Category Archives: Wine Tasting

Have you ever heard someone say they are “not much of a Pinot person”? While this statement may have some clutching their pearls (this is the Willamette Valley, after all!), I think almost everyone can find a Pinot Noir they connect with – but it’s a matter of selecting the right vintage! Pinot Noir is well known for its chameleon-like qualities – Pinot can express itself a million different ways. Using cues such as vintage (the year the fruit was grown) or terroir (the environment that produces a wine: climate, soil, vineyard, etc), you can find a Pinot that you love to drink.

We’re going to take a quick look at 4 of the Willamette Valley’s last vintages – 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019. All three of these vintages produced wines that are delicious to drink now, or cellar – cool climate Pinot Noir’s will age wonderfully, particularly our Barrel Selects or Limited Reserve Pinot Noirs! But the dramatically different climate and growing seasons have produced very different characters in each vintage. Let’s take a look!

2016:

The 2016 aptly referred to as the “picture perfect” vintage was astounding in the perfect fruit chemistry’s and overall beautiful quality of the crop. An early budbreak kicked the season off with a warm spring, and transitioning into a warmer than usual summer. After 3 warm vintages in a row our vines were stressed for water which created small clusters and concentrated flavors in the fruit.

The result is a refined, delicious, easygoing sort of Pinot Noir. These wines are characterized by balanced acidity, displaying a beautiful combination of red fruit, spice, and earth, with a refreshing mouthfeel. We frequently hear that people get notes of cherry cola from our 2016 Pinot’s! More medium bodied, these wines are so pleasing and would be perfect on their own, or ideal for a Pinot Noir traditionalist. Start with our 2016 Pinot Noir Cuvee – a blend of multiple vineyard sites, it’s the perfect easy drinker to enjoy over a cheese board with friends.

2017:

2017 felt like a return to a more classic Oregon year, despite some warm events throughout the summer. Summer conditions in the Willamette Valley were warm and consistent, but without the heat spikes of the few previous years. The harvest was long as cooler weather and hazy air quality slowed down the ripening of the grapes. Overall a wonderful vintage with ripe, developed flavor profiles in addition to being well-balanced.

Our 2017 vintage reminds us of a more balanced 2015 vintage – these wines are juicy and fruit forward initially with gorgeous aromatics and earthy notes underlying the fruit. Spices like cracked black pepper characterize the finish of these wines. Slightly more robust than some other Pinot’s (but still a comfortably medium bodied wine), this would be an ideal vintage to pair with a roasted pork loin or juicy Bleu Cheese burger (not that we discourage having a glass or two on its own!). If you’re looking for a perfect representation of our 2017 vintage, try our 2017 Barrel Select Pinot Noir! 

2018:

Oh, boy – where to start! 2018 was warm -and, it was a drought year, resulting in more stressed vines. Although mid-September rain helped to mitigate some of the intensity of the year, the spring and summer were both hot, and dry – and that intensity translated into the wine itself.

Due to the hotter growing conditions, these wines are bold, darker, and more powerful than previous vintages. They’re displaying a remarkable amount of maturity, despite their young age. Redolent with dark fruits like blackberry, currant, and more unusual spices like licorice, these are my go-to recommendations for people who enjoy Pinot’s with a “presence”, and are looking for more tannin and energy from their Pinot Noir. If you like a bold, dark fruit forward Pinot Noir – 2018 is your vintage. 

If you’re looking for a 2018 to start with, we’d recommend our 2018 Barrel Select Pinot Noir. The boldest vintage in this list this vintage makes for fantastic food pairing with a more bold or rich meal.

2019:

After a great start to the spring and summer, September of 2019 caught everyone off-guard and will long be remembered as an arduous and tense end to the growing season. Storm after storm rolled into the valley with barely days in between for the fruit to recover let alone continue ripening. At a time Susan thought we may have to throw the vintage as opposed to harvesting under ripe fruit. Finally after many storms we received a bout of warm dry weather and were able to coax the grapes to ripeness. The resulting vintage is delicate and austere. A vintage reminiscent of the early vintages of Willamette Valley Pinot noir. Full of promise for bottle age, this is a vintage that should be allowed time to develop fully.

So, which vintage of Pinot Noir are you starting with?! The subtle 2016’s, the juicy 2017’s, the bombshell 2018’s or the austere 2019’s? Or maybe one of each! If you can’t pick, come on out to the Estate or Bend Tasting Room!

Salud!

It seems like there are a million wine gadgets…it can be a little overwhelming! Which ones actually matter when it comes to making your wine taste better?! Wine accessories should be all about practicality, ease, and helping the wine display it’s most optimum flavors and aromatics.

Our tasting room staff has voted, and  we’re going to share our ‘must have’ wine accessories  – the ones that won’t sit around collecting dust, will help your wines taste their best, and will

enhance your enjoyment of your favorite glass of wine!

Coravin Pivot

It’s hard to play favorites, but if there’s one wine accessory that’s been a total game changer for us, it’s the Coravin Pivot. Are you ever looking to enjoy just a glass of wine – but not the whole bottle? This unique wine preservation system allows you to enjoy a bottle of wine for up to 4 weeks after you open it. That way, you can enjoy your favorite wines – on your schedule. 

Each Pivot Plus Kit comes with one Coravin Pivot, 2 long lasting capsules of argon, and 2 Coravin wine stoppers. Simply uncork your bottle and insert one of Coravin’s proprietary wine stoppers. Then, insert the Pivot’s wine tube until you hear a “click” – and you’re ready to pour! When you press the button on your Coravin unit to pour the wine, your wine will automatically be gassed with argon. Once you’ve finished pouring, pull the Coravin out and simply replace the stopper’s cap. That’s it!

Don’t ever hesitate again to open the bottle of wine that you really want, just because you can’t commit to the whole bottle. The Coravin Pivot is the perfect device to let you keep enjoying your wine for weeks to come.

Vinaer Wine Aerator 

We all know wines taste best after they’ve been opened and given time to decant, but sometimes, you just need to crack open a bottle! Enter the Vinaer Wine Aerator’s. They’re already staple in our tasting room thanks to their ease and how many bottles we go through weekly…but they’ve become one of our favorite accessories to use at home, as well. Despite their small size, they boast over 7 functions and are sleek, easy to clean, and easy to pack on your favorite picnic or weekend getaway. 

Each decantiere significantly improves the flavor of your wine by instantly aerating and filtering it of any cork residue or sediment. It’s easy to use – simply uncork your wine, and pop the decantiere on top (and, it makes pouring easier, too!). If you want your wine to last a bit, simply leave the Vinaer Wine Aerator on top – it will ensure the wine into the next day!. The Vinaer is one of the easiest ways to make sure your glass of wine is tasting its best, at all times.

Laurel Ridge Wine Key

Finally – but certainly not least – is our very own Laurel Ridge Wine Key. It’s a classic, but hard to beat way to improve your wine drinking experience. Nothing is worse than struggling to get the foil off a nice bottle of wine…or even breaking a cork!

Our key functions as an all in one tool – it includes a long, sharp corkscrew, an attached foil cutter that slides out for easy foil cutting, and the floating axis allows you to easily lever against the cork to open your wine. Plus, it does have a bottle opener…not that we would ever advocate drinking anything but wine! They’re smooth and sleek, so you can have one for your kitchen drawer, one for your car, and even one for your purse! 

All of these favorite accessories can be found in our retail shop!  Whether you’re looking to step up your at home wine drinking for yourself, or for the perfect gift for a birthday or celebration, these wine accessories will be sure to delight. Cheers!

Hello Friends!  This post is brought to you by Maija and Kira, two girls born and raised in Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country. In fact, we were both raised in Carlton, on the vineyard where the Laurel Ridge winery and tasting room are today. Fun fact!

We often hear that wine tasting can be intimidating for newcomers and we totally get it! Wine has so many rules! We are going to break down our recommendations, but before we help you dress for your wine tasting adventure, let’s get on the same page when talking about Oregon weather. Continue reading →