Selective Sites from California to the Willamette Valley: WALT Wines

The Walt Family got their start in the California wine industry on the vineyard end of things. Bob and Dolores Walt started planting vineyards, 63 acres in Mendocino County's Redwood Valley that included six different varieites. From Cabernet Sauvignon, to Zinfandel, Gamay to Sauvignon Blanc; the Walt's were early adopters of sustainable vineyard management practices and their fruit was sold to California producers like Beringer and Parducci.

Kathryn Walt Hall has taken the family tradition of attention to vineyard sites and importance of place into the WALT wines label that she directs today named in honor of her parents. The WALT wines direction has moved away from those six original varieties that Bob and Dolores planted and instead has focused on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from very specific well placed vineyards up and down the West Coast. And that is what landed this story on a Northwest wine blog. The WALT wines focus on single vineyard or AVA blends of Pinot and Chardonnay with an emphasis on site, soil and fruit that expresses those elements of place resulting in unique and expressive wines.

Among their many California bottlings the WALT wines also has one Oregon Pinot Noir from the prestigious Shea Vineyard. After receiving samples of the wines I wanted to get a sense of how WALT a very successful part of the WALT/HALL wines ended up pursuing an Oregon Pinot Noir. Winemaker Megan Gunderson: "Our focus is on sourcing cool climate Pinot Noir from specific vineyard sites along the Pacific Coast to create wines of depth and character; that speak of where they were grown.  Soils, aspect, and micro-climate are key in determining our vineyard sources.  We are minimalist in our winemaking approach, utilizing native yeast fermentations, and all wines are un-fined and unfiltered.  The goal is to showcase the appellation or specific vineyard in the finished product.  We are very fortunate to work with passionate and dedicated growers in all of our WALT vineyards; many of them pioneers in their respective appellations."

For the WALT portfolio, with consistently well known and sought after vineyards from California like Gap's Crown, Clos Pepe and Griffin's Lair they selected an Oregon vineyard designate wine that would bring that kind of name recognition and most importantly, site signature to their only non-California wine. They believe the found it in Shea Vineyard. "Dick Shea’s vineyard is a brand in and of itself; very well respected and consistently producing great Oregon Pinot Noir.  Willamette Valley is a truly unique terroir and I really like the flavor and aroma profile of this region." 

I was sent samples of two of the WALT Pinot Noirs, the Shea Vineyard Pinot from 2011 and a 2012 La Brisa, which is comprised of fruit from five different Sonoma County vineyards and the 2011 Shea Vineyard from here in the Northwest. Very distinctive wines showing the range of Pinot Noir itself as well as the stylistic and resulting wines. "The WALT brand is about the diversity in vineyards that we have, allowing us to highlight the effects of terroir.  From the big fruity extracted Pinot’s of the Central cost, to the floral and blue fruit Pinot’s of Sonoma and Mendocino counties, the differences are astounding.  The Shea Pinot is very structured and full of true Oregon character – forest floor, freshly turned earth, crushed rose petals, and cranberry.  This is one Pinot in our line-up that gets better with age."

2012 WALT La Brisa Sonoma County Pinot Noir
An opulent and showy cool climate Pinot Noir. A blend of vineyards that includes the well regarded Sonoma Coast's Gap's Crown and four vineyards from the Russian River Valley. The resultant wine is a fleshy Pinot Noir with deep, rich aromatics of dried violet and blackberry. The wine is a palate coating richness of juicy layered blue fruits, clove, and dried figs. The wine's balance and finish are quite impressive. $40

2011 WALT Shea Vineyard, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
Aromatically forward after some breathing time this cool vintage from Oregon speaks of the wine's potential more than it's current personality. Bright aromatic notes of red currant and cranberry and a structured palate of fresh fruit, early season raspberry and blackberries. Fresh mint and soaring acidity mark the finish of a wine that is far from finished like much of the 2011s these wines are really just starting to explain themselves to us.$50

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Friday Find, June 6th

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.

It's Father's Day coming up. June 15th. That's next weekend. I'm here to sort out your last minute shopping issues. Firstly, as a father let me say, we love getting gifts, but be more discerning, no novelty ties. Unless you're our kid and then you can get us anything. Well, unless you're an adult kid. We expect more from adults. If you're a child, what are you doing reading a wine blog? Not sure that's cool by your parents, but none the less, I'm impressed and thanks for the web traffic.

What do all men want? To be handsome, seriously. But other than that, we'll take something that's going to make us come off as cool, in the know, and if possible, more handsome. Remington Steele was handsome. I don't know if he's a father but it doesn't matter. But you can't buy handsome.  You can however buy cool wine gifts. I've got a few recommendations for you and a couple guide lines.

A: get us something we can actually use. I don't know about most folks but I live in the city in a small house, I don't really have room for things to keep just because. If someone buys me something that I can't use, I actually usually take it back and exchange it for something I'm going to use, sometimes that's something as mundane as dress socks. I need those. B: Get us something tasteful, so we don't look goofy, you know. 

Corkscrews are good: Here's two from local company True Fabrications that can be a splurge or a budget minded gift:

Oak Barrel Sommelier Knife from LaguioleThe Laguiole sommelier knife is about as serious as it gets. Hand crafted in Aubrac in Southern France, each knife made by a single artisan and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. It is a finely crafted tool, meant to be handled with deference to tradition and expertise.  The Laguiole originated from a folding knife used by the region’s cattle farmers, and so its original handles were made from cow horn. This particular Laguiole is crafted from used oak barrels as a further homage to the French wine tradition. $139 

Timber Wooden Double-Hinged CorkscrewForm follows function, and the functionality of the Timber is hard to argue with. Frankly, to the untrained eye, it looks a fair bit like a Laguiole. At $11.99, though, the Timber gets the job done on a budget. With the same features as the Laguiole and a similar look, the Timber is a bit easier to use, with a doubled-hinged pull-tap that allows for a bit more assistance removing the cork and a bottle opener that lets your beer-drinking friends feel included. $11.99

Concrete Thermal Wine Chiller 

The concrete wine thermals by Montana based Angle 33 fit the bill for functional and handsome. These coolers are designed to cool the wine without water and they look great. There are different sizes for Bordeaux style and Rhone/Burgundy style bottles so you'll want to make sure you get the right size for your imbibing needs. Throw the thermal in the fridge and keep that white, pink, or frankly red wine chilled throughout dinner all summer long. The company is a family business and you can get the Thermals in any color, even customized. I say keep it classic and go with the plain concrete one. That's what Remington would have done. $65

Speaking of Remington Steele this weeks Friday Find would suit him as well. The 2013 Steel Chardonnay from Three Rivers Winery is crisp and refreshing. It comes in a screwcap so you don't need one of those cork screws but a wine chiller would be an excellent companion. Crisp and clean with aromatics of stone and early season grapefruit. The palate is also citrus fruit, with smacking acidity. $14 

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We Like to Mourvèdre,Mourvèdre, We Like To...Mourvèdre

Mourvèdre. Know it?

Depending on who you talk to, and how cool they are they might call it by its proper name, Mourvèdre, pronounced (moor-vay-dra) or they may just say it like moo-ved. That's if they're down with this oddly named Rhone variety. That's how the cool kids say it.

It's mostly known for its solo role in the great wines of Bandol in southern France, and it's a major player in the southern Rhone blends, that typically are dominated by Syrah but also include Grenache, along with our new friend Mourvèdre. As Washington has shown itself to produce some of the finest Syrahs not just in the New World, but the World World, we're seeing a rise here in other Rhone varieties. This awesome turn of events means that you can explore other varieties and there's now a fair bit of 100% varietal Mourvèdre being produced. 

It's a late ripening variety, very similar to Grenache and so Washington Mourvèdre will likely be coming out of the state's warmer growing areas. Kiona's Heart of the Hill Vineyard on Red Mountain has long been producing some great Mourvèdre that has been part of single vineyard bottlings done by Syncline, Dowsett Family and Portland brand Helioterra. Perhaps the most famous Mourvèdre in Washington was the Case of the Missing Mourvèdre from the Force Majeure vineyards. A whodunit that until this day (as far as I know) has yet to be solved.

In 2012 Washington State raised Mourvèdre from it's "other reds" status to mark that 800 tons of fruit were picked that vintage and given the success that the wines are showing that number will continue to rise. Old world versions of Mourvèdre don't tend to be super showy or fruit forward. Instead, think stony, gamy wines that have more nuanced aromatics and much of the same is happening here in Washington. Mourvèdre typically creates a "thinking woman or man's" wine, its often deeply hued, with herbal, meaty and earthen characteristics. For folks looking to be smashed in the face with jammy round fruit, you can find that in some of these wines but you're more likely to be met with something a bit more serious.

Washington winemakers have also been going to Mourvèdre to produce some of the state's best pink wines. Rosé of Mourvèdre are being made by Maison Bleue, Gilbert Cellars and Robert Ramsay to name a few. In any case the diversification of Washington's Rhone offerings offer us a variety of engaging wines to continue to explore.

2010 Flying Dreams Monastrell Columbia Valley Would Mourvèdre by any other name taste as complex? Yes. The Spanish name for Mourvèdre is in fact Monastrell, and it's most notably produced in the Jumilla region. Those wines were the inspiration for this bottling from Woodinville's Flying Dreams. This is a serious wine from a cool vintage. Aromatics of crushed granite, leather and iron followed by a palate of late season blackberries, a refined structure and incredible ever-lasting finish. $36

2011 Darby Mourvèdre Columbia Valley A bit more voluptuous in terms of aromatics with deep aromas of rich, ripe plum, fennel and iron. A palate loaded with black fruits; currant, plum and black berries along with spice and black licorice. Great balance and a bit more ripe and showy than the Flying Dreams. $?

2012 Ardor Cellars Mourvèdre Lonesome Spring Ranch Vineyard A Mourvèdre of an all together different color this offering from Ardor Cellars is lighter hued and bodied. It gives you a sense of the Old World with a bit more angularity (juxtaposed to round) and ample acid, oh and a much lower alcohol percentage than the other two at only 13.5%. The palate of the wine is bright raspberries, blue fruits and a kiss of fresh mint. $40

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Hoping to Answer Southern Oregon's Ultimate Question: Barrel 42

From Corey McTaggart

Herb Quady and Brian Gruber have worked together in both the vineyard and the winery for many years.This year they formed a new partnership: a custom crush business by the name of Barrel 42.

Herb Quady never guessed that he would be a winemaker like his father, Andrew Quady of the famous dessert wine Quady Winery in Madera, Central Valley, California. And yet, a political science degree later, Herb decided that “there is more truth in wine-making than politics”. He returned to Fresno State to study viticulture and oenology. 

Herb took a position as Assistant Winemaker at Quady for a time, then went on to become associate winemaker, working alongside Randall Grahm at Bonny Doon. In the summer of 2004, Herb and his family relocated to Southern Oregon, when he accepted the role of Head Winemaker at Troon Vineyard in the Applegate Valley.

Brian Gruber specialized in logistics and accounting in Virginia, as well as tending wine grapes, before moving west to Southern Oregon to make wine at Troon Vineyard. Working together with Herb, Brian learned the fine art and science of wine-making and helped with the vineyard management business. Applegate Vineyard Management has raised the bar for the quality of fruit in Southern Oregon, giving the opportunity for local growers to receive the best yields and prices for their grapes.

While working at Troon Vineyard, Herb created his own label, Quady North (QN), specializing in Cabernet Franc and Rhone varietals, which he offers at his tasting room in Jacksonville. Barrel 42 evolved from Herb’s need for a crush facility for his 3400 cases of QN wines. An additional 6500 cases have been contracted with small vineyards throughout the valley. Herb and Brian continue to offer vineyard management services. The overall quality of the product is greatly increased when the men can take care of the vines and wines, all the way to the glass. “I think there is a need for custom crush facilities run by experienced wine professionals that understand all aspects of the business.

I'm really excited about the ability to integrate the vineyard management services with the custom winemaking. Control in the vineyard was a big part of my success at Troon and with QN.  We can extend that to our clients as needed at Barrel 42.” Herb relates. “Why 42?  In ‘The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy’, an advanced civilization builds a huge supercomputer to calculate the ‘answer to the ultimate question’. The computer declares that the answer is: ‘42’. The address just happens to be 42 West Stewart Avenue and it costs $42 to make a case of wine.” “The idea is to limit our production in order to focus on high quality wines that express the vineyard and achieve our client’s stylistic goals. We will be using top notch equipment that will allow for gentle handling, and devote a high level of attention to each lot.”

Barrel 42 calls SOS (Southern Oregon Select) its home.  The site is a historic fruit packing and storage facility, located in Medford, the heart of the Southern Oregon wine and pear country, it already offers wine storage and a wine shop dubbed Old 99 Road Wine Shop and Specialty Foods.  The owners’ concept is to create a Pike Place Market style experience for their local customers and tourists to the region. 

The formation of Barrel 42 marks progress and growth for the local wine industry. As the second custom crush facility in Southern Oregon, the competition will be friendly. With new vineyards adorning the surrounding landscape, there is no shortage of fruit.

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Friday Find May 23rd

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.

What does a light in the darkness look like? I mean, we know what it looks like in the literal sense, but when we're talking figuratively, that's a cliche that's thrown around quite a bit, but what might that kind of light look like?

I was in Detroit this week for some volunteer involvement that I have with the U.S.Green Building Council. The council's Mid Year Meeting was hosted in Detroit. I didn't really understand that frankly. 
 
Detroit has been through a tough stretch by anyone's standards. The decline began decades ago. The rapid rise of the auto industry saw a rather small industrial center become a giant almost overnight. Racism and the following racial segregation and frankly the mobility provided by the automobile saw many flee the city in the 60's. Infrastructure in the form of massive highway building allowed people to travel from their white collar jobs in the city to their lawns and estates in the suburbs. It also dissected the city into pieces, building in many cases right through what were vibrant Black neighborhoods. Detroit saw tensions with five days of violent rioting in 1967. 

Beginning even before then the city's population has seen a continual decline in what today is a 60% drop from it's automotive heyday. Detroit has suffered immense poverty and all of the trappings that comes with, violent crime, unemployment and folks are leaving. Government corruption and mismanagement turned a bad situation worse. There are some folks who will never who refuse to give up on the city they call "The D." Detroit was built, it could be argued by giants, and it grew so rapidly at a rate that was unsustainable. It's been feeling the effects of the failure of those giants for a long time. 

The Packard plant, often pointed to as a landmark of the urban ruin has been abandoned since 1958. It's not a new thing. Entrepreneurs who are striving to rebuild Detroit are doing it as small businessmen and women. Detroit's champions are looking at green business and design solutions and in one case proposing to turn many of the vacant and abandoned lots into the world's largest urban farm. It will require imagination and hard work and some patience, but Detroit is a tough town, I think they'll figure it out.

Today's Friday Find is more like a Friday Fudge, in that it doesn't quite fit our $20 price-tag, but it's only $22. It is so selected because of it's name, an homage to the Grateful Dead, but I think the moniker fits Detroit and it's future well. The 2009 Dark Star from Kana Winery is a Rhone blend made up of predominantly Syrah as well as Grenache and Mourvedre. Plenty of time in oak barrels, three years actually leads to a really aromatically robust wine, with lots of black licorice and ripe blackberry. The palate is velveteen with layers of black fruit and spice. 

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All-Stars and Rookies: The Wines with Character Trading Cards of the Chehalem Mountains AVA

When I was a kid I collected baseball cards because the generation before me had nostalgia and money and they would and could spend ridiculous amounts of money on the baseball cards they had as kids but either lost, forgot or neglected. So, frankly my generation was set up believing that this was some kind of an "investment" along with comic books. Sucker bet. The thing that made baseball cards of Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and my favorite player of all time and baseball's greatest humanitarian Roberto Clemente valuable was their rarity. Our Ken Griffey Jrs, Don Mattinglys, etc were a dime a dozen.

The reality is the value in those baseball cards was the joy I got from them, the fond memories, the reminders of summer playing and watching baseball, and of course the stale and frankly alarming bubblegum that they came with. The folks in my favorite sub-appellation of the Willamette Valley are capturing that same essence in their Wines with Character Trading Cards. As a way to highlight the Chehalem Mountains AVA as well as the twenty eight individual wineries the cards feature an image on the front and on the back interesting "statistics" not batting average or on-base percentage, but soil type, case production, varieties and clones that are planted.

The idea is "Visit, Taste and Collect" with each visit to the AVA and it's wineries you can request a card and collecting all of them could result in prizes including admission to the annual Chehalem Mountain Winegrowers grand tasting. Experiencing a wine is a sensory experience certainly, but behind that there is a story about a vineyard, a label and in many cases a family's commitment to their land and their wines.

The cards tell the story of the AVA and the people who make it up. There are it's more established labels like Ponzi. Adelsheim and Chehalem, think of them as All-Star cards, as well as favorites like Raptor Ridge, Anam Cara and J.K. Carriere. It's evident that the Chehalem Mountains is about family and frankly a sense of humor. At least two of the cards are dangerous in terms of you potentially finding yourself seduced, whether it's by the disheveled bed-head look of J.K. Carrierre's Jim Prosser or Paul Gates's of Gresser Vineyard's chest hair and well, outfit. Collect em all and trade with your friends.

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Friday Finds May 16th

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.

It's Bike to Work Day today, did you bike to work? I did, but I do that every single day and so this day really only represents an opportunity to perhaps get a free doughnut or some schwag from Clif Bar. I think Bike to Work Day and Bike to Work Month, May, in case there was any confusion are good things in my opinion but for someone who rides everyday Bike to Work Month can be a source of frustration.

Let me explain. I wish more people rode their bicycles to work. It would result in a massive number of positives. Less pollution, less obesity, people taking fewer sick days, healthy people like me subsidizing fewer people's health insurance costs, there's a huge upside and I completely grasp all of it. The problem with Bike to Work Month is that most people don't feel safe enough to ride most of the year. Even when they should. This means that come May people who are not as familiar or comfortable riding to work flood the streets here in Seattle. I have had several close calls this month, all with cyclists. On Wednesday I guy almost ran into me head on. 

On Monday of this week I watched a guy blow two stop signs while "merging" with the road I was riding down. I overtook him because he was slower than I was and had to move into traffic to pass him. As the road continued downhill I got into the left turning lane behind the cars that were ahead of me. He stayed in the right lane and turned across the left turning lane. I was appalled and frankly scared for the guy. I caught up with him a few minutes later on a trail and told him in no uncertain terms that his behavior has a potential negative impact on those beyond him. My language was perhaps more colorful though. 

I want people on bikes, but I want them there safely and I think that folks who are riding during Bike to Work Month need to understand that their safety is in jeopardy in May, just like any other time they take a bicycle to work. To that end they should enjoy riding to work, but they should also be cautious. I think there is a real future in the bicycle as a daily "driving" vehicle for those in the city with commutes of under 15 or 20 miles it works for me our family has only one car. I don't want the stupidity of some of us to ruin it for everyone else. I also don't want to see anyone get hurt. Let's ride, but let's do it safely make every Month and or Day Bike to Work Month, and or Day.

This week I'm dropping two Friday Finds on you, both from the Horse Heaven Hills. The reason being is the weather. What's going on with it? It's been beautiful all week but when it really counts, when we really need it, ie, the weekend, it might be bailing on us. I think you should brave the uncertainty and get the grill ready in either case and so these wines will fit either circumstance. In case this loveliness sticks around we encourage you to pick up the 2013 Rosé of Grenache from Mercer Estates. Pale pink and loaded up with strawberries, grapefruit and a kiss of fresh mint. The folks at Mercer left a touch of residual sugar behind and that doesn't make for a cloying sweet pink wine but rather it gives the fruit character of the wine a sort of juiciness and it balances the acidity well. $14 

Should the fouler weather return go with the 2010 Bombing Range Red from McKinley Springs. This is a wine that I prefer much over last year's vintage and I attribute it to the earthen, smokey character that play a role in the wines aromatics as well as the palate. Dark fruits, clove and the aforementioned smokiness should pair well with those burgers, or steak, or whatever it is you end up grilling in the rain. $16

Buy them both and hey, drink them both.

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