Columbia George & Mount Hood AVA was one of the highlights of the trip.

Twelve lucky Wine Media Conference participants made their way to this unique wine growing region.

The Oregon Wine Board arranged the fabulous winery visits and suggested the group hotel, overlooking the Gorge.

Columbia Gorge & Mount Hood AVA

Our first stop on the Columbia Gorge & Mount Hood AVA trip for the Wine Media Conference 2021 was the Timberline Lodge.   

This is located high on the slopes of Mount Hood.

At 11,249 feet in elevation, it is Oregon’s highest mountain.

Built in 1937 to give travelers and adventurers a convenient lodging, the lodge still serves skiers, mountain climbers, and hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail running past the lodge.

As a fun treat, we enjoyed delicious sandwiches, charcuterie, cheeses, on the bus before stopping at a nearby park for a wine tasting by several Columbia Gorge sparkling wine producers.

From Columbia Gorge we headed headed toward Stave & Stone Winery for a tasting of their wine – and the wine of neighboring property Wy’East Vineyards. Wy’East is the indigenous name for Mount Hood.

These two wineries shared some of the best Pinot Noir outside of Burgundy.

Phelps Creek owners, Bob and Lynette, invited to their home for a beautiful dinner in their home at the top of the vineyard.

Joining Phelps Creek were the owners of Cathedral Ridge.

Columbia Gorge History

The Columbia Gorge AVA, established in 2004, comprises vineyard lands on both sides of the Columbia River, in both Oregon and Washington.

The Columbia River, the largest river in the Pacific Northwest, is famous as the transportation mode for the Lewis & Clark expedition as it finished its final leg of travel to the Pacific Ocean.

More recently, the region became well known for Bridge of the Gods where author Cheryl Strayed finished her Pacific Crest Trail journey in Wild, depicted by Reese Witherspoon in the movie of the same name. The river is crucial to transportation, industry, and recreation in the region.

The Columbia Gorge AVA includes the vineyards in the Hood River Valley, which is the land surrounding the Hood River as it flows down from Mount Hood, a dormant volcanic mountain that juts by itself into the skies and is Oregon’s highest point.

Most wineries in the area are small, boutique wineries.

The next day we stopped at the Columbia Gorge – a fitting end to a fantastic journey.

Check out Other Oregon Visits
– Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

The post Columbia Gorge Wineries appeared first on AWINESTORY.COM.

Hillcrest Winery in the Umpqua Valley

Hillcrest is Oregon’s oldest estate winery and the birthplace of Oregon Pinot Noir.

It was founded by the “Father of Oregon Wine”, Richard Sommer, 

Dyson DeMara, now the owner, enjoyed a career in the wine industry spaning 32 years and multiple continents, including Europe, South America and Asia.

He has worked for Pine Ridge and Robert Mondavi Winery and his experience includes viticulture, winemaking, marketing and research.

DeMara previously owned a winery in Napa Valley and currently is the owner and winemaker of HillCrest Winery and Distillery, Oregon’s oldest estate winery. In addition to Oregon he also makes wine in Spain, France and Germany. 

HillCrest was honored along with such wineries as Baron Ricasoli of Tuscany, the creator of Chianti and Schloss Johannisberg, the site and birthplace of German Riesling.

They use the most traditional of techniques to capture the perfume and textures of our unique vineyard sites. These techniques include all dry-farmed, old vine, hillside vineyards followed inside by the use of patented fermenters, 30-60 day skin contact on red and barrel aging of 2-4 years.

Beginning in 2010, they now produce wines from different corners of the old world. These wines, like our Oregon wine, come from the grapes that helped develop the reputation of these world class wine areas.

The varieties they make include Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Lladoner Pelut, Frappato, Nero D’Avola and Riesling.

The family’s wines are not sold in stores.

Paul O’Brien Winery in the Umpqua Valley

Paul O’Brien Winery sources  grapes from dry farmed, hillside vineyards throughout the Umpqua Valley.  This approach allows us to ensure that we are selecting vineyard sites that are perfectly matched to a particular variety.  We have partnered with eight different growers who are dedicated to growing the finest winegrapes for the Paul O’Brien wines.

The Paul O’Brien People

So who is Paul O’Brien, you ask? Well, he is the culmination of twenty years of friendship between two winemakers who share a passion for fine wine, great food and a gracious life. Dyson Paul DeMara and Scott O’Brien Kelley met while working at Robert Mondavi Winery in the Napa Valley.

Since then they have travelled the world’s wine regions learning the old world traditions and sharing new world techniques. In 2013 the duo came together to start the Umpqua Valley’s first urban winery in the historic Hansen Chevrolet building in downtown Roseburg, Oregon.

Scott Kelley began his career in winemaking at Edgewood Estate in the Napa Valley after graduating from University of California, Davis.

In 1999, he joined the Robert Mondavi Family of Wines as Assistant Winemaker at La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi before being promoted to Director of Winemaking in 2001.

In 2003 his winemaking role expanded to include representing Robert Mondavi’s interests in Italy, working with the wines of Luce, Lucente and Ornellaia as well as in Australia on a joint venture with Rosemount Estates. 

Since then he served as GM/Director of Winemaking for Estancia Estates in Monterey County, California before making the jump to Oregon to fulfill his dream of starting his own winery.  

The Umpqua Valley has a special place in Scott’s heart as he grew up fly fishing the North Umpqua River with his father. He knew that someday he would move to the area to make wine and raise a family. 

Scott, his wife Dena and their son Logan have recently settled in Roseburg.

Trella Vineyards

The Williams family established Trella Vineyards in 2011. After moving to Roseburg in 2007, the family began making friends with local winemakers and grew to appreciate the potential of the Umpqua Valley.

They rapidly evolved from wine neophytes to enthusiastic consumers, and eventually caught the fever for winegrowing. An 80 acre hillside parcel at the base of the Callahan Mountains was slowly tamed and a small vineyard was planted by hand in 2012.

A second planting was made in 2013. With help from all three generations of the family and handfuls of sympathetic friends, Trella Vineyards grew to seven acres of vines.

Terry Brandborg of Brandborg Winery became the winemaker in 2015 and his award-winning expertise yielded spectacular Trella wines.

You’ll also like:
Columbia Gorge & Mount Hood APA

Willamette Valley Pinot Noir  

The post Umpqua Valley Wine appeared first on AWINESTORY.COM.

Umpqua Valley Oregon: Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards

Umpqua Valley Oregon is home to several top tier wineries.

We enjoyed a very warm welcome and delicious award winning wine at Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards.

Before the Reustle Prayer Rock vineyard and winery, Stephen and Gloria Reustle owned a successful marketing company that taught them the value of providing “world-class” product to a loyal customer base.

Upon arriving in the Umpqua Valley of Oregon, Stephen carefully mapped out 40 acres of vineyards to be planted. Each variety, clone, and rootstock was carefully selected to match the diverse hillside soil and unique micro-climates.

Using only fruit grown from the estate’s Prayer Rock and Romancing Rock Vineyards, winemaking is kept to small lots preserving the disctintiveness of each varietal and clone.

And yes, there really is a “Prayer Rock” at the vineyard — at the top of the south-facing slope is a large rock that was the meeting place for Stephen and his son in the mornings to pray to God for blessing over their vineyard.

Not only did this family practice establish the name of the vineyard, but it has kept the Reustle’s very busy. Since then, they have bottled approximately 6,000 cases of wine annually, selling out every year.

Being forward about their Christian beliefs hasn’t always brought success.

For the first year of winemaking, the Reustles made 5,000 bottles with corks imprinted “Drink your wine with a happy heart… God approves of this” Ecclesiastes 9:7.

Government wine labeling regulators banned them from putting this on their corks. Stephen and Gloria didn’t let this set-back get them down for long though, and as the vineyard grew, so did their vision for how to provide the best wine experience possible.

Umpqua Valley Oregon: Cooper Ridge Vineyard

Cooper Ridge Vineyard is a family-owned and operated winery located in the heart of the Umpqua Valley. It is nestled in the 25 acre estate and winery along the North Umpqua River in Roseburg, Oregon and produces seven different varietals.

They opened the Tasting Room in 2015, offering  guests stunning panoramic views of the valley below and the mountain ranges to the east and to the west.

Opened in February 2017, their  7,500 square foot Winery is where grapes make their way to Wine.

Their state of the art facility is designed to process fruit effectively and efficiently with minimal labor.

Custom designed equipment was manufactured for their winery to process fruit seamlessly before placing into tank.   

15 stainless steel, glycol cold jacketed tanks ranging in size from 250-1500 gallons are where the process begins. 

An on-site lab gives us immediate access to the most crucial components and technicalities of the wine making process. 

Once the wine has made it through its initial processing, it moves on to the barrel area where they can regulate hot or cold processing depending on timing.

The 3 phase 1000 amp electrical system allows this to go quick seamless paired with our high productions micro cartridge filtered water system removing chlorine and other impurities pumping out 60 gal/min. Both are also quality features that allow workers to bottle wine on site utilizing a mobile bottling truck.  

Using new-neutral French and American oak, the heat and cold barrel storage can hold up to 250 full size barrels.   

Separate Case Good storage allows for the ability to store three vintages of bottled wine at a production of 3,500 cases per year. 

Umpqua Valley Oregon: Knostman Family Winery

Knostman Family Winery has a variety of estate wines to choose from. Whites include Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Gris. Reds include Gamay Noir, Malbec, and Dolcetto.

They also source local Pinot Noir which we use to make a delicious Rose’ as well.

The Parrott House

The Knostman Family Winery began in 2019. They wanted to make great wine to enjoy with family and friends. When they found this spot on the North Umpqua River they knew we were home!

They have been working hard on our 4 acre vineyard and now have it planted with whites Muscat, Pinot Gris, and Sauvignon Blanc and reds Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir,Gamay, and Syrah.

They make their wines in a fruit forward style with slow, cool fermentations and with as little interference as possible..

Reds are barrel aged for 8 months or longer depending on the varietal.

The day ended with dinner at The Parrottt House.

Registered on the National Historic Registry and Home of the Est.1891 Restaurant and Reform Bourbon Bar – The Parrott House brings history alive.

Their beautiful pavilion that is handcrafted design of reclaimed wood from the Seattle Rainier Brewery.

Chef Thompson’s view of a fine dining restaurant combines a fun atmosphere with great food.

I loved the Victorian textures.

Check Out These other Oregon Articles
– Columbia Gorge & Mount Hood
– Willamette Pinot Noir 

The post Umpqua Valley Oregon Vineyards appeared first on AWINESTORY.COM.

California’s nascent wine industry took flight during the Gold Rush of the 1850s, amid the rugged western foothills of the majestic Sierra Nevada mountain range. As fortune seekers, many of them European, flocked to the Sierras to prospect for gold.

But as a visit to the Kennedy Gold Mine revealed, the only people really getting rich from the gold rush were the people selling shovels to the miners.

Most of the immigrants became farmers … but many became winemakers, making the varietals from their homeland (mostly Italy).

This included Robert Mondavi’s family! As it happened, Robert Mondavi attended high school at Hutchin’s Hall, the very site of our Wine Blogger’s Conference (it was changed from a high school to a community center a few decades ago)

The Thursday morning seminar was titled “History of Grape Growing and Wine Making in Lodi.” We heard from a panel of some of the original modern-era players in the Lodi grape growing and winemaking scene how Lodi came to be one of the preeminent grape production areas. The moderator was Mark Chandler, Mayor, City of Lodi, and former Executive Director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission (1991-2011). On the panel were Aaron Lange, Vineyard Manager with Langetwins Winery and Vice Chair, California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG); Kevin Phillips, Vice President of Operations at Michael-David Winery and Phillips Farms, and Markus Bokisch, Owner/CEO/Vigneron at Bokisch Vineyards.

Each of the panelists spoke about their family’s history in Lodi, most of them having four or five generations with the new generation on its way. As a testament to their passion for the region, the men all rushed in to speak to us, even though it was the middle of harvest and they had no sleep the night before.

In true cowboy fashion, the panelists told it how it was, without any sugar coating. In that brief hour, they told us about their childhoods (put behind a tractor as soon as they were able) and family dynamics. I couldn’t help think how different this is from a presentation of this type in Bordeaux, where the winemakers would be dressed in their best suits and, as the custom there, accentuate the fantasy.

The panelists discussed the downturn with prohibition, where to survive they made sacramental wine. Prohibition devastated this frontier wine community, which remained dormant until the late 1960s. Then, a new generation of pioneers began migrating to the Gold Country’s Amador County, this time drawn by the region’s rolling, sun-drenched hillsides, warm daytime temperatures, and volcanic, decomposed granite soils – ideal conditions for producing top-quality wine grapes. When their robustly flavored wines, especially zinfandel, began attracting the attention of wine lovers throughout California and the U.S., the historic Sierra Foothills wine region was reborn.

The post #WBC16: History of Winemaking in Lodi and Amador County appeared first on AWINESTORY.COM.