2009 WillaKenzie Kiana Pinot Noir

B and I were coming home from the Oregon coast this afternoon and stopped in at one of our favorite vineyards, WillaKenzie, for some wine tasting and to pick up a bottle for dinner.  We tasted several yummy pinots and had a bit of a tough time deciding what to take home.  While perusing the available wines for purchase, we saw the '09 Kiana.  We asked if they had a bottle open to taste and unfortunately they did not.  We have had the pleasure of tasting and purchasing a bottle of the Kiana before and knew how incredibly smooth and amazingly delicious it is. Of course, not being able to taste the '09 Kiana just made us want a bottle even more :) So B made an executive decision and asked to purchase the Kiana.  

Sidenote:  We were fortunate to taste WillaKenzie's Pinot Noir Thibaud's Couvee during our visit.  It was SO TASTEY!!!  If it were for sale we would have purchased some.  We were told it is sold exclusively to a small group of restaurants in San Francisco.  If anyone knows what these restaurants are I'd LOVE to know. I would love to grab a bite there next time I'm in San Fran.   

Anyhow, we got home and started making smoked chicken for dinner...we figured it would go real well with the '09 Kiana (we were right).  We let the bottle sit to open for about 20 minutes.  The following are my wine notes :)  

ruby in color
slow eye-droplet looking legs 
nose - tobacoo, cherry and vanilla
first - soft vanilla
mid - berry/blackberry
finish - tannins, leather, dry

If you haven't been out to WillaKenzie, GO THERE.  The grounds are gorgeous and the tasting room is spectacular.  It's located in the Ribbon Ridge...a new personal favorite area for grape growing.  Their tastings involve 6 tastes; two whites and four reds, and are $15.  They waive tasting fees with any $25 purchase.  Which isn't hard to do since most of their wines are between $30 and $50.  The bottle of Kiana B purchased was $48 and worth every last penny.  Thanks B ;)

Cheers!

xoxo,
kegw 

"It's Been a Long Time"

Holy smokes, I have so much to write about!!  For those of you who don't know, I've been in the process of moving for about the past month.  It's been a whirlwind and I am very glad to say, It's over :)  Now all settled in my new digs, I am ready to start publishing reviews I've taken while being off the radar (so to speak).  Here's a quick update...  

Firstly, we attended the TeSoAria quarterly pick up party, which was held at the Ford Building's - Ford Food & Drink (http://www.fordbuildingpdx.com/).  Neat space, great people, drool worthy food, and damn delectable wines.  After tasting the '08 Mistral as well as several other bottles, B and I decided we needed to up our quarterly bottle amount... I know, shocking right!?  We went in expecting to take away 6 bottles and instead walked away with 9.  Seems like that always happens to us :)    We also attended Savor Southern Oregon, which was held on a delightfully sunny and hot Portland afternoon in Director's Park.  What a great turn out.  The food was tastey  and it was lovely to try wine from more of Southern Oregon's vineyards.  However, I would say that at some points the music was far too loud, and I am still confused as to why there was a coffee roaster there (coffee screws up your tasters!).  We snagged  bottles of  Delfino's 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, Cowhorn's 2010 Grenache58, Melrose's 2008 Baco Noir, Cliff Creek Cellar's 2006 Claret and 2006 Syrah, and Agate Ridge Vineyard's 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon.  Don't worry, I will be publishing reviews of all of the aforementioned wines, as B and I have drank all but two of the bottles we purchased that afternoon thus far.  I also joined Cliff Creek Cellar's wine club at Savor Southern Oregon and have had my first shipment from them as well (reviews to follow)!  October is here, which means Trader Joe's is stocking their shelves with some interesting inexpensive wines around this time of year.  I have (of course) been stocking up on said wines, and I will report back.  

Anyhow, I'm glad to be back typing my fingers off :)  More soon!

xxoo,
kegw

TeSoAria 2010 Syrah

Its a slightly gloomy day here in Portland, OR and in honor of the coming Autumn B really wanted to open a delicious dark red.  We went over to the old wine rack and spent some time debating what to open.  After careful consideration we chose to open one of our bottles of 2010 TeSoAria Syrah.  YAY!  

This syrah is a deep purple-ish red.  In fact, it is difficult to see through the glass because this '10 syrah is so dark.  Which I know deep dark reds are always my favorite. In doing my favorite 'swirly test' (as I like to call it) this '10 syrah revealed thin fast running legs.  

The TeSoAria 2010 Syrah has a very enticing aroma.  I smell tobacco, blackberries and spice.  B mentions that he smells pepper, which I think he does because that is what he is hoping to taste :) However, B was speaking with the wine maker and learned a fun fact about the syrah grapes.  TeSoAria's wine maker went to another grape grower to potentially purchase the syrah grapes used in his syrahs. Evidently, when the wine maker got out to the fields to inspect the grapes, he could smell the pepper from the syrah grapes and knew he wanted to purchase the grapes.  Anyhow, this syrah starts off pretty creamy with hints of raspberry and chocolate.  Mid pallet this wine explodes with an earthy blend of pepper and plum but finishes delightfully dry.  B says its good to the last drop and I whole heartily agree.

If you like syrah, you should definitely give this one a try.  

http://tesoaria.com/index.html

xoxo,

kegw

Patton Valley Vineyard 2010 Pinot Noir

Just enjoying a lovely evening with Winona, her husband (AKA J), and B.  Cracked a bottle of Patton Valley pinot and really enjoying the spice on this pinot.  Smells like blackberry, chestnuts and tobacco.  Front pallet bursts with fruit.  Mid pallet is enticingly spicy. This pinot finishes with a delightful tannin which Winona and I both appreciate.

Cheers!!

Vercingetorix Vineyard

B and I found ourselves in Newberg, OR two weekends ago and decided to hit up some vineyards for tastings.  We wanted to taste at vineyards we hadn't been to before and our first stop was Vercingetorix Vineyard AKA VX (http://www.vxvineyard.com/).  VX is located on Corral Creek Road just off of Hwy 99.  The grounds are gorgeous and you really feel like you are out in the country almost in your own oasis there.  VX only offers pinots so, if you don't like Oregon pinots don't go there :) 

On this particular day, VX was offering 5 different pinots to taste; pinot blanc, pinot gris, '09 pinot noir, '08 reserve pinot noir, and their '09 cuvee.  

The pinot blanc was far too sweet for my pallet.  Unfortunately I could not finish my glass.  This pinot blanc smelled like grapefruit and seemed extremely oakey, but the wine steward said the wine was not aged in oak barrels.  I was thinking perhaps it was cured with oak chips in the barrel...IDK.   B seemed to like it, but mentioned that he would not purchase a bottle.

The pinot gris was also too sweet for my pallet.  To me, the pinot gris tasted like strawberries and nothing else.  Unfortunately, it was an overwhelming taste.  In my wine notes, I mention that if I was already drunk, I would drink this wine on a hot day...as so long as it was served cold. 

The 2009 pinot noir unfortunately smelled like alcohol.  The '09 pinot was a light, light burgundy ...almost a bright ruby color.  To me, it tasted really dry, and I think it should sit another 2 to 3 years before it's okay to drink.

The reserve 2008 pinot noir was a very pretty burgundy color and smelled like chestnuts and boysenberries.  It was (for me) surprisingly medium bodied.  It had this amazing mid-pallet burst of bold flavors, but it quickly fizzled into a flat taste... no bueno.   

Finally, the 2009 Cuvee is made from three different pinot grapes and seemed black cherry in color.  The cuvee smelled like spice... my fav :) It tasted kinda crazy; like nothing I have tasted before. It was tarte to start and oddly sweet mid pallet, and unfortunately finished very sweet.  It was burst of concord grape, blueberry and bing cherry.  I am sorry to say it was too much fruit for me, and a very hard taste for me to adjust to. 

This all being said, if you like sweet whites and reds, definitely go visit Vercingetorix Vineyard.  I will be back here in about two years to re-try all of their offerings.  

xoxo,
kegw 

Erath Winery 2011 Oregon Pinot Gris

Erath in my fridge :)

Erath Winery (http://www.erath.com/) produces one of my all time favorite pinot gris'.  I love the 2009, 2010 and 2011 pinot gris'.  They are all just crisp, fruit forward, and not sweet.  The 2011 is my go-to hot day/night delightful refreshment.  Luckily you can find this wine at most grocery stores in Oregon and anywhere from $9.99 to $11.99 (cheaper end of the spectrum usually found at Trader Joe's).  At 13.0% AbC this gris packs a punch...

Erath 2011 Oregon pinot gris smells like melon (which I ironically hate), pear and a bit of apple.  To me, it is a very front pallet wine.  As soon as it enters your mouth it bursts with fruit (pear, apple, even a hint of citrus).  Then mid-pallet it becomes buttery and then quickly dry.  I enjoyed this bottle with some BBQ chicken, roasted corn and a giant green salad, and it really went well.  I could see this bottle making any seafood dish shine.  Honestly, I could see this bottle going well with most meals (aside from steak dinner).  

For those of you who do not know, I LOVE  red wine, and do not love white wine because most are too sweet and buttery for my taste.  This pinot gris is not sweet and my pallet truly enjoys it :) Like I said, there is a mid-pallet taste of butter, but it finishes seductively dry.  For those of you who feel the same as I do about sweet white wines, please try this pinot gris, and tell me what you think.

Until next time...

xoxo,
kegw

Mark Ryan Winery 2010 The Dissident

I was in Auburn, Washington this August visiting my sister for her bridal shower.  Her MOH set up a wine tasting afternoon at Vino at the Landing in Renton, Washington (http://www.vinoatthelanding.com/home).  The space was lovely, the hors d'oeuvers even lovelier, and the company out of this world.  We sampled many different Columbia Valley wines and at the end I ended up taking home three different bottles I found in Vino's tasting area.  One which I have been particularly itching to try is Mark Ryan's 2010 The Dissident (Mark Ryan Winery - http://www.markryanwinery.com/index.php).  I believe the bottle was around $30.  It was recommended (even though I had never tried it) and the blend alone was my sole purpose for purchasing this bottle.  Okay here goes, this bottle has the following grapes in it:

Syrah (30%)
Cabernet Sauvignon (24%)
Merlot (22%)
Cabernet Franc (7%)
Malbec (6%)
Petit Verdot (5%)

I opened it this evening and holy buckets!  The color is an extremely dark, rich plum color and its 14.6% alcohol.  It smells like blackberry, tobacco and spice.  The Dissident has fast forming, long and skinny legs which disappear almost as soon as they're formed.  It starts very 
tart, almost a combination of raspberries and black pepper.  Then unfolds into this glorious full  and rich combination of spice, fruit and even vanilla.  Finishes with a mid level tannin - *LOVE*.  

Oh its lovely for a full-bodied-wine drinker like myself to experience this extreme blend.  Just reminds me that Autumn is around the corner and I am definitely going to want more bottles of this in my cellar.  I am hoping to go up and visit the new tasting room in Woodinville, Washington soon and pick up some more treats.

xoxo,
kegw