Wine from A to Z, literally and figuratively

Posted on October 17, 2013 by melsmosaic

To wrap up my winery visits in Oregon, I spent some time with the CEO of one of my favorites vineyards, and found out more about it. I went to what I thought was only A to Z. Well, there is so much more to it! They also produce Rex Hill wines, which is actually the primary one at the tasting room, and a few people who work there produce their own wines in small quantities.

William (Bill) Hatcher gave me a tour of the cellars and I got to taste wines that were still ‘grape juice’ — as in had no alcohol content yet — to slowly working up to perfection. The ones I sampled went from 1-7 days ‘old’ (there is a much more technical name for this) and it was interesting getting a ‘feel’ for what the process entails. There is also a labeling system for each wine as they are being produced, then I got info on bottling, corking, distribution and more.

After that I tasted many of their amazing offerings, from whites to reds, Chards to Pinots. I don’t love Chards but wow! Bring…it…on. I spent more time talking to Bill about the history of the company, what has brought them to where they are and what/where they hope to go in the future. This is yet another location where I wanted to load up on tons of bottles but I did have to travel across the country to get home so it wouldn’t be the easiest thing to do. I somehow left with only three, knowing that would give me reason to go back. The William Hatcher bottle in the middle is Bill’s own and was quite amazing!

OR Winery Visits

Posted on October 16, 2013 by melsmosaic

After checking out the first Oregon winery, I was nice and warmed up. I checked out several others during the rest of my days in wine country.

Adelsheim Vineyard — Not what I was expecting, as in many whites. But, lots of reds, too…

Bergstrom Winery — Took/could taste a ton of influence from France.

Alexana Winery — First, fun road to get there/a little off the beaten path! Great variety of wines, hard to pick from (as in which was best).

Lange Estate Winery and Vineyards — that fishing lure of a logo pulls you in then you get the goods! I love Pinot land!

Sokol Blosser Winery — They just remodeled their tasting room, which was very nice to check out. I had never had a Rose from OR. There is a first (amazing) time for everything! They also make an ‘everyday’/table wine under the name of Evolution.

Great time, great wines, keep ’em coming Oregon!

Oregon Winery Tour

Posted on October 16, 2013 by melsmosaic

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted because I was in a wine lover’s paradise — Willamette Valley (OR) — for a couple days. I visited some wineries, met some great people and enjoyed some phenomenal varietals.

To start off my trip, I booked a tour at penner-Ash. Notice the typing on that. The owners wanted something basic for the appearance of the name/logo, as in lower case, but Ash wanted his name capitalized. But, when you read the logo it’s not the easiest to catch.

While on my trip, it was high harvest season. Grapes were being picked, processed, etc. So, I got to see lots of good stuff! Grapes fresh off the vines:

One of the next processing steps — they start at the top, get pressed and move their way down:

Grapes in the process of eventually making their way to us:

Tasted five great wines while there. All were amazing and it was tough to narrow down which ones to buy.

The tasting room at penner-Ash is so nice — it overlooks fields and hills. It was a beautiful day when I visited so I could see so much landscape. I recommend checking this place out next time you’re in the area.

MD Wineries — Cheers!

Posted on July 29, 2013 by melsmosaic

Last weekend I stepped away from the norm and decided to do this thing I rarely do — drink local wine. I love our west coast — bring me Napa, Sonoma, Oregon (going in October!!!) and Washington. But, I live in Maryland and wineries are not far away. So, why not explore what’s a car ride vs. a plane ride (aka several hundred dollars before the wine purchase) away.

Friends slated 3 wineries for the day and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting nothing superb but ended up with wines that I will put on my regular list.

Our first visit was to Elk Run in Mt. Airy. For the simple tasting you had 7 pours — lucky number, right? There was a nice variety. I was quite surprised when the Cab was my favorite. That’s normally my last resort for a the wine to choose when picking a red.

For the entire menu, it was quite extensive should you want a regular pour. This was our first visit, so didn’t want to go too crazy.

Our next visit was about 5-10 minutes away at Black Ankle. Their grapes grow on rocks and therefore get no leaves. Per our wonderful ‘pourer,’ it’s very sad. They get about 2.5 tons of grapes per acre because of the ground. But let me tell you, GREAT wine, particularly for Maryland. We tasted 4 wines and they were phenomenal.

At Black Ankle, they also want you to come enjoy a picnic and relax, so everyone in the group brought food and we kicked back and relaxed for awhile.

Our last destination was Serpent Ridge in Westminster. I will qualify this as more Maryland wine. Not spectacular, but we had already been to 2 wineries. It was nice to explore another location in the area and see what they have to offer, though.

We ended the day by returning to Black Ankle and kicking back for a little bit longer as some storms rolled in. I just have to say Cheers! to local wineries for expanding their vineyards, wineries, production, etc, etc, etc and drawing in the locals, visitors and everything else. The expansion of the wine industry throughout the country over the past couple years has been quite interesting. From the Finger Lakes in NY to MD and VA, to MI and TX. This country is up for some fun over the next decade+. Though I know I will always love the West Coast, just like supporting the farmers at your local farmer’s market, the same will soon come with wine. On that note, what are you pouring tonight?