Mission: Pass Certified Court of Masters Sommelier Exam

I really might have gone motivationally insane with this one, but I have signed up to take my Certified Court of Masters Sommelier Exam this July in Portland! What does this mean? I have two and a half months to read and memorize thousands of pages of wine history, varietals, winemaking practices, food and wine pairings, and international and domestic wine law! I also get to practice my deductive tasting methods and wine service over and over, because I will be tested on those as well.

Here is my initial reading list:

The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil
The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson
Sales and Service for the Wine Professional by Brian K. Julyan
Wine Spectator
Wine Enthusiast
... and every study guide and set of flashcards I can get my hands on!

I am really looking forward to this intense process! I am very timid announcing this to the blogosphere, because what if I fail? Well, its all in the name of learning and I can always retake the exam! In addition, this blog will be a great tool for me to share my knowledge with you. Thanks for all the continued support!

Abacela Completes the Carbon Neutral Challenge!

Abacela Winery is 1 of 14 wineries to successfully complete the Carbon Neutral Challenge set forth by the Oregon Environmental Council and the Oregon Wine Board!

The Carbon Neutral Challenge Initiative is intended to provide tools to enable wineries and vineyards to reach the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and then incorporating carbon offsets to reach the goal of carbon neutrality. The first step is to calculate the greenhouse gas (carbon/CO2) footprint for the winery and/or vineyard operation using a tool based on The Climate Registry's requirements. Once the operation's

carbon footprint is established, it is easier to identify the source of the major emissions and develop a plan to reduce these emissions.

The second step is to implement a plan to reduce carbon emissions in the winery operations by making cost-effective

investments and operational changes. One step that some wineries have already taken is installing solar panels on site. Other forms of renewable energy are wind, geothermal and hydro electric generating projects. Conversion to ethanol (E85)

or to biodiesel (B99 or B50) fuel can also reduce emissions.

All Participating wineries and vineyards are expected to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint via a combination of energy efficiency investments and on site generation of renewable energy.

Here is a list of all the wineries that completed the carbon neutral program for 2009:

• Abacela
• Adelsheim Vineyard
• A to Z Wineworks/Rex Hill
• Chehalem
• Cooper Mountain Vineyards
• King Estate Winery
• Left Coast Cellars
• Lemelson Vineyards
• Mahonia Vineyards
• Sokol Blosser Winery
• Soter Vineyards
• Stoller Vineyards
• Willamette Valley Vineyards
• Winderlea Wine Company

By completing the first year of the initiative, these wine industry leaders are demonstrating the important role businesses play in reducing Carbon emissions and providing leadership within the wine industry and beyond.

I passed!!

Yesterday I passed my Court of Master Sommelier Introduction Exam! It was an incredible learning experience for me and I am really motivated to continue with the certifications. Although I soaked up a ton of information, my biggest takeaway was how much I have left to learn! 

Here are my new friends from the course that also passed:

I am now starting to studying for my Certified Sommelier exam. This exam will require written, service, and deductive tasting portions. Feel free to send me samples to practice my blind tasting skills :)

More Wine Knowledge Please!

Wish me luck! I'm packing and heading up to Seattle this weekend to take my first Court of Master Sommelier course and exam. I'll be spending two full days learning about methods of viticulture, vinification and local customs for major wine regions, production methods, wine service, harmony of food and wine, and tasting skills. At the end of the two day course, I'll talk a comprehensive exam, which is required to pass in order to continue onto the Advanced Course and Exam.

I'm very excited to formalize and enhance my wine knowledge and share it with you! Look out Larry Stone :)

About the Court of Master Sommeliers: Established in 1977 to promote excellence in hotel and restaurant beverage service. Though its members worldwide come from diverse backgrounds and experiences, they share a proven mastery of the art, science, and history that informs a sommelier's work.

Del Rio Vineyards Gets an "A"

Just like with good grades in elementary school, this "good grade" is going on the refrigerator (or at least my blog wall). Del Rio Vineyards' 2007 Syrah just earned a 91 point score by Wine Spectator- not an easy feat!

Congratulations to the winemaking staff at Del Rio Vineyards. I, along with the rest of the Southern Oregon wine community, appreciate the high quality wines you are making to help build the region's reputation. 

Tasting Notes: 100% Syrah. The nose of the Syrah is a mixture of black current, bay leaf and thyme. Aged 50% in new oak, the smokey mouth gives way to an intense spicy black pepper finish.

Vintage Notes: 2007- Benefitting from a late harvest, the grapes experienced much cooler temperatures, lower alcohol levels, structured acidity and ideal flavor development. 2007 was indeed an excellent vintage. 

Food Pairing: Pair with beef, lamb, and game or blackened meaty fish such as salmon or tuna. Cheese such as cheddar, goat, aged gouda, gruyere, and camembert also compliment nicely. Enjoy it now or cellar for up to five years. 

You can taste this wine for yourself at Del Rio Vineyards Tasting Room in Gold Hill 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. daily or purchase online. The 2007 Syrah retails for $35, but Rio Club members save 20%.

Celebrate Earth Day with Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine!

Something has changed. There are new consumers out there. New connoisseurs. People who are no longer content just to drink great-tasting wines. They want to know how the wines were made. They want to be assured that the grower and winemaker treated the land and the process respectfully.

That's where Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine (OCSW) comes in.

The OCSW logo guarantees that the wine in that bottle was made using responsible agriculture and responsible winemaking practices; and that the wine was certified by an independent third party. To meet the agricultural requirements 97% of fruit must be certified by LIVE (Low Input Viticulture Enology), USDA Organic, Demeter Biodynamic or Food Alliance and also be Salmon Safe. To meet the winery requirements the facility had to be certified by one of the previous programs.

Currently, 18 Oregon wineries, including one Southern Oregon winery- Wooldridge Creek- have wines with OCSW certification, totaling 1.75 million bottles. Wineries include: Adelsheim Vineyard, Amity Vineyards, Anne Amie Vineyards, Argyle Winery, Bethel Heights Vineyard, Chehalem, Cristom Vineyards, Dobbes Family Estate, Montinore Estate, Panther Creek Cellars, Ponzi Vineyards, Rex Hill Vineyards, Sokol Blosser Winery, Soter Vineyards, Stoller Vineyards, WillaKenzie Estate, Willamette Valley Vineyards and Wooldridge Creek Winery.

OCSW wines are now entering the market - available to consumers both directly through the winery and also with select wines in distribution channels nationwide. I certainly hope more Southern Oregon wineries follow the lead making sustainability a movement not a buzz word.

*Citation: OCSW

Action Required to Save Southern Oregon Wineries' Freedom!

Interested in the survival of Southern Oregon wineries, choice of consumers, or freedom of commerce? READ ON!

From the words of Josh Wade of DrinkNectar.com:

Now is a call to action for all wine drinkers, wineries, and lovers of small business. If you’re reading these sentences, I compel you to continue to read and to take action. Failure to do so could mean the end of buying wine directly from the winery you love AND the failure of the small business winery as we know it.

Recent posts from Wine Spectator and Tom Wark’s Fermentation shed light on a potentially devastating bill (HR 5034) introduced to congress that will further solidify the distribution control of alcohol among the powerful distributors and handcuff already struggling small business wineries. The language of HR5034 is aimed at prohibiting public challenge of existing state laws. Citing litigation costs and leaning on fear mongering WSWA (Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America) CEO Craig Wolf is deceptively seeking to increase control of already antitrust laws that date back to prohibition.

Follow the money. With lawsuits filed in more than 25 states and success of Granholm vs. Heald, wholesalers are starting to feel the pinch in their fat wallets. Armed with deep pockets and political muscle the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) drafted the bill aimed at stopping the progress of direct shipping.

Tom Wark says, “The only way many wineries can survive or thrive inside today’s ineffective alcohol distribution system is through direct shipment of wine to consumers. The only way consumers can access most of the wines that have resulted from the explosion of artisan wineries across the country is via direct shipment of wine. If H.R. 5034 passes, it will mean the end of the direct shipment of wine in numerous states.”

The fact that a bill has made it this far is troubling, however if Schoolhouse Rock taught us anything, a bill must be debated in committee, passed and voted in the house, then debated in the Senate and then voted and passed there, before becoming a law to be signed by the President.

In a recent article on Vin65, Vintank CEO Paul Mabray talked about the balance between direct to trade and direct to consumer sales. “Pro-direct doesn’t mean anti-distribution,” says Paul. “Direct to consumer is over demonized by wholesalers. Remember that most consumers buy wine and consume it within 3 hours of purchase.” Direct sales don’t support that type of consumerism. Paul goes on to explain, “Direct to consumer builds awareness and customer loyalty as well. Wineries that have combined direct and traditional distribution are stronger as brands and the wholesaler pull is better than those without direct to consumer in the market.”

What does HR5034 mean to you? If it passes, the whole game will change. Small wineries will suffer under the loss of direct shipping and lower profit margins. Consumers will have less access to wine they enjoy. Some consumers will be unable to get out of state wine. The only way brands will be able to sell wine to consumers is through wholesaler distribution channels. This is the definition of anti-commerce and monopoly. Even more sinister is the wording in the bill that removes the ability to challenge the law, thus removing your voice.

A CALL TO ACTION:

*Contact your representative and tell them to vote NO on HR5034. (Use one of the many articles in this piece for reference materials).

*Re-post this or any of the referenced articles on twitter using the hashtag #HR5034

*Join the Facebook community STOPHR5034, post it to your page and share it with your friends.

*Share this information with other wineries, wine associations, and wine lovers

The future of the wine business depends on our action.

Notice a Pattern Here?

Notice a pattern here?

Southern Oregon Showings in the 2010 Astoria Wine Competition:

Best of Show

Spangler Vineyards, Umpqua Valley, 2007 Petite Syrah

Gold

Girardet Wine Cellars, Umpqua Valley, 2008 Baco Noir

Melrose Vineyards, Umpqua Valley, 2007 Pinot Noir

Silver

Girardet Wine Cellars, Umpqua Valley, 2008 Chardonnay

Palotai Vineyard, Umpqua Valley, 2008 Riesling

Bronze

Girardet Wine Cellars, Umpqua Valley, 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon

Misty Oaks, Umpqua Valley, 2008 Pinot Gris

Palotai Winery, Umpqua Valley, 2007 Syrah

UMPQUA VALLEY AVA REPRESENTS! 

Dying to try these award winning wines? Or do you want a reason to head to the coast this weekend? You actually probably don't need a reason, but here is one anyway- The Astoria Seafood & Wine Festival! Until I started writing this blog I had NO idea there were so many seafood & wine festivals in Oregon (no complaint here)! 

Enjoy a great spread of Northwest cuisine, myriad arts and crafts, a selection of Oregon and Washington's finest wineries, a beer garden, and musical entertainment at this years festival located at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds.

Festival Hours/Admission:
Friday: 4-9 p.m. $8
Saturday: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. $10
Sunday: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. $5

Southern Oregon wineries pouring:
Cliff Creek Cellars
Crater Lake Cellars
Girardet Wine Cellars
Henry Estate Winery
Hillcrest Vineyard
Melrose Vineyards
Misty Oak Vineyard
Palotai Winery
Pyrenees Cellar
Spangler Vineyards
Troon Vineyard

Lets Row with Rogue River Outfitters!

It's official! Chris and I are teaming up with Rogue River Outfitters to create a Rogue River Rafting Wine Tour! More details to come...

We will be sharing a diverse mix of wines, stories of wineries and winemakers of Southern Oregon, all while experiencing the Rogue River. Believe me, you do not want to miss this trip!

Lets Row!

Rob Folin talks Viognier

Whole cluster ferments, destemmed/decrushed, barrels, cold soaks, stainless steal, staves- these are the variables Rob Folin, winemaker at Folin Cellars, has controlled in his latest vintage of Viognier. What started out as three separate trials, will soon be selected for one fabulous wine. Bottling is estimated to occur the first week of May. Listen to Rob talk about his Viognier creation process:




Folin Cellars in Gold Hill currently produces around 2,000 cases annually. They focus on 100% estate grown, warm climate varietals such as Viognier, Tempranillo, and Syrah and elect to use Vino Seal closures on all their wines to ensure all of their wines are as Rob has intended them to be.

Folin Cellars' Tasting Rooms are now open for the season! Their Estate Tasting Room welcomes visitors Saturdays and Sundays 12-5 p.m. and weekdays by appointment. Their Carlton Tasting Room is Saturdays 1-6 p.m. and Sundays 12-5 p.m.

Pinot Noir "performs" for Del Rio Vineyards

I'm laughing that I am posting two Matt Kramer article excerpts in two days. But, what can I say? Matt Kramer gets how great Southern Oregon wines are. It is exciting to see a Southern Oregon producer, Del Rio Vineyards, highlighted for their Pinot Noir efforts. I told you Southern Oregon was versatile!

Vintage makes a difference in these two Oregon pinot noirs

by Matt Kramer, March 27, 2010

Few subjects are more aggravated than the matter of vintage. The word itself is simply a synonym for a single growing season: A vintage is the year the grapes were harvested. 

The phrase "a vintage year" has the connotation of something exceptional and fine. This is because vintage-dating a wine is actually a recent practice. Well into the 20th century, most wines from most places were either sold in bulk from barrel or bottled with no more information than a brand name invented by a bulk bottler. For a wine to display a vintage date was exceptional, in every sense. Today, of course, the great majority of fine wines sport a vintage date. 

But not all do. For example, most French Champagnes are sold as nonvintage bottlings. Wines such as Spanish sherry never have a vintage date, as the complex blending process of that wine precludes a single-vintage version. So why are vintages so vexing? 

Partly because generations of wine lovers were told that some vintages are better than others -- which is to say the growing season was better. Here in Oregon, just ask any grower or wine buff about the growing season difference between the 2007 (rainy during picking) and 2008 (cool spring but glorious fall) vintages. Does the difference reveal itself in the wines? It sure does. 

Del Rio Vineyards "Rogue Valley" Pinot Noir 2008: One of the complaints -- justified -- of southern Oregon winegrowers is that vintage information about Oregon wines is skewed to the Willamette Valley. As anyone who's traveled the length of Oregon knows, the climate (and terrain) of southern Oregon is considerably different from that of the 100-mile stretch of the cool, moist Willamette Valley. 

The 2008 vintage, however, was an equal-opportunity growing season for north and south. Both zones suffered a cool spring that affected flowering. That, in turn, reduced the crop size by as much as one-third and also set back the likely harvest date. (Grapes need 100 days to ripen once the tiny berry is formed.) Both zones saw a triumphant harvest thanks to glorious late fall weather with warm days, cool nights and little rain. 

In short, 2008 is a handy, one-size-fits-all vintage: It turned out great everywhere -- not least, in the bottle. Evidence of the exceptional quality of the 2008 vintage is found in the 2008 Del Rio Vineyards pinot noir from the Rogue Valley. Southern Oregon has a spotty track record with pinot noir, in part perhaps because it's warmer than the Willamette Valley. 

Pinot noir likes what growers call a long "hang time" where the grape acquires more flavor components in the fall while barely increasing in sugar content, thanks to cool weather. Southern Oregon's sunny, warm weather reduces the opportunity for such long hang time for the ultra-sensitive pinot noir grape. However, in 2008, the fall weather obliged and pinot noir performed, at least as evidenced by this lovely example from Del Rio Vineyards in Gold Hill. Del Rio Vineyards is one of Southern Oregon's largest vineyards, with 180 acres planted with 15 varieties. Many of these grapes are sold to other Oregon wineries. 

Del Rio Vineyards "Rogue Valley" Pinot Noir 2008 is a superb pinot noir brimming with the signature berry and wild cherry flavors of the variety along with a distinctive, attractive earthy note. This is a wine, by the way, that really comes alive when served in a large wine glass, as there's a lot on offer, as it were. The winemaking is deft, with the barest touch of oak and a delicacy rare in southern Oregon pinot noirs, as well as an alcohol level of just 12.8 percent. This is worth seeking out. $26.95. (Distributor is Young's Columbia.) 

Thoughts from "Get out of that taste rut with these originals"

Abacela once again gets much deserved recognition for their winemaking efforts, this time with their Vintner's Blend #10 in yesterday's Oregonian article by Matt Kramer, "Get out of that taste rut with these originals."  I have posted the excerpt along with a few added comments in green.

It's said repeatedly among wine producers, retailers and, yes, wine writers, that wine drinkers everywhere are in a taste rut. That consumers want and drink only the same wines repeatedly- namely, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and pinot noir, a relative newcomer to the ranks of wine repetition.

Now, there's some truth to this. After all, familiarity doesn't breed contempt. Rather, it breeds content. (I've always thought that whoever first wrote "familiarity breeds contempt" must have misheard it.) Agree!

The wines this week handily address this state of affairs. They are nothing if not original. But trying new wines hardly precludes drinking the familiar pleasures. There's room for both, don't you think?

Abacela "Southern Oregon" Vintner's Blend #10 Red Table Wine: Various wines from Abacela winery in Roseburg have appeared in this space numerous times over the years. The reason is simple: Abacela makes terrific wines with grape varieties that other in Oregon never previously pursued.

Most of these exploratory varieties were Spanish grapes such as tempranillo and albariño. But Abacela also planted grapes that other in southern Oregon were already tinkering with, such as syrah, malbec, grenache, cabernet franc and viognier.

Abacela regularly purchases grapes from its southern Oregon colleagues. And that, in effect, is the story of its annual bottling designated Vintner's Blend red table wine. This latest version, Vintner's Blend #10, is sourced from five vineyards in addition to Abacela's own plantings: Alta Seca Vineyard, Delfino Vineyard, McCorquodale Vineyard, Pheasant Hill Vineyard and Steelhead Run Vineyard.

This red table wine is composed of a boggling 14 grape varieties: tempranillo (39 percent), syrah (16 percent), merlot (10 percent), cabernet sauvignon (9 percent), petit verdant (5.5 percent) and minor amounts of Grecian, cabernet franc, dulcet, malbec, viognier, ternate, mourvédre, albariño and grenache. I really can't imagine this blending process! 

Too often, such wildly disparate assemblages result in a wine of no real character. Such blends can be muddy-tasting and lack flavor focus. That's not the case here.

Abacela "Southern Oregon" Vintner's Blend #10 Red Table Wine (which does not show a vintage, by the way) is a ripe-tasting, rich red with the bright focused spiciness and refreshing acidity of tempranillo enhanced- rather than diminished- by the addition of all those other varieties.

This is a red wine that fairly begs for hearty, robust foods such as bean stews, chili, grilled meats, sausages and the like. Linda, Abacela's Tasting Room Manager, called it the "pizza, pasta and burger wine." Also, it will surely benefit from additional bottle age as the fruitiness of this red is substantial and still quite youthful. This wine's purpose is to be an everyday all-star. Drink now. Worth noting is that this freshness is enhanced by the use of a screwcap closure. Hmm... 

At $15.95 a bottle, this is an outstanding deal in flat-out good red wine of real character with not a shred of pretension.

Kramer continues the article talking about a 2008 Grecante "Grechetto dei Colli Martini" from Italy. I couldn't find the article online yet, so you will just have to take my word for it. 

Obselidia at The Ashland Independent Film Festival

This weekend was the epitome of spontaneity and that means many blog posts are coming out of it.

On Friday we pulled up the schedule for the Ashland Independent Film Festival, saw a 12 o'clock showing, got in the car making it just in time to be let into the Varsity Theater to see Obselidia.

Synopsis: Believing he's the last door-to-door encyclopedia salesman in the world, George decides to write The Obselidia, a compendium of obsolete things. George believes that love, among other things, is obsolete. In his quest to document nearly extinct occupations, he befriends Sophie, a beautiful cinema projectionist who works at a silent movie theater. Sophie believe that nothing is obsolete as long as someone loves it. When they interview a reclusive scientist who predicts 80 percent of the world's population will be obliterated by irreversible climate change by the year 2100, the two must fact the question, if the world is going to disappear tomorrow, how are we going to live today?

I couldn't have written anything I agree with more than this review from Variety, "From the striking title cards to the beautifully composed visuals and unusual collected items that litter the protagonist's home, Obselidia has the look of a hand-crafted piece, something meticulously sculpted or painted in an artist's studio."

After the showing, Diane Bell, writer and first time director, got up in front of the audience for Q&A. Previously a yoga instructor in Barcelona, Diane moved to Los Angeles to pursue writing. After feeling dissatisfied writing Hollywood horror movies, Diane started working on Obselidia with inspiration from encyclopedias and climate change. Filmed in 17 days, on an extremely low budget of $500,000, and casting literally off the LA street, Obselidia was a Sundance Film Festival selection. This showing in Ashland is only the second festival the movie has been involved in, but plans to participate in film festivals in Texas, Florida, and in Diane's home of Edinburgh, Scotland are next up for the indie film. Hopefully the film gets picked up so more can enjoy its message, but if not, Diane and her husband, Chris Bryne, talked about taking the film a more viral route.

While leaving the theater, a woman asked me what movie I saw and I responded with my favorable recommendation of Obselidia and how impressed I was with my first visit to the film festival. She too saw the film and said it was movies like that which bring her back year after year to the Ashland Independent Film Festival. Next year, attending the film festival will not be a spontaneous event in my Friday, but rather a planned out trip to catch as many wonderful films as I can.

Obselidia will have one last showing at the festival tonight at 6 p.m. I cannot urge you enough to go see it. For more information go to http://www.ashlandfilm.org/.


If you miss its last showing tonight, or want to follow Obselidia success, join the facebook fan page.



*** The winners of the festival were announced and Obselidia took home the award for "Juried Best Feature!" Congratulations to Diane, the cast and crew. Fortunately that also means additional showings will take place this week at The Varsity Theater.

Wines up North from grapes down South • Genius Loci 2007 Folin Vineyards Syrah

Here is the first post in a new ongoing segment called "Wines up North from grapes down South." Many Willamette Valley wineries are now making wines from grapes grown in Southern Oregon (Dobbes Family Estates, Domaine Serene, Penner-Ash, Willamette Valley Vineyards, Wildaire... just to name a few). They, along with the rest of the world, are discovering the high-quality fruit that is coming out of the region. It is a great way to diversify their Pinot-dominated portfolios.

I am 75% excited to see these grapes getting into the hands of esteemed winemakers and creating additional buzz for Southern Oregon, but I am slightly hesitant that this could backlash on Southern Oregon. Southern Oregon could stay in the shadows of the Willamette Valley by being seen as a supplier rather than an equal producer in the Oregon wine industry.  And we all know that Southern Oregon has much more potential than that!

In early March Chris took a field trip with his fellow enology students to Genius Loci in McMinnville. Genius Loci Wines are the labor of Michael Lundeen, the son of Pat Lundeen, an instructor at the Northwest Viticulture Center that Chris attends. Genius Loci is a boutique winery making wine from their estate Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris and teaming up with Folin Vineyard in Gold Hill to source their Syrah.


Last Friday night was as stormy as they come in Oregon. Stormy evenings and Syrah go hand in hand for me. We popped open the 2007 Genius Loci Folin Vineyard Syrah and aerated the magneta-colored wine and let it sit for "a while." Okay, "a while" turned out to be about five minutes after we caught a whiff of the nose of this wine. We stood around the decanter like vultures ready to swoop down on some tasty decay. As you can tell, we contain a lot of restraint! This Syrah was fruity and bright with a marathon of a finish. It has made it onto my favorite Syrah list and shockingly retails for $24 a bottle. When a wine like this comes across my palate at a price like that, I am thankful for Michael's generosity!

Event to Celebrate "Artisanal" Oregon Winemaking

Of all the new-to-me wine events this year, I am most looking forward to the Portland Indie Wine Festival. In its sixth year, the festival celebrates the top 40 Oregon craft wineries selected to pour their artisanal wines at the festival's Grand Tasting held on Saturday, May 8th from 2-8 p.m. The festival takes place at the spacious, industrial-chic Bison Building in Northeast Portland. Fifteen of the city's top restaurants will be pairing food with the wines.

The Portland Indie Wine Festival is the signature event of the Indie Wine Foundation, a newly formed non-profit dedicated to sustaining and preserving the art of craft winemaking. Although I feel almost all Oregon wineries could be titled "artisanal," especially Southern Oregon wineries, this event is exciting to experience many up-and-coming brands that aren't wide available to try yet. 

The 40 wineries and 81 wines were selected from a blind tasting conducted with 12 professional wine judges on March 15, 2010.  Quady North and Velocity Cellars were among the list chosen, but many wineries up north had wines selected from grapes grown down south.

Ancient Cellars
2008 Rogue Valley Terebinth Cabernet Franc
2008 Rogue Valley Amphorae Cabernet Sauvignon

Genius Loci
2007 Rogue Valley Folin Vineyard Syrah

J. Scott Cellars
2007 Rogue Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
2008 Rogue Valley Petite Syrah
2008 Rogue Valley Viognier

Quady North
2006 Rogue Valley Arsenal
2007 Rogue Valley 4-2, A Syrah
2007 Applegate Valley Cabernet Franc
2007 Applegate Valley Viognier

Velocity Cellars
2006 Rogue Valley Velocity
2007 Rogue Valley Velo

Big News for the Southern Oregon Wine Institute!

This is no April Fool's Joke! Umpqua Community College's Southern Oregon Wine Institute announced  it received a gift of $800,000 to get the school's winery jump-started. The generous donation was made by Sutherlin attorney Danny Lang.

According to The News-Review article, Lang admitted he drinks only about three glasses of wine per year, and he couldn't pronounce most wine names. Still, he said, he recognized the importance of the industry in the region.

The Southern Oregon Wine Institute will use the money to build a commerical-scale winemaking facility that is modeled after a similar structure at Walla Walla Community College in Washington (design by Fletcher Farr Ayotte pictured). The total cost of the project will be $8 million and if that money is raised through loans and donations, ground breaking will begin this summer.

Currently, the Southern Oregon Wine Institute is mainly an online-based program that serves approximately 50 students working to earn a one-year or two-year degree in viticulture and enology. The institute will be releasing its first wine vintage this summer.