Willamette riesling producers?

S

SteveTimko

Steve Timko
I may be going to Willamette later this month. Any riesling producers of note to check out besides Belle Pente?
I'm looking at Sineann and Bergstrom. I believe Stoller now offers a riesling, too.
 
Chehalem makes a Riesling, Steve, and I generally prefer their whites to their reds. They also make a Grüner Veltliner.

Mark Lipton
 
Biggio Hamina might be worth checking out....(Caveat: haven't tried them myself, but their wines were given praise by fellow disorderly Florida Jim here in the past, which would be good enough for me were I located where I could try them).
 
Steve- Stoller grows Riesling and it's the main source of the Chehalem wine, plus Melissa Burr produces some for Stoller but AFAIK it's only available at the tasting room and for wine club members (she makes a marvelous rosé from PN too). Brian O'Donnell's Riesling at Belle Pente is consistently my favorite from the area (plus it ages gracefully), but I've enjoyed bottlings from Elk Cove and Anam Cara when I've run across them in the past. Some relatively thorough info can be found here: http://bit.ly/nNA99m

-Eden (don't eschew Pinot Blanc during your visit! It may be the best of the undersung/unloved varieties grown and turned into wine in OR - lots of consistency in terms of style and quality among growers & producers, it goes really well with salmon, and the pricing is reasonable)(other than that, stick with Tempranillo)
 
I have heard good things about J Christopher.

There is also some Gruner grown in the area. The one or two I have had have not been impressive but they were from young vines. I am curious to try more.
 
The white wines from Brooks are all worth drinking. I think their dry-styled wines are maybe a touch more successful than their "Sweet Pea" Riesling that has a heaping helping of RS, but across the board I'm always impressed by their output. Their reds don't exactly suck, either.
 
I'll see if Brooks will let me taste. The only wine listed on their web site is the 2008 riesling. They list as a review a 92-point rating from Snooth, which I suspect is a scraped review from CellarTracker!
 
I'd second the Brooks recommendation. Both of the regular dry Riesling and the "Ara" bottling are delicious and the Amycas blend seems to over-deliver every year. They definitely lean on the bigger/powerful side as opposed to relying on finesse, but they aren't hot and pull it off pretty well.

I also don't think J Christopher makes a Riesling, which comes as a surprise given that Ernst Loosen is an investor in the winery. I suppose he's already doing that in the Northwest, though.
 
originally posted by SteveTimko:
I'll see if Brooks will let me taste. The only wine listed on their web site is the 2008 riesling. They list as a review a 92-point rating from Snooth, which I suspect is a scraped review from CellarTracker!
Click to expand...

No, actually reading the review would show that it is my review of the wine on Snooth. We've cleaned our data of cellartracker material, to Eric's satisfaction, and he is not one to let things slide in this matter, nor should he.
 
originally posted by gregory dal piaz:
originally posted by SteveTimko:
I'll see if Brooks will let me taste. The only wine listed on their web site is the 2008 riesling. They list as a review a 92-point rating from Snooth, which I suspect is a scraped review from CellarTracker!
Click to expand...

No, actually reading the review would show that it is my review of the wine on Snooth. We've cleaned our data of cellartracker material, to Eric's satisfaction, and he is not one to let things slide in this matter, nor should he.
Click to expand...

No, here's your review:

Aromatically, this shows a touch of evolution with a hint of kerosene accenting the nutty, herb, and green tea-tinged bitter orange fruit. A touch soft on entry with a hint of bitterness accenting the lightly orchard-toned fruit of the mid-palate. More green apple and lime on the powerful finish that is driven by some sneaky acidity. 90pts
Click to expand...

Here's the review attributed to Snooth on the Brooks Web site:

Snooth 2008 Willamette Valley Riesling 12.8%, $18 Waxy on the nose with earthy, slightly vegetal fruitiness of candied orange peel. Fabulous acids in the mouth with more of that orange jelly candy fruit backed by notes of lemon and lime that have huge follow-through on the finish. Really great acidity lends this a zesty character. 92pts
Click to expand...

Actually, this reads like a Tanzer review.
 
Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment.

Loading…

www.snooth.com

Second the recco for belle Pente. You should also check out Chehalem, Anam Cara, and Elk Cove, and if you like Saar Rieslings, the Willamette Valley Vineyards version is a simple wine, but in that severely dry and austere vein.
 
Oh my gosh, no one has mentioned Teutonic Wine Company? [sorry, Arjun was on it!] If any wine in Oregon is grown, picked and fermented for the Disorderly palate, it's Olga and Barnaby Tuttle's wines. Riesling at 9% alcohol, naturally fermented, finishing where it may. Pinot Noir rose grown well above 1,000 feet from grapes pressed, not bled from the fermenter. Sylvaner from 40 year old vines. Chasselas. Pinot Meunier. Pinot Gris that's ridiculously good (Gris!) from a north slope at the highest part of the Maresh vineyard, from vines probably 30 years old. But this is about Riesling. Give it a go. Only sold locally though you can find it at Fred Meyer much less the finest wine shops. Prices too cheap to attract points or all but the geekiest media attention. If you come to Oregon and fail to taste these wines, you've missed out. Yes, they are friends but I'm in awe of what they're doing and would copy them if I had the nerve and wouldn't be found out. Definitely check their web site. http://www.teutonicwines.com Oh, and they import small amounts of really interesting German wines, including some Sekt from Immich-Anker that blew my mind. I should probably blog about all this. Sometimes you think everyone already knows everything.
 
originally posted by SteveTimko:
Teutonic Wine CompanySo how do I taste the wine? Buy it at Fred Meyer? I don't see that they have a tasting room.
Click to expand...

Well you could trapse through Alsace, but that's too direct. I would suggest sweeping through Belgium and demanding the Riesling as reparations.
 
What Cory said. They don't have a tasting room. They do pour regularly around town so maybe something when you're here. Or just buy some and try or bring home or ship home.
 
Thanks for posting about Teutonic Wine Company, Vincent. They sound like they are doing very interesting work. I'll try to taste some of their lineup when I'm back in the NW this August if I can get down to Portland. The sylvaner in particular attracts me, but the wines all sound interesting.
 
Joel, let me know if you're coming to Portland. Always up for meeting other Disorderly types. That sylvaner is from David Hill vineyard due west of Portland. Pretty old vines for these parts. 45 years. Either volcanic or loess soils out that way mostly. Lots of old seafloor around here as well, sometimes all jumbled up. Less than 10% alcohol. I think Oswaldo would approve, no?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top