Along the Oregon Pinot Trail Part 2

The 2015 Oregon Vineyard and Winery Census Report was released in August 2016. The census is compiled by the Southern Oregon University Research Center (SOURCE) for the Oregon Wine Board (OWB). Pinot Noir is still the monarch of varieties in Oregon, accounting for 62 percent of planted acreage and 67 percent of vineyard production. This total is in marked contrast to California, where Pinot Noir only accounted for 4.8% of the 2015 California grape crush according to USDA statistics. Pinot Noir planted acreage in Oregon now stands at 17,146 acres compared to 15,507 acres in 2014.

Breaking down acreage by area in Oregon, Pinot Noir planted acreage is 12,504 acres in North Willamette Valley, 1,913 acres in South Willamette Valley, 1,640 acres in the Umpqua Valley and 944 acres in the Rogue Valley.

Pinot Noir brought an average price of $2,353 per ton statewide with a low of $1,000 and a high of $5,200.

Total tons crushed in Oregon increased 5 percent from 2014 to 73,518, with the North Willamette Valley accounting for 75 percent of the total crush. Pinot Noir production increased to 50,737 tons compared to 45,239 tons in 2014.

Case sales increased 9 percent to 3.1 million in 2015 along with an increase in direct-to-consumer sales of 14 percent. Impact Databank report total wine sales as 2.9 million cases on 6% growth in 2015, with Pinot Noir If you drink no Noir, you Pinot Noir Volume 10, Issue 38 September 19, 2016 accounting for 55% of volume. 90% of sales were above $11 a bottle.The largest export market for Oregon wine is Canada (31,015 cases), with Japan second and the United Kingdom third.

There are now 702 wineries in Oregon with 468 of them located in the North Willamette Valley. The vast majority of wineries produce fewer than 5,000 cases annually, according to the OWB. The largest producers are King Estate, A to Z Wineworks, Argyle Winery and Sokol Blosser. There is considerable investment by large corporations ongoing including Copper Cane Wines & Provisions, Foley Family Wines, Jackson Family Wines and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. The French have invested in Oregon as well (see article in the next issue).

One significant change in early 2016 was the expansion of the boundaries of the Willamette Valley AVA. 18,560 acres were added after a petition submitted by King Estate Winery, the first boundary change in the AVA since it was first approved in 1983. King Estate Winery’s property line was close to the original AVA line and the winery sources most of its grapes from the Willamette Valley. The Willamette Valley AVA now stretches 120 miles from north to south and 60 miles from east to west and contains six sub-appellations.

As you read this, harvest is already underway in the Willamette Valley.

If you are visiting the Willamette Valley, consider the McMinnville Wine Walk. McMinnville’s historic downtown is easy to explore on foot, allowing you to stroll and taste a variety of wines. The charm of McMinnville lies in its historic buildings such as a 1926 power plant that is now home to Elizabeth Chambers Cellar and the red building that once housed the Willamette Valley Walnut Co. where now Walnut City WineWorks is located. Visit all 10 wine tasting rooms, get your booklet stamped along the way and receive a 33 Book Co. tasting notes journal. Visit 15 wine tasting rooms on the map and receive a Wine Walk GoVino wine glass. For information go to www.visitmcminnville.com. Wineries include R. Stuart & Co., Ransom Wines, Terra Vina Wines, Eola Hills Tasting Room, Willamette Valley Vineyards Tasting Room, Naked Winery, Winderlea Vineyard & Winery, Brittan Vineyards, Matello Wines & Goodfellow Family Cellars, Domino IV, Elizabeth Chambers Cellar, The Eyrie Vineyards, Remy Wines, Westrey Wine Company, Walnut City WineWorks, Coleman Vineyards, Coeur De Terre Vineyard, Maysara, Yamhill Valley Vineyards, and Youngberg Hill.

In this issue, Along the Oregon Pinot Trail Part 2, five Willamette Valley wineries are profiled that I visited for the first time in July 2016: Airlie Winery, Alloro Vineyard, Bells Up Winery, Brooks Winery and Knudsen Vineyards.

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Airlie Winery

This is a very unpretentious and amiable wine country winery set amongst the foothills of Monmouth, Oregon, twenty miles northwest of Corvallis at the coastal edge of the southern Willamette Valley. The indoor and outdoor modest tasting room is rustic, casual and quintessential Oregon in character, patrolled by two friendly dogs eager to greet arrivals. The hosts when I visited, Mary Olson the owner (pictured below), and Kim Swicker, were easygoing and personable, much like the praiseworthy wines Airlie produces.

The estate vineyard, now consisting of 30 acres and named Dunn Forest Vineyard, was originally planted by the previous owners beginning in 1983. They founded Airlie Winery, named after the town name of Airlie that dated to the early 1800s. Mary Olson, who had little experience in wine, but had a passionate interest in it, bought the estate vineyard and winery in 1997. She had worked as a general manager for Northwestern Bell for two years in Oregon and was determined to buy a winery in Oregon. She has since transformed the property into a first class vineyard and winery.

Dunn Forest Vineyard is planted to eight grape varieties and varietal wines are made from each. Airlie also is the exclusive recipient of grapes form the 12-acre BeckenRidge Vineyard in nearby Dallas owned by Denny and Kathy Needham. 65% of the grapes used in Airlie vines come from Dunn Forest vineyard and 45% from BeckenRidge Vineyard. The vineyards are certified sustainable by L.I.V.E. and certified Salmon Safe.

Winemaker Elizabeth Clark’s odyssey turned out to be fortuitous for Mary. Elizabeth was a math major with a minor in Russian at Goucher College in Maryland. In 1999, she hitched a ride to Oregon with a friend, knowing that her cousin was living in Portland. She had little interest in wine but spent the summer exploring Oregon. Her interest in wine and its affinity with food blossomed while working for a caterer in McMinnville, leading her to land a job at Amity Vineyards in Amity, Oregon, where she stayed for five years and rose to the position of assistant winemaker. While at Amity Vineyards, Elizabeth attended a wedding at Airlie Winery, fell in love with the people and place, and became the winemaker in 2005.

Seven white wines are produced along with Pinot Noir from both Dunn Forest and BeckenRidge vineyards, a Pinot Noir Rosé as well as a Marechal Foch hybrid red wine. The style of wine is similar to Amity Vineyards of the past, with low alcohol levels, high acidity, and welcome food affinities. The wines are very reasonably priced considering the quality and I highly recommend you try them as well as make the effort to visit the winery. The tasting room is open Thursday through Monday from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. March through November, or by appointment. Visit www.airliewinery.com.

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Alloro Vineyard

Alloro Vineyard is a welcoming Mediterranean-inspired oasis in the Chehalem Mountains featuring an Italian farmhouse, a winery, culinary gardens, chestnut and olive trees, a herd of Hereford cattle, and heirloom sheep that graze the vineyard cover crops. The winery and vineyard are based on sustainable holistic agricultural practices and the intense passion for food of David Nemarnik, the CEO of Pacific Coast Fruit Company, and Alloro’s founder and vineyard manager.

The name, Alloro, is Italian and Latin for “laurel,” reflecting the winery’s location on Laurel Ridge as well as the Laurelwood soils in which the vineyard is established. The name was chosen as well to reflect David’s Italian heritage.

Founded in 1999, Alloro Vineyard is a 33-acre single-vineyard, fairly uniform site on 80 acres that has been dry farmed since 2001. It is planted to Pommard and Dijon clones of Pinot Noir and Dijon clones 76 and 96 of Chardonnay. The vineyard is L.I.V.E. certified sustainable and certified Salmon Safe. Because the vineyard is located in the western reaches of the Chehalem Mountains, the summer days linger, leading the wines to develop a more generous fruit profile compared to several other Willamette Valley producers.

The winery, designed by architect Larry Ferrar, and specifically constructed for vinifying Pinot Noir, has an underground cellar, and was completed in time for the inaugural 2003 harvest.

The winemaker is affable Tom Fitzpatrick, who holds a Master’s Degree in Viticulture & Enology from University of California at Davis. His winemaking career includes stints in Burgundy with Domaine Hubert Lignier in Morey-St-Denis, a small estate winery in Washington State, Hunter’s Wines in New Zealand, and Pine Ridge Winery and Napa Wine Company in Napa Valley. Finally settling in Oregon, he worked as the Associate Winemaker for Hamacher Wines before joining Alloro Vineyard in the spring of 2010. Tom also manages, farms and lives on his own vineyard, Élevée Vineyard, located in the Dundee Hills.

Annual production of estate-grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is 3,000 cases, including Estate, Justina and Riservata bottlings of Pinot Noir. About 50% of the vineyard production is sold to other premium Williamette Valley producers.

The Tasting Room at the winery is open year round Thursday through Monday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. Private tours of the property can also be arranged through the Tasting Room manager, Nancy Clark at 503-625-1978. Alloro Vineyard was selected as a participant at the International Pinot Noir Celebration in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Visit www.allorovineyard.com.

I spent a delightful afternoon at Alloro Vineyard touring the bucolic property and leisurely sampling wine with Tom. We tasted the Estate, Justina and Riservata Pinot Noirs from the 2014 vintage and contrasted them with aged versions of the same wines from the 2010 vintage. As noted above, the because of the location of the vineyard, the Alloro Pinot Noirs are bold, ripe, and richly fruited expressions of Oregon Pinot Noir, yet they retain the charm and balance so desirable in Pinot Noir. The wines are also age worthy as shown by the 2010 vintage wines that were tasted (Tom’s first vintage at Alloro Vineyard). I didn’t score the wines as I was simply enjoying the experience. The 2014 Pinot Noirs will be reviewed formally in the future. The 2013 vintage Pinot Noirs and 2014 vintage Chardonnay were reviewed in the PinotFile in early July 2016: www.princeofpinot.com/ winery/714/.

The 2010 vintage offered a marked contrast to the warm 2014 vintage. 2010 was a much cooler year, with extended hang time and a significantly later harvest.

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Bells Up Winery

Bells Up Winery is a very small boutique producer of Oregon Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, and Washington Syrah located in the Chehalem Mountains. David and Sara Pearson Specter were inspired to open a winery in the Willamette Valley after a vacation at Chehalem Ridge Bed & Breakfast in Newberg in 2008. David began to pursue winemaking as a hobby shortly thereafter, eventually pursuing professional winemaking through a wine apprenticeship at an urban winery in Cincinnati, Ohio, and winning awards at national amateur winemaking competitions.

David moved his family to Oregon in the summer of 2012, and together with Sara, acquired a suitable 10-acre site and directed construction of a small winery and tasting room in a former barn on the property. They cleared a south facing hillside on the property and planted 3 acres of Pommard and 667 Pinot Noir clones in 2014, Willamette Valley’s first planting of Syval Blanc in 2015, and 2.5 acres of 113, 943 and Wädenswil Pinot Noir clones in 2016. The winery was established in 2013 and the first wines were released on Memorial Day 2015.

The name “Bells Up” comes from David’s French horn playing, with bells up referring to a dramatic moment in classical music where the composer instructs French horn players to lift the bells of their instruments up and project sound with maximum intensity. David played the French horn throughout high school and college, and the winery is his “Bells Up” moment. The Specter’s inspiration for their winery model comes from their nearby mentors at Privé Vineyard, a small winery I have visited several times and one of some renown.

The 2014 and 2015 vintage wines were produced from sourced fruit. Production is 400 cases annually. The wines are sold through a mailing list and the tasting room that is open by appointment. The tasting room is adjacent Medici Vineyard. Visit www.bellsupwinery.com.

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Brooks Winery

This iconic Oregon winery has been on my must-visit bucket list for some time. Luckily, Janie Brooks was in town and she, along with winemaker Chris Williams, met me at the hospitality center and winery in the Amity- Eola Hills that overlooks the Cascade Range and the Willamette Valley floor. The facility is impressive, with multiple sitting areas both indoors and outdoors to enjoy Brooks wines along with appropriate food matches prepared by a chef on site. (All photos courtesy of Andrea Johnson Photography)

The history of Brooks Winery is well known to pinotphiles. The founder, winemaker Jimi Brooks, was highly respected by his Oregon colleagues for his devotion to holistic farming and winemaking in the Willamette Valley. He started Brooks Winery in 1998 after winemaking stints at Maysara and WillaKenzie Estate wineries, but tragically passed away six years later at the relatively young age of 38 years. The winery was bequeathed to Jimi’s only child, Pascal, who was eight years old when his father died, making him the youngest winery owner in the world.

After Jimi’s death, a consortium of winemakers from the Willamette Valley kept the winery productive until winemaker Chris Williams, Jimi’s former assistant winemaker, who had worked along side Jimi at Maysara, WillaKenzie Estate and Brooks Winery, took over in 2005. He was able to bring continuity to Brooks wines since he shared Jimi’s philosophy and has remained the winemaker to this day.

Janie Brooks Heuck, Jimi’s sister, now manages the winery, turning it into a family legacy. Since becoming Managing Director in 2004, she increased production from 3,500 to 20,000-25,000 cases annually.

In 2009, a 20-acre vineyard was acquired in the Eola-Amity Hills that Jimi had farmed biodynamically since 2002, and Demeter Biodynamic certification followed in 2012. The site was originally planted between 1973 and 1977 to Pinot Noir and Riesling. 10 acres of own-rooted vines remain on this aged vineyard that is now named Brooks Estate Vineyard. 2014 was a bright hallmark for the winery, as the new winery and tasting room opened, and the winery was the focus of a feature length documentary titled, ‘American Wine Story,’ that was shown at multiple film festivals in 2014 and is available at www.americanwinestory.vhx.tv/.

The logo or symbol on the label of Brooks wines was created by founder Jimi Brooks and represents the cycle of life and rebirth.

Brooks Winery was named one of five “Must Visit Wineries” by USA Today and I can see why. The wines are all excellent and the hospitality is unriviled. Tasting is available daily from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with different tasting options and food pairings available. Along with the Wine Bar, craft beer is available on tap so that all visitors can indulge their preferences. Visit www.brookswine.com.

Currently, Brooks specializes in Pinot Noir and Riesling, with several other white aromatic varietals also available. 17 different Rieslings are offered, sourced from 14 different vineyards. Multiple Pinot Noirs are produced from estate and sourced fruit including a Rosé. All Pinot Noir wines undergo 100% de-stemming, followed by a 5 to 7-day cold soak, and a subsequent native yeast fermentation kept cool to avoid over extraction especially in warm vintages. Use of new oak is very modest. The wines are bottled after cross-flow filtration.

After a tour of the winery, I settled in with Janie and Chris in a private tasting room that is available for special tasting experiences and the trade. It has an unusual wall of cork tiles and is highly suitable for wine sampling. The first wines reviewed were tasted at the winery and the subsequent wines were evaluated at home in my usual fashion.

Winery Tasting:

The Janus bottlings have a core of fruit from the Brooks Estate Vineyard combined with primarily grapes from Eola-Amity Hills vineyards. A mini vertical was tasted to show vintage differences yet a consistent style. Janus is the winery’s flagship Pinot Noir and is the richest and most intense blend offered in honor of Jimi’s legacy of crafting expressive blends. Janus was a Roman mythological God depicted with two faces looking to both the future and the past.

I rarely review or even drink domestic Riesling. Chris initially offered me a couple of Brooks Rieslings to sample and I was hooked. He ended up sharing six different Rieslings with me, all superb. My notes are not extensive but you get the idea. A Terue Wines Muscat and Brooks Gewüztraminer were also excellent. I realized there is a serious commitment to Riesling at Brooks and the quality of the wines reflect this goal. The degree of dryness of each Riesling is depicted on the back label.

Comprehensive tasting of other wines at home:

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Knudsen Vineyards

I have been following Knudsen Vineyards (pronounced Kuh-NUDE-sen) wines since the beginning in 2013, but had not visited the vineyard or met with Page Knudsen Cowles, who along with two of her three brothers, are carrying on the legacy of Cal Knudsen. The Knudsen Vineyards story and reviews of the winery’s Pinot Noir and Chardonnay have been featured in past issues of the PinotFile: www.princeofpinot.com/article/1586/ and www.princeofpinot.com/article/1663/.

To summarize briefly, C. Calvert “Cal” Knudson was a Weyerhaeuser timber products executive with a dream of growing grapes and making wine. In 1971, he and his spouse Julia Lee bought a 200-acre walnut orchard in the Dundee Hills. He was convinced that the North Willamette Valley could produce still and sparkling wines of equal quality to the great wines of Burgundy and Champagne. When Cal planted 30 acres of vines in 1972, the vineyard became one of the largest in the Willamette Valley and by 1975, when nearly 60 acres had been established, it was among the largest vineyards in Oregon. In 1975, Cal and Oregon wine pioneer Dick Erath formed Knudsen-Erath Winery, becoming the first commercial winery in the Dundee Hills. Knudsen-Erath Winery produced Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling and sparkling wines and became one of the largest wineries in Oregon.

The Knudsen Erath partnership would dissolve amicably in 1987, so Cal invested in Argyle Winery and supplied Argyle Winery with grapes. Cal was a sparkling wine enthusiast and Argyle had begun to make Oregon’s top lineup of sparkling wines under the direction of winemaker Rollin Soles. Knudsen Vineyards has remained a primary supplier of grapes to Argyle, which has grown to become one of the larger wineries in Oregon. Knudsen Vineyards has also supplied grapes to other renowned producers of still and sparkling wines in Oregon.

Cal passed away in 2009. Cal and Julia Lee’s four adult children now own Knudsen Vineyards and have invested significantly in replanting and other enhancements to this historically significant vineyard. Knudsen Vineyard now consists of 130 planted acres of primarily Pinot Noir (73%) and Chardonnay (24%), with a mix of old vines and newer, high-density blocks planted to Dijon clones. They launched the Knudsen Vineyards winery with the release of 100 cases of Pinot Noir from the 2012 vintage. 100 cases of Chardonnay followed the next year.

I met Page at the quaint cabin located at the top of Knudsen Vineyard. We took a driving tour of the vineyard and then tasted some Knudsen Vineyard wines at the cabin. She is a Yale graduate with an MBA from Harvard, and lives in Minneapolis, but manages the marketing and sales of the winery through frequent visits to Oregon. She meets regularly with her brothers to formulate business plans.

She explained that the Knudsen Vineyards Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are vinified at Argyle Winery by current winemaker Nate Klosterman, Soles’ protégé. Production has been increased to a projected 1125 cases in 2016. The nearby Erath winery and tasting room is on Knudsen property and the lease expires in 2018. The old winery is no longer viable. Page said that there are plans to establish a tasting room at some point but it is uncertain if the Erath facility will be used.

The 2014 Knudsen Vineyards Dundee Hills Oregon Pinot Noir was released in August. Mailing list members get first crack at buying the Knudsen Vineyards wines. Visit www.knudsenvineyards.com. Tours of the vineyard and tasting is available by appointment.

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Amalie Robert Estate

This is one of the Willamette Valley’s most distinguished wineries, but not one that is widely known except among the Pinot Noir cognoscenti. You won’t hear its name mentioned in the same breath with the more renowned Oregon winery names such as Ponzi, Argyle, Domaine Drouhin and Cristom, yet it belongs in that echelon. After tasting several releases sent to me recently for review, I wish I had visited this winery when I was traveling along the Pinot trail in July.

I met proprietor Ernie Pink once at Pinot Days a few years ago and did a podcast that is still posted on Grape Radio: www.graperadio.com/archives/tag/pinot-days/. I left the podcast thinking, “This is a smart guy with a gleaming smile.” Ernie and Dena Drews bought a 60-acre cherry orchard from a retiring farmer, located 15 miles south of Salem and just outside of Dallas, Oregon, in 1999, and converted it into a vineyard property. The couple had careers in the computer industry, and quickly learned about viticulture and winemaking through a local community college. Literally, viticulture and winemaking became their second careers. They may have been wine neophytes, but they knew what they were doing when they established their vineyard adjacent the famed Freedom Hill Vineyard.

The 34-acre dry-farmed vineyard was planted primarily to Pinot Noir, with lesser amounts of Pinot Meunier, Syrah, Chardonnay and Viognier. The first vintage in 2002 was sold to other notable Willamette Valley wineries including Cristom Vineyards, Elk Cove Vineyards and Panther Creek. By 2006, a multilevel, gravity-flow winery had been built and the first vintage under the Amalie Robert label was released. Only estate grown fruit has been used in Amalie Robert Estate wines. The wines are grown, fermented, blended and bottled at the estate.

The estate vineyard is dry farmed with proper soil moisture management to allow enough hang time to achieve full ripeness in every vintage. Very few leaves are pulled to allow for shading of clusters and prevent harsh tannins of overexposure of grapes.

The name, Amalie Robert, is a combination of Dena’s middle name Amalie (“AIM-a-lee”) and Ernie’s middle name Robert.

The Amalie Robert Pinot Noirs are close to heart because they are crafted with whole clusters, feral yeast and barrel and bottle aged as necessary for complexity and drink ability upon release. The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered. The portfolio of Pinot Noirs includes seven different wines. In 2012, Ernie was in it to win it!

Ernie’s blog, “The FLOG,” at www.amalierobert.blogspot.com, follows each vintage year with insightful comments and is something I read regularly. Tours and tasting are available by appointment. Visit the website at www.amalierobert.com. On the website there are no technical descriptions of the wines, but the wine descriptions are informative and often humorous. One must search carefully to buy wines on the website: look for “Amalie Robert Direct - Buy Now” in the upper right corner. Wines dating back to the 2007 vintage are available on the website. Pinot Noir from the excellent 2012 vintage such as those reviewed here are currently hard to find, as Oregon wineries are now releasing the 2014 vintage.

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Hyland Vineyard

I have written extensively about the mystery of the origin of the “Coury clone,” that was widely planted in the Willamette Valley in the 1970s using cuttings supplied by Charles Coury. Hyland Vineyard has the largest planting of own-rooted Coury clone Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley, so when I received an invitation to visit, I eagerly accepted.

Hyland Vineyard is planted on land that dates to the late 1840s when the land was initially part of the original Oregon Trail homestead claimed by Benjamin Hyland. A hundred and thirty years later, this land became the home of Hyland Vineyard when four families the Kreimeyers, Markleys, Welches and Trenhailes) teamed up in 1971 to plant Pinot Noir on the now 200-acre estate that has 180 acres under vine making it one of Oregon’s oldest and largest vineyards.

The land was chosen for wine grapes because of its temperate climate. Located at 600-850 feet elevation in the foothills of the Oregon Coastal Range, temperatures here tend to be cooler than in the rest of the Willamette Valley, making it ideal for Pinot Noir. Soils are uniformly Jory throughout the vineyard. The vineyard is located in the McMinnville AVA. The photo below shows the iron rich red Jory soils and the old Coury clone vines.

One-third of Hyland Vineyard is planted with the Coury clone, a suitcase selection said to have been smuggled into the United States by Charles Coury in his suitcase from Colmar, France, in the mid 1960s. For a detailed historical perspective, visit, www.princeofpinot.com/article/1214/, “Solving the Mystery of the “Coury Clone.”

The photo below shows the small cluster size of Coury clone Pinot Noir, and the second photo shows a typical Cory clone vine.

For decades, many producers have crafted award-winning wines from Hyland Vineyard and bottled under their own labels. In 2007, Hyland Vineyard was bought by winemaker Laurent Montalieu and his spouse Danielle Andrus Montalieu in partnership with John Niemeyer. After the purchase, the vineyard was expanded to 200 acres. A majority of the fruit has been sold to Penner-Ash, Bergstrom and Beaux Freres wineries. In 2011, the first wines from Hyland Estates Winery were released, continuing the legacy that was started in 1971.

Besides the Coury clone, Pinot Noir clones planted at Hyland Vineyard include Pommard, Wädenswil, and Dijon 777, “828,” 113, 114, 667, and 115. The original Coury clone, Pommard and Wädenswil clones plantings are own-rooted, while newer plantings were added in 1989. Chardonnay plantings include 108 and Dijon 95, as well as a small amount of Riesling and Gewürtztraminer. A map of the vineyard is included below.

Hyland Estates currently bottles all varieties grown in the vineyard. An Estate Pinot Noir, Coury Pinot Noir and Founder’s Selection Pinot Noir are produced. There are very few Oregon wineries that bottle a Coury clone designated Pinot Noir.

The wines, crafted by Laurent Montelieu, are outstanding. Tasting is available at the Hyland Estates Tasting Room located at 20980 NE Niederberger Rd, Dundee that is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. Visit www.hylandestates.com.

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Pinot Briefs

Pinot Report Publisher Greg Walter Dies Greg Walter rose up through the ranks over 14 years in the early days of the Wine Spectator to become President of that publication, and later became a freelance writer. He launched a newsletter devoted to Pinot Noir, The Pinot Report, about the same time that I started The PinotFile. He was a devoted advocate of Pinot Noir and we crossed paths many times along the Pinot trail. Donations may be sent to his family at www.YouCaring.com.

Skewis Wines 2014 Vintage is Swan Song Hank and Maggie Skewis, who founded Skewis Wines in 1994 dedicated solely to Pinot Noir, have decided to retire. The fall 2016 and spring 2017 releases from the 2014 vintage will be their last. Hank told his customers, “After 36 years of harvests, I must confess to feeling a little wistful as my first grape-free harvest begins. This was always an exciting time of the year for me, offering the opportunity and challenge of a a new batch of ‘raw material,’ and long days. I am very grateful to have been a part of the wine industry for so many years.” The tasting room in Healdsburg will remain open Friday-Sunday at least until the spring of next year. Visit www.skewiswines.com.

Ride the Rails with Kessler-Haak, Sanford and Zotovich Wineries This is an opportunity to taste Sta. Rita Hills wines, presented by the winemakers, as you roll down the rails along the Central Coast countryside. The tour departs from the Santa Barbara Amtrak station on Saturday, October 15, and returns late in the afternoon. A gourmet box lunch is included as you travel north to San Luis Obispo. The conveyance will be a 1949 Pullman club car Overland Trail. Seating is limited. Tickets are $148 per person. Order tickets at 805-680-0397.

Pinot on the River The annual Russian River Valley Pinot on the River event will be held Sunday, October 23, on the Healdsburg Plaza. Over 70 artisanal Pinot Noir producers will be pouring beginning at 11:00 a.m.. Tickets are only $75 in advance. For tickets, visit www.pinotfestival.com/registration.html.

2016 Fort Ross-Seaview Wine & Harvest Festival The 4th Annual Fort Ross-Seaview Wine & Harvest Festival will be held on Saturday, October 15 at the site of the historic settlement that was the location where the first grapes were planted in Sonoma County in 1817. The event offers a delightful day of wine tasting, local food, crafts and music on the grounds of the Fort Ross State Historic Park on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There will be a Pinot Noir seminar followed by a Grand Wine Tasting. Tickets for both Seminar and Grand Wine Tasting are $90 and are available at www.fortross-seaview.org/events/.

Russian River Valley Single Vineyard Nights Winemakers and winegrowers will be pouring single vineyard wines from the Russian River Valley on Thursday, November 3, 2016, at The General’s Residence, Fort Mason, San Francisco, and on Thursday, November 10, 2016, at Library Galleria, 828 I Street, Sacramento. VIP tickets allow earlier entry and exclusive tastings of limited release and tasting room only wines. For tickets, visit www.rrvw.org/events/.

Kosta Browne Raises $445,000 at Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction Co-founder of the Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction, Dan Kosta, served as Honorary Vintner Chair, as recognition for his leadership and commitment to Sonoma County’s wine and food community. Kosta Browne enlisted John Ash & Co., the restaurant where Dan Kosta and Michael Browne met, to host a special dinner for up to 50 attendees in celebration of Kosta Browne Winery’s 20th anniversary. Taking place at the winery on June 3, 2017, the special dinner will be paired with wines from the Kosta Browne library and each couple attending will take home a rare etched and hand painted 5-liter bottle of Kosta Browne single vineyard Pinot Noir. Bidding was oversold, with a total of 39 couples committing $5,000 each to attend the dinner. On top of the auction proceeds, Kosta Browne donated an additional $250,000 towards the “Fund the Future” initiative aimed at improving child literacy. The Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction held at Kenwood’s Chateau St. Jean raised a record $4.6 million.

Ernie Loosen Decries High Alcohol Pinot Noir Ernie Loosen, a Mosel winemaker who also makes wine in Oregon as a joint venture with winemaker Jay Somers (J. Christopher Wines), was in Hong Kong and Macau recently. He said, “I believe New World Pinot Noir shouldn’t have high alcohol levels which can mask its subtle expression and upset ‘its balance and finesse.’ High alcohol doesn’t suit Pinot Noir. It just makes them fat and rich. Its okay for Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz or Grenache which can stand up to it but Pinot Noir needs that restraint and should let the soil speak for itself.” Loosen’s Oregon Pinot Noir is less than 13.0% and his Villa Wolf Pinot Noir is in the 12.5%-13.0% range. He went on to say, “It’s when you see a really overripe Pinot Noir at around 15% that you think, all that balance and focus has been lost, and it’s becoming a wine it doesn’t need to be.”

Alcohol May Further Predispose to Heart Arrhythmia in Some Drinkers A study published September 14 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, looked at data on 5,220 subjects in the Framingham Heart Study. The participants’ average age was 56 with slightly more women than men. Regular drinking (the study did not look specifically at wine) appeared to increase a person’s risk for atrial fibrillation. Every 10 grams of alcohol consumed per day (equivalent to one drink a day), increased the risk of developing atrial fibrillation by about 5 percent. The researchers found that every additional drink of alcohol per day increased the size of the left atrium which is a predisposing factor for atrial fibrillation. The study did not prove cause and effect and it may be that some people have a genetic predisposition for atrial fibrillation and alcohol may add to that predisposition. People who have no heart risk factors such as high blood pressure or a family history of heart disease, and who exercise regularly, are not overweight and consume alcohol in moderation with meals, then a glass of wine a day is fine, even recommended by many doctors. That said, people who drink alcohol every day should discuss their personal risk with their doctor.

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