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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2003)
BY LANCE SPARKS SERVING DELICIOUS NEW YORK PIZZA -BY THE SLICE AND BY THE WHOLE PIZZA PIE- 11:30AM-MIDNIGHT MON-SAT ★ 3:30PM-MIDNIGHT SUNDAY $ 2.00 OFF COUPONS GOOD UNTIL JUNE 19, 2003 ANY 18” LARGE OR 16” MEDIUM PIZZA PLUS 2 FREE 20oz. SODAS 10¢ OFF PLUS A SLICE ® ON CAMPUS NEXT TO SACRED HEART HOSPITAL T a s ty T h ai Ki t ch en T r a d i ti on al S p ec ia l s by Owner and Chef Pismai LUNCH SPECIALS $2.95 - $7.50 •Vegetarian Menu •Dine In or Take Out 11 am - 9:30 pm Mon - Fri 4 pm - 9:30 pm Sat 12 pm - 9:30 pm Sun 80 E. 29th & Willamette 302-6444 Fridays from 4 to 6pm June 6 : Lindeman’s - Aussie reds & whites. June 13 : Cabernet - Value priced selections. June 20 : Viognier - Exotic, aromatic whites. June 27 : Chianti - Recent arrivals. TASTINGS FREE WINE 44 JUNE 5, 2003 Saturdays from 4 to 6pm June 7 : Freja - Graceful Oregon pinot noir. June 14 : Territorial Cellars - Pinot noir and pinot gris from a new hometown winery. June 21 : Northern Italy - 1997 vintage wines from Piedmont. June 28 : Adelsheim - Oregon pinot pioneer. Also: Saturday “Superpours” - A chance to sample ( for a small fee) a selected high-end wine from our shelves. Want to learn about wine? Our next Intro to Fine Wine class is July 17, 24, 31 & Aug. 7. Call Steve for registration & details. OPEN DAILY UNTIL 7PM 2470 ALDER ST. 687-WINE ORWINES.COM You picked a wine time to squeeze me, Lucille. 1 FREE 12 OZ. SODA 1211 ALDER 686-9598 Grape Expectations SUNDANCE W I N E C E L L A R S S leuth, snoop, private eye/dick, gumshoe, quidnunc, ferret — by whatever name, the job of investigating criminal behavior — of whatever sort — requires a strong heart and an iron stom- ach. Detectives’ work brings them constantly into contact with the worst of human corrup- tion, malfeasance and simple muck. Spend enough time in that muck and after a while it becomes harder to remember that most people are good, decent, worth working for; cops everywhere run the risk of forgetting that they’re not the only good guys. Admittedly, sleuthing in the wine busi- ness is (usually) not nearly as nasty as nosing into, say, Enron, Halliburton, Wall Street or Republican politics, but the Dark Side works here, too, resulting in price gouging, adulter- ated wines, phony labeling, careless overuse of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers, all pursuit of unearned gains. Still, the wine biz is mostly composed of farmers and small businesspeople who risk their assets, their labors and their hopes to bring to market a product that adds immeasurably to con- sumers’ quality of life. And as my old pal Mole says, “Mosta dese folks woik like galley slaves ‘n’ salt miners, takin’ care o’ dere vines like dey was dere own kids, fussin’, worryin’ ’bout weather ‘n’ bugs ‘n’ markets harder to pr’dict than slot machines — ’n’ when dey bring in da grapes, dey try lak crazy t’ make a drink dat’s bee-ootiful. Mosta dem, ‘specially in Ory-gone, ony dream ’bout someday makin’ a profit. If dat ain’t love, what is? Gotta be love, ‘cuz it sure ain’t money.” And the game is rough for all the players along the line from growers to consumers — importers, wholesalers, retailers, restaura- teurs — with more losers than big winners. Lots of wine folk grimace at the old gag: “Wanna make a small fortune in wine? Start with a large one.” So why do it? Because there’s something so unnameably beautiful in the experience of a fine wine, especially in the encounter with good food in the company of good friends and family. Pull a cork on a good bottle, pour, delight in elusive colors in the play of light, sniff a complex garden of aromas, sip and savor flavors that fill the mouth and linger on the tongue and change with every bite of food and every passing minute of time. That’s the magic, the driving force of wine, a resound- ing world of good only rarely tainted by any crime. That’s why, when I sleuth and write these columns, I almost always seek and find the good, the tasty, the sublime. Recent cases: F ind ElvenGlade Vineyards 2001 Pinot Gris ($10): This vin- tage marks the first release from a small producer near Gaston in Yamhill County, owned by Bill Kelley. The wine was crafted by the gifted David O’Reilly, who also makes his own superb line under the Sineann label; his rendition of ElvenGlade’s grapes is creamy, rich with flavors and aro- mas of melons and ripe pears, but balanced in acidity for good food, just delicious, mouth-filling and soul-satisfying. David O’Reilly also produces one of Oregon’s best, and best- value, pinot noirs: O’Reilly’s 2001 Pinot Noir ($13) has the fruit, flavor, balance and price to make it delish to serve with a wide range of spring-harvest foods. The world might be ready to come back to South Africa’s wines. Still lurking on some retailers’ shelves, you should be able to uncover the last bottles of Springhill 1999 Reserve Pinot Noir ($18); grab it, for depth, complexity, rich fla- vors and aromas. Open the bottle and pour a little into a glass, let both sit for about two hours before serving. Be happy. Hatcher Wineworks (McMinnville) is a small producer with talents for buying superb grapes and blending for distinctive style, a traditional practice in Burgundy: Hatcher’s A to Z 2001 Pinot Noir ($19) is fine wine and super value. This week at Sundance Wine Cellars, about 40 people gathered to taste wines from an unusual source — South Africa. (White) South Africans have been growing grapes and making wine for 350 years — but until the end of racial oppression and forced segre- gation under the policy of Apartheid in the early ’90s, most wine folk just weren’t inter- ested in their products. But since the demise of that brutish, criminal practice, South Africa has come back to the world, and the world might be ready to come back to South Africa’s wines. At least that’s the bet placed by young Matthew Parrott, a South African transplanted to Eugene, who, with encour- agement from friends here and there, has launched Paragon Wines, importing from the Cape region (for now) and hoping to reach consumers in Eugene, the Northwest, and be- yond. Mr. Parrott poured a selection of wines from several producers and in several vari- etals — sauvignon blanc, rosé, cabernet sauvignon and pinotage (a South African hy- brid of pinot noir and cinsault, quite interest- ing). The wines were good value, most priced in the $8-15 range, of good quality. The lineup’s star was Reyneke (RAIN-eky) 2001 Reserve ($20), a blend of shiraz (syrah), merlot and cab, rich in dark fruit sniffies and tasties, generous even behind firm tannins (should age gracefully), from a producer dedicated to biodynamic growing (think organic to the third power). The wines won’t arrive for about five weeks, but they’re worth the wait — and the money. Suss out these good wines, from good folks, and take your own special bite — or sip — out of crime. ew
