Image provided by: Upper Left Edge; Cannon Beach, OR
About The upper left edge. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1994)
The key to making excellent wine lies in having a H rm philosophy on how you are going to go about doing it Myron has an iron ria l grip on his wine making philosophy, "Don't oak i t " There is a sign on the back wall of the tasting room that reads SAY MO TO OAK HELP PUT THE FRUIT BACK IN WINE Very rarely doe? a v in e ry co me fully loaded with excellent and unique vine, a superb location and greet people A a it g V ia a y a rd s is one of th o » rare instances where everything has come together perfectly In this small winery is housed an intensity and passion for wine making that goes virtu ally unrivaled in our part of the world You owe ,t to yourself to go to this w inery, located about 7 miles south of McMinnville in Amity, and explore one of the state s great small business and wine industry success stories One of the first things that w ill jump out at you about Amity is the view from the winery Amity faces slightly southwest and looks out over southern Yamhill County to the coast range Ihe winery is perched atop a knoll at an elevation of about 5 0 0 feet affording It one of the most striking viewpoints you could hope for An evening visit gave me the opportunity to witness a spectacular sunset The distance I could see nearly convinced me I was looking at Cape Perpetua peering over the line of mountains This is a fantastic place »0 picnic during this summer of warm, sunny weather Amity Yineyards has moved toward the forefront of Oregon s premium wine production over the past 5 years througn years of effort, learning and determination on the part of owner and winemaker Myron Redford If you ere fortunate enough to drop by when he happens to be working the tasting room, give yourself some time to ask some questions Myron is one of 1 he more antma’ed and talkative individuals you could hope to run into His obvious enjoyment comes from the years of personal labor he has put into every single aspect of his winery Amity had very humble beginnings Myron purchased the vineyerd In 1 9 7 4 , sans w inery, with a desire to make fine wine and a knowledge of how to do it from years of being a self described cellar rat at Columbia W inery in Washington Unfortunately, being a small winery owner requires an in depth knowledge of farming, something Myron larked His original goal of completely organic vineyerd farming quickly ran into the reality of Mother Mature It was an admirable goal but, having very little in the way of equipment, the labor required to keep the vineyard productive was prohibitive Lessons were learned the hard way, vines died and less grapes than expected were produced He learned though and eventually began to produce successful crops and increase the size of his vnwyard He also designed and built the winery with no professional help To come from such humble beginnings to where Amity is now is a testimony to the power of endurance and zeal The winery has expanded significantly, but artifacts from the early years linger Outside the winery are two wooden structures that serve as decorative ornaments They are actually part of the winery s legacy They are the old style wine presses although they look like they are better suited for housing petunias When in use these presses held a maximum of 700 pounds of grapes tach batch of grapes nad to be pressed 3 times to wring all the juices out In 19 77, with 4 of these presses, they processed 52 tons of grapes Some quick moth shows that they had to press in the neighbor hood of 2 0 0 batches of grapes 3 times apiece Mot the speediest way to make wine In 1 9 7 8 they ran into a bit of luck Bad weather It ruined the wheat crop of Yamhill County and the area was declared an agricultural disaster area Myron, who lost about $ 1 ,0 0 0 worth of grapes, went down to see the local G- Man who told him that Amity This w ill let you know. even before you leste, what you can look forward to Myron refers to the trend in wine making, not only here, but around the world, to expose virtu ally every variety of wine to newly toasted French Oak as a sickness, a disease ’ Hls point is that the tast of oak can mask the true flavor and character of e wine and make almost anything taste like an oaked Chardonnay His wine does age in oak barrels but not in newly produced ones which give the oaky flavor to wines Because ot this style of wine making you, as the taster, should be prepared for an education on whet wines really taste like The most distinct wine their style of wine making shows up in is the pinot noir Amity s Pi nets are fru ity but still rich and complex They are different from most Oregon Pinots but the quality of the wine is exceptionally hiqh, even in whet they consider their lower end wines Their flagship wine. 19 8 7 Pinot n o ir, (a deal at $ 12) is an excellent example of Amity Pi riots Many wineries would be proud to call the 87 Pinot a reserve wine but Myron is nothing it not patient He has aged his specially selected grapes 5 years in the bottle and in August Amity 3 1987 Pinot noir Reserve ( $ 2 5 ) w ill finally be released Before you drink your bottle of this beautiful wine give it plenty of time to breath because it w ill be a little tight right after you uncork it Along with the Rasarva Pinot 1» tha 1990 Estate Pinot noir ( $ 1 8 ) These two wines are both classic examples of what Pinot noir really should taste like They are soft and warm in the mouth with very distinct fru it flavors that finish with a pleasing intensity These are the premier wines of Amity The 4th Pinot noir to look for ,s their sulfite free, organically grown Eco wine Amity was the firs t winery in Oregon ,0 produce this type of wine Ptost sulfite free and/or organic wine is. well, not so good It may be that these wines are produced to satisfy a certain "groovy" market and the quality of the wine is secondary to the mere fact that it exists Amity's Eco-Wine ( $ 1 0 5 0 ) is deep and bold by comparison to most wines of this genre and is ready to drink now although I suggest waiting 6 - 10 months Thera is a slightly oat mealy taste to it right now that is simply Ihe result of not having sulfites in the wine Io protect it from the minimal amount of oxygen in »he bottle It w ill dissipate in time Buy several bottles and watch it In C oumci Tticalcr Courtyard change month by month One of the great things about Amity wines, aside from their taste, is I r a i u i N 0 1 ih w csi, ( jlifo im a A Im p o ile d W mc* C ollector W ine* 1 rum I H 7 5 1 h ro u (h ( u iic n i Vintage* I r jiu r tn g 1 )*er 1000 W ine* W m r K a *kt, (ila tte * A Wmc K rla ird l im n their packaging I worked for an environmental and consumer group tha, tried to pass a packag'ng law so I know good packaging when I see it On the back of each bottle Myron tells you what tha, bottle of wine w ill taste like From a consumer perspective ,t ,s a dream come true If you've ever gone ,0 buy wine and ended up with something igou did no, really ke or «3 pet, io end up with you probably have wished that this information was available The labels on the front of the bottle are exceptional as well wine is finished Kudos Amity is rightfully acknowledged for their Pinot noir but their other wines are well worth exploring Two are of particular note The 1993 Dry Gewurztraminer ( $ 8 5 0 ) ,s an outstanding vine This is surely ,he 1st time I have ever said this I am not a big Gewurzt fan but this particular one is dr y but not bone dry and spicy enough to I 9 8 9 the market for their wines finally began to become more consistent and they have now established themselves as one of the German wines The sweeter the better The term troc hen btertnev*Jei* means "berry select" If you have ever seen the ad of area s premier wineries Some of ihe money from those government loans went to commission stainless steel storage tanks niade by a Northwest company Mol just any company but one that specialized in making saw blades for local m ills Aftar two tanks this company gave up on this part of their business, but two of the people in the company left Io start a business of their own, JY Northwest, that would specialize in these tanks Today that company manufactures most of the vats used by the Northwest s numerous microbrewtries (Which business do you think is the happy camper now7) If this doesn't explicitly portray how the growing wine and microbrew industries in Oregon Juan Yaldez and his burro walking around the hills of Columbia selecting individual beans for Maxwell House coffee (MOT) this is actually how this classification of wine is produced "Berry select" don t know whet does Of course. Amity now has modern equipment, numerous fermenting tanks and a decent sized barrel storage room, but it still has a homespun feel to it If you manage to finagle a tour out of someone and you go at the right time of year (ASAP) you w ill see carboys, wine bottles and random jugs filled with wine alongside the more traditional casks and kegs for those of you that think owning a winery and making wine is all about Robert Mondavi and his fur bedecked wife standing out in the vineyard sipping their latest bottle of $ 2 5 0 Chardonnay, this is a close up view of the reality of 99% of winemakers W in e T a s tin g l w iv S.jiunlnv Afternoon 1 5 PM D iffc rc n i W me* I rom A ro u n d The W orld I .u h Week Open 1 I AM S I'M Cloved Tue* 436-1100 F t) 1 24 N lla n s i» * a ( a n n o a K rai h O H H.' a I 10 counter the residual sugars ,n ,t I snatched up a couple of bottles to serve with grilled spicy prawns which I have recently discovered how Modern wine making equipment and more bar rels were purchased with these loans and Amity hit a highwater mark They had n t quite tur nad the corner though It wasn't until I 9 8 3 that they went into the black for a year, just before the Oregon m id -80 s recession In and Washington can help in making the desperately needed shift away from an economy that lias for too long, relied on cutting down trees I I slebltshed 1977 The bottles meke greet 01, lemps when the to cook to perfection The other wine is a collector 3 item It is a 1992 Riesling Late Harvest Select Cl crater ( $ 1 5 ) This wine is absolutely mind blowinq I am not one gi ven to religious experiences but I can honestly say the firs t time I tried this one I at least came close to one Its labeling, Select Cluster, approximates the German rating system of sweet wines which Ihe Germans are famed for Without going into too much detail and without having to spell too many Gar men words I w ill try to give you an idea of wha, this means Sugar level equals quality ,n Yineyards was eligible for low interest government loans Salvation ( u n n o n Beach indicates a residual sugar level of no less than 36% The Select Cluster Riesling of Amity is 34% residual sugar classifying it as a beereneuslese It is essentially a honey-apricot mead Myron says that if you didn't want to drink the wine it would probably make a IX ITTX X TW W Bee«» »Lae »■a '> M m A y great body ointment Such possibilities This winery ,s well worth the trip You can pick up Ihe,r wines a, Cannon Beach's two fine w ire shops, but to get a sense of their wines and a much better selection of their premier wires you simply must make the journey Bring your checkbook because you w ill want to leave with more than one bottle They have great case discounts, by the way Remember to mention that you read about them in the Edge L a u r e l ’s C a ii non Bra* 1» W in e S h o p )6 J N. Hem lock (SOS) 4 16 1666 R c c a a a e a c d YViae T e a r f a r Aaqast A month with interesting possibilities Two events I highly recommend are tha Summer Sunset Barbeque at T s a la t, a Vise f i r in Fores, Grove on Friday ,he , 9th A 4course meal and wine for $35/person is a great deal at this wonderful winery The following two days, the 20th and 21st, at K a ads« a ( r a t h in Dundee ,s their 23rd Annual Harvest Festival There w ill be music, food, jugglers and other entertainment For $6/person you get a complimentary glass, wine tastes and access to the great parties that they throw 'la ¿ i n usiA 1A4 o '- a v v ’ tinnyany Ta Xiw alain u impambU i '¡a itnu us IA xy h u tia n i 4u.tu.urw .irul urwlry r.-w ri^ N r hum l u m I tn i t lan yaiuf akc 1 line to Travel in —Voiaea ( hcgoiis Scenic Wine Country1 IKZT S.W. 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