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Le Cadeau Vineyard * Exceptional Pinot Noir

Le Cadeau Vineyard * Exceptional Pinot Noir

Published October 18, 2019

It was a beautiful and warm day on Parrett Mountain in the Chehalem AVA of Willamette Valley, Oregon. I, along with about ten others, was walking the Le Cadeau Vineyards property before we sat down to sample four of the Pinot Noir wines made from the fruit from the various blocks on the property. In total the property is twenty-eight acres of which sixteen are planted. From where we started the walk at the top of the slope you could see the entire property. It is amazing how large and how small sixteen acres are. One the one hand, we…

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Drinkable Pink This Autumn

Drinkable Pink This Autumn

Published October 10, 2019

Yes, Gary and I are still drinking rosé this fall, and we will continue to do so through the winter. Our journey of drinkable pink wines has been a blast, and I want to share some of the bottles that we have sampled and loved. Some of these new wines we now buy by the case as they are that good. Drinkable pink – two different tastings. First, I taught a rosé class at Edison James Island as part of my educational wine tasting series. (Sign up here) A second tasting then happened a couple of days later when we…

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Wine Tasting Expansion

Wine Tasting Expansion

Published September 23, 2019

After much encouragement from friends and family, I have put considerable effort into creating new tasting opportunities. The wine tasting expansion is in full swing, and I hope that I will see my local readers sometime soon at one of my events. Wine Tasting Expansion via Signature Tasters Continues After three successful Invitation-only Signature Tasters parties, I am moving forward with the concept and recruiting other DTC (direct to consumer) only wineries to present their wines. While these wineries do not have local distribution, they are licensed to ship directly to the consumer. So the only way to taste these…

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Tasting Willamette – Damnit

Published August 23, 2019

Last week, I was part of the Wine Writer’s Educational Tour (WWET) to Willamette Valley in Oregon. Four intensive days of classroom, tasting, touring and wining & dining throughout the northern section of the Willamette Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area). Each day, I would rise at 7:00 am to be on the bus by 8:00 am only to return to the hotel around 11:00 pm. Over these four days, I tasted upwards of 140 different wines from wineries all over the AVA. The wines were mostly Pinot Noir, but we also had a session on Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, and…

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Clif Family Does Wine Right

Published August 12, 2019

I dare say there is not an adult in this country that has not eaten a Clif Bar at some point in their life. Thanks to the success of those bars, Clif Family has also ventured into winemaking in Napa Valley. And like anything that they do, they do it incredibly well, and they go big. Many successful wineries in Napa may offer five wines. At Clif Family, I counted 24 on their website. As I said, they go BIG. Clif Family Winery On A Whim During my May of 2018 trip to Napa, we made a last-minute stop at…

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White Wine – Three You May Not Know

Published July 31, 2019

Three White Wines beyond The Big Three If you drink white wine, it is more than likely a Chardonnay, Pinot Gris/Grigio, or Sauvignon Blanc. And if you like one of them you probably are not fond of the other two. That is just the way it is as we are conditioned to stick with what we know. But I am here to tell you that there is so much more in the white wine world to be consumed and you are truly missing out on some great juice. I have recently been on a white wine quest, and I wanted…

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In the Glass and On the Plate

Published July 23, 2019

Before we talk plate and glass, I have to share this series of images. These pictures of two of my favorite beings just make me smile. Breezy thinks she is a lap dog, and Gary loves all the “kisses.” She really wants to lick his eye, but his glasses are blocking her access. What Is In My Glass and On My Plate Glass – 2016 Daou Soul of the Lion, Adelaida District, Paso Robles, California This wine is an extraordinary sip. And for that, I must thank my sister. She went to a Daou Vineyards and Winery Dinner and ordered…

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Ehlers Estate 2018 Sylviane Rosé

Published July 12, 2019

A Horse of a Different Color When the Ehlers Estate 2018 Sylviane Rosé was released last Spring, I was super stoked. The 2017 vintage was my #1 favorite wine last year. Everyone I knew that tried this vintage swooned over it. It was a 100% Cabernet Franc rosé that really knocked it out of the park. So with the 2018 vintage released, I was ordering my first case, no problem, with more to follow I was sure. Now I knew that there was a new winemaker at Ehlers. After all, I did run a Q&A with her last fall. (You…

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