2011 White Wine Show-offs

There are few things more annoying than a big ego in the room, which is why I like to let the wines do the talking as much as I can. If anything is to be the focus of our attention as winemakers, I believe it should be that which is in our glass. I know it is hard, however, for you to hear what the wines have to say in a blog! So, allow me to channel some of what I think the white wines might like to tell you, our friends of Montinore.

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.

State of the Vineyard -- June 14, 2011

It’s been “hurry up and wait” for the past month while we experienced the coolest, wettest Spring in 120 years.  Normally by this time we would have shoots 12 to 18 inches long and been far along in the shoot thinning process but growth has been held back by the weather.  Now that the weather has turned and we are getting warmer days the shoots are rapidly turning into canes and seemingly growing before our eyes.  Each bud puts out two to three shoots that can become canes but only the “primary” shoot, the first to grow, gives us the best fruit.  So the job now for our vineyard crew is to remove all but the primary shoot at each bud location before the shoots grow too long; 20 buds per vine, 215,620 vines…….you do the math.

We have 23 skilled workers working six days a week selecting the best shoots on each vine to ensure the best wine quality.  This is work that only skilled hands can do and we are so fortunate to have a group of people that have been working here at Montinore for years, many since the first planting in 1982.