So the Thursday before WBC 12 was pretty low-key for me. Lunch at Mother’s Bistro with the lovely ladies behind Virtual Wine Bar and Crushworthy Wines. A tasting of Two Shepherds Vineyards offerings. An opening reception from the Oregon Wine Board.
Ya know, just a normal Thursday for a wine blogger. 😉
The highlight of Thursday was the tasting of Two Shepherds wines. Two Shepherds focuses on Rhône varietals and does them VERY WELL. My favorites were…well, all of them. They are all delicious and pleasing. The winemaker, William, is a wonderful person to talk to and his passion for his wines shows.
If I had to pick my *absolute* favorites, I’d have to go with the Grenache Blanc and the Pastoral Blanc.
(Sadly for you, my dear readers, I was so excited to try these wines that I failed to not only take tasting notes, but take pictures as well!!!)
Fast forward a few hours of just kicking back in my hotel room and dinner with a dear friend to the reception. It was impossible to be able to go to all of the wineries that were there. Of course, I found a few of my favorites there and kicked off my night with the fantastic Brut from Kramer Vineyards. After a few laps around the ballroom and swimming in a sea of Pinot Noir, I found myself at the Angel Vine Wines booth.
First off, the name drew me in. Then I saw what they have. Zinfandel/Primitivo. And good Zin at that! But what *really* intrigued me??????? The Hellion blend. A blend of Primitivo and Petite Sirah. This is a fun wine. The idea of Angels & Devils mingling. I’m pretty sure my dearly departed first grade teacher is rolling her eyes…or having a good, hearty belly laugh on my behalf because of the fact that this wine describes me to a “T”. An angel at first glance, but once you get to know me…watch out because you’ll quickly find out I’m a hellcat on wheels.
After leaving Angel Vine’s booth, I yet again meandered through the ballroom and found Le Cadeau Vineyard. They had Pinot, but they had one that wasn’t the typical Pinot you find in Oregon.
See, a good chunk of Oregon Pinot comes from the Dijon 113/114/115/667/777, Wadensweil & Pommard Clones. Le Cadeau has a label that *isn’t* from those clones…their “Merci” label. The clones for Merci are Mt. Eden, Calera & Mariafeld. While these clones give off the “normal” pinot essence of cherries & earthiness, the characteristics of those clones give it a completely different profile.
So there you go…day one in a nutshell. What will day 2 hold? More wine, a fantastic dinner at a winery and MORE WINE!!!!
…stay tuned…
I must have missed those tables at the reception. Sounds interesting!
Nice to have met you Alina. Sorry we didn’t get to hang out more. The weekend was crazy as you know! Next year at WBC13 for sure!!!
They were in the first row as you came into the ballroom.
And it’s okay! The weekend was definitely crazy! I’m sure we’ll have a chance to hang out more either at WBC 13 or if you take another trip up here to the Willamette Valley (if I know enough in advance, I can always try to use a few vacation days)!
I definitely will be at WBC13 and will be back in PDX in the near future. I will keep you posted!
Good to have met you and clear to see wine bloggers do not sleep based upon the time posts I see 🙂 Interesting to hear about the “Merci” I missed that one and was looking to see if there were other clones out there. Cheers!
I work swing shift, so auto-post is my friend when it comes to posting with the times, but the effort I put in comes from my work schedule!
And I got to see you for a brief few minutes. We must do WBC13 together. We can carpool.
Yes!!!! And let’s plan on it! It’ll be a lot of fun!