Volume 2, Issue 1
January, 2004
Circulation 4,363

Oregon

pat@pinotnoirs.com
www.pinotnoirs.com

Food  In Oregon we were treated to both red and white salmon splayed on alder stakes over a huge fire pit and basted with butter and fresh marjoram. The very rare white salmon or albino salmon are naturally a much fattier fish. They are simply freaks of nature, and impossible to distinguish until you fillet them. They were delicious and I highly recommend them if you are fortunate enough to find them.

An interesting tasting paired 7 Pinot Noirs (each from a different country or state) with fresh albacore prepared three different ways – poached in olive oil, grilled, and smoked. It was amazing how different the same Pinot Noirs tasted with the different albacores. Three famous chefs each prepared one of the types albacore – one of them was Caprial Pence, the PBS chef, who's wonderful restaurant, Caprials, we enjoyed in Portland, OR. See our website for location and details.

Another discovery I loved was bread with dried figs - absolutely delicious with cream cheese. You can find it at Whole Foods.

We delighted over an incredible porchetta prepared by Mary Kay Gehring's Viande Meats & Sausage fresh from the oven.

Nick Peirano of Nick's Italian Café in McMinnville came up with another first for me – Pinot Noir Snow Cones served by Nick himself on a warm summer afternoon.

Restaurants  We discovered many wonderful restaurants in Oregon. To name a few: Cory Schreiber's Wildwood Restaurant & Bar in Portland, Caprials in Portland, The Dundee Bistro in Dundee, Jack Czarnecki's The Joel Palmer House in Dayton, Marche in Eugene, Nick's Italian Café in McMinnville. These restaurants all have extensive Oregon Wine Lists. You can find more information on these restaurants and links to their web sites on our web site.

Recipes  One of my favorite ways to serve salmon is Grilled with Pinot Noir Lentils and Spinach. The tiny slate-green French lentils are wonderful when cooked in Pinot. I add a dash of Black Currant Vinegar which finishes them beautifully.

Wine Festivals

Oregon

17th International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC)
July 24th - 27th, 2003
Linfield College, McMinnville, OR

The IPNC is a very classy, but definitely informal, 4-day wine event held on the campus of Linfield College in McMinnville, OR. For four days 600 attendees taste Pinot Noirs from around the globe from Riedel glasses. The three days are filled with classes, tastings, tours, talks, and breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. Meals are prepared by chefs from many wonderful restaurants and wines are poured by sommeliers in black tie from many restaurants. The IPNC concludes with Sunday Brunch and the sommeliers donning a little less sober dress. They feature Pinot Noir Sparkling wines and an incredible buffet. The hyperlink on this topic will take you to a teriffic photo tour of the 2003 celebration by Avalon Wine.com

18th Annual International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC)
July 23rd - 25th, 2004
Linfield College, McMinnville, OR

Australia, Tasmania

14th Annual Tasmanian Wines Show
12th - 17th January 2004
Launceston, Tasmania, Australia

Hosted by the Tasmania Wine Show Society, a week long series of events including Judges Tutored Tasting of Old World / New World wines, Awards Presentation Dinner, and public tastings.

New Zealand

Pinot Noir 2004
28 - 31 January 2004
Wellington, New Zealand

"Pinot Noir 2004 will be led by a panel of internationally respected wine experts and commentators, many chairing the formal tasting sessions. Delegates will meet and mingle with the best known names in the international wine scene. The food will again be orchestrated to perfection. From the Chefs Choice dinner at the leading city restaurants, to the informality of the late night street party with food prepared on the spot, to the sparkling gala dinner delegates will again be transported through the delicious taste experiences of New Zealand." Quote from website.

I will be attending and reporting on these events.

Salmon Splayed on Alder Stakes
Photo Coutsey of Michael Madigan

Porchetta

Pinot Noir Snow Cone from Nick's Italian Cafe

Sommelier at Sunday Brunch

Although there have been vines and wine in Oregon since the days of the Oregon Trail, and Pinot Noirs since the 1970's, there has been an explosion in the last 10 years with the number of wineries going from 78 in 1992 to 250 today. Oregon ranks 4th in the United States in the production of varietal wines. 50% of harvested acreage is Pinot Noir, all but 4% of the harvested Pinot Noir acreage is in the Willamette Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA). Pinot Gris is second with 14%, the majority of which is also grown in Willamette. In the map to the right, Oregon's AVAs are the dark areas, Willamette Valley is the dark burgundy area in the upper left. The map is used by permission of Delta Geographics and is available from their web site.

The Willamette Valley AVA is, as you can see from the map, quite large. Efforts are currently underway to define new subappellations. They are Red Hills of Dundee, Chehalem Mountains, Ribbon Ridge, Yamhill/Carlton District, McMinville, and Eola Hills. The process for approval is quite lengthy, taking several years. If you want to track progress directly the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau or TTB maintains a web site where you can view status, and have your voice heard if you have an opinion or read the opinion of others.

Although Pinot Noir is grown in the other Oregon AVAs, the action is in the Willamette area. If you want details on other varietals or AVAs, the Oregon Wine Advisory Board maintains an excellent web site.

Wine Factoid.  Oregon has the most stringent wine labeling laws in the nation. Their intent is to provide accurate information that the consumer can count on and to accurately describe the contents of the bottle. For example no foreign regions or appellations, such as "Burgundy" can be used. A bottle described as a 2001 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir must be 90% Pinot Noir, 100% from the Willamette AVA, and 95% from the cited year.