee Hills. The Dundee Hills is made up entirely of the Jory volcanic soil type and it's rich in both iron and a red hue that are a signature of the Dundee Hills. The AVA was designated in 2004 and it has 1,300 planted acres. The Dundee Hills are often thought to be a bit more protected weather wise than some of the surrounding areas, so a bit drier and warmer may certainly help in such a cool climate.

The Dundee Hills wine we had was the 2008 Stoller Vineyards, JV Estate Pinot Noir, which was also the third wine of the night (of four total) that sported a screwcap The JV Estate, or Jeunes Vignes, is a showcase of the vineyard’s newest vines. The wine is made to be drinkable and approachable right away, and folks found it to be just that. The Stoller 2008 Pinot Noir was a rounded wine with pleasing aromatics; some of the oak character coming through in sweet spice notes. The wine provided plenty of red berries and a bit of oak on the palate. A couple of our guests described an almost effervescence. This was a very comfortable Pinot Noir for our guests and made it the most popular among many of them. The wine retails at $25

McMinnville AVA
The McMinnville AVA was designated in 2005 after a successful petition by Kevin Byrd of Youngberg Hill Vineyards. The AVA lies within the rain shadow created by Oregon's Coast Range and it therefore generally sees less rain than many of its neighboring AVAs The proximity to the Van Duzer corridor, and the coastal wind it brings, keeps the vineyard sites a bit drier. The soil composition is primarily marine sediment but basalt and volcanic soils also underlay much of the McMinnville AVA. Only 600 acres of vineyard are planted.

Our wine from McMinnville comes from Noble Pig, a new winery. The 2008 McMinnville Pinot Noir is their first vintage released. The wine is comprised of three Pinot clones, Pommard, 114 and 115. This wine had very active aromatics, and was almost perfume-y. The oak made a slight and positive impression on the wine, and the bright red fruit made this an impressive first vintage from Cathy Pollak, winemaker and proprietor. This wine retails at $34

Eola-Amity Hills AVA
Continuing south in the Willamette Valley, on towards Salem, we reach the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. The fruit of the the Eola-Amity is known for its almost pitch perfect acidity, higher than much of the Willamette Valley. Its proximity to the Van Duzer Corridor and those cooling winds from the Pacific play a major role in that acid retention. Designated in 2006, the AVA consists of mostly volcanic soils, as well as nekia, which is a soil comprised of exposed basalt. The Eola-Amity hills holds some of the most famed Pinot vineyards in the Willamette Valley, including Temperance Hills, Seven Springs, and Elton vineyards. Some of the signatures of the AVA include darker fruit profiles on both the palate and the aromatics of the wine.

The Brooks Winery 2008 Rastaban Vineyard Pinot Noir is a deep, dark Pinot Noir. This wine had far darker fruit character than any of the other Pinots we tasted. It was a bolder wine, a big, luxuriant Pinot Noir. The oak program used on this wine, 50% new French for 18 months, resulted in aromas of smoke and earth and represents a bit of a departure from many of the Burgundian styled Pinots that Oregon is known for. This wine was a lot of dark rich velvet, and it retails at $50.

Umpqua Valley
Next, we did what many people consider the unthinkable: we left the Willamette Valley. We left it behind and continued south to the Umpqua Valley. The Umpqua Valley was designated in 1984, and contains the basin area of the Umpqua River. In conjunction with the much warmer Rogue Valley AVA, it makes up the Southern Oregon AVA, designated in 2004. The Umpqua Valley is warmer than the Willamette Valley and sees plantings of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling and some occassional Cabernet Sauvignon. Most of those warm weather varietals grow beautifully in its neighbor to the South, the Rogue Valley AVA. The soil composition of the Umpqua Valley is often sand and clay loams.

Our final and southernmost wine, the Brandbourg 2008 Ferris Wheel Estate Pinot Noir. This wine gave us a bit of toasty oak on the nose and certainly the palate held much more spice, with hints of chicory and cola than the Pinots to the North. While many of us found this Pinot slightly different than its neighbors, with its spicier fruit profile, this was still an elegant, balanced Pinot Noir and demonstrated capably that Pinot can, in fact, be grown outside the confines of Willamette Valley and still demonstrate great varietal integrity and beauty. This wine retails at around $30.

Our conclusion, the 2008 vintage is a great one for Oregon Pinot Noir fans. In many cases wineries are still releasing their 2008s, particularly when it comes to single vineyard Pinots. In other cases some of the 2008s have been completely sold out. The buzz about the vintage has had impact on both pricing and availability, but don't be deterred. Gather up and drink as much of it as you can, you'll thank us later.
These wines were provided as samples.

Taste of Terroir: 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir (Part 1 of 2)

Oregon’s recently released 2008 Pinots are garnering some serious buzz. "In the 2008's, you've got the best vintage Oregon has ever produced, the kind of vintage Oregon winemakers always hoped they could produce." Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator.

With that in mind, the time was right for The Oregon Wine Blog to explore this vintage in our Taste of Terroir series. To many wine drinkers, Oregon Pinot is Oregon Pinot, but that's too large a generalization. The Willamette Valley is certainly what people think of, but there's so much variety within the Valley itself that the sub AVAs provide an exploration of the valleys, elevations, soil types and micro-climates - and that's just what we hope to do with the 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir tasting. We've even got a Pinot from the Umpqua Valley.

This two-part post will start on the Northern end of the Valley in the Chehalem Mountains. As we progress, we'll pass through Ribbon Ridge, Yamhill-Carlton District, the Dundee Hills, McMinnville and the Eola-Amity Hills AVAs, and as we work our way South we’ll end in the Umpqua Valley.

What kind of growing season was 2008? Here’s a description from our friends at Stoller: “In retrospect 2008 was the ultimate cool climate vintage, but it began rather apprehensively. A frost arrived when bud break, already a few weeks late, began. Everyone seemed to survive that frost and the fruit was right on track by late summer. Concerns about a wet harvest forecast never came to fruition as the end of summer and early autumn saw cool breezy days that allowed the necessary hang time to produce Oregon's world class Pinot Noir.”

Oregon’s Willamette Valley, 100 miles long and about 60 miles wide, was first declared an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 1984. Since then, it's become known as one of the greatest places in the world to grow Pinot Noir. Other varietals that do well in the Willamette Valley include Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.

Chehalem Mountains AVA
The Chehalem Mountains AVA rests on the far North end of the Willamette Valley and serves as the guardian to the rest of the Valley of the harsher weather that comes in from the Columbia River Gorge. The area is marked by great variation of soil types within the AVA, with volcanic basalt creating the foundation for much of the area's clay and silt, marine sediment and sandstone. The area’s soil is also comprised of a windblown silt, or loess. The AVA was granted designation in 2006 and has around 1,600 planted acres of vineyard. The AVA Association has a great website here.

Our Chehalem Mountains representative was a personal favorite: Anam Cara Cellars 2008 Nicholas Estate. The Nicholas Estate vineyard (LIVE certified) is probably one of the most distinctive vineyards I've sampled in Oregon when it comes to displaying terroir. The site is a former hazelnut and walnut farm, has unique characters that are present, particularly on the nose of the wine. The 2008 was no exception. The wine started out with a smokey, earthen nose, hints of moss and forest floor as well as pepper and toasted spice that speak more to the site than the use of newer oak. This wine saw less than 20% new oak. This elegant Pinot delivers brighter red fruits and a hint of that spice from the nose on the palate. The Nicholas Estate is a blend of 5 clones, nearly 40% 667, though Pommard, 115, 114 and 777 all make up the wine. The wine was named in the Top 100 by the San Francisco Chronicle and will retail at around $30.


Ribbon Ridge AVA
Within the Chehalem Mountains AVA lies Oregon's smallest AVA, Ribbon Ridge. Ribbon Ridge was planted in 1980 by Harry Peterson-Nedry, owner and winemaker at Chehalem Winery. The AVA is only three and half miles long and 1 and 3/4 mile wide and it sticks up out of the valley floor at 683 ft of elevation. Its comprised of a younger soil, a silty clay loam of the Willakenzie type, drains exceptionally well and is perfect for viticulture. There are only 350 acres planted in Ribbon Ridge and the first vineyard was Ridgecrest, at 55 acres, Ribbon Ridge was designated in 2005.

We sampled two wines from Ribbon Ridge, the Chehalem 2008 Reserve and the Chehalem Ridgecrest Vineyard Pinot Noirs. Both of these wines exhibit a bigger style and excellent acidity that come across right away. These are wines that will lay down that much is clear. The Ridgecrest Vineyard 2008 came across with spice and smoke from oak on the nose. The palate gave way to prominent tannins, certainly in comparison to the Anam Cara. The wine is really well put together and we found it to be one of the favorites among the guests. The dark red fruit on this nicely balanced wine made it a beautiful example of Oregon Pinot.
The Chehalem Reserve 2008, is not yet released and was even bigger than the Ridgecrest and exhibited significant tannins. Bright fruit notes and even some of the oak on the palate, guests found the nose to have herbal notes, and fennel or licorice came up many times. This is a big and really impressively structured wine. Certainly drinking very well now but this wine held the most promise for tomorrow of the 2008s we tasted. I would love to taste this wine again in a few years. Both of the examples from Ribbon Ridge were nice examples not only of what the AVA has to offer but also spoke to the experience and innovation of Harry Peterson-Nedry and the amazing things that are coming from Chehalem. Wines with incredible structure and finish. Impressive.

Our journey through the 2008 vintage Oregon Pinot Noir continues in Part 2 coming later this week.

Willamette Valley is for Lovers on Valentine's Weekend

When it comes to wine, at least for this guy, there's nothing sexier than those earthy Oregon Pinot Noirs. They seduce the hell right out of me. I know I'm not alone and so that's what makes February 12th and 13th (the weekend before Valentine's Day) a perfect time to succumb to those urges and head on down to Willamette Valley. It’s not just the wine that comes out of Oregon that’s sexy, it’s the Willamette Valley itself. There’s something ethereal about the Willamette Valley this time of year: the mist hangs along the valleys slopes and vineyards, the dark green of the Valley’s flora, the varying aromatics of world class Pinot Noir and the real love that is being shared in the glass and over tasting room counters up and down the Willamette Valley. Ironically, I won’t be there because I’ll be celebrating love at a friend’s wedding, but you, those without some other plans who need a little more Pinot in your life, get down to Willamette Valley.

There are several events to highlight the most amorous weekend on the calendar. In keeping with the theme, there are several Pinot Noir and Chocolate tastings, and as we all know chocolate is one of the world's most ancient aphrodisiacs. There will be chocolate pairings at Johan Vineyards, Youngberg Hill, and Torii Mor, to name a few. Additionally, there are a plethora of Valentine dinners all up and down the valley, including at Cana's Feast, Cubanisimo, and Ankeny Vineyard, among many others. To top off the festivities, after gorging yourself on chocolates, Pinot and delicious meals, you can take advantage of Library sales at J.K Carriere and bring some of that sensual stuff home. After all, you should be “getting it on” like this all the time, not just this weekend.

To cap off the romance-a-thon that is this weekend of romance, Pinot, and food, you might just need to "get a room" at The Allison or The Inn at Red Hills. If Cupid has struck you between the eyes with such a force that you're considering some sort of weird romantic move like bathing in Pinot, don't do that. If you must, don't waste the good stuff; buy a couple cases of Pinot from California and fill that tub to the rim, save the good stuff from Oregon for drinking. With weekends like this, November of this year may just see us greeting babies with Willamette-themed names. Archer or Cara, anyone? (Archery Summit and Aman Cara)

Spains' Favorite Oregon Pinot; Lenne Estates

I'm always on the lookout for new wines, new wineries, and varietals I've not tried. When one of my most trusted Willamette Valley sources, Jenny gave me the word, I had to go check out Lenne Estates.

Lenne Estates is located along 240 on the way to Yamhill from Newberg. It may not be that well known, but its vineyards lie among a number of the more revered Willamette Valley wineries such as Penner Ash, Willakenzie and Shea. The Lenne site is incredibly steep, and it provided a visual treat as we drove up the hill to the tasting room.

Lenne Estates is owned and operated by Steve Lutz and the winery is named after his father-in-law, Lenny. The label is a striking charcoal rendering of an image of Lenny in his younger days. Steve loves the sketch of Lenny but is a little less certain of the labeling that has been chosen for his second label Lenez, the sketch of a nose in a similar style to that original drawing. Its started to grow on him a bit though and he admits that he may be coming around.


Steve got his start in the wine business in the early 80s in Napa Valley, working harvests and tasting rooms and learning about the wine business as well as the business of wine. He began tinkering with Pinot Noir in 1984 making wine in Carneros. When Steve first came to Oregon he was working with Anne Amie to help develop their brand. The opportunity arose to acquire some acreage in the Willamette Valley and Steve jumped all over it.

Steve planted the Lenne estate vineyards in 2001 with some help from the winemaker from Anne Amie. Given its steep angle and his desire to dry farm the site, Lenne lost a lot of vines those first few years - 35% in the first year.

In 2005 Lenne Estates started selling fruit to Owen Roe and Steve took his winemaking to their location. Steve credits Owen Roe’s David O'Reilly for his aid in getting the results and the wine that Lenne Estates wants to make. In addition to lending production space and winemaking advice, Owen Roe also does a vineyard designate Pinot Noir with Lenne Estates fruit and uses it in their acclaimed Kilroy wine as well.

Steve makes a few Pinots, and also promotes some of the Owen Roe wines in his establishment. His 2008 Jill's 115 was our favorite, a Pinot made from the 115 clone. This is a very nicely balanced Pinot with great structure. Though it hadn't been released, Steve let us pick up a bottle with a promise not to open it for some time to come. Steve sells most of his wine, a full 90%, through his Rootstocks club. His most far-ranging sale has been to a company in Spain. This Spanish restaurant company buys 50 cases of Steve's wine for some of their exclusive eateries, and they shared with him that it's the favorite wine of the Prime Minister's wife.

Even if you're not a head of state I recommend checking out Lenne Estates. Steve is an interesting character, the views are unforgettable and you'll be tasting some Oregon Pinot that is in exclusive company.

Wine Country Resort Destination: The Allison Inn & Spa

Have you ever had an experience that completely changed your mind about something you thought or believed? The Allison, for me, was that experience. I'd never stayed at a resort before because I never understood the appeal. The whole idea struck me as stuffy and overdone and I'm too rugged to be a resort guy. Well, this was before the Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg, Oregon let me come stay there and take a test drive on behalf of The Oregon Wine Blog at a special rate.

Nestled in the north end of the Willamette Valley between the Dundee Hills and Chehalem Mountain AVAs, the Allison is surrounded on all sides by the slopes and vineyards that make Oregon a world class Pinot Noir producer. They've also planted some small vineyards of their own onsite, though it'll be a few years before they're mature. The Allison Inn & Spa opened in the autumn of 2009 and it is a spectacular example of Northwest luxury. A LEED Gold certification puts The Allison in excellent company; fewer than 25 hotels worldwide have received LEED Gold status. It also makes the Allison fit firmly within the ethic of the Northwest's commitment to sustainability.

The Allison's restaurant and bar, The Jory, was named for the red soils of the surrounding vineyards in Willamette Valley. The Jory serves bistro style meals that celebrate the local ingredients of Oregon's bounty and the bar has 100 different Oregon Pinot Noirs, including 50 different by-the-glass pours, and various tasting flights, including one of three 2007 Pinot Noirs titled "The Critics are Wrong." Jory sommelier Ercolino Crugnale was recently recognized by Food & Wine magazine as one of the top seven sommeliers in the United States.


There was a lot to be impressed with at The Allison Inn & Spa. Every detail was perfect, and it was all comfortable. The stuffiness I had associated with resorts was non-existent. They let you bring your dog, for Pete's sake. While the Allison pulls out all the stops for you and your pet, it also offers dog walking and pet sitting as well as sweet room service. Elsie made out with some lamb, kale and pieces of baguette.

While Elsie was getting room service, Gwynne went to a massage at the Spa at the Allison. In her words: "The massage was amazing. I could heap adjectives on top of that, but bottom like was that this was, hands down, the best massage I've ever had and more than worth it. From the moment I walked in until I left, the spa and the staff was phenomenal and helpful - even volunteering to keep an eye on the clock for me so I could relax in the steam room. I've never been someone who could sit on the beach all day or hang out at a spa - it seemed dull and not worth the time. After this visit, I completely understand the desire for a spa day. A steam room, a sauna, and the softest robes imaginable... On top of those, the big things, it's such a little thing, but I was really grateful that the locker room had hair ties and bobby pins to tie back my hair. Thoughtful touches like that show me the spa at the Allison knows what they're doing. If you're in Newberg, even if you're not staying at the Allison, make a reservation for a treatment. You'll thank me."

While Gwynne got "one of the best massages of her life" I went to the "living room" off the bar. The fireplace was crackling and I took in the the jazz trio and a glass of Penner Ash Pinot Noir while looking out on the grand lawn as dusk settled in on the Willamette Valley.

We had dinner at The Painted Lady instead of Jory, but all in all, the experience at The Allison was a refreshing one, on many levels. The decor at The Allison is tasteful without being ostentatious and comfortable on top of that, classic Northwest. They've combined luxury with attention to the environment and sustainability, blending the two more seamlessly than I've ever seen.

Anam Cara Cellars...A Truer Sense of Place

Six years ago, Gwynne and I made our first trip to Willamette Valley as new oenophiles. We were eagerly slurping down Oregon Pinot Noir, and enthralled with its elegance and its seemingly heightened sense of terroir when compared to much of the Washington wine we'd experienced. However, our youth came with certain monetary realities, and our ability to stockpile this gem in a bottle was somewhat limited. Nearly all of the wines we were tasting were over $20 and six years ago that was a stretch for us. With fish hooks sharpened in our pockets we made one last stop at August Cellars as we headed back to Seattle.

There was a lot going on at August Cellars: they were celebrating their recent grand opening and there were Oregon creameries and chocolatiers to round out the offerings. In the back of the facility sat a table with a Pinot Noir. One taste of Anam Cara Cellar's Pinot Noir and we were infatuated with the wine. We dug deep past the fish hooks. This was a wine we had to take home with us, price be damned. That wine - their first vintage - stayed in the wine rack for a few years, and when we did open it with friends, we relived that trip and those days when we had a sane wine budget.

Since that trip Anam Cara Cellars has always been the exemplar of Oregon Pinot Noir in my mind. On our recent trip to Willamette Valley we had the opportunity to visit with Sheila and Nick Nicholas of Anam Cara at their estate vineyard and home, located atop the 36-acre vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains AVA. Sheila invited us for a stroll through the vineyards and Nick talked a little about the work he had ahead of him with bud break coming. There was bud thinning to be done, but the weather had been miserable after a mild winter. The vineyard had been an orchard, planted in 1906 with hazelnuts, walnuts and plums. Those all, Sheila pointed out, lend appealing character to the soil that gives Anam Cara a unique element of terroir. She'll get no argument from me.


To get started, we tasted through a flight of cool-climate Rieslings by Trisaeteum, Argyle and Brandborg as well as the Anam Cara Riesling. Anam Cara is a part of a movement in the Chehalem Mountain AVA to promote Rieslings grown in cooler climes. The flight of Rieslings showed the range of this varietal often dismissed as a sweet wine. The cool climate wines ranged from sweet honey notes to a refreshing smack of green apple and other bright fruits. A number of the winemakers are also putting a slide gauge on the back label of their Rieslings to indicate how sweet the wine is on a range from dry to sweet.

As we moved into their Pinot Noir I had to chuckle a little. Here I was with the owners and viticulturalists for a wine that we enjoyed so much and which held so much nostalgia for me and I was drinking their wine with them, and hanging out in their dining room.

Anam Cara Cellars makes a few different Pinot Noirs. They consult with winemaker Aron Hess from Daedalus Cellars but are heavily involved in the crafting of their wine. Nick spends a lot of time and thought on the clones they grow, managing the growing conditions and the cooperage selection. A full 20% of their total barrel inventory is new oak, which Nick likes a medium to long toast to pair with his fruit.

The 2008 Pinot Noir marks their fifth vintage, and they did some screw caps on this release. Nick and Sheila did the math on that first vintage we took home with us, and it cost them a fortune at almost $900 a bottle. Our splurge that day looked quite meager in comparison. In addition to the Nicholas Estate Pinot, there is an Estate Reserve, the 2007 of which Nick feels is almost ready for release after 17 months in the bottle. They also make two wines that are single block or barrel select wines. The Heather's Vineyard Pinot is a single block 114 clone Pinot Noir. The wine is elegant with brighter fruit character and a beautiful ruby color. No new oak is used on the Heather's Vineyard so you get a real sense of the fruit and floral aromatics on the nose. Like its namesake, their daughter, the Nicholas were looking to craft a beautiful and expressive wine, highlighting the elegance of the grapes. In contrast, the barrel-select wine, the Mark I, is a broad-shouldered Pinot Noir that speaks to the new oak and toasted notes that come along with it. While the Heather is chosen based on the block, Mark (so named for their son) is a barrel selection. When you compare the earthen characteristics and deep dark color of the Mark I to the light fruit character of the Heather, it goes a long way toward showing the versatility of the Pinot Noir grape.


The two wines produce a Yin and Yang effect. Using different clones, the Nicholas' have been successful in demonstrating the versatility of their fruit and site. Nick has crafted wines that speak not only of Oregon in a way that shows reverence for the terroir but also of his skill at producing Pinots that allow different elements of the fruit their chance at the spotlight.

Our time with Sheila and Nick was really incredible. We got to experience a wine that we really love with the people who know it best. We made new friends that morning and were thrilled and thankful for their hospitality and generosity. The name, Anam Cara, is Celtic for "friend of my soul" and is really the only applicable name for this wine made by these friends who clearly put their heart and soul into their vineyards, and ultimately their wines. We look forward to seeing Sheila and Nick again, and highly recommend you check out their wines, or pay them a visit when you're in the neighborhood.

Duck Pond Cellars 2006 Pinot Noir

A recent article in a “newlywed” magazine (disclaimer forthcoming) which my wife subscribes to, asserts the trend that youthfully aged newlyweds meet and mingle with other youthfully aged newlyweds; the reason being that couples desire having those friends whom they can go camping with, go out on the boat with, etc. When our 40 something married couple neighbors were recently replaced by what appeared to be 20 something newlyweds, we knew we had to capitalize on this potential newlywed vs. newlywed friendship. We opted for a Holiday Style meal, which occurred Monday night.

While awaiting the first delivery on our Viticultural journey (A Whidbey Island White), my wife and I had to scramble for a quality red to compliment our inaugural meal. We’d planned a flank steak, paired with Asian Noodle Salad and a Red Rosemary/Italian Seasoned Potato Dish. Believing first impressions are everything, no chances were taken on the wine selection, opting for that “sure thing” I knew would represent us well. I chose, dare I say, an Oregon Varietal, Duck Pond Cellars - 2006 Pinot Noir.

Before I’m berated by my fellow bloggers, let it be known that Duck Pond Cellars utilizes Washington land for a good portion of their harvest. The Pinot family of grape, however, is grown in the Willamette Valley.

Fellow Oregon Wine Blog Staff Member, Josh Gana, and I, had the pleasure of enjoying a tasting session at Duck Pond Cellars a few years back (2005). I remember leaving the session thinking their Gewürztraminer was good, but their Pinot Noir was great.

I used a couple tablespoons of the wine as a portion of the marinade I’d produced for the flank steak. Letting it marinate 12 hours, I was hopeful our main course would be a treat. Of course, having popped the cork, I couldn’t resist my first glass.

The wine glistened in the glass, showing off a purplish, more ruby colored texture. A swirl gave evidence to a thin mix, to some dismay. The nose offered a youthful aroma of cherry and berries, some of which I had difficulty pin pointing. The wine provided a balanced, smooth collection of flavors, while slightly light bodied. The finish was shorter than I prefer.

Had I had it over, I would have preferred a more robust wine as a marinade, possibly a Cabernet Sauvignon. In the context of conversation, tasting enjoyment, and making new friends, this Pinot Noir was no let down, while a little less enjoyable than I remembered back in 2005.

And yes, as you’ve figured, I do read articles in “girly” magazines!