New School Cool (Climate): Brandborg Vineyard & Winery

photo from the Brandborg Vineyards & Winery

The newest AVA in Oregon, having been granted in early 2013 is found in the Umpqua Valley's town of Elkton and its surrounding hillsides. The Elkton AVA designation was sought to make sense of the larger Umpqua Valley's diversity. It was simple according to Terry Brandborg whose Brandborg Vineyard and Winery opened as the area's first winery in 2002. "As people learn more about Oregon wines, that AVA (the Umpqua Valley) promotes itself most commonly as warmer and drier than the Willamette Valley.  Most people therefore are not aware of our area or the Illinois Valley which lie within this very large AVA, that are both cool climate regions.  So, when we are in market, it is always a bit confusing to people that we make cool climate whites and pinot noir.  The Elkton AVA gives us something to talk about that helps us differentiate our wines, adding that validity that comes with AVA approval."

The town of Elkton is a tiny one (only a 195 residents as of the 2010 census), but beautiful. It sits in Oregon's coastal range and gives off a sort of classic Northwestern vibe, reminiscent of the town of Hope, Washington. Hope, Washington is of course the fictional town in First Blood, the classic Rambo film. I really wanted this Brandborg story to follow the same arc. Long haired California winemaker shows up in town, small town sheriff gives him a hard time, he flees into the woods and makes terroir reflective cool climate Pinot Noir. First Crush would have been a great title. Alas, once Terry Brandborg had relayed the story of his arrival in Elkton I had to change gears completely, bummer for all of us.

Terry and his wife Sue came to Elkton in 2002, founding Elkton's first and only winery at the time, though vineyards had been planted in the area nearly thirty years prior. They were motivated by Ken Thomason's pioneering planting of Pinot Noir, Gewurtztraminer and Riesling dating back to 1972. (Thomason planted the area's original vineyards which have since been acquired by the River's Edge winery.) These were varieties that Terry had been working with since his days in the Anderson Valley in the 1970s and were a big part of his early success as a garagiste winemaker.

These days there are twelve vineyards in Elkton but Brandborg is working with three of them most notably; making wine from Bradley Vineyards, Anindor Vineyards and his own estate fruit. He finds that Elkton wines are definitely showing a sense of terroir. "I certainly do believe we have identified terroir, with distinctive differences in the wines we make with Bradley fruit, Anindor fruit and our own site.  At our Ferris Wheel Estate (which is at 1,000 feet elevation) we get less ripe flavors of blueberry and pomegranate with a softer tannin structure, whereas Bradley and Anindor show more dark cherry with more tannin structure.  Our soils are very similar to Willakenzie and Bradley and Anindor are similar to Nekia."

Elkton is certainly a cooler climate, and in fact, based on growing-degree-days is as cool or cooler than most of the Willamette Valley. Terry Brandborg as an established and talented winemaker who has been focused on cooler climate varieties throughout his career found it a perfect fit.  Though his arrival did turn a few heads. The opening of the Brandborg winery and tasting room right in "downtown" Elkton was another pioneering moment in the still growing Umpqua Valley. They got some strange looks on the crush pad, which is just across from the Post Office. The front and center placement  certainly made people curious about their new neighbors, but there were no Sheriff Will Teasle moments. In fact, Brandborg's selection of Elkton not just for his vineyards but his winery, (as opposed to choosing nearby and much larger Roseburg) drove a bit of renaissance in downtown, with several businesses updating or renovating their store fronts.

Since that time Terry and Sue have been out to make cool climate whites like the Riesling and Gewurztraminer which has a strong following. As well as Pinot Noir. They've added Sauvignon Blanc from a vineyard east of Oakand, Oregon. Brandborg would also love to explore a few other aromatic whites like Chenin Blanc and potentially see how Elkton grown Chardonnay fits within the exploding tide of high quality Willamette Valley Chardonnay.  

2012 Brandborg Oregon Riesling, Elkton Oregon This Riesling is more than meets the eye. A historic bottle in many ways as the first wine released with the Elkton AVA designation. Aromatics of honey, chamomile and a touch of diesel ( usually a signature of older Riesling). Flavors include loads of minerality, cut pears and coriander. The acidity zips rather than soars and the wine has a very nice mouthfeel. $16

2012 Brandborg, Ferris Wheel Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir, Elkton Oregon From 13 year old vines at 1,000 feet elevation this warmer vintage Pinot from Elkton is giving up ample aromatics of dusty red berries, and a touch of clove. The palate is distinguished as opposed to rustic, balanced with fruit and earth flavors as well as a dab of barrel spice. $38

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Original Oregon: Umpqua Valley's HillCrest Vineyards

The Oregon wine industry and the Willamette Valley have come to be synonymous with American Pinot Noir. It didn't all start there though.

To find the birthplace of the modern Oregon wine industry you'll need to travel south on I-5 from what has come to be known as Oregon Pinot country until you get to the town of Roseburg. The Umpqua Valley is far more rustic and rough hewn than the Willamette Valley which now boasts several James Beard award winning restaurants but Oregon's modern day wine industry and the first Oregon Pinot Noir took root here in the Umpqua Valley before anything in the Willamette. If you've been to the Umpqua you were struck with it's natural beauty almost immediately. As a wine region it's still developing an identity however.

In 1961 Richard Sommer planted Oregon's first post-prohibition vinifera grapes and founded the state's oldest estate winery in Hillcrest Vineyards in the Umpqua. As the story goes he found that site looking to plant Riesling specifically but over four years he would plant a myriad of grape varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon and the state's first Pinot Noir on a former egg farm near Roseburg. His first vintage came to market in 1964, with his first Pinot Noir appearing commercially in 1967. (There is an incredibly indepth look at Richard Sommer on the Prince of Pinot site here.) Sommer died in 2009 at the age of 79.

In 2003 Dyson DeMara and his wife Susan purchased HillCrest from Sommer with the intent of carrying on Sommer's pioneering spirit. DeMara has an extensive background in winemaking with stints at California originals Pine Ridge and Mondavi. The HillCrest winery under DeMara is producing very small lots of hard to come by wines. The wines are not available in any retail market; you have to get them directly from HillCrest.

DeMara is making wines of place with a sense of both the originality that Richard Sommer brought to the Umpqua and an old world style. The use of a basket press and a patented concrete fermenter hint at DeMara's seriousness when it comes to minimal intervention and old world technique. The lots they use are tiny and the wine is laid down in most cases a minimum of two years. Under many circumstances if you see a wine from 2008 on the market today from a region like the Umpqua that is still establishing itself you might get a little nervous. The 2008 Massimo Cabernet from HillCrest is the best wine, hands down I've had from the Umpqua Valley. So rest assured the wines of HillCrest are worth the difficulty to obtain.

2008 Massimo, Cabernet Sauvignon Easily the best Umpqua wine I've had to date. It's aromatically effusive with dried fig, graphite and crushed stone aromas. Elegance and balance as well as a definitive old-world style are the signature of this Cabernet. Fruit takes a back seat to minerality and floral elements. The wine comes from a 13 acre parcel of old-vine Cabernet original planted by Sommer in 1964. The wine was fermented in concrete and aged four years in French oak, largely neutral barrels. It makes a case for the Umpqua Valley, Oregon Cabernet and old vines all at the same time. Fantastic wine and I'd love to see more Northwest Cabernet done in a style like this. $65 

2011 Cadiz, Tempranillo Tempranillo has become part of the identity of the Umpqua Valley and this bottling is another good example of why. Tempranillo has been made in so many different styles but this cool vintage wine is floral, bright fruit and lots of elegance and great structure. Again the use of concrete fermentation accents a minerality in the wine, and it spend two and a half years in French oak barrels. At $28 this is a very nice wine for that price.

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Ump & Coming, Oregon's Umpqua Valley

The Umpqua Valley is probably one of Oregon's least known wine producing regions. Oregon's reputation for wine production has developed largely around the northern climes of the Willamette Valley and it's sweet spot for the cooler climate varietals that do so well in Burgundy, most notably of course, Pinot Noir.

At the state's southern border with California a climatic zone in the Rogue and Applegate valleys sees Oregon producing an array of different wines including Rhone and Bordeaux varietals as well as a concentration on Zinfandel.

Where does that leave the Umpqua Valley? Well, somewhere in the middle. Both geographically and in terms of what it's producing when it comes to the region's wines.

The Umpqua, which includes Oregon's newest AVA, Elkton provides a range that you won't find in either the Willamette or the Southern Oregon AVAs. The climatic variability of the AVA is perhaps best illustrated by the region's two best known quality producers. At the southern tip of the AVA you'll find Abacela, with a focus on Spanish varietals and known for their Tempranillo. At the northern end you'll find Brandborg winery, and winemaker Terry Brandborg in the aforementioned Elkton.

In between, a budding wine region grows.

Anchor Points for the Growth of a Wine Region

Down towards the southern end of the Umpqua is one of Oregon's most visually compelling wineries. The newly expanded Abacela is the culmination of a love story. Earl and Hilda Jones' love affair with Spanish wine, particularly that of Rioja and Ribera del Duero. That pursuit led the Jones' from Dallas. Texas to Oregon, and what they targeted as perhaps the most perfect climate to grow Tempranillo. Earl's pursuit helped in part by perhaps the only person in the region who has had a greater impact on the local wine industry than Earl, his son Greg who's a climatologist at nearby Southern Oregon University.

Abacela has helped to put the Umpqua Valley on the map in recent years. And through the use of geological and climate mapping, Earl made a very scientific decision to land in the dry and hot southern reaches of the Umpqua, where his Tempranillo has taken root.

Up in Elkton, Terry Brandborg at Brandborg Winery is crafting high acid white wines like Riesling and Gewurtztraminer as well as Pinot Noir in the cooler and wetter climate of Elkton. The Umpqua Valley is actually home to the first Pinot Noir planted in Oregon. Richard Somer planted Pinot in 1961 some four to five years before the grape was planted in the Willamette by David Lett. Hill Crest Vineyards however is a fair bit farther south and truthfully, Elkton is probably a much more suitable location for Pinot Noir. Elkton's proximity to the Pacific means the maritime influences keep the air temperatures cool, but it also sees a very dry growing season similar to the Willamette Valley.

Terry landed in Elkton after leaving a successful career as a "garagiste" winemaker in California's Bay Area. He and his wife Sue planted 5 acres of vineyards on a parcel that surrounds their home.

These two established talents serve as reliable anchor points for a region and have demonstrated it's capability for producing fine wine. The development of the region as a whole however is still a work in progress.

Growing a Reputation

The Umpqua Valley has a bit of rugged beauty to it. For those of you mostly used to the verdant green hills of the Willamette wine country, you'll find something similar in Elkton but the rest of the valley is far more arid and all of it is scenic. A culmination of sorts in both the Cascade, Coast and Klamath mountain ranges, as well as beautiful rivers that cut through the valley.

New wineries are cropping up throughout the Valley and vineyard planting is accelerating  For many years the region has been a supplier of Pinot Noir grapes to the larger Willamette Valley wineries particularly in cooler years. This has been particularly true of much of the Pinot grown in the warmer transitional climate zone of the Umpqua where it's a fair bit warmer than Elkton. (Picture a bit more fruit forward Pinot Noir, more California stylistically than Willamette Valley.) If the fruit is good enough for some of the Willamette's big boys it certainly will be good enough for a growing number of Umpqua producers.

In between the Pinot from Elkton and the Tempranillo from the southern end of the AVA there is a good deal of quality Syrah and Grenache, the latter a real potential standout, though it can be a struggle to ripe in cooler vintages.

For the Umpqua Valley part of the challenge is building their own future, and the Southern Oregon Wine Institute, hosted at the local community college is a part of that growth. Capturing local talent and continuing to attract those looking to break out of more established regions in either California or the Willamette Valley. The program at SOWI offers viticulture and enology programs as well as wine marketing certifications. The institute comes with a world class modern production facility and allows for hands on learning and hopefully will stoke the passion of some home grown talent.

The Umpqua also has it's challenges. It's a sparsely populated area, so unlike the Willamette Valley where there is an enormous local market in the Portland metro area, the Umpqua will need to rely heavily on marketing outside of the region to both develop that reputation and frankly, to sell the wines.

It's a big region and you could argue that it's size may make tourism challenging at least a tourism that solely emphasizes wine. The region's outdoor offerings, and scenic beauty make it far more than a one trick pony. Nearby Crater Lake and world class fly fishing as well as what looked from my perspective to be fantastic road and mountain biking options.

There's work to do for the Umpqua Valley, both in terms of raising the overall wine quality and profile, as well as figuring out how to market such a wide ranging region. There are a lot of wineries that are producing hybrids like Baco Noir, some relying on them heavily. And the case being made is that they're popular in the tasting rooms, but they're not necessarily raising the profile of the region, or the winery producing them. Additionally, an emphasis on marketing and packaging could benefit the greater region, where many of the labels tend towards quaint or sentimental.  The region has potential however and people that you find easy to root for both in the wine community and the region in general.


(On a visit I took there, I was hosted by the Umpqua Valley at the C.H. Bailey House, a bed and breakfast just outside of Roseburg, I'm not the kind of guy to use the word cute to describe anything, but for this place I'd make an exception. I also subsequently washed my phone which was loaded with photos so I've pilfered these from the internet.)

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Friday Find, February 22nd

Each Friday we highlight a wine from the Northwest that we think is a real "find." By find we might mean that it's a steal, as all of these wines we'll feature weekly are at or under $20. We might also mean "Hey, you really need to go find this", and it might be a wine that we feel not enough people know about. In any case, with the weekend pending, we're hoping to help you "find" a wine to kickoff the weekend right. We'll tell you a little bit about the wine and try to help you track it down here in the Northwest.

They say that for everything there is a season. I suppose that's true, I mean there is football season, cyclocross season, the off-season, oh, and winter, spring, summer and fall as well.  There are seasonal sales, which are one of the most baffling phenomenon to me. You're only supposed to wear certain clothing items apparently seasonally. Then, I suppose you throw them away and get new ones. And we're left wondering why our economic model based on the enormous use of credit and bad debt is such a problem.

I love living in the Pacific Northwest but because of the topography and geography only certainly places really get all four seasons. And what is springtime in a desert supposed to look like anyways? Here west of the Cascades we mostly have three seasons. The summertime here is the best on the planet, really, though it can be short and the fall and spring and winter more or less run together. Things are really green through all three of those seasons and frankly if someone walked you outside in December or February or April you wouldn't really be able to tell the difference, except it's darker in December. 

Growing up in Western Pennsylvania we certainly had all four seasons but what was most memorable were the fall colors. The rolling hills of the Pennsylvania put on a fall-time display that may only be rivaled by the very similarly hilly New England states. The arbiter of all things seasonal Punxsutawney Phil is also from Western Pennsylvania and is of course a famous groundhog. This makes sense of course if you're from Pennsylvania, where groundhogs are sacred. I went to college a short drive from Punxsutawney, which is actually referred to as Punxsy by those who call it home. It's not nearly as charming as it was made out to be in the movie Groundhogs Day. The coolest thing though is that driving there you pass through Home, Pennsylvania which was the setting for one of the creepiest X-files episodes ever. 

Today's Friday Find is a celebration of the seasons, all four of them, which they enjoy down in Oregon's Umpqua Valley. I was recently there on a wine media visit and it's a beautiful place. Look for more on the Umpqua, Elkton, Oregon's newest AVA and many of the area wineries coming soon. The 2012 Transparency from Season Cellars a white blend of Mueller Thurgau, Muscat and Riesling. The wine definitely has loads of fresh floral aromatics and tons of bright fruit. On the palate you get a lot of lift from the wine's substantial acidity and a zing that almost hints at effervescence. If you view wine seasonally you're thinking summer with this one but don't do that. In this case the Transparency would go great with food any time of year. Although this wine is crazy refreshing so it'll be brilliant come summer time.

Season Cellars is one of the Umpqua's newest wineries and they're just getting started when it comes to getting their wines out to market. I want to say the Transparency is in the $16 range but it's only available from the winery right now and there website is under development but shoot them an email at winery@seasoncellars.com and they'll sort you out.  

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