Adventures in Oregon Wine
Access to great, locally-produced wines
The Pacific Northwest, as this area is known, is home to a number of different wine varieties and styles. In Oregon, Pinot Noir reigns supreme, with the cool climate providing the perfect microclimate (in French, “terroir”) for growing Pinot Noir grapes.
The traditional home of Pinot Noir is Burgundy in France, which, like Oregon, lies on the 45 degree North latitude. Both regions share a cool climate and similar soil conditions, making the style of Pinot wines they produce very similar. Although Burgundy typically takes top honors in world wine competitions on Pinot Noir, Oregon also performs very well and continues to improve over time.
After Pinot Noir the most-produced grape variety in Oregon is Pinot Gris, a crisp, acidic white wine from Italy, followed by Chardonnay, another Burgundian grape. Oregon’s cooler microclimate means that Chardonnays produced here are quite different from the wines coming out of California further South. Hot and dry California produces full-bodied Chardonnay wines that hold up well when aged in oak. In Oregon, however, the style is much closer to that of Pouilly-Fuissé or the Mâcon.
Aside from these is a smattering of other grape varieties such as Syrah, Riesling, Tempranillo, and Merlot. One of my favorites from the area, however, is Gamay, the soft, light, fruity wine from Beaujolais. Only a handful of local wineries produce it today, but it seems to be especially well-suited to the local climate, and the number of producers is growing. Try the excellent Brick House Gamay from the tiny Ribbon Ridge AVA in Willamette Valley for a wonderful example of Oregon Gamay.
North of us is Washington State, home to a wide variety of grape varieties, both red and white. Bordeaux-style red wines dominate here, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot leading in terms of production. Washington State has many Approved Viticultural Areas (AVAs), and the region is becoming known as home to many world-class wine producers.
Wine tourism
Oregon wine country is simply beautiful, and getting there is easier than you might think. 45 minutes south of Portland is Oregon’s largest wine-producing region, home to the Willamette Valley and Dundee Hills AVAs, among others. Many of the wineries there have tasting rooms that are open to the public every single day of the week. In Oregon there are over 300 tasting rooms! Spending an afternoon visiting wineries and tasting the wine produced there can be both fun and educational.
Worried about drinking and driving? Hire a car or limousine using one of the many companies providing such services. These services cater to groups of all sizes, and the larger the group, the less the per-person cost. Package tours are available which include not only the driver and transportation, but also tasting room fees and food along the way.
Winery visits are great not just for the good wine, but they also afford the opportunity to see how and where wine is produced, and the spectacular beauty of the vineyards themselves. You could do worse than to spend a day touring wine country!
Epicurean delights aplenty
Wine is meant to be enjoyed with the food local to it, and this is just as true here as it is in Burgundy, Sicily, or Vienna. Pacific Northwest wines go wonderfully well with local seafood, game and produce, and many local restaurants go out of their way to pair the two to excellent effect. La Rambla in downtown McMinnville is an excellent example of a restaurant where you can enjoy the full bounty of locally-produced wines accompanied by a wide range of tapas-style dishes prepared with seasonal local ingredients.
What are some typical pairings you’ll find here in Portland? Pinot Noir and grilled wild salmon is a classic favorite. Like shellfish? Try oysters from the Oregon coast with some un-oaked Oregon Chardonnay. If meat is more your style try pairing a Tempranillo from the Umpqua Valley with Oregon lamb. Or of course you can leave it up to your trusted local restaurant, many of which take great pride in showcasing local food with creative abandon.
Mentioned in this blog
It has a garnet-red color with brown highlights.
Very fruity, with notes of vanilla and spice at the finish. Fruity, very ripe fruit, supple tannins. Blackberry, redcurrant and blackcurrant.
Aged in oak barrels.
This wine pairs well with: white meat, poultry, and feathered game such as pheasant
Can be aged up to 8 years.
Serving temperature: 17˚C to 18˚C
Very dark black color.
Nose of fruit that has been dried, candied, pureed and made into jam.
On the palate, varying aromas of wild berries, spice, truffle and aromatic herbs.
Aged in oak barrels.
This wine pairs well with: braised red meats, game or a spicy dish such as duck à l’orange
Do not be afraid to pair this Cahors wine with exotic sweet and salty plates, or even a chocolate dessert, a must try…
Serving temperature: 17˚ C to 18˚ C
Must be decanted.
Deep red, with a red Rhone blend. Simple, savory and not too much over the food. Although simple, it is very enjoyable with decent aromatics. Not much structure, in balance. Tastes of a hint of wintergreen, with raspberry high tones.
Blend
CRUS：Blended from ten different crus or villages considered to be among the finest villages in Champagne, including Ambonnay, Bouzy, Louvois and Tours-sur-Marne.
Wine making and ageing
Meticulous sorting of the grape bunches and controlled maceration help extract the colour and reveal the full aromatic richness of the pinot noir grapes. Unlike most rosé champagnes, the basis of Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé Brut is obtained by drawing the juice from black grapes in the vat, not only by blending red and white wines. It is cellared for at least four years, but cellaring may be adapted to preserve the fresh red fruit aromas.
Tasting Notes
Aspect：Salmon-pink in colour.
Aroma：Precise and very crisp with a lasting impression of freshness, it has hints of soft red fruits, such as strawberries, redcurrants, raspberries and black cherries.
Taste：Intensely fruity flavours begin clean and well-defined upon entry, the wine then opens up to provide a melange of flavours consisting of fresh strawberries, raspberries and wild cherries. It has great length and is rounded and supple on the finish.
Serving
The Cuvée Rosé Brut makes a delicious apéritif. It pairs very well with charcuterie and poultry, and is an extraordinary match for red fruit desserts. The more daring will try it with Asian cuisine.
Serve between 8°C and 10°C.
A New World-style winery at the heart of Hautes-Côtes de Nuits: a tremendous gamble taken by two childhood friends to create a place that is as much about passion as it is about high standards.
With charming landscapes with wood-covered hillsides, well-exposed vineyards, and bucolic pastures, the Hautes-Côtes are located in the hills overlooking the Côte de Nuits, south of Dijon. At an altitude of between 300 and 400 metres, the landscape is hilly, with a harsh climate (hot, dry summers, cold winters), which explains the courage and solidarity of its inhabitants.
Vines have been cultivated here for centuries. In the Middle Ages, Benedictine monks from the Abbey of Saint-Vivant grew the finest of wines here, undoubtedly taking advantage of the cool climate which favoured the delicate blossoming of this divine nectar.
http://www.burgundy-hills.com/
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Who are they…?
Le Domain Seguela is operated by Trinidad and Jean-Pierre Seguela, for whom winemaking has been a family tradition spanning over 7 generations. Passionate about his profession and highly respectful of the “terroir” of his locality, Mr Seguela has established the goal of raising the reputation traditionally attributed to his region of Roussillon, by producing wines of the highest standards of quality.
Like for all art forms, a successful creation is not simply explained by explicit technical criteria.
It also depends on the careful negotiation of several interweaving factors, most of which requiring substantial investments in various resources, both human and financial in nature, which are often bypassed by contemporary viticulture.
Their distinguishing characteristics…
At Domain Seguela, they believe that what distinguishes them from their peers and contributes to the high quality of their products are the following factors:
1) Meticulous plowing of the soil: All single plots are ploughed according to ancestral traditions in order to allow for adequate aeration of the soil, which serves to enhance its mineral qualities and to strengthen the rooting of the vines. This allows for a natural equilibrium to take place, avoiding either excess humidity on one hand and extreme dryness on the other. Moreover, plowing of the soil is performed according to natural cycles.
2) Use of organic growth procedures: their estate does not employ any pesticides, herbicides or other synthetic chemicals.
3) Limited yields of high concentration: their estate comprises a substantial portion of aged vines (some over 80 years old) which have limited yields but of very high concentration.
4) Diversified range of grape types allowing for remarkable complementarities: their plots comprise several grape types such as Shiraz, Grenache and Carignan for our red wines, as well as white Grenache and grey Muscat for the production of white wines. Such a diversified range allows, through careful and artful combination of each grape type’s exclusive characteristics, to produce powerful tasting wines with sustained coloring and a rich blend of aromas.
5) Vinification adapted to each grape type and vintage: They constantly endeavor to develop distinctive and exclusive products by using winemaking procedures adapted to each grape type and vintage (for example, by varying vinification temperatures). We pay special attention to vat vinification in order to maintain the authenticity of the fruit, as well as using fine lees ageing process which minimizes tannin, contrary to current practices which rely exceedingly on wood. This procedure, which they consider essential but which requires greater human capital than standard practices, explains the fact that their products are recognized as offering a perfect balance between concentration and freshness.
Their goal is not to focus on mass production but rather to offer an exclusive range of products of superior quality which cater to a clientele of connoisseurs.
As an example, the cuvée Jean-Julien 1999 recently outclassed a Rauzan-Ségla (2e cru classé Margaux) in the context of a blind wine tasting event organized by Vino Veritas.
Client loyalty, which is constantly on the rise, along with the privilege of being associated with some of the most renown restaurateurs who make no compromise on quality, are for them the symbols of the recognition of their own quality standards.
As such, you may enjoy their wines at the following renowned London (UK) establishments, several of which have been recognized by Michelin:
Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s, Maze, Pétrus, La Trouvaille, L’Atelier de Robuchon, L’Aventure
They also export our products around the world, notably to Japan, Germany and Canada, to name but a few of our international markets.
