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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2009)
wine BY LANCE SPARKS Frenzy Time Could be a great grape harvest this fall W ine people are all abuzz. It’s harvest, and grapes are hanging on vines, soaking up warm autumnal sun under smoky haze, sugars rising. More important, fl avors are developing. This is the time when wine- makers patrol vineyards, tasting grapes, selecting from each part of the clusters. They’re working what they call “fl avor memory”; oh, they’ll likely test the grapes’ sugars with lab gear, but it’s these embedded memories that really reveal when grapes are ready to become their best wines. And 2009 looks right now like a very good year. On those slopes hugging the Coast foothills, activity is very soon going to reach fever pitch. We just witnessed the frenzy in vineyards much farther south. Mendocino, gateway to California’s beautiful Anderson Valley, Roederer Estate, probably the best of the French-family-owned makers of sparkling wines: The day dawned warm and clear, with a wispy early fog that lifted quickly. Kat and I, with friends Mike and Mary Backus, were touring tasting rooms, in part because the Anderson Valley reminds folks so much of Napa before the deluge of tourists, in part because it reminds us of the south Willamette Valley, even now — bucolic, friendly, unspoiled, new grape plantings climbing hillsides, displacing oaks, madrones and mesquite. Suddenly, for early September, the pinot noirs were ready. Makers of sparkling wines want their grapes ripe but not over-ripe. As we drove up to the winery, we saw crews of men and women run to trucks and tractors, then race into the vines. Later in the week, we visited Esterlina Vineyard, high up the hillsides, and were invited — by Pinot Patty (Liddy) — to stroll the vineyard and taste grapes; they were delish, not quite ready-for-primetime-pinot-noir but in fi ne fettle and ready to party. Now the frenzy begins here at home — if: If this fabulous weather will hold for just two more weeks, if the rains wait, if the fl avors peak, if the pickers arrive on time, if ... Think farming’s fun? We tasted an awful lot of fi ne wines in the Anderson Valley, including some very nice pinot noir (e.g., Breggo 2007 Donnelly Creek ) but they were pricey (e.g., $55) and, quite honestly, they just didn’t have quite the fl avor profi le of Oregon’s best pinots (also pricey, some). Right now, though, some of our homies’ pinot noirs are terrifi c and priced reasonably. Take, for example, this little surprise: Silver Falls 2006 Pinot Noir ($15), from one of the very few wineries east of I-5, small producer, superb wine — medium-bodied but rich, with complex fl avors of red and blue berries, fi nely balanced, well- suited for fresh salmon or red meats. For years, folks argued that Oregon couldn’t produce great chardonnay. Lately, though, Oregon vintners seem to have found their rhythm with this grape. Actually, they found the right clones for this land and climate. The results are in the bottle, and some are tops. Case in point, Chehalem 2007 INOX Chardonnay ($15): Back label notes, “INOX (E-nox) is another word for stainless steel,” meaning the juice wasn’t soaked in new oak so we taste the essence of the grape, rich tropical fruit fl avors, good acidity, nice mouth-feel. Trust this: If it wears a Chehalem label, it’s fi ne wine. Tonight! At 6 pm Thursday, Oct. 1, support the Boys and Girls Clubs of Eugene by buying some super wines at the auction hosted by The Broadway downtown. We attended last year, picked up some wine-jewels donated by supporters. It’s a fi ne cause. Your generosity will turn this harvest to gold. ew | | | | | | | | blogs.eugeneweekly.com | | | | | | | | Thursday, October Buy Local Eat Organic Think Sustainable Sustainability Slow & Local Foods Cooking by Season Heritage & Heirloom Products A Minimized Carbon Footprint Café Maroc 28 E. Broadway 434-5862 Adam’s Sustainable Table ´ 30 E. Broadway 344-6948 8 OREGON DAY OF CULTURE with weeklong events from October 1 Celebrate! Participate! Give! libraries, historical societies, museums, performances, art classes, readings, heritage trails, cultural gatherings. Find your event at: www.oregondayofculture.org WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM EUGENE WEEKLY OCTOBER 1, 2008 39
