Superior Cellar Awards
If your in or are traveling to Oregon and are looking to take your Oregon Wine experience to some of the best restaurants dedicated to wine in Oregon then this is for you. For a complete list of restaurants visit http://oregonwinepress.com/owp-scawards
Cheers!
- Brandon
In September 2010, Oregon Wine Press launched its Superior Cellar Awards to recognize restaurants whose wine programs place particular emphasis on Oregon wines.
The introduction of these awards honoring the best Oregon wine lists was timed to coincide with our annual restaurant issue in September, and we were delighted by the response.
For the program’s first year — 2011 — we focused exclusively on Oregon restaurants. After all, it is local dining establishments that embrace our state’s own wine industry with the greatest support and enthusiasm.
After an extensive evaluation of restaurant wine lists around the state, Oregon Wine Press selected 40 restaurants whose commitment to Oregon wines stood out.
Though breadth, depth and diversity were obvious considerations, well-selected smaller lists qualified as well.
For 2012, we are pleased to announce that we will be partnering with the Oregon Wine Board and, by extension, the Oregon wine industry. As a result, we are moving forward with the national expansion of the Superior Cellar Awards.
This will be an ongoing process, which over time we fully anticipate will see more and more restaurants within the state, throughout the region and across the nation prove worthy of being honored with an Oregon Wine Superior Cellar Award.
It stands to reason that Oregon restaurants will always offer a larger, diversified portfolio of local wines and place more emphasis on them than restaurants in other states.
However, the growing reputation of our industry, enhanced in particular by the prestige of world-class Pinot Noir, appears destined to extend its reach and increase its influence throughout the country.
Obviously, it remains vitally important to the strength and stability of our statewide wine industry for Oregon restaurants to put as much support behind it as possible.
That’s what they do in European countries, so much so that from one region to another, many restaurants are likely to offer primarily or even exclusively the wines of that region.
In that regard, for an Oregon restaurant to retain its position on the roll of Superior Cellar honorees from year to year, its wine list must meet a higher standard than elsewhere. Being Oregon-oriented both in selection and recommendation is mandatory.
Owing to the wide range of wines produced around the state, a restaurant’s wine list could be exclusively Oregon and still be able to offer every basic type — aperitif, sparkling, red, white, rosé and dessert.
Furthermore, by featuring local wines as well as farm fresh produce and locally raised meat and poultry, restaurants are truly presenting the best of Oregon’s bounty to tourists and other visitors.
As for our diversity of table wines, cumulatively around Oregon almost every major European wine region is represented through the propagation and production of their most popular varietals.
This includes France’s Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, Loire, Champagne, Alsace and Provence, Italy’s Piedmont, Tuscany, Lombardy and Alto Adige, Germany’s Rhine and Mosel, as well as key varieties from Spain and Austria.
In our new relationship with the Oregon Wine Board, we are redoubling our efforts to seek out deserving restaurants in other states. However, it is inevitable that worthy candidates will be overlooked.
To that end, we welcome reader input. If you know of a restaurant in any state that would appear to meet Oregon Wine Superior Cellar award criteria, please let us know by e-mailing kklooster@oregonwinepress.com with the restaurant name and location.
This is an ongoing program and consideration of potential awardees will be conducted on a regular basis. To be named an award winner means the restaurant has risen above hundreds of contemporaries to emerge a champion of Oregon wines.
For 2012, only 60 elite eateries around Oregon have been selected as Superior Cellar Award winners. Of them, 20 new names now share the list with 40 current ones, whose level of excellence has earned them a continued place among the honorees.
They are joined by 10 elite eateries beyond our borders, whose commitment to Oregon is commended by the industry and is hereby recognized. We look forward to seeing many more earn the right to enter their ranks in the future.
Start Your Own Winery
I was fascinated with this simple concept, which could only help to bring about some interesting wine offerings in the years to come.
Cheers!
- Brandon
Winery Investing Beyond Cashing-Out
Micro-lending and crowd-funding make opening a winery possible without needing a personal fortune.
By Janice Fuhrman
Today, possessing a large fortune is no longer the only means to start your own winery. While millions of retirement dollars or capital gains can score you the winery of your dreams in California, New York or Virginia, concepts such as crowd-funding and micro-lending could get you through the cellar door for much less.
Crushpad, a custom wine-making facility based in Sonoma, California, recently instituted its Syndicate program, which provides the business tools including private investment agreement and business and compliance models to start a wine brand.
Through crowd-funding, the leveraging of communities of investors, a small wine brand producing 50 to 2,500 cases annually can be formed using Napa Valley grapes for as little as $20,000.
“We’ve found that the more investors there are in a wine brand, the more people there are promoting the wine because they have pride of ownership,” says Michael Brill, Crushpad founder. “Our clients are very busy and even 50 cases require a lot of effort to sell. So if you’ve got 10 investors promoting it, you’re better off.”
Before the current economic downturn, Sonoma vintner Ross Halleck attempted to use micro-lending to raise money for Halleck Vineyards through Prosper, a person-to-person lending marketplace. Previously, he came up with only $1,000 from micro investors, which he turned down because “it wasn’t worth the trouble.”
Today, Prosper reports that its small business loans jumped 83% in the last six months, including loans to wine-related ventures. The recent trend is for small business owners to seek personal loans and use the capital to fund small businesses, notes Prosper spokesman Laurie Azzano.
Small investors can also buy into the wine business by acquiring shares of publicly-traded wine companies, such as Constellation Brands or Treasury Wine Estates. “You have more fluidity with a publically-traded company and it’s easier to buy and sell,” says Richard Hogan, a managing director with Merrill Lynch in San Francisco.
For those who envision the scale of Napa or Sonoma wineries, the economic downturn has created buying opportunities, though not exactly fire-sale prices. Rob McMillan, founder of Silicon Valley Bank’s wine division in St. Helena, California, says, “As we make the long, hard slog out of this recession, people are buying and selling wineries, and financing is available.”
About Corx Wine Bags
Corx Wine Bags was founded in 2005 by two friends who had passion for wine. One of them being a self proclaimed klutz and the other a self proclaimed sewing master, they sought to create the ultimate wine bag. After several prototypes the “Tre” 3-bottle wine bag was born. A wine bag of the highest quality that prevents bottles from breaking in transit for those klutz’s out there, while keeping your wines at proper storing temperatures during your trip to your favorite BYOB restaurant, picnic location or bringing bottles home from your favorite winery. For more information about all of our wine bags please visit us at www.corxwinebags.com
Lexington, KY Bar Guide 2011
If you live in or around the Lexington, KY area this will get you headed in the right direction.
Cheers!
- Brandon
Some bars make a name for themselves by stocking an amazing selection of beers, wines or bourbons. Here are some worth a visit.
Bd's Mongolian Grill
2309 Sir Barton Way. (859) 264-0686. Gomongo.com. Food: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun.-Thu.;, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri., Sat. Bar: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sun.-Thu.; 11 a.m.-midnight Fri., Sat.
This bar looks like an afterthought. It's inside the much larger make-your-own-stir-fry restaurant. But it earned plenty of devoted regulars with its longtime $1 price for select drafts, including Kentucky Ale. It recently raised the price to $2 a pint, but management quickly offered a happy hour — 3 to 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. to close daily — that returns the local favorite and eight other brews to their more beloved price.
Noteworthy: If you're not into creating your own stir-fry, try appetizers like the wham bam shrimp.
The Beer Trappe
118 Euclid Ave. (859) 309-0911. Thebeertrappe.com. Hours: 4 p.m.-midnight Mon., 11 a.m.-midnight Tue.-Sat., 1-10 p.m. Sun.
In an issue early this year, The Beer Enthusiast's Draft: Life on Tap magazine named Lexington's craft-beer mecca one of the 100 best beer bars. From the bar, eight rotating rare craft beers with esteemed names including Avery, Founders and Chimay can be poured in flights, pints or a growler to go. Also a specialty beer package store with 400-plus bottles from more than 20 countries, the Trappe offers a comfy leather chair where you can enjoy your brew or create your own six-pack to go.
Noteworthy: Want to be a hop-head but need an education? Attend Beer School, with themed tastings led by an expert. Sessions are $10 and are limited to 16 people.
Bluegrass Tavern
115 Cheapside. (859) 389-6664. Hours: 5 p.m.-2:30 a.m. Mon.-Wed., Fri.; 4 p.m.-2:30 a.m. Thu.; 8 p.m.-2:30 a.m. Sat.
Modeled after an old-fashioned saloon, this deep, narrow joint tries hard to be Kentucky's best bourbon bar. Behind the long 1896 bar are more than 100 expressions of Kentucky's (and America's) native spirit. There also are 16 beers on tap. The bar has a diverse crowd and is often packed on weekends and after Thursday Night Live out front in Cheapside Park.
Noteworthy: The bourbon selection i ncludes many rare and no-longer-made brands that can go for $100 or more a shot.
The Chase Tap Room
135 N. Broadway. (859) 309-9300. Chasetaproom.com. Hours: 2:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. daily.
If your downtown bar binge begs for a brew, duck into the chummy Chase on the northeast corner of Victorian Square. Sure, they can mix you a drink, but the real draws are the 22 beers in the on-tap rotation. It's in the boisterous center of downtown, walking distance from everything. There's Mexican food next door, the opera house across the street, sometimes open-mike comedy, and an easy-going clientele.
Noteworthy: Excuse me? Could it be that the Chase allows your canine companions, as long as they behave? How laid-back is that?
DeSha's and The Horse and Barrel
101 N. Broadway. (859) 259-3771. Deshas.com. Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon.-Thu.; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri., Sat. (If there's a crowd,w Horse and Barrel stays open until 2 a.m.)
Sitting in an 1870 building at the prime corner of Main Street and North Broadway, deSha's has long been a cozy spot to experience an antique vibe, English fare and Southern hospitality. The same goes for its sister bar next door, The Horse and Barrel, which Whisky Magazine named one of the best bourbon bars in the world in 2008. Select from one of the best bourbon cabinets in Lexington, with as many as 100 choices. The H&B features live music Fridays and Saturdays.
Noteworthy: The signature Kentucky margarita features Maker's Mark bourbon, Grand Marnier, sour mix and Rose's Lime.
Dudley's on Short
259 W. Short St., Suite 125. (859) 252-1010. Dudleysrestaurant.com. Hours: 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. daily; 5:30-10 p.m. Sun.-Thu.; 5:30-11 p.m. Fri., Sat.
It can feel like an event to eat at Dudley's, one of the top dining establishments in Lexington. But the atmosphere in the bar, with huge windows looking out on Short Street, is downright neighborhood-y, with many diners and drinkers seeming to be familiar faces to one another. The bar can whip up drinks as classic as an old-fashioned or as intriguing as a "steeple," with Absolut Citron, muddled strawberry and basil. Dudley's also has an extensive wine list and consistently wins an award of excellence from Wine Spectator magazine.
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/08/17/1848814/lexington-bar-guide-2011-beer.html#ixzz1VOatlICi
About Corx Wine Bags
Corx Wine Bags was founded in 2005 by two friends who had passion for wine. One of them being a self proclaimed klutz and the other a self proclaimed sewing master, they sought to create the ultimate wine bag. After several prototypes the “Tre” 3-bottle wine bag was born. A wine bag of the highest quality that prevents bottles from breaking in transit for those klutz’s out there, while keeping your wines at proper storing temperatures during your trip to your favorite BYOB restaurant, picnic location or bringing bottles home from your favorite winery. For more information about all of our wine bags please visit us at www.corxwinebags.com
Historic Undurraga Family Back in Chile Wine Making
The notorious Undurraga family is back in the wine making business. This is another reason the world needs to take notice of Chile's ever growing international wine presence.
Cheers!
- Brandon
Wine: Chile's Undurraga family back in wine business
By FRED TASKER — McClatchy Newspapers
Chile's pioneering Undurraga family has been in the wine business since Francisco Undurraga planted his first vines in the foothills of the Andes Mountains in 1885. By the 1980s, it was one of Chile's biggest producers and most popular exporters to the United States. By 2005 it was making 1.5 million cases a year.
But when the fifth generation came along in the 2000s, there were 12 brothers and sisters, only four of whom were really interested in the grape. So the family board voted to sell the business in 2005. It left family patriarch Alfonso Undurraga and sons Alfonso, Max and Cristobal with pockets full of money and great wine reputations but nothing to do.
"For the first time in our lives we were out of wine," says the younger Alfonso Undurraga, co-owner. "We were lost."
So they started not one, but two new wineries, both in Chile's cool Colchagua area, both now entering the U.S. market.
One of them is Terrapura, making value-priced wines in the $10 range, aiming at 300,000 cases within five years.
The second is Vina Koyle, making premium to super-premium wines in the modest $17-to-$25 range, aiming for 30,000 cases.
Terrapura's wines are made in the international "fruit-forward" style with little oak aging, focusing on tasting like the grapes from which they are made, Undurraga says.
Vina Koyle's wines aim for greater elegance and complexity, with aging in French oak barrels, giving the terroir - the area in which they are made - its chance to influence the flavors.
Both wines are made in the Colchauga, Curico and Maipo areas of Chile, about 100 miles south of Santiago in the low foothills of the Andes at altitudes of 1,200 to 1,600 feet, seeking the cooler weather and more powerful sun at relatively high altitudes.
Both wines aim at crisp acids, light-to-medium body and restrained levels of alcohol, making them easy to drink with food, more likely to persuade the diner to order a second glass.
"It's better to sell three bottles than one," Undurraga says.
Highly recommended:
2007 Koyle Cabernet Sauvignon Royale, Alto Colchauga, Chile (85 percent cabernet sauvignon, 13 percent malbec, 2 percent carmenere): a classic bordeaux-style red wine with complex flavors of cassis, black plum and bitter chocolate, full body and bright acids; a great steak wine; $26.
2007 Koyle Syrah, Maipo and Colchauga, Chile (87 percent syrah, 13 percent carmenere): opaque purple color, hint of oak, flavors of black raspberries and spice, hearty, creamy, long finish; $17.
Recommended:
2007 Koyle Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo and Colchauga, Chile (88 percent cabernet sauvignon, 12 percent carmenere): hint of oak, flavors of black raspberries and milk chocolate, soft tannins, long finish; $17.
2010 Terrapura Sauvignon Blanc, Central Valley, Chile: light and crisp, with tart pear and green melon flavors; $10.
2009 Terrapura Merlot, Central Valley, Chile: light body, very dry, black raspberry flavors, firm tannins; $10.
2009 Terrapura Cabernet Sauvignon, Central Valley: classical cab flavors of cassis and licorice, light and fruity, spicy finish; $10.
Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2011/08/08/2871760/wine-chiles-undurraga-family-back.html#ixzz1UUu208xx
About Corx Wine Bags
Corx Wine Bags was founded in 2005 by two friends who had passion for wine. One of them being a self proclaimed klutz and the other a self proclaimed sewing master, they sought to create the ultimate wine bag. After several prototypes the “Tre” 3-bottle wine bag was born. A wine bag of the highest quality that prevents bottles from breaking in transit for those klutz’s out there, while keeping your wines at proper storing temperatures during your trip to your favorite BYOB restaurant, picnic location or bringing bottles home from your favorite winery. For more information about all of our wine bags please visit us at www.corxwinebags.com
Royal Family to set up Vineyards
Royal Family hysteria continues...although I find this a bit more exciting!
Cheers!
Brandon
Royal family to set up vineyard in Windsor Great Park
Original article can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-13307566
More than 16,500 vines bearing champagne grape varieties will be planted in 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of the park, owned by the Crown Estate.
Laithwaites Wine, tenant farmers on the royal estates, said they were "extremely proud to be invited by the Royal Farms" to work on the project.
The first harvest is predicted to be in about three years' time.
In a private seeding event, the wine company will plant chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier varieties on an unconfirmed date next week.
'Coup' for country
Michael Roberts, chairman of English Wine Producers, said the royal family's interest was a coup for the country's vineyard owners.
"This is the sincerest form of accolade to a whole industry.
"It's interesting to see how enthusiastic they must be to actually allow a small part of Windsor Great Park to be planted," he said.
Laithwaites spokesman Simon McMurtrie added: "As champions of English wine we are delighted to do what we can to help boost its production and popularity in this country at this time."
A Windsor Castle spokeswoman confirmed the vines were being planted but said no further comment would be given as it was a "private estate" matter.
English wine and sparkling wine was served at the royal wedding on 29 April.
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About Corx Wine Bags
Corx Wine Bags was founded in 2005 by two friends who had passion for wine. One of them being a self proclaimed klutz and the other a self proclaimed sewing master, they sought to create the ultimate wine bag. After several prototypes the “Tre” 3-bottle wine bag was born. A wine bag of the highest quality that prevents bottles from breaking in transit for those klutz’s out there, while keeping your wines at proper storing temperatures during your trip to your favorite BYOB restaurant, picnic location or bringing bottles home from your favorite winery. For more information about all of our wine bags please visit us at www.corxwinebags.com
In the Wine World, $15 Is the New $25. Now Why Might That Be?
This is not surprising at all considering the state of our economy...some good insight from Brad Tuttle.
Cheers!
Brandon
Sales of bottles of wine in the sub-$20 price range are soaring. And in related news, hundreds of people were recently given blind taste tests and asked to identify whether wines were cheap or expensive. Participants were right about half the time—the same odds as if flipping a coin.
The LA Times declares that, whereas the sweet spot for a decent bottle of wine used to be in the $25-$40 range, $15 is the "new normal" that really hits the spot among wine drinkers nowadays. Wine stores report changing their floor layouts and dedicating sections to a rotating stream of wines in the $10-$15 and $15-$20 spectrum. It's these sections that have become the most popular parts of the store.
That gibes with an earlier report that the industry's fastest-growing segment has been bottles of wine in the $9-$12 range.
Why have consumers been scaling back? Duh, the economy. But also, since the economy forced folks to scale back in all sorts of ways, consumers have come to realize something: The cheaper wines are pretty darn good. So naturally, this is an easy area to keep up frugal habits, even as the economy bounces back.
Also, while the cheaper wines do the trick just fine for most imbibers, the flip side is that few people even seem able to tell apart the cheap from the expensive stuff. And if you can't tell a difference, why in the world would you pay extra for one wine over another?
The Guardian reports that in a survey conducted recently at the Edinburgh International Science Festival, hundreds of participants were asked to taste wines. (Probably really tough to round up volunteers.) Some of the wines were cheap, and some rather expensive, ranging anywhere from about $10 to $50. Volunteers were able to distinguish the cheap from the expensive 53% of the time when tasting whites, and 47% of the time with reds.
One of the researchers told the Guardian:
"The real surprise is that the more expensive wines were double or three times the price of the cheaper ones. Normally when a product is that much more expensive, you would expect to be able to tell the difference," Wiseman said.
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About Corx Wine Bags
Corx Wine Bags was founded in 2005 by two friends who had passion for wine. One of them being a self proclaimed klutz and the other a self proclaimed sewing master, they sought to create the ultimate wine bag. After several prototypes the “Tre” 3-bottle wine bag was born. A wine bag of the highest quality that prevents bottles from breaking in transit for those klutz’s out there, while keeping your wines at proper storing temperatures during your trip to your favorite BYOB restaurant, picnic location or bringing bottles home from your favorite winery. For more information about all of our wine bags please visit us at www.corxwinebags.com.
US Becomes Largest Wine Consuming Nation
With the hits the wine industry has taken over the past few years, it is very exciting to see these signs of recovery. With an ever increasing younger consumer base the future of wine looks extremely good!
Cheers!
- Brandon
The U.S. passed France as the world’s largest wine-consuming nation for the first time, lifted by its larger population and an interest in wine-and-cheese culture among young Americans.
Wine shipments to the U.S. climbed 2 percent to 329.7 million cases last year, according to Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates, a wine-industry consulting firm in Woodside, California. That compares with 320.6 million for France.
While the French still eclipse Americans in per-capita consumption, the U.S. wine industry is benefiting from a domestic population of almost 311 million people -- five times the size of France’s -- and a surge of young people becoming interested in the drink. Marketers also are using social media to reach a new generation of consumers, said Jon Fredrikson, the firm’s president.
“Wine is really gaining traction in the U.S. -- it’s becoming an accepted part of everyday life,” Fredrikson said in an interview. “That’s a radical change over the past two decades.”
The retail value of U.S. wine sales rose 4 percent to $30 billion in 2010, according to Gomberg Fredrikson. California’s output accounted for 61 percent of the volume. The state’s worldwide wine shipments climbed 2 percent to 241.8 million cases.
“With the U.S. being the biggest, it means we’re a target for everyone in America and around the world that produces wine,” Fredrikson said. “Everyone wants to be here.”
This original article by Ryan Flinn can be found at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-15/u-s-passes-france-for-first-time-as-world-s-biggest-wine-consuming-nation.html
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About Corx Wine Bags
Corx Wine Bags was founded in 2005 by two friends who had passion for wine. One of them being a self proclaimed klutz and the other a self proclaimed sewing master, they sought to create the ultimate wine bag. After several prototypes the “Tre” 3-bottle wine bag was born. A wine bag of the highest quality that prevents bottles from breaking in transit for those klutz’s out there, while keeping your wines at proper storing temperatures during your trip to your favorite BYOB restaurant, picnic location or bringing bottles home from your favorite winery. For more information about all of our wine bags please visit us at www.corxwinebags.com.
Chile Wine Exports Rise 13%
It was almost a year ago that Chile suffered a tragic earthquake. The country is still recovering, but it makes me extremely happy to see the wine industry recovering.
Cheers!
- Brandon
Santiago – Exports of fine Chilean wines increased 13 percent in value over the first two months of this year, compared to the same period in 2010, for a total of $181.8 million, the Office of Agricultural Research and Policy, or Odepa, said Monday.
By volume, these exports reached 55.6 million liters, 7.4 percent more than in January-February 2010, Odepa said.
The average price of Chilean wines with guarantee of origin and quality was $3.27 per liter during the period, or 5.1 percent more than in the same period last year.
The results were due to the prestige, high demand and reasonable prices of these vintages, Odepa director Gustavo Rojas said.
The leading markets for these wines during the period were Britain, with 15.8 percent of the total, United States (15 percent), the Netherlands (5.9 percent), Japan (5.9 percent), Canada (5.5 percent), Brazil (4.9 percent), China (4 percent), Russia (3.9 percent), Germany (3.4 percent) and Denmark (3.3 percent).
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About Corx Wine Bags
Corx Wine Bags was founded in 2005 by two friends who had passion for wine. One of them being a self proclaimed klutz and the other a self proclaimed sewing master, they sought to create the ultimate wine bag. After several prototypes the “Tre” 3-bottle wine bag was born. A wine bag of the highest quality that prevents bottles from breaking in transit for those klutz’s out there, while keeping your wines at proper storing temperatures during your trip to your favorite BYOB restaurant, picnic location or bringing bottles home from your favorite winery. For more information about all of our wine bags please visit us at www.corxwinebags.com.
Sonoma Wine Grape Growers Looking For Normal Season
Early news look good for wine grape growers in Sonoma County...let's hope the good news continues.
Cheers!
- Brandon
Sonoma County wine grape growers with larger acreages finished mechanical pre-pruning activities earlier last month, says Nicky Frey, president of the Sonoma County Wine Grape Commission at Santa Rosa, Calif.
Pre-pruning is done to reduce Eutypa dieback — caused when spores of the fungus infect fresh pruning wounds — by reducing the chance of rain spreading the spores. It is done more by machine than by hand in Sonoma County, speeding up the final selective pruning and allowing growers to prune large acreages in a very short time.
Growers have been non-selectively cutting canes to about 15 to 18 inches since November or December. Now, they’re doing the final selective pruning, cutting back to two-bud spurs on cordon-pruned vines.
Other growers, typically those with smaller operations, have been waiting to begin pruning until the apical buds begin to swell or even emerge.
“Pruning now tends to delay basal buds from pushing out for a week or two and reduces the risk of frost damage,” Frey says. “We’ve had excellent rains this winter and the soil profiles are fully charged. That’s always good going into a new season. Hopefully, we got good dormancy that will set us up pretty well for this spring so bud break occurs over a shorter period.’
Growers have begun setting out traps for the European Grape Vine Moth (EGVM), an invasive pest discovered for the first time in the U.S. two years ago in a Napa County vineyard.
Frey is encouraged by the low number of EGVM moths trapped last year — a total of just 53 in all three flights.
“If treatments were effective, there may be some areas where we won’t find the pest this year. We’ll see, but I remain optimistic that we can eradicate this pest from our county.”
Last year’s unusually cool growing season, interrupted by a few days of 100-degree plus temperatures in August, challenged the skills of even Sonoma County’s best growers. This year, they’re looking for a more normal season for producing wine grapes.
“Nothing suggests anything unusual this year,” Frey says. “At this stage, growers should be expecting an average crop.”
About Corx Wine Bags
Corx Wine Bags was founded in 2005 by two friends who had passion for wine. One of them being a self proclaimed klutz and the other a self proclaimed sewing master, they sought to create the ultimate wine bag. After several prototypes the “Tre” 3-bottle wine bag was born. A wine bag of the highest quality that prevents bottles from breaking in transit for those klutz’s out there, while keeping your wines at proper storing temperatures during your trip to your favorite BYOB restaurant, picnic location or bringing bottles home from your favorite winery. For more information about all of our wine bags please visit us at www.corxwinebags.com.
Benton-Lane Pinot Noir 2008
I was shopping for wine this past weekend, and my wine shop was doing their annual buy one bottle at regular price, get the second at 50% off. Needless to say the high end bottles where cleaned out. I am personally not a high end wine person because my pocket book does not allow it, nor would I probably head down that path if I could. I enjoy the game of finding exceptional wine values. Benton-Lane Pinot Noir 2008 is no exception. 2008's Pinot Noir growing season in the Willamette Valley was a historical year, that has turned out the highest quality Pinot Noir this region has ever seen. I have always been a fan of this winery, and we even featured the 2008 Pinot Gris on our blog June of last year. This wine left me speechless...granted it is only my opinion....but like the 2008 Pinot Gris Benton-Lane absolutely nailed it! The wine is like silk...subtle in flavors, but the smoothness of the taste is absolutely incredible. Even if you paid the typical retail price in our area of $23.oo, your drinking a wine that today could fetch twice that amount, and if you enjoy storing wine in your cellar you will have an amazing bottle in 5 years. Pick up a bottle or two of this wine, you will be glad you did.
Winemaker's Notes:
This brilliantly ruby tinted wine has classic aromas of cherries, red currants and raspberries with more subtle hints of baking spice and vanilla layered in. On the palate, it exhibits lithe fruitiness and lingering cherry and berry flavors. The wine shows extraordinary balance and finesse with fine grained tannis that provide a nice framework to the silky mid-palate.
Acclaim:
November, 2010 90 points, Wine Spectator
“Light and spicy, with pretty cinnamon and nutmeg overtones to the red berry and floral flavors, lingering gently on the finish with finesse. Drink now through 2016.
November, 2010 Editor’s Holiday Wine Pick, Food & Wine
“Benton-Lane’s estate bottling has earth and spice notes, plus vibrant cherry fruit. It’s from Oregon’s 2008 vintage—one of the state’s best ever…”
October, 2010 90 points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“The 2008 Pinot Noir Estate, medium ruby in color, offers up an alluring nose of cedar, spice box, incense, cherry and raspberry that jumps from the glass. Made in a racy style and already displaying some complexity, this savory, spicy effort has good depth, length, and 1-2 years of aging potential. It will provide considerable pleasure from 2012 to 2020. Issue #191
July, ‘10: Gold Medal, San Francisco International Wine Competition
June, 2010: Gold Medal, Oregon Wine Awards
