Culinary Fool

My third stop on Sunday was Torii Mor.  I’ve tasted one or two of their wines in the past but knew little about them.  While talking to people in other tasting rooms on the previous Friday, it had been mentioned several times.  The tasting room had been created with a Japanese influence.  The facility had been feng shui -ed (I’m pretty sure that’s not correct use! (-:) and I had been told it was a very peaceful place.  This winery is actually in the same direction as Erath so if you plan to go it would be easy to visit both wineries in the same trip.

I enjoyed the drive to this winery because it was well off the main road.  The approach is through some wooded areas along a gravel road and then you eventually break out into the vineyards.  While traveling this road I noticed several turkey vultures circling above.  Although I do not care for these birds (they are so very ugly!) they amaze me.  They are a huge bird with fringed wings and when you see them circling you know exactly what they are.  If you are unfortunate enough to see them on the ground you realize they are even larger than they appear in the air and they have the ugliest red heads/faces.  My sister tells a story of years ago being out in a country park sunbathing.  When she and her friend looked up they noticed these birds circling over them!  Scary! They immediately jumped up to prove they were still alive! :-) While driving towards the winery I saw one of the birds dive and wondered what little piece of carrion it had discovered. 

To my dismay there was one sitting on the fence directly to the right of the winery sign!  I ignored it and drove in past the Asian-styled gates.   I think the grounds around the tasting room were very nice – pools and water features could be seen but inside was very crowded.  When I arrived there was one other couple and the three of us barely fit in the tasting room.  The room had quite a lot of furniture in it but since no one was sitting we had to keep dancing around each other.  I also found the staff to be not friendly – not unfriendly – just not friendly.  Neutral, I guess.  There was a $5 fee for the tasting so, as I had done in every other tasting room, I handed over my charge card and requested they just hang on to it so that if I purchased wine I’d just have one charge slip.  About a minute later the guy handed me a $5 charge slip to sign! 

I tried a Pinot Gris and three Pinot Noir.  I’m not going to provide tasting notes because I was feeling so uncomfortable here that I believe my tasting was influenced by the conditions.  However, I will tell you that with all the good Oregon Pinots out there I won’t be rushing to try these again any time soon. 

When I left the winery I turned out into the road and now my one turkey vulture had multiplied and there were six of them sitting on posts in the vineyard near the road!  One was actually in the road working on its lunch.  He was hesitant to leave it long enough for me to drive by but finally let it go.  I stopped to take a couple of photos but there was no way I was getting out of my car!  Unfortunately this meant that I was taking shots up at them with the cloudy but bright sky behind them – not exactly good photo conditions.  Anyway, I just thought that it was very odd that the winery that had taken time to be laid out according to ancient traditions was the one with vultures outside their door!  I think they didn’t quite do it right! :-)

Next stop:  Ponzi Tasting Room and Dundee Bistro

Domaine Serene sits opposite Domaine Drouhin-Oregon.  It was not originally on my list of places to visit, as I didn’t think the tasting room had regular hours but when I drove by I noticed the "Tasting Room Open" sign was out and so I decided to stop in.  It turns out they just opened with regular hours on April 9.  Until November 30, the tasting room is open Thursdays through Sundays from 11am – 4pm

The winery building and grounds are much in the same style as Domaine Drouhin.  The grand building sits on top of a hill in the middle of the vineyard.  A long winding drive takes you from the main road to the winery buildings and parking lot. The tasting room is a bit hidden, although there are signs directing you across the drive, around the building and down some steps to the entry.  The tasting room is large and looks like it could also be used for special events. 

Again, when I entered I was the only person in the room, although about half way through my tasting a couple joined me.  There were two flights available; the Introductory Flight for $10 or the Single-Vineyard Flight for $15, which included the three wines from the Introductory Flight plus two additional Pinot Noir.  Tasting fees would be waived with a $300 purchase!  This seemed ludicrous to me, I understand that many wineries get a lot of tasting traffic that never results in a purchase.  On the other hand tasting is a marketing tool and if this "marketing" works why would you charge the customer for it?  (In my mind it’s sort of like buying logo clothing – I always think those items should cost less, since you are providing advertising for the company!)

And again, since I really only wanted to taste Pinots on this trip I tried to work a little deal with the women staffing the tasting room – trading out the single-vineyard Pinot Noirs for the Chardonnay on the list.  Instead, they made a deal with me!  I could try the single-vineyard Pinots for the $10 fee but I had to try two Chardonnays (only one was on the list!).  I folded knowing I could take small tastes and dump the remainder if I wanted to.  (I generally don’t do the spit thing…) For all you marketing and sales people reading this, this is a great example of how being nice to your customers gets you a lot more than being strict with them!  I ended up buying two bottles of Chardonnay and one of Pinot Noir – not enough to get my tasting fee dropped, however! :-) 

This was a really fun tasting for a couple of reasons.  First, the women working the tasting room were very nice.  One was a new hire, I would guess, and seemed to be in training.  She was very pleasant and was gaining knowledge about the wines she was serving.  The other had been in the business for a number of years and was extremely knowledgeable about all aspects.  Besides the fact that they were pleasant people we discussed all kinds of topics ranging from the wines I was tasting, to trends in naming and labeling wines, to customer confusion about wines and other little tidbits.  We talked about the Seattle market, places and people they’ve worked with and I gave them some suggestions of other places where I thought they might find a good match for their wines.  I spent quite a lot of time at this winery. 

The wines I tasted:

2002 "Clos du Soleil" Chardonnay: This wine had good flavor – lots of citrus but with a bit more mineral overtones than I prefer. 

2001 and 2002 "Etoile Vineyard" Chardonnay:  The 2001 seemed a bit harsh to me but the 2002 was perfect!  Domaine Serene makes this Chardonnay more in the French style with very little oak.  I love that!  These wines are much more about the grape than about what has "enhanced" the wine.  I think of Chardonnays made in this manner as being wines to enjoy on their own as well as with food.  The 2002 was really smooth and a bit nutty.  Light, but not without character.  I don’t often think of Chardonnay as a seafood wine but I could definitely see this wine with shellfish or maybe some of the Alaskan Halibut that’s currently in season!  Yum!

2001 "Evenstad Reserve" Pinot Noir:  This wine surprised me.  The nose was very harsh and I prepared to grimace as I tasted.  Wrong!  this is a beautiful smooth wine!  It may have been the tobacco that hit me in the nose but the taste was all ripe cherry with a hint of cassis. 

2002 "Jerusalem Hill Vineyard" Pinot Noir:  This was the winery’s first release from this vineyard and is very limited.  This is a big wine with lots of berry and, I think, some underlying coffee tastes.  It very pleasantly lingers on the palate. 

2002 "Guadalupe Vineyard" Pinot Noir: I loved this wine.  Big and bold cherry and berry hit the nose, which continues on to the palate.  There’s a hint of spice and an underlying taste that’s very solid – I’m not sure how to describe it.  Again, this wine has a lovely finish that lingers.  Unfortunately, it’s only available at the winery. 

2001 Rockblock "Del Rio Vineyard" Syrah: I don’t have a clear recollection of this wine.  I just remember that it didn’t grab me.  It may have been that it seemed a shock to my mouth after those last couple Pinot Noirs!

Next stop:  Torii Mor

Domaine Drouhin – Oregon was created in 1988 by the Drouhin family of Maison Joseph Drouhin, a well established wine company located in France. The Oregon winery is run by two members of the Drouhin family, among others. Véronique Drouhin-Boss is the winemaker and her brother, Philippe Drouhin, is in charge of all Drouhin estate vineyards in Oregon and in Burgundy. They both split their time between Oregon and their home in France.

The winery sits on top of a hill surrounded by the vineyards. The building is a very impressive looking structure. As you approach the tasting room you pass through a small garden. The day I visited it was very quiet and peaceful on top of that hill. The view is stunning.

I was the only one at the tasting room. And had a chance to talk a bit about the winery and wines. Although Veronique comes and goes, they are quick to show you a picture of her children whom the wines are all named after.

The fee to taste is $10 which they will wave with a $120 purchase, which wouldn’t take long to meet, considering how the wine is priced!  Their Chardonnay and three Pinot Noirs are included in the tasting.  I passed on the Chardonnay (I still had three wineries I planned to visit before driving home!) but tried each of the Pinot Noirs; the Willamette Valley, the Louise and the Laurene.  These were all 2001 vintage.

The Willamette Valley was rich, full-bodied and heavy on the cassis.  It is a nice wine but after drinking the other two releases not much comes to mind about it. 

Both the Laurene and the Louise were amazingly rich and complex with layer upon layer of flavor.  Lots of good aftertaste.  Heavy on the berry flavors, quite a lot of tannin yet smooth.  Laurene is their reserve wine and Louise is the best of the reserve wine.  It is very limited.  It was available at the winery but I notice that it is not listed online.  I didn’t realize this at the time, however, I preferred the Laurene to the Louise.  Although I would be more than happy to receive Louise as a gift! :-) 

According to the winemaker’s recommendation both should be drinkable through 2020.  I will be planning to hold onto this bottle and drink  it for a special occasion. 

These really are beautiful wines and have scored very well since their early releases.  But, due to their high cost, they aren’t wines I’ll purchase on a regular basis. 

Next stop:  Domaine Serene

After visiting King Estate we decided to head a little further south to Château Lorane.  My sister and brother-in-law had been to this winery a number of times.  They have attended the annual Memorial Day weekend event several times and so know the winery fairly well. 

Which was good.  This is a winery in transition and everything felt rather unorganized the day we visited.  Our tasting room experience was presided over by the winemaker himself, although he had not actually made any of the wines we were tasting.  I’m sorry that I do not know his name so I will only be able to refer to him as the winemaker.  Apparently this gentleman has a family winery in France but came to Oregon to work at some wineries here, both to see what’s going on and also to look into importing some of his family wines into the U.S. 

His original plan was to spend the harvest with another winery in the area, Hinman/Silvan Ridge, which he did.  When he was preparing to return to France the winemaker position at Château Lorane was suddenly vacated and he moved into the position early this year.  At least that’s what I understand.  Although, his English was pretty good I could tell he was working to say exactly what he meant and his accent was heavy so it was sometimes I bit hard to understand everything he said. 

Since the winemaker had been there such a short time he really wasn’t all that familiar with the wines we were tasting.  I would have liked to know more about them since this winery seemed to have a policy of holding wines a couple of years longer before release.  (We were tasting 1999 – 2001 vintages.) They also had a very wide range of wines with some varieties not commonly found in this area.  I’m not going to attempt tasting notes since I feel there is too great a chance I would be incorrect about something.  I will say that at the current time they have a 1999 Pinot Gris that was very nice, if a bit on the sweet side, that they were selling for $8!  The winemaker also mentioned that they have a line of mead!  It is not yet available as the labels are still in the approval stage.  He seemed very excited about this line. 

Next time I’m in this area I would visit again to see what’s going on with the winery and if the winemaker is still there or if they’ve had additional turnover.  The jury is still out on this winery! :-)

Our first stop on Saturday afternoon was King Estate Winery, about 20 miles SW of Eugene.  One of the first wineries to locate in this part of the Willamette Valley.  Early on they gained respect and a following in the wine community. 

You might notice in the photo to the left a windmill.  As you approach the winery through the vineyards there are many windmills placed throughout.  This was the only vineyard that I saw this, on this trip.  The windmills are used to stir the air at times when the night time temperature is dropping too low.  By moving the air they can often keep the grapes from freezing and gain a bit more time before harvesting. 

Their facility, sitting on top of a hill overlooking the valley and their vineyards is huge and fairly new.  And so I was surprised that we were led in through the winery to get to the tasting room which they were in process of enlarging.  (I’m thinking who planned this place anyway? You wouldn’t think they’d need to remodel already!)

The tasting room was crowded (with only 8 – 12 people) and so there wasn’t really opportunity to talk to the tasting room staff.  Here’s what we tasted:

King Estate 2002 Pinot Gris:  As we entered the winery we were handed a glass of this wine.  We then made our way through the rows of steel tanks to get to the actual tasting room.  This was a very pleasant wine with less citrus than many of the others I’ve sampled on this trip.  I think it leaned more towards apple.  Very fresh tasting. 

Lorane Valley 2003(?) Pinot Noir:  Lorane Valley is the second label of King Estate.  I’m not positive on this vintage but about 95% sure I’m right.  This wine was fairly light structured.  I thought it was okay and being a very young release it might need a little time to develop but I’m not sure that’s going to help this wine much. 

King Estate 2002 Pinot Noir:  This was a very nice wine.  Lots of cherry and berry with some spice.  It felt good in the mouth and had a nice finish.  However, I thought it should be priced just under $20 instead of just over. 

My family also tried one of their Cabernet Sauvignon but since I was being a good driver I passed on that taste. 

You can see a webcam view from the front of the winery here. 

Next stop:  Château Lorane