A Spot of Passion, Anyone?

The Concise Oxford English Dictionary and I like each other very much. We really do. The deft task of opening the said book, looking up a word and closing it again should be so simple, yet…every time I try and accomplish that task, my eyes wander, become a little glazed almost and I embrace the volume and run my eyes lovingly over the surrounding words and pages, unable to stop myself from learning more, fuelled by my Passion for words. Now then, I have your full attention, I just knew the opening gambit would make you all read on! With Valentines Day quickly approaching, I thought I would base my little prose around that very word - Passion.

This is a feeling we like very much at Montinore and trot out, with justification, on a fairly regular basis. We like to think of ourselves as a fairly passionate bunch of people, whether our place of work be in the vineyard, winery or in the marketing arena. Having strong emotion, being interested in and enjoying what we do, has brought bigger rewards to us than just "doing the job."

In the winery, giving tender loving care to our wines and fine attention to detail can make all the difference between an average and good, excellent to outstanding wine. The Passion we show is a year round process, and we continually try and improve our skills and knowledge in order to make the product better.

Perpetual New Beginnings

The subject of “Spring Cleaning” is an evocative one.  Of course cleaning up the yard or cleaning out the house after a long winter is the primary reference, but it can apply at other times of year as well.  It can describe activities such as raking leaves in the autumn, cleaning windows anytime of the year, cleaning out the kitchen, cupboards, car, etc., whenever fancy strikes.  What the phrase really strikes at is a sense of a fresh start – a new look at an old view, a new use for cluttered space, a new beginning in a small or large way.

Wine Advocate Reviews are out!

Dr. Jay Miller of the Wine Advocate reviews' of the Willamette Valley's 2009 vintage are in and we couldn't be happier. Not only for the recognition of these delicious wines, but also are so proud of red winemaker Ben Thomas and his first complete vintage in that role.

While the 2009 Graham's and Parsons' will not be released until next year, the 2009 Reserve is out and drinking great right now.

Finally, the fruit starts coming in!

After two and a half weeks of waiting past the average picking date for Pinot Noir we have finally reached that golden moment  of ripeness and balance.

2011 Harvest Update

Almost every year around this time Chicken Little makes an appearance to tell us the sky is falling.  This morning he was on the radio proclaiming gloom and doom for the 2011 vintage.   I have to say that I don’t share his pessimism.  Sure it’s a little nerve wracking just waiting for grapes to ripen when we are having some drizzly weather, but it’s important to look at facts and make assessments on what we know and see in the vineyards.  What I do know is th at this year, so far, is a lot like 2010 when people were very nervous going into early October.  The wines of 2010, howe ver, turned out to be great expressions of our cool climate viticulture with bright color, vibrant aromatics and ripe yet lively flavors.  In some ways they are some of the best we have made here at Montinore.

This year has progressed in much the same way as the last: late bud break, late bloom, cooler summer, very warm September and now a mix of sun and clouds so far in October.  When you look at total heat units for this growing season, 2011 has been warmer than 2010.  As I walk out in the vineyards I see firm, clean fruit and healthy vines that are moving right along toward ripening.  As of 10/3 our Pinot blocks were closing in on maturity with Brix levels in the 18 to 20 range.   I think it’s important to remember that vines ripen in response to “inside” forces as well as “outside”.  It’s true that they slow down when things get cooler but even at 60 degrees they are still building sugar and flavors.  As long as the fruit is clean and the vines are working we are getting closer to that point of perfection.  For me, I welcome the extended hang time.  It helps produce more complex and interesting flavor profiles and that’s what we want.   Sure I’m nervous, but at the end of the day I wouldn’t want to be growing Pinot Noir and our cool climate whites anywhere else.