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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2004)
BY LANCE SPARKS Lance in Wonderland Let’s talk about wine, not conniving, fascist scoundrels M ore wine. Lotsa wine. Good wine. Buysumwine. Whew! Glad I got that off my chest and off my desk. Mission accom- plished, right? Actually, I just put down my giant golden hookah, exhaled one huga- cious puff of dried herbal matter (custom blend of banana leaves, papaya, ylang- ylang, lotus root), decided to get busy, bring on a column fully devoted to wine, just wine — nothing about racists, fascists, war- mongering, thieving, conniving, lying, mur- derous, pus-sucking scoundrels and their mealy-mouthed apologists .... Sorry, won’t happen again. Wine: beau- tiful stuff, tasty as food, with food, essential adjunct of good living. Helpful in ignoring blood-letting, genocidal slaughter, suffering of innocents, “holy” wars .... Ooops. Focus: Genuine, heart-felt kudos to local-guy Dieter Boehm whose High Pass 2002 Pinot Noir, Walnut Ridge Vineyard, won a gold medal, Best of Classification, and Best of Show at this year’s Oregon State Fair. Our neighbors in the west foothills confirmed what many of us knew so well, that the southern Willamette Valley yields some of our state’s best wines. Check your local wine shop for this wine and others wearing the High Pass colors. Gold medals also went to local folks for LaVelle Vineyards 2003 Riesling Estate, a consistently lovely wine, and Iris Hill 2002 Pinot Gris, really good gris, super value. Note: If the 2002s are off the shelves, grab the 2003s, likely as good, if not better. Local silver medals: • Benton-Lane Winery 2001 Pinot Noir Estate, delicious wine; Chateau Lorane Non-Vintage Apricot Mead (knockout flavors); 2001 Marechal Foch, Organic; 2002 Pinot Gris, Organic; 2002 Viognier (crab wine!); 2002 Baco Noir; High Pass 2002 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, yummy dessert wine; King Estate 2001 Pinot Noir, Domaine (how this wine did not win gold is a deep mystery); 2001 Pinot Noir; 2003 Late Harvest Pinot Gris, Vin Glacé; LaVelle Vineyards 2002 Pinot Gris; maybe the judges had a limited number of golds to dispense or this could have had one. Our neighbors also won a bagful of bronzes, too many to list (mission not quite accomplished, OK?), but the basic lesson is clear: We can drink home-country wines this harvest and sacrifice nothing in quality, gain gobs in value. While we’re thinking about hometown values, gotta mention Territorial Vineyards and Wine Company. I admit to being bored by most chardonnays, especially some of the older California-style chards that tend to taste rather like an oak footstool. And most Oregon chards have been, until recently, largely forgettable. But Territorial 2002 Chardonnay tickles my palate, pretty with aromas and flavors of tropical fruits, some citrus notes and vanilla tones from careful use of oak, and, at $13, a bargain. I suggest a taste treat for lovers of chardonnay: Discover the grape’s own fla- vors in a surprising costume. For a long while, Australian chardonnays one-upped the Californians, producing oak-bomb chards that were gooey and saturated with wood at half the Cal-price. They’re still beating the Cal-wines to death on price- points, but they have moved toward greater sophistication in managing flavor. Yalumba 2003 Unwooded Chardonnay ($13) is rich in flavors of melons, baked apples, honey and pineapple with a crisp citrus acidity that matches with a wide range of foods — just delish, the real deal. When I wrote the August rosé column, I tried to conduct a fairly comprehensive inductive survey, but inevitably I missed some beauties. And you shouldn’t: John Paul, of Cameron Winery in Dundee, is one of my favorite people in Oregon wine. He’s smart, witty, deeply wine savvy and thoroughly iconoclastic. He also makes some fine juice of the vine. Cameroni delle Colline Rosse Vino Pinko ($13) is a blast, from label to con- tents. Gotta love the portrait of Ché Guevara, one of the bravest and most decent men who ever drew breath (and CIA assas- sins’ bullets). The wine is deep pink, burst- ing with aromas/flavors of fresh raspberries, nicely balanced, revolutionary rosé. Russ Raney, owner/winemaker of Evesham Wood in Salem, is one of the most revered wine mavens in this region, and Evesham Wood 2003 Rosé of Pinot Noir, Vin d’Une Nuit ($11) offers vital lessons in effects of temperature on flavor. We bought the wine way chilled (like most folk think they’re supposed to serve white wines, sparklers, and rosés), rolled right home and popped the top — and wondered if Russ had bumped his bean. Cold, the wine was closed in aroma (of course) and delivered these tart rhubarb notes. The wine warmed. We tasted again. Cool, the wine blossomed; flavors emerged of raspberries, strawberries, roses, tingling hints of spice, flat-out terrific, as comely and complex as a light-bodied pinot noir, a modest homage to a master of that grape. It’s a steal at this price. There we go, all wine all the time. No more wimpy wine-whining letters from pink racists, right? Hope you voted early and often. I’m firing up the hookah. ew Lance Sparks has been writing about fine food and wine since the rabbit went down the hole. OCTOBER 7, 2004 39
