RESERVATROL AND OREGON PINOT NOIR 

Resveratrol, is an antioxidant found in berries, peanuts and grapes as well as wine -- particularly Oregon pinot noir. Scientific studies have found this tiny molecule to be something of a panacea, enabling the body to fight cancer, viruses, inflammation, the effects of aging and other health risks.

It's widely believed resveratrol is responsible for the "French paradox," or the low incidence of heart disease in France, where red wine is an important part of a diet that's also high in saturated fats.

One Oregon winery, Willamette Valley Vineyards, is so sold on the health benefits of resveratrol that it sought, fought for and finally won federal permission to print the resveratrol content of its wines on its back labels.

But how good for your health, really, is that glass of Oregon pinot noir? Unfortunately, the medical research that has stirred up the most excitement about resveratrol offers little promise to devoted drinkers.

Most notably, a study published last November found that overweight mice treated with resveratrol enjoyed healthier livers, significantly decreased incidence of diabetes and improved motor function in contrast with overweight mice that did not receive resveratrol.

By Katherine Cole, excerpted from The Oregonian Newspaper

Full article at http://www.oregonwine.org/Home

OREGON WINE LABELING CHANGES APPROVED

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) has approved a petition from the Oregon Winegrowers Association (OWA), updating the 30-year old statewide wine labeling regulations.

The petition preserves the 90 percent minimum requirement for varietal labeling of Pinot noir, Pinot gris, Chardonnay and Riesling, among others; and adds 11 new varieties to the list of exempted varietals, meaning they default to the Federal minimum requirement of 75 percent for varietal labeling.

Of the 72 wine grape varieties known to grow in Oregon, 18 will now be allowed to be blended with up to 25 percent of other grape varieties, yet carry the name of the primary grape. The 11 new varieties are Carmenère, Durif (Petite Sirah), Grenache, Marsanne, Mourvedre, Roussanne, Sangiovese, Syrah, Tannat, Tempranillo and Zinfandel. The remaining 54, which make up more than 90 percent of Oregon wine production, will still require a minimum 90 percent.

Prior to the petition, Oregon labeling regulations permitted only seven Bordelaise varietals - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc - to be labeled with 75 percent varietal content per Federal regulations. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) currently recognizes 267 wine grape varieties that can legally be labeled with a varietal name with a minimum 75 percent varietal content.

"These updated rules clear the way for Oregon's diverse wine industry to stay competitive in the national and international marketplace," said Steve Pharo, executive director of the OLCC. "This is the first significant change in Oregon's wine labeling rules in three decades. We appreciate that wine industry leaders and OLCC staff members worked countless hours over many months to bring these new rules to fruition. Wine producers from every region of Oregon gave us guidance in creating these rules and compromised when necessary to keep the industry unified."

Other changes of note:

Pinot gris vs. Pinot grigio - Oregon producers can now use either Pinot gris or Pinot grigio on Oregon wine labels. Prior to these changes, only Pinot gris could be used on the bottle because the 1977 regulations permitted the use of only one name.

Geographic Designations on Labels - A wine may now contain 95 percent of fruit from a place specified on the label and still carry the geographic designation on the label. Examples include political designations (state and counties) and American Viticultural Areas (specific grape growing regions approved for use by the TTB.) The previous Oregon regulations required 100 percent. This change was made to allow for real world cellar practices, such as topping when the wine in barrel evaporates. The current TTB regulation is 85 percent.

WINE CLUB PRICE INCREASES FOR 2008 

Starting with the February, 2008 shipment, the Premium Club will be a maximum of $62 / month, up from $55. This includes two bottles of Oregon pinot noir, plus ground freight. As always, we will hold back Premium Club selections during inclement weather, unless 3-day or faster air freight is authorized.

Starting with the February, 2008 shipment, the World Class Club will be a maximum of $115 per month, up from $105. This includes two bottles of Oregon pinot noir, plus ground freight. As always, we will automatically add a surcharge for 3-day freight during inclement weather, unless it is requested that we hold the wine back.

I want to extend my thanks to all of our loyal customers for their continued support. Please feel free to contact me directly with any comments or questions about the price increase.

JANUARY WORLD CLASS WINES

 

2005 DOBBES PINOT NOIR "CUVEE NOIR" 

Price: $50
Production: 277 cases
Drinkability: Decant and savor
Availability: We're still the sole outlet

The other day I ran across Joe Dobbes (actually, I stopped at his Dundee winery). Joe makes a lot of wine, from his bargain-priced Wine by Joe lineup to his upper-tier Dobbes Family Estates, and he's been around the industry since the second wave, back in the late '80s.

"I'm glad you're here," Joe said. "I need you to taste something." I was ushered into the winery office, and presented with two bottles of wine, bagged. It was a blind tasting.

I was intrigued. Joe has been making Oregon pinot as long as most - he started at Eola Hills in "the olden days" around spent time at Hinman / Silvan Ridge before taking over the reigns at Willamette Valley Vineyards for a long stint. After that, he consulted for many producers, put in some time at Torii Mor, and helped out with family wine projects. These days, he has  facility large enough to be one of the largest producers in Oregon.

Back to the tasting. "Which one do you like better?" I was asked. Feeling equal to the task, I tasted.

The first wine was excellent. Rich, deep and dark, with big flavors, a fine structure, and plenty of length. Certainly a terrific wine by any standards.

Then I tasted the second wine. It was rich and opulent, with soaring flavors, exquisite balance, and a beautifully open-knit texture. The length was exquisite. It was the superior wine, and by comparison it made the first wine taste a bit . . . crude.

The bags came off. The first wine was 2005 Torii Mor Deux Verres Reserve Pinot Noir. It had just been rated 93 points by The Wine Spectator - a lofty score indeed.

The second, far-superior wine was the '05 Dobbes Cuvee Noir. That's what's on offer here today. Given the choice to sell either or both wines, I emphatically choose the Dobbes.

The point, Joe says, was to show that his stuff was at least as good as the 93-pointer from Torii Mor. Tasters concluded that Joe's wine was better, obviously. So what makes a 93-point wine? It's hard to say -- but the Dobbes Cuvee Noir clearly deserves a higher score than that, if we use flavor, intensity, balance and purity as any benchmark at all.

There were only 277 cases made of the Dobbes Cuvee Noir, and we are the first source in the World to offer the wine.

2006 Matello Pinot Noir Whistling Ridge Vineyard
Price: $45
Production: 120 cases
Drinkability: Approachable, only getting better
Availability: Good for the short term only

2006 Matello Pinot Noir Willamette Valley
Price: $18
Drinkability: Quaff anytime
Availability: Good for now

This is a light, fragrant and fruit-driven pinot noir. It benefits from the same winemaking and experience that goes into his more expensive wines, but benefits wine drinkers by sporting a modest price tag.

This wine is all about the flavor of the grape: fresh berry flavors, bright acidity and a lively, juicy character on the palate make it quite appealing for current quaffing. There's a bit of pettlience upon initial opening, but that's not uncommon for naturally made wine - just let it sit for a minute and drink up!

Please refer to the review in the "World Class" section for more details.

Westry Pinot Noir Oracle Vineyard
Price: $25
Production: Not much!
Drinkability: Dive in
Availability: We have just a couple cases left, then it's gone

How's this for a vinous diptychh? We have Matello wines this month, made by a guy who trained with Amy and David at Westry - and we have a Westry wine, too!

Westrey represents the collaborative winemaking of Amy Wesselman and David Autrey. Westrey employs traditional techniques such as small batch, indigenous-yeast fermentation, hand punch-downs and a very limited use of new oak. Techniques are adapted to individual lots, so that each wine communicates its vineyard of origin. While they make chardonnay and pinot gris, pinot noir remains their priority.

Amy and David farm 18 acres of grapes, planted between 1977 and 2001, at Oracle Vineyard, their fifty-acre parcel of land in the Dundee Hills. Westrey has also purchased grapes from the neighboring Abbey Ridge Vineyard since the winery¹s first vintage in 1993.

This fine offering is really quite a bargain at the price. It features, dark, ripe fruit flavors and a texture more opulent that you have any reason to expect at this price point. It's lengthy, fruit driven and detailed on the finish. It's already quaffing well, so feel free to drink this anytime.

Alas, there's only a small amount left. Because of the price / quality ratio, this wine rapidly became a favorite at Portland restaurants, and left only a bit for the rest of us. In fact, we had to buy this a month ago to ensure supply for our valued wine club members.

DECEMBER WORLD CLASS WINES 

Dear Friends and Customers: Typically, I do not pen a December newsletter, simply because we are too busy during that month. Due to popular demand, here are blurbs for the December World Class wines. Note that we sent out two bottles of Boedecker, but  that they were from different vineyards.

Boedecker: Rising Star of Oregon Pinot
Catchy headline, no? But, it might be wrong. In fact, given the quality of these '05s from Stuart Boedecker and Athena Pappas, I should probably write that "The Star has Risen." -- the wines are good enough to deserve the acclaim.

Stuart Boedecker and Athena Pappas are a young couple working out of a very small place in Carlton, Oregon. Their winemaking skills developed starting in the mid '90s -- Stuart was essentially a intern with Eric Hamacher for many years, and they have been taking enology classes at the Ag college here.

When Stuart decided to become a winemaker, he did one key thing really well: sourcing high-quality fruit from respected Oregon vineyards like Stoller, Shea and others. This cannot be overstated -- good winemakers with inferior vineyards equals mediocre wine.

The first Boedecker vintage was '03. The OPNC jumped onboard with the Boedecker '04s, and you may recall they were part of our "Best of the Indie Wineries" lineup with wines from that vintage.

Now, with the '05s, the winery is poised to attract significant attention from lovers of classic, balanced Oregon pinot noir.

The top of the Boedecker wine hierarchy is a series of three single-vineyard wines from Momtazi, Anderson Family and Shea Vineyards. Each of these wines is intense, showing loads of pure fruit, gorgeous, integrated structural elements, and impeccable balance. They aren't huge fruit-and-oak bombs -- that's not the the Boedecker style, nor the character of the '05 vintage. These wines impress with finesse, detail, length, spot-on structure, and their obvious potential for mid-term aging. They are excellent examples of classicly styled pinot noir. And listen to this: Only 50 cases were made of each single- vineyard wine!

We are shipping the '05 Boedecker Momtazi and Anderson Family Vineyards wines together as a set for our World Class Club in December. After that, we have a few cases to sell of all three single-vineyards wines.

We've been offering some amazing wines from the great '05 vintage lately, including some very small-lot wines that later went on to achieve big critical scores (think Et Fille and Twelve). These Boedecker wines will without question be critical darlings -- but only long after the tiny amount of wine available is completely sold out. Don't miss this opportunity.