Patrick Goes to Portugal!

Patrick Spencer, our Oregon Brand Manager and Director of Cork Re-Harvest, recently got the opportunity to go to Portugal and experience the cork forests and cork harvesting process. Portugal is a major cork-grower; in fact, nearly one-third of the total cork oak area, estimated at 5.3 million acres is in Portugal, which produces approximately half the cork harvested annually in the world (about 310,000 tons). He came back with these pictures to share with us.

Here are the cork trees right after Harvest. Trees are not cut down to harvest cork, rather, the bark is stripped by hand every 9-12 years. Cork oak trees can live up to 300 years! the bark has been stripped, new wood takes place in the cambium, which is very soft. The orangish/red color is so vibrant it looks like it could be photoshopped, but I guarantee its not!


Once the cork bark is striped from the tree, it is stacked to allow for air drying and to reduce the moisture content.

The bark is stacked by thickness to be steam cleaned to remove any bacteria that might lead to contamination.
Here, the cork is coming out of the steam washer. One of Patrick's observations was how efficient and environmentally friendly the cork manufacturer's are. The steam is harnessed to cut down on electricity.


One of my favorite stories of Patrick's travels was when he was dining with very significant people in the Portuguese wine and cork industry and he brought Willamette Valley Vineyards wine to enjoy. But, not only did he bring the 2007 Elton Vineyards Pinot Noir, which they all loved, but Libby, Patrick's wife, convinced him to bring our Willamette Valley Vineyards Port-style Pinot Noir. Patrick, very shy to take Port to Portugal, followed his wife's orders. Who brings Port to Portugal, right? Well, he made a great choice, because they loved it so much they asked why he didn't bring more! Kudos to Libby!

Get your hands on a bottle of 2007 Tualatin Estate Pinot Noir this weekend!

That's right! This weekend is the release of our 2007 Tualatin Estate Pinot Noir in our Tasting Room and at the Grand Opening of the Willamette Valley Vineyards Wine Center in McMinnville.

The 2007 Tualatin Estate Pinot Noir is the second of our three single-vineyard designate series being released year. The 2007 Elton Vineyard Pinot Noir preceded it and the 2007 Hannah Pinot Noir is soon to follow.

This is the ultimate holiday wine with aromas of black licorice, graham cracker, fennel, warm spices and barrel toast over a red cherry core. Bright, juicy red fruit flavors of raspberry and cranberry lead into a round, full mouthfeel that brings out darker notes of plum, cherry and pomegranate. A light spiciness runs throughout the sip along with long, mouth-watering tannins that melt into the finish with a touch of smoke. Lively acid keeps the wine juicy and centered.


Tualatin Estate is nestled in the foothills of Oregon’s coastal mountain range it rests in the rain shadow. Wines made from this vineyard express purity of fruit. Tualatin Estate Vineyard, established in 1973, is one of the oldest and most respected vineyard sites in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Wine grapes from this 145-acre vineyard have taken Best of Show for both the red and white categories at the London International Wine Competition in the same year. Tualatin’s Pinot Noir captured the Governor’s Trophy, Oregon’s most prestigious wine award, two years consecutively in 1994 and 1995. This is a feat unduplicated by any Oregon winery.

Gobble Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving! Come celebrate with us this weekend at our Pre-Thanksgiving Open House and next Friday, Saturday, Sunday for our Thanksgiving Open House. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.


I would like to thank Cati Bennette for making this turkey idea come to life.

Employee Preview Night at the Wine Center!

Last night we "christened" the Willamette Valley Vineyards Wine Center by holding an employee launch party. It was a fabulous time to gather together, enjoy delicious food and wine, and celebrate a job well-done. It was such a team effort and the end result is beyond expectations.

Here is a briefing of the evening and a tour of the Wine Center:

The Wine Center is located at 300 NE 3rd St. in McMinnville, Oregon. This is the front of the Wine Center. I love these huge windows. Right now we have an Oregon Bounty theme displaying, but it will rotate throughout the year.
Front and center when you enter into the space is this huge bar. The sides of the bar are painted in chalkboard paint! I love that idea. This is also a great reminder for you to come to the Grand Opening this weekend!

Here is our wall of AVA maps. One of the unique features of the Wine Center is that although we pour and sell our wine, we are also pouring comparative tastings of area AVAs. Right now we featuring wine from the Eola-Amity AVA.
Here is our educational soil display where you can learn all about the distinct soils of the Willamette Valley AVA.


Gasp! This is our 19' reclaimed wood table. It will be a gathering place for industry and private events. Above the table is our 126"screen that displays a photo montage of Willamette Valley wineries (260 photos from 30 different wineries to be exact).

This is the massive 6.5 foot photograph hanging in the Director of the Wine Center, Meg's office. I had to sneak this picture into this post because I took it! It is so cool to see a photo I took blown up this large and for the public to see!


This is the lovely back bar. Shelby, one of the Conceirges of the Wine Center, was kind enough to pour at the event. Jena and Katie, our Tasting Room Associates in Turner, were on the OTHER side of the bar for once.

Meg, the O'Brien's, Travis King and other guests socializing.


I know you have heard of winery dogs before, but what about Lucy our Wine Center dog? Lucy belongs to Meg, the Director of the Wine Center. Lucy also has a sister named Gracie who would not sit still long enough for me to snap her photo.

I hope you are able to visit the Willamette Valley Vineyards Wine Center soon to experience all it has to offer.

Riesling Wins GOLD in Hong Kong Wine Olympics!

From November 4th to 6th 2009, there was only one place for wine industry insiders to be - Hong Kong. The second edition of the HKTDC Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair highlights Hong Kong’s position as the premier wine hub of Asia. Following the removal of wine duty in 2008, Hong Kong became the only major economy in the world to impose no duty and no sales tax on wine. With no domestic wine production, and thus a completely impartial position, Hong Kong is ideally placed to host a major international wine event. The very first edition of the HKTDC Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair drew international attention. The second event had an enormous turn out of over 525 exhibitors from 34 countries.

Judging was conducted by Asia's most esteemed wine judges from China, Singapore, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan- including the competition's Director and Master of Wine, Hong Kong-based Debra Meiburg MW and Chinese food wine expert Simon Tam.

The competition results will offer the Asian wine consumer the ultimate guide to purchasing wine that is sensitive to the Asian palate and cultural consumption patterns or Westerner's desiring the perfect pairing with their Asian food choices.

Our 2007 Riesling took the Gold Medal in the food pairing category! The big news was announced today at our employee lunch! Now it is time for me to go grab a bottle in the Tasting Room and cook up some Asian food!

Gold for 2008 Pinot Gris at the Tri-Cities Wine Festival

The 31st anniversary of the Tri-Cities Wine Festival took place on November 6th and 7th at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick, Washington.

The Tri-Cities Wine Festival entered its fourth decade and enjoy the reputation as a premiere event and the oldest, continuously running judged wine festival in the Northwest. The festival culminates in a public tasting where wines from small boutique wineries are poured side-by-side with those from large producers. The judges come from the Northwest and across the country. The public tasting is a venue where casual and serious wine lovers can advance their knowledge of Northwest wines while meeting wine makers, winery owners and/or their knowledgeable staff.

Wines are entered in the Tri-Cities Wine Festival from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and British Columbia wineries. Up to 350 wines were entered into competition by more than 80 wineries. Our 2008 Pinot Gris took home Gold Medal honors!

Will Cook for Corks!

This article was recently written by Ashley Anne for Seattlest.com and I thought I would pass along the word and savings!

Not that we need an excuse to dine at any of Ethan Stowell's restaurants--hello, How to Cook a Wolf--but unloading our cork collection in the name of the environment and a newsworthy discount is as good as any. From November 1-December 31, pack your pockets and purses with corks to dine at any Ethan Stowell restaurant and receive one dollar off your check for every cork, up to 25.

Your corks will be contributed to the Cork Re-Harvest program, a cork recycling effort organized by Willamette Valley Vineyards, Whole Foods Market, WVV's Oregon and Washington distributors, the Rainforest Alliance, and Western Pulp Products.

Willamette Valley Vineyards is a pioneer in cork recycling. As the first winery in the world to be certified by the Rainforest Alliance for using 100 percent Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified cork, WVV is also the first winery to launch a cork recycling program of this kind--one with zero increase to its carbon footprint.

Cork is a renewable, biodegradable, and environmentally-conscious resource. It has the potential to completely disappear, as winemakers are increasingly turning to aluminum screw caps and plastic bottle stoppers while recycling cork is commonly neglected at the cost of preserving cork forestlands. Do your part and recycle your corks with the Cork Re-Harvest program, where donated corks will be transported to Western Pulp in Corvallis,Oregon and made into wine shipping containers.

Drink up, donate and dine with your corks at any Ethan Stowell restaurant: Tavolata, Union, How to Cook a Wolf and Anchovies & Olives. The discount honors up to 25 corks per table, now thru December 31, 2009. Valid on both drinks and food.

The Secret is Out! The Willamette Valley Vineyards Wine Center set to open!

One of the biggest challenges of recent months has been keeping the Willamette Valley Vineyards Wine Center a surprise! It has been a great project to watch come together and I am so confident that you will love the results! Here is the article from the Yamhill Valley News Register about the Wine Center:

Wine Center Opening in Downtown McMinnville

October 23, 2009

Next month, McMinnville’s Downtown Historic District will become home to a brand new business. It’s the brainchild of Jim Bernau, the founder and CEO of Willamette Valley Vineyards, and one of his employees, Meg Murray.

Always a man brimming over with innovative ideas, Bernau put together the state’s only stockholder-owned and financed winery operation in 1988. He then built it into the third largest winery in Oregon with distribution in all 50 states and seven foreign countries.

His latest venture, The Willamette Valley Vineyards Wine Center, combines elements that could only have been conceived by someone wearing the hats of both entrepreneur and industry booster.

Scheduled to open on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 300 N.E. Third St., the center is designed around “sustainability” — a commitment that runs deep in the Oregon wine industry.

Murray said they decided to locate in McMinnville because it is the perfect place to begin a wine adventure. She will manage a staff of eight, offering tasting, sales, interpretive displays and detailed information about North Willamette Valley wine country touring, lodging and dining.

Visitors will be able to take advantage of a concierge-style service wherein employees suggest possible touring alternatives, assist in planning itineraries, help make reservations and arrange appointments.

The center’s interpretive element sets it apart from other retail outlets. Visitors will be able to view displays explaining the region’s geology, complete with samples of actual soil types.

Enlargements of American Viticultural Area maps will give them a comprehensive perspective of key growing areas, as well as the extent and specific locations of vineyard development within them.

Bernau said they intend to explore the long-term potential of the Willamette Valley’s wine future. Within the super-AVA’s 3.3-milllion-acre boundaries, more than 100,000 still unplanted acres have been identified as well-suited to winegrapes.

That fact, along with all the attributes that brought Oregon’s wine pioneers here in the late 1960s and early 1970s, will be conveyed within the Center’s 2,800 square feet of floor space. Fittingly reflecting the fundamental “green” theme, the flooring itself is made from recycled cork.

On the left, as you walk through the front entrance, a large wall will feature a 9-by-5-foot area upon which will be projected ever-changing, wine country images, including photographs by award-winning photographer and author Janis Miglavs.

One particularly impressive feature is a 19-foot-long table designed to seat 20 people for formal tastings.
The massive wooden piece incorporates backless bench seating. It was custom made for the space out of reclaimed poplar.

The central focus, of course, will be on the local industry’s ecologically sensitive practices, including LIVE and Salmon Safe, as well as the values and benefits of organics and biodynamics. Though primarily concentrating on the North Willamette Valley, staff members will also be prepared to provide information on the industry statewide.

At any given time, as many as a dozen tastes of selected wines will be available from Willamette Valley Vineyards’ current portfolio. Tasting options will be divided into three categories.

The first category consists of a complimentary tasting of three to six wines, the second of a $5 tasting of three to six reserve wines and the third a $10 comparative flight giving tasters the opportunity to compare a Willamette Valley Vineyards wine with the same variety from four or five other local-area wineries.

Reserve tasting fees will be refunded with a purchase of $50 or more. And with proof of residency, all Yamhill County residents will receive an additional 5 percent discount.

Though the new facility in McMinnville is a one-of-a-kind in Oregon, this is not Willamette Valley Vineyards’ first venture into the promotion of wine tourism beyond its own facility in Turner, south of Salem on Interstate 5. In September, Bernau partnered with The Salem Convention and Visitors Association’s Travel Salem program to open a tasting room and retail sales outlet at the program’s Travel Café Visitors Center in downtown Salem.
“We wanted a partner that exemplified the best of the tourism industry — innovation, sustainability and an internationally recognized brand,” said Travel Salem CEO Angie Morris. “We got all of that and more with Willamette Valley Vineyards.”

Bernau described his newest contribution to the Oregon wine scene as “a gateway with a mission.” To reach as many people as possible in working toward fulfillment of that mission, Murray plans keep the doors open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week.

http://www.newsregister.com/blogentry/41998-wine+center+opening+downtown+mcminnville

A Full Weekend of Celebrating!

What a weekend of celebrating! First, Halloween with spicy sushi, Tualatin Estate Frizzante, and going to go see the frightening Paranormal Activity in theaters. Then, on Sunday I went up to Portland for the Southern Oregon Wine Grand Tasting at the Governor's Hotel. The event featured 28 wineries from the Umpqua and Roque AVAs. It was a packed house and with the soaring popularity of Southern Oregon wines the room will need to be double the size next year.


I went to the event with exceptionally high expectations considering one of my favorite wines (EVER) is the Griffin Creek Syrah. And fortunately for me and the 400 others, the Southern Oregon Grand Tasting did not disappoint. I had a great time tasting the BIG reds and trying new-to-me varietals like Albarino. Plus, Southern Oregon has a knack for creating some fantastic blends like Claret and Gewurztraminer/Viognier . If you are curious about trying Southern Oregon wines I invite you to our Tasting Room where we pour our Griffin Creek label. All the fruit comes from the Griffin Creek Vineyards of Ashland, Oregon and the wine is made up here at our winery. Currently, we have an bright 2006 Viognier, a smoky 2002 Merlot, and juicy 2005 Syrah.


If you attended the event, I am so curious to find out what your thoughts and favorites were (please comment)! If you happened the miss the event this year, but want to catch it next year, check out http://www.sorwa.org/. I am pretty sure it is the first Sunday in November annually.

Toast to a Cure

Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought I would showcase one of my favorite products that benefits the fight against breast cancer:

THE PINK VINUM ROSÉ GLASS

Aren't they beautiful? I heard from one of our sales reps that him and his wife gave these glasses as gifts to their bridesmaids at their wedding. What a great idea!

For the third year, Riedel has created a special, limited edition glass to benefit Living Beyond Breast Cancer, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering all those affected by breast cancer to live as long as possible with the best quality of life.

The glass will be sold in sets of two for $59.00 (but I also found some online for $47.20 more details below), attractively packaged as a pair in a black box adorned by the pink ribbon synonymous with this important cause. Riedel will donate 15% of the proceeds from the sale of this glass to support those dealing with the devastating diagnosis of breast cancer and life beyond.

For the development of each new glass shape, Georg Riedel works with a tastemaker who isan expert on the grape or type of wine it will contain. In order to determine the right shape for the Pink Vinum Rosé glass, Georg Riedel, CEO of Riedel Crystal, convened a special rosé glass tasting panel in December 2006. Six rosé wines from California and France were sampled from sixteen different glass shapes to determine which presented the wine to its greatest advantage, and the decision was unanimous. "The choice of which bowl shape to select for the first-ever Riedel rosé glass was complicated by the fact that it would have to compliment a rosé no matter whether it is composed of Grenache, Pinot Noir or one of the many other varietals used for this wine," states Georg Riedel. "However, ultimately the choice was clear because we all felt strongly that one glass expressed the essential character of the rosé - the flavors, aromatics and freshness of taste that is the hallmark of a fine example of this wine.

In addition, Riedel is offering 15% OFF your entire order placed on www.riedelwebstore.com with the coupon code LBBC09. Offer expires October 31st (SORRY FOR THE LATE NOTICE).

I also found the set of glasses sold HERE for $47.20 if you miss the Riedel deadline.

Toast to a Cure!

Picture via: Corks and Caftans.