Known and admired for exceptional and site-driven Pinot Noir, Mark Vlossak has cut inroads toward an America that thinks less about ego and more about place.  The celebrated Pinot Noirs Zenith, Temperance Hill, Shea, and Momtazi are as much a product of place as they are variety, winemaking prowess or method.  These wines put Vlossak's St. Innocent Winery on the map as a cause celebre for good reason and yet many of his finest creations are kept secret by those who know them.  St Innocent's white wines excel even among the finest in the United States.  These are exemplary wines that push new limits and educate simply by their own merits. First among these is the incomparable Oregon terroir.  Intelligent winemaking also knows to keep its maker's mark subtle. Fostering fruit that expresses itself and enticing the soil, climate and year's vagaries to contribute their part is enough to make a wine stand out.  In some ways grape varieties are the ambassadors to their homelands and rarely do they speak on their land's behalf as they do at St. Innocent.

Try Freedom Hill Pinot Blanc.  Wanting something to accompany shellfish, Mark Vlossak sought out this vineyard to create a wine with beautiful fruit and slight leesy creamy aromas. It is perfect for ceviche or tartare because it likes flavor. Even pates give-in to its nice tannins and leesy texture.  Should you want a wine to accent almost anything or simple go well on its own, the Freedom Hill Chardonnay is barrel fermented in old barrels and left for one year on the lees lending a nice texture across the mouth. It's in no way heavy and its peach pit minerality lingers through the finish.  As it turns out the balance really goes with a variety of foods.  A true vinosity speaks from this wine. Seldom do any wines at this price point ever manage to show character in such a compelling way.