Author: robywine, norm roby

My career as a wine journalist/critic began in 1975 when my article about California Petite Sirah was published. My focus remained on California as I edited a monthly wine magazine and then moved on to The Wine Spectator in 1982. Over the following years, my column appeared under the banner of “Stormin’ Norman, and I also wrote articles about wine collectors and wine auctions. Without getting into a year by year bio, let me try to summarize here. During my time with The Spectator which I enjoyed immensely, I taught wine classes at a culinary school and at other venues in San Francisco. Before venturing into wine, teaching was my thing, English Lit and Rhetoric. After The Spectator I was the U.S. Contributor to Decanter Magazine, writing mostly about California, but also expanding into Washington State and Oregon. My Decanter years began in 1992 and after buying a summer home in France in 2000, I traveled throughout France and eventually published articles about St. Emilion, Castillon, Bergerac, Minervois, Roussillon, Luberon, Provence, and Alsace. Also, around 2000, my wife began working for Cousino-Macul in Chile, so we tasted and traveled our way through Chile and, of course, managed to fly over the Andes and explore and taste our way through Argentina. As travel lovers, we have also spent many interesting days visiting the wine regions of Spain, Italy, Portugal, Scicily, Greece, and New Zealand. And to come to a close, I was Director of Winesong, a Charity Wine Auction for 20 years, 1992-2000 that benefitted a local hospital. That brought me in contact with wine collectors and to the auction scene. And finally, I co-authored a book, The Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine published by Alfred A. Knopf. It went through 4 editions and sold over 500.000 copies.

Exploring Oregon’s Other Pinot

As a judge at the most recent Oregon Wine Experience and having closely followed Oregon and Northwest wines over the last two years, one thing I’ve discovered is that Oregon is successful with a wide range of wines other than Pinot Noir. Some of the most exciting Tempranillo, Malbec, Syrah and Viognier are being produced around the State. Oh, yes, the Rhone and other blends can also be outstanding. 

And then there are the rock sold and widely available Pinot Gris grown successfully in every sub-region. The list of top wineries includes King Estate, Ponzi, Elk Cove, Chehalem. Panther Creek, Eyrie, Earth, Ruestle, Brandborg, Iris, Solena, and on and on. The best Pinot Gris are highly versatile, food-centric wines that can be enjoyed year round and they should be a candidate for your go-to white. 

Why are they still relatively unknown? Pinot Gris is the second most widely planted variety in Oregon, and after a decade of steady growth, it is the leading white grape today, way ahead of Chardonnay. Yet Oregon Chardonnay gets more press largely because Pinot Gris’ reputation is tangled up with its namesake, Pinot Grigio. 

Not trying to start an argument here but Pinot Grigio is a name most wine drinkers associate with inexpensive, light and often slightly sweet white wines from Italy. And, okay, a few from Alto Adige are dry finished and quite good but also a few from California are watery thin supermarket bottlings. 

Gris or Grigio: the Gray Area

Any effort to wine-splain the difference between wines labeled Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio leads to a rabbit hole of confusion and misinformation. Don’t believe that? Well, just Google the simple question: What’s the difference between Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris, and you get this as the first entry: “Pinot grigio, undoubtedly the most popular of the two, is lighter-bodied, crisp, clean, and vibrant with citrus flavors, according to Wine Spectator. Pinot gris, on the other hand, is sweet, and has spicy tropical fruit aromas. It generally has low acidity, higher alcohol levels, and a rich texture.”  

OMG! Where to start?  Well bad English (more, not “most”) but really this is a generalization that is totally misleading, useless, and, well, just wrong. No wonder then that  promoting Pinot Gris has long been an uphill battle for those involved.  

So it came as only a slight surprise to visit the Willamette Valley Winery Association’s homepage and be greeted with this bold heading: “We are Pinot Noir.”  No ambiguity there, and most of the website’s content focuses on Pinot Noir as the region’s signature wine.  It is, of course, but maybe Pinot Gris merits some attention since there are more than 5,000 acres planted and well over 100 wineries produce Pinot Gris.

The Journey

My interest in Pinot Gris began during an early one on one meeting with David Lett of Eyrie Vineyard. Though known today as one of the pioneers behind Oregon Pinot Noir, Lett was keen on showing me his first vintages of Eyrie Pinot Gris. He was convinced it was Oregon’s white of  the future, not Riesling, not Chardonnay. And the quality of his first vintage was as convincing as his enthusiasm. And his inaugural vintage was labeled “Pinot Gris.” That is the name used throughout Oregon today.

A few years later I was invited to visit the new and much talked about King Estate in Eugene, Oregon and was reintroduced to Pinot Gris along with Pinot Noir made from several Dijon clones.

Both encounters convinced me that Pinot Gris deserves to be taken as a serious white, neither a minor mutation nor a grape for cheap bulk wine. And that eventually led me to Alsace. Visiting the region to research a touring article later published in Decanter Magazine I left with no doubt that Pinot Gris can be a complex, intriguing and, in some cases, age worthy wine.  

My follow up article in Wines & Vines focused on the widely varying styles of Alsatian Pinot Gris  with so many off-dry, sweet finished versions, various Grand Cru bottlings, and many late harvest. Many of the leading winemakers insisted on showing their Gewurztraminer and late harvest Rieslings. But the dry versions of Pinot Gris  from Ostertag, JosMeyer, Kreydenweiss, Domaine Paul Blanck, Bott Freres, and Zind-Humbrecht were a whole different story. Yet not that well-known even in Alsace. I remember being “schooled” by a waiter in one of Alsace’s fine restaurants when I asked for a dry Pinot Gris. The answer was simple: “If you want a dry white, select a Riesling.”

If there’s such confusion in Alsace, then it is understandable why Pinot Gris grown elsewhere has yet to be fully understood and appreciated. Then too you factor in the boatloads of Pinot Grigio and the way the trade, especially restaurants, list the imported Pinot Grigios and  Pinot Gris as one wine, and the problem is compounded. 

So to get a handle on what’s the present status and future prospects of  Pinot Gris in Oregon, I decided to explore the latest offerings from King Estate. Afterall, King Estate has been working with it for 30 vintages and has become practically synonymous with Oregon Pinot Gris. When I contacted Ed King, he concluded our conversation with this overview:  

“I have seen the “death” of Pinot Gris in Oregon announced at least twice, as well as the advent of Chardonnay in Oregon at least three times.  And yet, by far, Pinot Gris is the most successful white wine in Oregon.”

Still family owned, King Estate was founded in 1991 and now has 465 acres planted in what is “the largest certified Biodynamic vineyard in the U.S. Pinot Gris accounts for 314 acres. 

While the winery has expanded and is highly successful with Pinot Noir, it remains firmly committed to Pinot Gris. One of the largest producers of Pinot Gris, the King family did not want to risk its reputation or take a step backward with Pinot Gris from the smoke prone 2020 vintage. So not one bottle of 2020 Pinot Gris was sold. 

That’s a major decision because in the 2021 vintage, King Estate produced over 100,000 cases of Pinot Gris!

My notes on the currently available King Pinot Gris:

King Estate Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley 2021 $19.

If this is the basic benchmark of Oregon Pinot Gris and the winery’s flagship, this is one amazing wine setting a high standard! 92-93 points.

Over half of the grapes for this wine are from the estate with the remainder from several independent vineyards, all following sustainable practices. This 2021 tends toward a ripe fruit, mouth filling style that can be enjoyed as an aperitif or as a first course companion.  Showing a little bronze tint, it offers plenty of ripe melon fruit with some honeysuckle, peach and jasmine in both its aromas and flavors.  Remarkably fleshy and rich on the palate, its lush fruit and citrus personality persists and concludes with a pleasing touch of acidity in the aftertaste. This is a terrific all-purpose, versatile white with tons of character.

2019 King Estate Pinot Gris “Domaine,” Willamette Valley  $30

 Made 100% from King’s estate vineyard, this Domaine is a food-centric version that can be paired with whatever you usually match with Chardonnay. 94-95 points

Stainless steel fermented and aged 6 months on the lees, it is straw colored and  opens with bright aromas of melon, lime, and citrus that lead to a medium-bodied, generous palate. It continues with lively, crisp flavors of meyer lemon and grapefruit. Its persistent acidity keeps it on course leading to a lovely finish. With its vibrant melon fruit and touch of lime, this is a  smoothly textured well-structured wine held together by brisk acidity. A wine to drink now but it also has good aging potential. 

A selection of the best small lots assembled by the winemaker. “Backbone” is an incredible, rich, beautiful example. 95 points 

King Estate Willamette Valley “Backbone” Pinot Gris 2019 $ 28

Made from selected blocks as a winemaker’s cuvee, the 2019 “Backbone” consists of 41% estate grown fruit with the remainder from 4 neighboring, compatible vineyards.  The lots are whole cluster pressed and cold fermented in stainless steel. The wine was then aged 5 months on the lees with periodic lees stirring. Medium full bodied, this wine is brisk and concentrated with youthful aromas and flavors of fresh cut melon with tangerine and a hint of minerality. Much like the “Domaine” bottling, this wine also offers a lovely, smooth rich texture leading up to its palate cleansing, long finish. Enjoyable now and very food-centric, it has all it needs to age gracefully over the next several years. 500 cases made.

King Estate Willamette Valley (Oregon) “Paradox” Pinot Gris 2019 $35

Pinot Gris and oak Aging. Fascinating, but while oak is added, the overall impression is that the best features of Pinot Gris are compromised. 92 points

This tiny production (100 cases) is part of an ongoing experimental program. 100% estate grown, Paradox refers to the fact this is oak aged by a winery that has long championed un-oaked Pinot Gris. It was aged in new French oak for 3 months, followed by aging on the lees for 5 months. Straw yellow in color, it needed time to open. But soon displayed a melange of baked apple, lemon, vanilla and light oak toast. Medium full bodied, it is concentrated in flavors with lemon curd, apple fruit, and some yeastiness in equal parts. Tightly structured, it finishes long with good acidity to accompany the light touch of oak. Well, definitely different, and well made and attractive. I prefer the other 3 with no oak aging. 

There you have it. Pinot Gris is well-worth exploring.

Top 7 Wineries to Follow for Holiday Wine Sales

Now that Black Friday, Cyber Monday and sales before and after have finally ended, let’s review what happened. And, better yet, let’s apply what we learned to improve our savvy shopping skills.

Now, more than before, I encourage people to buy direct from smaller wineries rather than from online retailers, supermarkets and subscription box companies. But of course, that is a real option only when prices are attractive and shipping costs are sometimes cheaper than a gallon of gas. Happy to note many wineries are working hard to make that happen.

5 Reasons for Going Winery Direct for Holiday Sales

First, and this is big: you don’t have to join a club. No contracts!  Offers for non-members are usually at a slightly lower discount. But not always.

Shipping costs are attractive, ranging from $1 a case to $20. (A case normally ships for $40-ish)

Discounts often start at 20% and range up to 50% and higher

The wines are authentic, not custom made, cutesy labeled stuff from virtual wineries.

Many of these wines are not widely available, not supermarket wines from a giant corporation. Better yet, they are new releases, not old wines stored in some warehouse collecting dust and getting old.

The following real example beautifully demonstrates all 5 key points. Last November, Navarro Vineyards in the Anderson Valley made a special, timed sales offer. Here it is: “Navarro’s six-bottle Black Friday Sampler is only available through Monday, November 29, or until the sampler is sold out. You can also add six bottles of any Navarro wine or non-alcoholic juice of your choice and the twelve bottles will qualify for One-Cent shipping. 

 For those unfamiliar with Navarro wines, you need only to look over its reviews in the winereviewonline.com database. There, you’ll see the many high (94+) ratings from numerous critics, and notice that even its Roses have been rated in the mid-90s!

Another reason for mentioning Navarro first is that it was, along with Ridge Vineyards, offering wines direct to customers on a mailing list in the 1980s. It served as the model when other wineries ventured into direct sales.

Wineries willing to offer free shipping as part of a special sale or an attractive flat rate opened the door wider to buying wines direct. And, many like the folks at Tank Garage in Napa Valley,  make it easy: “Need to get your hands on cool wines from Tank Garage Winery? Whether you’re shopping gifts for the season or stocking your cellar for days to come, we’ve got you covered with $1 shipping on any order, all weekend long. No code is necessary, this rad deal applies automatically at checkout.”

Even a flat rate of $10 for 6 bottles or $5 for a case is attractive when you remember a case of wine normally ships for around $40.

Top 10 Wineries to Follow for Holiday Wine Sales

Rather than suggesting everyone now randomly subscribe to a bunch of wineries, I will list a few that have a proven track record and are known to offer special holiday deals during the year.

Navarro Vineyards: See the example above. A great source of Pinot Noir and also a wide range of small batch wines.  www.navarrovineyards.com

Clos LaChance: This family owned beautiful Santa Clara winery often offers super deals (like 50% off) of its Sauvignon Blanc, Pirates blend Rhone, and Meritage. It also makes a fine Cabernet Sauvignon. Good shipping deals.  www.clos.com

Trentadue Vineyards: Rock solid winery in Alexander Valley frequently offers one day Holiday sales. Look for “La Storia” wines, its high end line. But also  don’t pass by its Zinfandel or Sauvignon Blanc. Trentadue makes one of the finest Petite Sirahs. Good shipping rates. www.trentadue.com

Fritz Winery, also in the Alexander Valley, often offers a case of Fritz wines with $1 case shipping. The 2018 Estate Dry Creek Zin and 2019 Russian River Chardonnay are its top rated wines. http://www.fritzwinery.com

Testarossa Vineyards: The best kept secret for fabulous Pinot Noir. Look for discounted prices and free shipping on 3 or more bottles. Also the Chardonnays are exceptional. http://www.testarossa.com

Tooth & Nail Winery: Looking for something totally different and unconventional? With Tooth & Nail, one of my recent favorite discoveries, signing up for email alerts gets you a 15% discount. Frequent holiday specials are at 20% off with free shipping on orders of $50 or more. This Paso Robles winery offers wildly creative reds and whites and  all have rated in the 90s. Great Rose, Rhone blends, and Cabernets with labels that literally sing for you. But that’s another story.

www.toothandnailwine.com

Ponzi Vineyards: This proven Willamette Valley pioneer caught my attention with its major sale of a Pinot Noir Rose…and free shipping on 6 or more bottles. Key an eye on this site www.ponzivineyards.com

Wine Steal of the Day

2019 Omen Syrah-Viognier Element 79 Single Vineyard Limited Edition Fairplay El Dorado

Offered by http://www.wineaccess.com

2019 Element 79 Omen Syrah-Viognier, El Dorado $19.99

Lovers of Syrah and Rhone wines should take advantage of this great offer. Omen is a label of Atlas Wine Company, and this wine was made by Alex Remy.

Alex is one of California’s rising star winemakers.

He has been working with grapes grown by Element 79 over the last several vintages.

Element 79 Vineyards, family owned, has also been making outstanding Rhone wines in recent vintages.

This is a classic Rhone red, made from 82% Syrah, 18% Viognier.

The vineyard sits at high elevation in El Dorado, part of the Sierra Foothills. 

The site is ideal for Syrah and other Rhones.

I absolutely love Element 79’s 2017 Syrah. See my detailed review and rating at winereviewonline.com

While there, read the article about El Dorado wines.

Wineaccess.com is offering it at $19.99, half off. 60% off by the case.

I’ve reviewed wineaccess and purchased from them.

 They are reliable. But they tend to over-hype. 

But this wine deserves all the accolades.

For the Record: I’m doing this for fun. 

Nobody’s paying or bribing me.

Act fast and

Thank me later.

also check out the winery at

http://www.element79vineyards.com

50  Years in Pursuit of a Dream

A 50th Anniversary is a big deal not only for couples and businesses but also for California wineries. Throughout 2021, neither fires, pandemics nor earthquakes prevented two dozen wineries from celebrating their 50th harvest. While those special events were low key by necessity, celebrations can now be more festive this year and next.

As I sip its delicious 2021 Fume Blanc, Dry Creek Vineyards, a member of the Class of 1972, was the first to remind me it has good reason to recognize the accomplishments of Dave Stare and his family.

Milestones tend to be ignored or pushed into the background when the current issues are major ones like smoke taint, climate change and pandemics. Nevertheless, the class of 1972 brought us many exciting new wineries and the class of 1973 was ever bigger. Fifty years pale when compared to Old World wine history, but what happened in 1972 and ‘73  signaled the beginning of the small winery proliferation which dramatically changed California wine.

A look back at these early start-ups, to use the current term, helps us better understand California wine. And why starting a winery is so wrapped up in the California dream even today. It began in Napa and spilled over into Sonoma and Mendocino in the 70s and continued to Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, and the Sierra Foothills during the1980s and 90s. 

Yes, I’m aware there were pre-1972 small wineries like Stony Hill, Mayacamas, Hanzell, Heitz and Martin Ray, but from 72 on, the newcomers were more numerous and shared one thing in common.

Members of the class of  72 and 73 were for the most part outsiders making life-altering career choices. In one of those “road not taken moments,” they decided to take the plunge, pursue their dream, to follow their bliss as a result of a whim, an epiphany or maybe after too much fine wine the night before. 

And these newbies in the early 70s opened the door widely for others with no wine heritage. My random survey of those two years reveals many founders were doctors, lawyers, and engineers.  But the backgrounds vary widely to include bankers, teachers, wine merchants, airline pilots and artists. One was a geologist; another a private investigator. A few, like Jack and Mary Novak of Spottswoode, simply wanted to retire to a rural retreat.

The Anniversary Gang & Where They Came From

Burgess Cellars: Retired airline pilot

Chateau Montelena: Jim Barrett, lawyer  

Carneros Creek Vineyards: wine retailer

Cakebread Cellars: photographer & auto repair

Diamond Creek: pharmaceutical salesman

Franciscan: Justin Meyer, defrocked Christian Brother 

Joseph Phelps Vineyard: Building contractor/developer

Rutherford Hill : lawyers and grape growers

Silver Oak: Ray Duncan, contractor from Colorado

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars: Political Science professor from Chicago 

Stags’ Leap Winery: Restaurant owner, property developer

Stonegate Winery: Teacher

Trefethen Vineyards: Executive from Kaiser Industries

Jordan Vineyards: Oil explorer from Colorado

Dry Creek Vineyards: MIT grad, civil engineer

Hoffman Mountain Ranch—Stanley Hoffman, medical doctor

Montevina Vineyards: Banker

Edmeades Vineyards: Cardiologist from Pasadena

Enz Vineyards: engineer

Lazy Creek Vineyards: restaurant worker

Of course, some had deep pockets, the cliched “Rich Americans.”  The old saying was that “If you want to make a million in the wine biz, you have to start with 2 million.” Sure there were people like Tom Jordan, the wealthy Colorado oil executive, who built a replica of a French chateau in 1973, but there were also many more like Hans Kobler, a San Francisco maitre d’ who bought an old barn in Anderson Valley in 1973 and commuted while developing  Lazy Creek Vineyards in Mendocino.

The who is one part of the story, but the why, the motive for changing careers, is also telling.  The two primary figures in the Judgment of Paris were both newbies. Chateau Montelena’s founder, Jim Barrett, was a Los Angeles based real estate lawyer. With an expanded business and staff, he was seeking a retreat, a getaway from LaLa land. Warren Winiarski of Stags Leap said he had an epiphany over a glass of wine.  Winiarski, the University of Chicago professor, was drawn to the rural lifestyle and in 1964 packed up his family and drove the station wagon to Napa.

Barrett got a good deal on a historic dilapidated chateau. Winiarski studied wine and once in Napa, was hired to perform basic tasks like cleaning tanks and barrels and doing lab analysis at Souverain Cellars. During an interview with Lee Stewart, Souverain’s founder, he mentioned he had hired both Warren and Mike Grich to work in his lab. And, neither when they began, he noted, knew how to titrate acidity.

But they help define the two pathways to fulfilling the dream. Those with money, build a chateau or remodel an ancient one and hire people.Those who don’t have the bucks, , start from the bottom, gain cellar experience and/or take classes.

Jack Cakebread is a favorite example of the “anyone can” own a winery. Assigned as a semi-professional photographer to illustrate Napa wineries for a book, he fell in love with the lifestyle. Meeting an owner, on a lark he said, “if you ever want to sell.”  They did, and Jack then used his $2500 photography commission as a down payment on the land for Cakebread Cellars. For the first several years, he kept his day job running the family’s auto repair shop in Oakland.

Whatever career the startups abandoned in the 70s, the common denominator was a lack of winemaking tradition. Caymus Vineyards and Raymond Vineyards were exceptions, started by people who knew how to prune a vine and drive a tractor. Clos du Val had a French winemaking connection, and two of Freemark Abby’s partners owned vineyards. 

Neither Normal nor Logical

The upside for the others is without being tradition-bound, anything goes. Lacking preconceptions they can think out of the box.  Winiarski bet the farm on a sub-region called Stags Leap. MIT grad, Dave Stare of Dry Creek Vineyards converted a prune orchard to focus on Fume Blanc.  Rich Sanford returned from a Naval stint in Viet Nam, studied Santa Barbara’s unusual geography, borrowed money to plant one acre and is now commonly referred to as the “Godfather of Central Coast Pinot Noir.”  A pharmaceutical wholesaler from Los Angeles, Al Brounstein of Diamond Creek Vineyards made not one, but 4 vineyard-specific Cabernets from his mountain vineyards. None of these focuses could be defined as normal.

This free 70s spirit of going against the grain carries over into today’s wine scene. While no denying that California wine production is dominated by the top 3 or 4 wine companies/corporations, over 80% of today’s  4,775 wineries make under 5,000 cases annually and 95% of Napa’s wineries are family owned.

And career-changers still lead the way.  Napa’s ultra high tech Palmaz Vineyard was founded in 1997 by Dr. Julio Palmaz from Argentina who among other things developed the balloon-expanding coronary stent. Yes, “the” stent.

Don’t know what it is about photographers, but Aperture Cellars in Alexander Valley, recently bursting on the scene, was founded by Andy Katz, a famous photographer. 

But not all bring such fame and fortune. Typifying the other side is Jeff Fadness of La Vie Dansante in Gilroy. He’s had several careers, speaks several languages and after leaving the corporate world to take a year off wrote: “To be clear, I never meant to own a winery, swore I wouldn’t in fact – that would be stupid.” But as it happens somehow by 2015, “Suddenly, against all odds, I own a winery.” And, he makes excellent wines, especially Rhones.

Since 2015, 100 or more new wineries have started up each year led by career changers reinventing themselves. 

Raising a Toast

So to those members of the class of 1972 who went against all odds and are organizing their 50th anniversary events, I think it’s time for the rest of us to remember what got them into the wine world, to think about their achievements, and of course to raise a glass in their honor.

 Dry Creek Vineyards and founder Dave Stare are my favorite examples of this can-do spirit. 

Why would a graduate of MIT and a devout sailor raised on the East Coast be drawn to the unknown Sonoma County region, the Dry Creek Valley and focus on Fume Blanc, still not widely known in 1972? 

He also has a degree in Business, so none of this makes sense. 

Once when visiting Chile in 1993, my wife. Ginny,  and I had ventured way south to a tiny resort town. There we bumped into a young honeymooning couple, both in a D.C.  law school. After a brief exchange and a second Pisco Sour, they said their dream was to make a lot of money as lawyers, then quit and start a winery in Napa. And it wasn’t just the Pisco talking! 

Yes, it is nuts! While most young people in France or Italy want nothing to do with the family vineyard, it was and remains a part of the California dreaming attitude. The winery dream is often a shared dream, a couple turning their backs on the material world and enjoying a Folie a Deux. 

A shared fantasy; that was one of the best names ever for a Napa Winery. And the owners of Folie A Deux,  the Dizmangs, Eva and Larry, were both shrinks who lived the dream for about 20 years, then gladly sold the winery in 1995.  But they did it! They lived the Dream.

Special Spring Sales Alert

A truly exciting winery is having a sale now until this Sunday.

You can buy wines at prices that are normally “members only” so you can first select some exciting wines to sample. And then also through these wines, consider joining the club.

And THE winery is: Tooth & Nail Winery

www.toothandnailwine.com

Based in Paso Robles, this oddly named winery offers several types of wines under 4 different brand names:

Tooth & Nail: Creative, unconventional wines with unusual names and stunning labels. For example, “The Fragrant Snare” brings together Chardonnay, Albarino, and Viognier.

Amor Fati: Syrah, Grenache, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, all from cool climates.

For me, these 4 were love at first taste. All scored 92 points or higher. See reviews at 

http://www.winereviewonline.com

 Stasis: Pinot Noir from Santa Maria and a Viognier. Both excellent.

Destinata: Drink now, no fanfare Chenin Blanc, Riesling, and Syrah. All good. All fun. Especially the drink-now style Syrah. The dry Riesling and Chenin will surprise you.

Bundles: special packages at 20% off prices. 

There’s a Pure Bliss” bundle and a” Once in A Lifetime” bundle you should check out.

BTW: the labels are so artsy, so creative, and so collectible!

You can see my wine reviews at winereviewonline.com and better understand my enthusiasm.

Who’s Behind these Wines?

Rob Murray is the owner. After making Rabble Wine a raving success, he sold it to start Tooth & Nail. With Rabble, he was the first to use augmented reality technology in wine labeling, thereby injecting a sense of movement and play onto a bottle of wine. When it comes to label artwork and design, he is far ahead of everyone.

Winemaker Jeremy Leffert’s motto is: “Pour now. Live for today.” He has a degree in Environmental Science and later studied at Cal Poly. At Tooth & Nail, Jeremy leans toward the philosophical and is ever alert to avoid “the dominance of the winemaker’s hand.” With that in mind, he views himself as a shepherd as much as a maker.

Wait! A winemaker without a BIG ego? Not puffed up about high scores, not an icon or living legend? Just a highly skilled professional.

As a wine club, Tooth & Nail not only meets but nails it by exceeding my 4 very demanding standards:

1.High quality wines

2. Wide variety of wines, unusual wines, and wines at all price points

3. Membership has real value, VIP, being part of cutting edge thinking, something trending

4. Fun

Well, the “fun” requirement eliminates about 90% of all winery wine clubs, the snobby places with way over the top prices.

Also those wineries where members feel pressure to buy or else get dropped. And those with the weekend traffic and the crowds? 

So  hello Paso Robles, the home to high quality wineries owned by crazy, gifted, fun loving, creative, enthusiastic and, well, nice people.

And one more major thing, this winery is within reach of TinCity, home to dozens of other wineries, a few artisan breweries, and a food vendor or two. Yes, part of a wine destination!!

Best Websites for Savvy Wine Shoppers in 2022

Let the Countdown Begin

Now that Spring has arrived and we can look back on all those wild sales from Thanksgiving to St. Patrick’s Day, this an ideal time to review what has happened over the last year in the fast-changing world of online wine sellers. 

It’s also Academy Awards time, with its ongoing chatter and debate about the best of this and that sets the tone for this post. I’ll be shining the spotlight on several wine webites that stood out and performed well over the last year.

As most of you know, I’m not a fan of subscription boxes since you can find better wines at better prices if you do a little research. Nakedwine, Vinesse, and Firstleaf seem to make many people content. But those are not my kind of  wine-loving people.

Much like the selections for best movies, actors, and whatever, selecting the best sites for serious wine shopping also has to be broken down into categories. 

For one stop shopping, the big retail guys like wine.com, wineExpress.com and cinderellawines.com maintained their positions over the last year as reliable and only occasionally exciting. 

Taking our cue from the Oscars, we are spotlighting the best websites in specific categories.

In the Best of “Curated Selection” category, the nomination for the best website for red wines is invino.com. Since the present partners took over in 2019, it is often my go to place for red wines. 

www.invino.com 

“Curated” is overused by so many others, but it applies perfectly to the wines offered at this site. Based in the town of Napa, it lists around 100 wines at any one time. But they reflect excellent choices that are not available elsewhere.  

If you prefer red wines, then this is the site for you. It is particularly good with Napa reds and carries such proven Cabernet wineries as Luna, Von Strasser, and Clark-Claudon. From Bordeaux, it now has very attractive red Graves for around $20 and a lovely 2018 Bordeaux for $9.95. Then there’s the rarely seen red wines from Betz Family, Ken Wright and School House Vineyard. The selections from Argentina, Spain, and Italy are also inviting and unusual.

An exciting list of red blends confirm these guys work hard to offer values, and many good deals are priced below $25 a bottle. A highly rated Dolum Estate Napa Cabernet was offered recently at 60% off and a Sonoma Coast Pinot for $23.95.  

If you buy wines based on ratings, then even here you can look over a collection of 94+ rated wines under $40. Many exciting wines and several are deeply discounted, such as a first rate 2016 Chateauneuf-du-Pape and 2016 Pomerol Château Croix-des-Rouzes. 

While a few other sites have recently offered Frisson Napa Cabernet, invino.com came up with a special deal on Frisson magnums at 50% off and free shipping on orders of 2 or more.

Pros:

Authentic wines, not custom made, private labels

Strengths are in wines from Napa, Spain, France, and Argentina with frequent surprises from other California regions..

No crazy BS write ups about the latest cult wine from icons and  rockstar winemakers

And, best of all, discounts of 50%-60%

 Shipping rates vary but always seem fair and based upon sales price.

Cons:

Not really a negative, but it is somewhat limited by appealing primarily to serious, well-informed, and somewhat adventurous wine lovers.

16 Wines Under $16: Deal of the Day

http://www.cawineclub.com  just announced a real serious sales. Here’s what you should know.

Specializing in small, family owned producers, this wine club is one of the oldest and is time proven, rock solid reliable.

Headquartered in California’s Central Coast, it is a website to follow if you are a fan of wines from Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo. But it is also good at selecting wines from Sonoma, Napa, Lodi and other prime regions.

It is not flashy, and avoids the razzle-dazzle over hyped sales pitches so common with other sites. Dare I say “professional”?

Right now, it is offering $1 case shipping  and has organized the sale as 16 wines for less than $16 a bottle.

Proven names are part of the deal such as Fess Parker (Grenache Blanc), Pedroncelli (Zinfandel) and 3 excellent wines from one of my favorite wineries, Clos LaChance. 

I am a fan of the Clos LaChance Sauvignon Blanc ($14.99) and 2019 Estate Meritage ($14.99). 

Dancing Coyote, based in Lodi,  also makes one of the finest Chenin Blancs, offered for $15.99  

Chardonnays lovers can check out the 7 different ones in this sale. I suggest the 2020 Rancheria Cellars, on sale for $12.99.

With $1 case shipping and 16 discounted wines to consider, you can build a case that will make you proud of being a savvy wine shopper. See it at http://www.cawineclub.com

the details: $1 Shipping Wine Sale ends on March 31, 2022. Prices listed online are per bottle.  Half, full, and/or mixed cases all ship via ground for $1 to most states. Final order must be in increments of 6 or 12 bottles. Some restrictions may apply. Must be 21+ to order.

El Dorado Wines: Checking All the Terroir Boxes

El Dorado wines: A Case Study in Terroir

In 1988, Steve Edmunds, one of the original Rhone Rangers, was looking for new sources of Mourvedre and Syrah for his Edmunds St. John winery. He was referred to Richard Bush, owner of El Dorado County’s pioneering Madrona Vineyards, who introduced him to a nearby grower. And soon Edmunds St. John was making an El Dorado Syrah. It was and remains one of the finest. More recently, his Edmunds St. John Gamay from El Dorado is a beauty.

Steve, who was responsible for the clever Rhone Ranger designation, summarized his experiences: “ Over the years the Barsotti Vineyard in El Dorado planted, at my request, or urging/suggestion: Syrah, Grenache, Gamay, Mourvedre, Vermentino, Grenache Blanc, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Franc. Each has performed admirably, and in some cases, spectacularly.”

That’s certainly high praise and in fact from my recent experience, a great case can be made that El Dorado, still a well kept secret, may be the mother lode of terroir driven wines. Well, at least it checks most of the boxes. 

Unusual location? Check. It is one of the few U.S. appellations defined entirely by elevation, which ranges from 1,200ft-3,500ft. The region’s elevation and proximity to the alpine terrain of the Sierra Nevada Mountain strongly influences the grapes and wine.  

Special soils? Check. The majority of the vineyards in El Dorado are planted in young volcanic, granitic, and slate soils. The soils are thin and lack a permanent water table allowing growers to control the availability of water during the growing season. Vine roots extend deep below the surface which many experts feel is a key to terroir. 

Different growing conditions? Check. Budbreak is 2-4 weeks later than Coastal regions. Heat spikes are rare. Vines enjoy longer daylight hours. Harvest is under cool conditions in late September into October.

High quality wines? Check. But El Dorado remains under the radar for now. But not for long.

Now with over 80 varieties being cultivated, there’s much more than Zinfandel in these ther hills. In recent years, winemakers looking for special wine have discovered El Dorado. A few like Marco Capelli, long time Swanson winemaker, and Joe Norman from Heitz Cellars have settled in. Recently, more and more  outsiders like Helen Keplinger, Donkey & Goat, Jolie-Laide, Belong Wine, Tank Garage Winery, Rombauer for Zinfandel and Edmunds St. John, to name only a few, regularly source El Dorado varieties that offer something not found in their home area. 

A Little Background

Gold was discovered in 1848 and those old mining towns later remained alive as vineyards caught on and grew to over 2,000 acres. Then Prohibition came along. Vineyards were abandoned and its wine history buried. 

El Dorado, 40 miles or so east of Sacramento and within driving range of Lake Tahoe and Reno, remained flatlined during the 1960s when California wine was re-born.  It started its comeback In 1972 when Boeger Winery became the first modern-day winery in the El Dorado AVA. Greg Boeger became a pioneer by experimenting with lesser known varieties such as Barbera, Carignane, Refosco, Charbono, and Aglianico, just to name a few of the over thirty varietals that the winery grows today.

 In 1980 Madrona Vineyards settled in to offer several El Dorado grown wines, including remarkable vintages of Riesling and Gewurztraminer. Today Maggie and Paul Bush, the second generation, continue with their winery’s outstanding Rieslings, but now cultivate 25 varieties at their 3,000 foot elevation vineyards.

Setting the Gold Standard Today for Terroir Wines

As the region slowly came back to life, these pioneers set the tone for taking the less traveled road. Both remain family owned, and today Barbera is Boeger’s flagship wine and it sets the bar high for first rate Barbera. Meanwhile, Madrona offers a Grenache and Syrah that are at the top of their class. With their help, the El Dorado A.V.A. was established in 1983 and has since grown to encompass over 2,000 acres of grapes and is now home to over 70 wineries.

Attracting mavericks making wines from unsung or obscure varieties at high elevation sites in a remote corner of California is only a part of the El Dorado story. But If you seek out wineries that are specialists and happen to love Rhone wines, then a newcomer, Holly Hill’s Vineyard, merits your full attention. Within its full range of Rhones, this winery is going all out to explore Mourvedre. Right now, Holly Hill’s offers six wines made entirely or in part from Mourvedre, including a Vin Doux dessert wine. The real attention getter is its 2020 “Patriarche,” a GSM blend that is 41% Mourvedre.

However, in my review of El Dorado, the most important box checked is high quality, distinct wines. When tasting through a selection of El Dorado wines, I kept noting the balance, solid structure, and concentration. The varietal wines came across as ideal benchmark wines. Boeger’s Barbera, Miaflores Malbec, Lava Cap’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Madrona’s Grenache,  Element 79’s Syrah, and Cedarville’s Viognier…all true to type, unmanipulated wines loaded with old fashion varietal character.

With El Dorado, I rediscovered wines that, well, taste like wine. Powerful, but well-mannered. Wines that are not trophy culty wines but rather beg to be enjoyed with food. 

Regarding the uniqueness of El Dorado wines, several winemakers suggest that the mountain elevations result in Increased exposure to UV radiation which leads to lower berry size, and a higher ratio of skin to juice in red wine. “This combination of hours and intensity of sunshine leads to ripening conditions unique to El Dorado, and are critical in shaping the character of the wine.”

Paul Bush of Madrona draws from his family’s 40 years of experience and sees the soils as another key. He explains,  “The Aiken Clay soil  is a volcanic decomposition soil that is relatively fertile and drains beautifully. This soil series for us has a pH level of between 5.7 to 6.2. My understanding is that high pH soils give more mouthfeel. Low pH soils give more elegance and varietal focus. And since we have the sun, we generally already have the tool for working with mouthfeel. I’ll take elegance and varietal focus.”

And he continues: “But once we get into fall, the days shorten, our temperatures are often cooler than other regions during the day, but our nights aren’t so cool that the vines shut down. All in all, it’s perfect (in my humble opinion).”

Whatever the underlying factors may be, El Dorado wines have, in my not so humble opinion, their own distinct and engaging personality.  

Current Wines: All Terroir Driven

2020 Holly’s Hill Vineyards El Dorado “Patriarche” $38

 For its GSM Châteauneuf-du-Pape rendition, the winery makes Mourvedre the lead with 41% followed by Syrah at 38%, with 11% Grenache and 10% Cournoise. And the winemaker is said to get first dibs on each to assemble this blend. The wine is aged for 10 months in neutral French oak. Well, this wine is enormously appealing with lots of spice, cranberry, black pepper and savory flavors. Medium full bodied, it has a solid core of ripe fruit that is vibrant and persistent. It unfolds with each sip, showing a slight earthiness and smooth tannin. It is

much more complex and refined than most GSM wines. 95 points

2020 Cedarville Vineyards El Dorado Estate Bottled Viognier  $25

Offering a mix of wines, Cedarville organically farms 15 acres and was the first to plant Viognier in the area. With twenty vintages now under its belt and working with Viognier on the coldest, north facing site,  it has learned to harvest on the earlier side of ripeness. And the end result is a distinct, and full bodied style. The primary fermentation is finished in barrels and with lees stirring, the wine is bottled unfiltered.  In the glass it shows a bright, light yellow color and its aroma displays meyer lemon, lemon zest and lychee nut along with a floral note. But on the palate, this is full throttle with round, mouth filling pear & citrus flavors that are lively yet viscous. And it surprises with its lovely rich texture and  a slight fresh lime and acid tingle in the finish. 92 points

2019 Boeger Winery El Dorado Estate Barbera 2019 $30

From the pioneering winery, Barbera is made in several versions with the Estate being the standard bearer.

From 3 high elevation sites, the Barbera is harvested as late as mid-October, and is blended with 9% Cabernet. Aged for 14 months in neutral French and American oak, it is a big mouthful of a wine that has an amazing structure and somehow remains vibrant and refreshing.  With a little airing, it displays the lovely blackcurrant, dark berry and spice side of Barbera with nicely layered flavors that are surrounded by fine grained tannins.  It can be aged for many years, but I found it appealing now with its solid core of fruit and rich texture. 94 points

2020 Edio Vineyards at Delfino Farms Estate “Robyn’s Blend,” El Dorado  $32

Highly regarded for their apple orchards and bakery, the Delfino family have been farming in El Dorado for 60 years. After studying at Cal Poly and gaining wine experience in San Luis Obispo, the third Delfino generation (2 brothers and a sister) planted vines in 2007 and named the winery after their grandfather, Edio. In 2017 they ventured into winemaking, and based upon this wine, they are super talented and Edio could well be a rising star. Robyn’s blend is 75% Viognier and 25% Roussanne, co-fermented in barrels and aged in French oak (10% new) for 5 months. It has a lovely aroma of fresh sliced pear and honeysuckle, and its flavors pick up a touch of peach, citrus and oak spice. Smooth and viscous, it has a good touch of acidity to keep it lively right through the aftertaste. Holds up well to chilling 93 points

2017 Element 79 Vineyards Fair Play, El Dorado County Syrah $40

As some of you may recall from your high school chem class (and to save others from embarrassment) element 79 is gold. In 2016 Les and Sharon Heinsen purchased property and an established 32 acre vineyard in El Dorado County. The 2017 vintage was a few weeks early with the Syrah picked on October 5th. Consulting winemaker Scott Johnson harvested some Viognier on the same day and the field blend was fermented in open top tanks. With 2% Viognier, the wine was aged for 20 months in French oak, 44% new. Dark in color with beautiful upfront black fruit aromas of blueberry and plum and, with some airing, a hint of lavender pokes through. It is silky smooth in texture and the flavors expand to showcase berry, dried herbs and spice with refined tannins in the finish. Despite the declared alcohol of 14.5%  it comes across as youthful, vibrant and charming. It should develop even more complexity with short-term cellaring. 94 points

2019 Starfield Vineyards El Dorado, Cinsaut  $32

Seldom bottled as a varietal, Cinsaut, also spelled Cinsault, is more often found in a Rose. It is used as a blender for red wines in the Rhone and elsewhere. But Starfield and several neighbors in El Dorado are giving it a fresh look on its own. From its 31 acre vineyard, Starfield produces several Rhone wines as well as others in its “Mountain Mediterraneans” program.  Fresh picked strawberry and cranberry juice dominate the expansive aroma in this medium light-bodied red. Without any noticeable tannin, iit really turns on the charm as its lively flavors expand across the midpalate with fresh berry and spice and red fruit that all persist well into the aftertaste. More than a summer sipper, this is a versatile food companion. And delicious. 91 points

2019 Holly’s Hill Vineyards El Dorado Fenaughty Old Vines Syrah  $27

This new Rhone-centric winery is on a hot streak, especially with Mourvedre and Syrah. This old vine Syrah is concentrated and focused. Dark garnet, almost black in color, it displays spicy, earthy, some leathery aromatics along with black olive. On the palate it is dense, with savory ripe black fruits and dried herbs with a hint of pepper, all with light tannin as a backdrop. But everything is under control and the wine opens up beautifully over time. Give it at least a year or two, and you’ll be thrilled. 93 points

For more specific wines, see all the El Dorado reviews at winereviewonline.com 

 

 

A Heads Up: Major Wine Sale Starts Tuesday

Vintage Wine Estates is running a serious sale with heavy (50-70%) discounts. 

While its portfolio of wineries runs the gamut, there are a few wineries you

might check out. You might pass on the Cherry Pie and Layer Cake, 

but there are some real fine brands represented.

Here are two examples of real deals:

Kunde Family Estate: the 2018 Zinfandel is on sale for $12.10 a bottle

Swanson Vineyards 2019 Pinot Grigio, San Benito $13.80 a bottle

Also, on Tuesday when the sales begins, see what is offered from these established wineries: 

Qupe, one of the most reliable Rhone wine producers 

Laetitia  is good for its cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir

 Clos Pegase is one of Napa’s big names. Look for its Chardonnay

B.R. Cohn has a great Zinfandel from Moon Mountain and several Cabernets

Here’s where to begin:

www.vwecellarevent.com

Shipping is 1 cent for a case

You can thank me later

The Rogue Valley’s Diverse Wines

Exploring the Diverse Wines of the Rogue Valley 

Seeking out unusual wine regions for their great diversity seems to be high on the must-do lists for today’s sommeliers. At least, the hard working SOMMS.  Makes sense because discovering new wines and/new regions pretty much validates their jobs. Recently the head of sommselect.com singled out the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA for its success with Pinot Noir and Syrah among others. He ended by praising Santa Cruz as “one of the few regions anywhere in the world hospitable to such a diverse range of varieties.” 

Really? Now that “diverse range of varieties” phrase struck a chord. Coincidentally over the last 2 years, I’ve been interested in the same subject.  Well, as much as I enjoy wines from Santa Cruz, there are other regions working with a far wider range of varieties that make Santa Cruz seem normal. 

Santa Clara County, for example, has all of the mainstays, all of the Rhones, and, thanks to Guglielmo,  some unusual Italian varieties. An even wider range of varieties was encountered during my visit to the Okanagan Valley. Not just a few remaining hybrids, but there’s an exciting diversity there including many obscure vinifera grapes like Chasselas and Pinot Auxerrois, both made into impressive wines.

What also ties these two regions together is neither has what could be called a signature wine. A wine that consumers automatically equate with that place, like Napa Cabs or Amador Zins.

So this lack of a signature wine leads us to another region where winemakers actually seem to enjoy working with a diverse range of varieties: the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon. Because it has so little in common with the Willamette Valley, winemakers get a little touchy if you refer to it as “The other Oregon” wine region. 

Yes, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are grown here, but so too are Cabernet, Zinfandel along with Spanish, Italian, and the full range of French grapes. And one or two Portuguese.

How Do you Define Diverse?

 In the Rogue Valley, it is common to grow a dozen or more varieties within a small estate. Established in 2004, Quady North has 15 acres under vine and grows 12 different varieties. Most are Rhone grapes, but it also farms Cabernet and Cabernet Franc. On its 40 acre estate vineyards, Schmidt Family Vineyards in Applegate Valley grows 14 varieties, and produces 6,700 cases a year. It also makes 25 different wines in a given year.

Its neighbor, Wooldridge Creek, one of the oldest wineries, has 56 acres planted to twelve varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Viognier, Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Tempranillo. And a similar wild assortment is seen in many, many other wineries across the entire Rogue Valley. The Weisinger Family, on the eastern edge in Ashland is said to specialize in Tempranillo, Pinot Noir, Rhone and Bordeaux varietals, as well as proprietary blends. Quite diverse for a 3,000 case annual output.

But are these wineries growing a dozen or more varieties like the proverbial jack of all trades, master of none? It seems crazy for small vineyards to grow grapes from Bordeaux and Burgundy, along with the Rhones. Then add a few from Spain and Italy and it seems way beyond normal. 

At Belle Fiore Winery, where 56 acres are planted to such a wide mix which includes many unusual Italian varieties, the owners have identified what they call “16 micro-blocks” based upon soil types and elevation. Two-Hawks’ winemaker, Kiley Evans, has singled out several blocks based on soil types led by a Darow Series of wine grown in one predominant soil. So the soils and sites are indeed diverse.

NOT THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY

Taking its name from the Rogue River, the Rogue Valley wine region wears that rogue title well. Approved as an AVA in 1991, the Rogue Valley is the southernmost growing wine region of Oregon and the Valley is 70 miles wide by 60 miles long. The area runs from Ashland in the southeast through the north and south sides of Medford and stretches to Grants Pass in the west. 

Today, this high elevation (1,000-2,300 foot level) generally mountainous growing area is home to 100 wineries. While most of these wineries started after 2000, the Rogue Valley is Oregon’s oldest wine region, with first vineyards planted in the 1850s. And it is home to the State’s first operating winery opened in 1873. 

Vineyards have been expanding recently and now cover around 5,000 acres, growing no fewer than 70 varieties. Yes, from Albarino to Zinfandel, the roster includes the obligatory Chardonnay and Cabernet and, no surprise, Pinot Noir. But with vineyards planted at different elevations with different aspects, the Rogue is no Willamette.

Because most of today’s vineyards were developed after 2000, many wines, Rhones, Spanish, or Italian, are likely made from relatively new vines. Typically, vineyards are densely planted and organically grown with “sustainable” a popular theme.

Dancin is one of a handful on wineries making a Pinot Noir, but as owner Dan Marca explains,

“ Our site was created for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with its north, northeast facing aspect, 1800 foot average elevation and shade occurring beginning at 5:45pm (depending on the Block) throughout the growing season. We are finding that we can produce delicious Pinot Noir with great flavors and balance at alcohol levels in the mid to upper 12’s to the very low 13’s. Our wide diurnal swings allow for flavors and ripeness to occur during the day with acids retained during the overnight hours. We can see daytime highs to overnight lows vary by 40 degrees!” 

And he adds that the same Pinot Noir clones ripen later at his site than they do in McMinnville or Dundee.

Dancin’s vineyards are in the mid-section of the Rogue Valley, just outside Jacksonville. Far to the west is the The Applegate Valley AVA which was established in 2000 as a sub-region within the Rogue. With over 700 acres under vine, the Applegate Valley “has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, like much of coastal California. However, it has four very distinct seasons, a relatively short growing season, and fog is not a factor. Winter is cold, with occasional snow. That allows the vines to go into full hibernation. Half of the area’s annual 20-30” of precipitation arrives in winter.”

Because the growing season is on the short side and features cold nights and wide diurnal swings, the Applegate Valley AVA is best-suited to  grapes which ripen quickly or are pleasing at low levels of ripeness. Here, veteran viticulturist Herb Quady who manages many vineyards in addition to his own for Quady North, is a strong advocate of Rhone varieties. He is joined by the founders of Cowhorn Vineyard who planted 25 acres to the Rhones.  He explained his choice this way:“While our latitude is a bit lower than the Rhône, and our growing season is shorter, other qualities are similar, especially to Châteauneuf-du-Pape: river-side bench-land with little rain, hot summers, and rocky soils that don’t hold much water.”

But even in this corner, the Rogue Valley is not the exclusive Rhone Zone. A few miles away from Cowhorn, Red Lily Vineyards has emphasized Tempranillo planted along benchlands of the Applegate River and has vines located on three distinct sites.  Winemaker/owner Rachael Martin tells us her “newest vineyard site planted to Tempranillo “has a predominantly northern aspect on a varying slope surrounding a knoll, and sits at an average elevation of 1500 feet.” And another vineyard site “has a predominantly western aspect on a 12% average slope that rises to an elevation of 1630 feet.” She makes Tempranillo in three styles, including a Rose.

As specialists, Dancin and Red Lily are rare in this region where it is more common to grow a dozen or more varieties within an estate.  But, looking closer, Dancin makes 4 distinct Chardonnays, 4 Pinots from different blocks or different clones. It also makes a Syrah and a Barbera. Its kindred spirit near Ashland is Irvine & Robert Vineyards. Also specializing in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, it typically bottles 3 of each varietal, all small batches identified by clone or vineyard block. And, no surprise, makes a rare Pinot Meunier.

However they go about it, Rogue Valley winemakers are making most wines in small batches based upon some unique condition, be it soil, micro-climate, clone, or block by block. 

And this is how I read the situation after talking to winemakers at Peter William, Weisinger, 2-Hawk, Quady North, Goldback, and Schmidt Family: winemakers revel in the diversity. Making a wide variety of small batch wine is what being a winemaker is all about. Hands on winemakers: they can be creative and make decisions that they were trained to do. They dont have to be told what to make and how to make it from the sales team, the bosses, and the market or some focus group.

 But since consumers naturally like to have reliable information and advice, the question of what is the Rogue Valley’s signature wine needs to be addressed. Not long ago, W. Blake Gray writing for winesearcher.com made a case for Malbec as the region’s best. He included wines from the Umpqua Valley but highlighted the Malbecs from Weisinger Family and 2-Hawk. 

Though I share his enthusiasm for those Malbecs, his argument largely based upon grape prices failed to convince Malbec is it. On my first few visits,  I thought the star was Syrah, but then I tasted a stunning Grenache from 2-Hawk, a beautiful Viognier from Quady North, Cabernet Franc from several wineries, and more recently Tempranillo from Peter William Vineyard and others. And then there are creative blends such as Tempranillo and Syrah.

In fact one could easily argue that the standout Rogue Valley wine is Cabernet Franc. While admittedly being on the Cab Franc bandwagon, I draw support from the excellent medium bodied versions made in Applegate by Quady North, Schmidt Family, and Wooldridge Cellars and then head south east to Ashland and add Cab Francs from Belle Fiore and Weisinger Family. Here’s a tip: when released in the Spring of ‘22, Weisinger’s 2019 Cabernet Franc will rank as one of the best made in the West Coast. 

Tempranillo, the third most widely planted variety in the world, has not yet established a beachhead anywhere in the USA. Given the Spanish heritage, that’s odd.  But there’s more new acreage being developed in the Rogue Valley.  Today, close to 100 wineries offer one in their tasting room. 

 

Winemakers, Not Rock Stars

Giving the great diversity of varieties that can be successfully grown, the Rogue Valley is attracting young, creative winemakers. Goldback is a new winery launched in 2016 by Andy Myer. In an interview, he explains: 

“Wine had always been of some interest to me, but the big moment happened after I moved to Oregon from Pennsylvania in 2006.  I was transferring to Willamette University in Salem and was looking for a summer job.  I answered a craigslist ad for a tasting room job for the summer, which just happened to be for Cristom Vineyards.  Within 15 minutes of driving up the driveway for the interview, a lightning bolt struck.  I knew that working in wine was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

From there, he gained experience by working at William Selyem and Hirsh in Sonoma, Felton Road in New Zealand, back up to Wahington at Mark Ryan and then to Cape Mentelle in Western Australia.

From these experiences, he came to favor “a minimalist approach to winemaking and aims to preserve natural acidity in whites and tannin integration in reds.” After wandering the wine globe, his search for a region took him to the Rogue Valley. 

The region’s diversity fits in perfectly with Myer’s view of wine:

“Wine itself is irreducibly complex.  The fact that you could spend your entire life working one piece of land with one type of grape and never quite figure it all out, because there are thousands of variables every year in growing grapes, and about the same in making wine.  That it’s impossible to make the same wine twice… and that every vintage everywhere is completely different.”  

For detailed reviews of Goldback and other Rogue Valley wineries, see my reviews at

winereviewonline.com