Que Syrah, sera!

First.  Congrats to Abacela Vineyard in the Umpqua Valley for being named 2013 Oregon Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest.

In that article the owner of Abacela states: “Syrah is the easiest to grow, but good Syrahs don’t sell,” Jones said.  Pity.

A major reason for my undaunted support of the Umpqua Valley AVA is the ability to grow a wide diversity of grapes.  I believe that the grape that "loves" it most here is Syrah!

So why does Mr. Jones feel that Syrahs don't sell?  My best guess for this is that people haven't tried enough Syrah to realize what a bargain our local Syrahs are.  Unfortunately, this varietal has suffered greatly by the flood of mediocre wine from Australia; Shirraz.  It's essentially the same grape that in most cases has been "doctored" to give this big fruity wine that takes the taster miles off the Syrah mark.

We "wine enthusiasts" seek out wines that represent the "benchmark" of the grape.  Meaning that over thousands of years Syrah has been developed to give its best expression in a certain climate.  That had been the Rhone Valley in France until it spread around the world.  Short story is that our climate is a good match for that benchmark taste.  Simple.

It's the Winemaker, Silly!

As the wine industry grows so does the construction of Chateau-like wineries. This is all fine and dandy, but often this is a way to disguise some pretty mediocre wine. I am here to remind you what this wine thing is all about: brilliant wine.

One of my favorite commercials is "Charley Tuna", you remember, as I paraphrase: "We want WINE that tastes good; not WINE with good taste." We in the industry know that it's not the grapes that make good wine, it's the winemaker. You can screw up good grapes. Fancy vineyards aren't a guarantee to great wine.

Fortunately, we here in the Umpqua Valley AVA have a good supply of great winemakers.  People with the passion to create a beautiful interpretation of what Mother Nature provides.

In the end, I'd rather pull up to a garage with outstanding wine, then a fancy Chateau serving up limp wine.  As our area grows we need to keep our focus on the winemaking, as well as, the beautiful buildings.

Time for Vines to "Chill Out"

Wine vines (vini viniferous) are truly a wonder of nature.  I, for one, am grateful to have them around.  And if we had to invent such a complex fruit machine we would not accomplish nearly as perfect a job that Mother Nature has came up with.

We all might take a leason from the vines at this time of year and "chill out."  Take the time to replenish our energy sources and get ready to do it all again.  The vines are very adapt at this trick.

Science tells us that vines need a very specific amount of time of temperatures below 45 degrees. "Grapes need anywhere between 250 and 800 hours of winter below that temperature. Grapes stay dormant longer than that, but receiving that time at a colder temperature is critical for dormancy."

Read more: How Long Can Grapevines Stay Dormant? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8723833_long-can-grapevines-stay-dormant.html#ixzz2FQMbgtqA

So if you thought the vines weren't paying attention to the weather this time of the year, you were wrong. They're out there in the fields with one eye open...just like you longing for Spring.  Happy Solstice!

(Artwork by Richard Stephens)

What a mess!

And you thought Prohibition was over.  Think again.  The fallout from one of our Nation's worst social experiment still impacts consumers today.  The main reason for this is that each and every state, that's 50, has their own rules on the shipping of wine.

In Oregon, wineries can ship up to two cases of wine a month. But the thing to remember is that there are many states to which this wine can not be shipped to at all.  For instance, if you have relatives back in Montana or Utah, you can forget shipping them the "evil" grape juice.

Most of these laws are being manipulated by the huge corporate liqueur distributors.  To them, our little wineries are nothing more than a line item on their spreadsheets.  They need to back off the little guy.  You can help by visiting this link (Free the Grapes) and becoming informed about the issue.

Is it a "Vintage" year?

Does it really matter what vintage a wine was created in?  The short answer is. definitely yes! 

And now the long answer: Vintage can mean two things; first, simply the year in which the grapes were harvested.  The other, older, meaning is to designate an exceptional year for making wine.

Here in the Umpqua Valley AVA we are having a great harvest.  Is it exceptional?
That remains to be "tasted!"  It seems there's no way to tell until we can taste the wine.  So it's not really productive to label this years' harvest as "Vintage" just yet.

I can tell you though that there's lots of smiles on the winemakers faces around here.  This harvest is going to produce some outstanding wines, regardless if you want to label 2012 as a Vintage year!

A Sniff Down Memory Lane

For me, wine is about the memories it imparts; past, present , and future.  When I am having a Zin today, what surrounds that bottle are all the memories of every Zin I ever drank (not enough fingers and toes...)  I may not be aware, but my internal data storage is whirling around pulling "files" of all the good times that came with the Zin experiences.  And to take it one step further, if I'm pouring a Dry Creek Zin, then I can feel the Sunshine and smell the air of that place.  A cheap trip to California!

It's up to each of us to approach wine with an expectation of making a great new memory to add to the mix.  All these sensory memories started long before our first sip of wine.  Our world as kids was full of glorious moments of sight, sound, and smells.  Think of that time you bit into a green apple and the tart flavors exploded in your mouth as you lay in the sunshine just passing the day away.  Well, guess what, that memory is stored inside you and when you smell green apple in a wine, you get this little smile.  You may not know why but you are connecting to that day long ago.

In my wine tasting I am not so much trying to identify specific smells as the memories that are called up from the wine.  Close your eyes and build a memory!

Agra-Busines vs. Agri-Culture

I begin with a quote:   "James Lapsley of the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis investigated population and consumption trends here. He forecast a market for 407 million cases of table wine in 2030, compared to 282 million cases sold in 2009, predicting a 125 million case increase in the U.S. market."

I am often asked if there will be a market for all the new wineries in the Umpqua Valley AVA.  My somewhat flippant answer is that "We are always making new mouths for our wines."  Point is that Wine is Big Business.

In the scheme of things, though, you have options.  The wine industry can turn your wine country into a "disneyland" of tourism or you can chose to remain small on purpose.  The question wineries must ask themselves is if expansion is the ultimate goal.  With the ever growing interest in premium wines,  is it possible to resist growth simply to meet the demand?

In our own local wine dynamics, some have moved towards the bigger the better idea, and some believe that small is beautiful.  If you haven't already surmised, I am for the later.  At some point the growth inhibits the quality of the wine experience.

I would argue that,  using a relative scale,  our local wines produce every bit as agreeable wines as does the Napa Valley of CA.  The differnce comes in the intimate experince of the region itself.  Napa Valley has been on a unwavering path of growth for decades now and this has resulted in a hyper carnival atmosphere in the area.  While you can still seek out a few hidden calm spots,  the majority of the wineries are overrun by buses, limos, and hordes of neophyte tasters.

Thankfully the Umpqua Valley AVA will never approximate this pattern.  We are not at the hub of a major metropolitan area.  However, the temptation to create a "mini-Napa" exists.  Yet I suggest that the quality of our home grown wineries is the very draw that will set our "World-Class Wines" apart from the rest.