Winter time to write & time to start ML

Really, I just need to write this on a regular basis, but it's always difficult to get started. Here's my new goal - write a little bit every day regardless of what's happening. Edit and publish the next morning.

For those of you not in Oregon, we just went through the longest, coldest winter snap on record. It's warmer now, but here's a quick indication of how cold it was here (those of you in cold climates, pardon our whining about the cold):

We finally started to heat up the winery this week in order to push the '09 Pinot Noirs through the malolactic fermentation. Most years, we would be well on the way to finished with ML by now, but we delayed the start a bit this year in order to get the winery a bit more cleaned up before the giant shuffle.

At the end of harvest, all the wines are in one barrel room, tightly packed together in the chilly (hopefully) ambient temp. That's all the current vintage Pinot Noir and whites and previous vintage Pinot Noir. Before we start to warm up the barrel room, we have to move all the previous vintage Pinot Noir out to the frigid wintery unheated side of the winery (the fermentation side during harvest). In deference to good winemaking practices, this means that we have to get the ferment side cleaned up, get the floors scrubbed and get the drains cleaned first.

More later on how we use temp control in the winemaking. ...Hopefully some more on native ferments, unfiltered wines, and "natural winemaking"

Harvest 09 Wrap Up Post

Forgot to post this last week.

Wow. OK. So my blogging never quite recovered from my sales trip to NYC in the middle of harvest. Lots of grapes, more than we've ever done before. Fantastic!

Here's the final story on Boedecker Cellars Harvest 2009 by the numbers:

• Tons of Pinot Noir - 60.5 --> 153 barrels & 2 puncheons & 3 kegs


• Tons of Whites - 19.5


• Gallons Rose ~ 300


• First grapes into the winery: Hirschy Vineyard, Block C - Sep 22nd


• Last grapes into the winery: Momtazi Vineyard, Block C - Oct 12th
  
  In comparison, 2008 - PN 44 tons, Whites 14.5

We barrelled down the last Pinot Noir on Nov 6th. White wines are still ticking away.

Vintage of the decade?

Strong words and bold pronouncement, I know. But this was a fantastic year for ripeness. We did more whole cluster Pinot Noir ferments than ever before, as we had great phenolic ripeness. Every bit of PN going to barrel was ripe, complex, and like a sea of bing cherries. Most importantly, warm, even ripening weather allowed us to procrastinate and pick each site at the peak of distinctiveness. In two years, this could be called the vintage of the decade.

2009 White wines will set a new benchmark in Oregon. Flavors were ripe without excessive sugar, and deep, rich stone fruit flavors dominated everything. We took advantage from our "experiment" in 2008 and switched over to 12-18 hour skin contact on all of our Pinot Gris this year. The complex, interesting and overwhelmingly cool aromatics that resulted converted me from a "Oh yeah, Pinot Gris, whatever" person to a "Wow! I love Pinot Gris" fanatic. You'll see later this spring...

The folks at the Oregon Wine Board were kind enough to send out some seed questions for all of us. Below are a few of my reflections from this fall:

2009 Harvest Reflections

How did this year's weather affect you?

• The heat spike in August pulled a few things forward in ripeness, so we started on Sep 22nd, about one week ahead of normal. Our last pick came in on Oct 12th, right before the big rains started. (pretty close to average timing for our last pick.) The generally even warm weather through the summer pushed phenolic ripeness with more brown stems and seeds than I've seen in years. We used a lot more whole cluster fruit this year in ferments due to the fact that everything came in looking very clean and nicely ripe.

How are acid and sugar levels?

• Sugars on some younger blocks came in a little high due to some raisining induced by the last big heat spike. Overall, the acidity matched the ripe flavors very well, providing crispness and freshness but not hiding the dark, bing-cherry-like flavors in the Pinot Noir. Based on initial analysis of malic levels, these wines will pick up significant richness as they progress through malolactic fermentation this winter.

What are the emerging flavor profiles for the fruit?

• White wines are spectacular this year, with everything showing ripe stone-fruit flavors. I'm espcially excited by Pinot Gris (which rarely excites me) and Pinot Blanc. Regardless of site, these wines are showing some beautiful apricot and peach notes. The heat did not seem to affect the acidity much in the whites. Even though the flavors are ripe, the acidity is bright and balanced. 2009 should be a standout year for white wine in Oregon.



• Pinot Noirs are inky, dark, and very layered coming out of ferment. Fruit notes are very dark and ripe overall, but the vintage is not as prone to black-fruit and plum notes as, say 2006. Dark cherry and black currant aromas and flavors jump out of the glass right now. Tannins are firmer than 2008, which is a good thing given the overall "bigness" of the wines. Overall, these wines will drink well on release in 2011/2012 and are built for aging , as well.

How would you characterize yields? What is your forecast for tonnage this year?

• We came in ~ 10% over projected tonnage. Some was due to larger than forecasted cluster. Some was due to extra fruit coming on the market. When Dick Shea asks if I want more fruit, generally my answer is "Yes, how much can I have?"

Extras
Oh yeah. Here's a quick flic. of my ferry ride from NJ to Manhattan. While I was enjoying this view, Athena and the crew were sortion our last 10 tons of PN, pressing a bunch of Pinot Gris, and barrelling down the first Pinot Noir ferments.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest Day 13

Sometimes we hit the middle of harvest and, well, just don't quite have time to do laundry. Athena was the first to launch high fashion week in the winery this year.

Seriously, we hit the middle of fruit processing and it's non-stop Pinot Noir every day. All the fruit's looking fantastic, but there are always a few leaves to pluck out of the bins.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 12

Sometimes, the whole cluster ferments can be impossible to punch down with anything other than feet. Seriously...we tried for 20 mins to get through the cap of this fermenter before someone just went in and took care of it.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Days 9-11

Yeah. So I fell a little behind. It's been busy around the winery over the last couple of days. Lots of picking and picking decisions...More details later today.

Last walk through Shea Vineyard on 9/27. Finally decided to pick on Friday morning. Even with this little misting, the fruit is ripe, tannins are great, and it's ready to come in. I'm glad I pushed my original pick date so far out.

On the same day, I took a quick trip down to Holmes Gap Vineyard, too. The vineyard looks great, and we'll be pulling in all the Pinot Noir and the Pinot Gris by the end of this week.
On the winery side of the equation, I took some quick snaps of the sorting line crew while we were sorting fruit from Cherry Grove, Hirschy, and Shea vineyards. In both the Cherry Grove Pommard and the Shea 777, we decided to go with a 30% whole cluster ferment. We still sort the fruit, but you'll see how we pull the destemmer back to let the whole clusters fall straight into the fermenter.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Days 9-11

Yeah. So I fell a little behind. It's been busy around the winery over the last couple of days. Lots of picking and picking decisions...More details later today.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 8

Athena and I took a little break from the action last night and poured some fantastic Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris sangria cocktails at the Jupiter Hotel's Indulge fundraiser for the Ecotrust Farm to School program. Fantastic food and bevs from everyone there!

On the winery side, we brought in another block from Hirschy vineyard yesterday. Fruit is now quietly cold-soaking in the winery.

We'll be busy this afternoon with fruit from Shea, Cherry Grove, and Hirschy. Look for some new pix and videos tonight.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 7

OK, so change of plans. This is where I drive my ever-patient growers crazy, but it's where we make the difference between good Pinot Noir and great Pinot Noir.

After sampling through Cherry Grove Vineyard last night, I was somewhat sure we were going to pick Block 8 on Friday. After bringing the samples back, however, Athena and I both agreed that the flavors just weren't ready. Since this is such a fantastic block, and since Bob Van Steenberg has kept the vineyard looking very clean, we're going to leave Block 8 for another 5 days or so.

Here's a quick video of me talking smack about how it's ready to go....before I got back to the winery and changed my mind.

It looks like next week is going to get very busy. There is a small amount of Botrytis in most vineyards, and we now have some cold weather and rain/showers in the forecast for mid-week.

Here's my new picking forecast:

Today, Sep 24th
Hirschy Vineyard, Block D (667/777)
Friday, Sep 25th
Cherry Grove Vineyard, Block 3 (Pommard)
- Picking just every other row here
Shea Vineyard, Block 30 (777)
Monday, Sep 28th
Stoller Vineyard, Block 61.3 (115)
Wednesday, Sep 30th
Stoller Vineyard, Block 61.1 (667)

Up in the air (sometime Mon-Wed)
Shea Vineyard, Block 11
Carlton Hill Vineyard
Cherry Grove Vineyard, Blocks 3, 7, & 8

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 6

Abbreviated update again today, as I'm mobile more than not.

Great first day of Pinot processing yesterday with 1.65 tons of fruit from Hirschy Vineyard. Athena posted some good pix on the Boedecker Cellars Facebook page.

I headed up to Buttonfield vineyard late yesterday (great sunset) to check out our Old Vine Pinot Gris. The vineyard looks fantastic (I'd expect nothing less from a vineyard owned and managed by Stirling Fox). Sugars are at ~ 25 Brix, which would usually scream "Pick now", but the flavors are still pretty green. I think we'll try to put off that pick until early next week. I'll head up to resample on Sunday.

Today I'm headed to Stoller and Cherry Grove Vineyeards. More pix, vids, and numbers later today. Athena's in the winery all day with our first fermenter full of fruit!

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 5

Quick update this morning, as we have fruit on a truck right now!

Spent yesterday getting the winery ready to go and worked on a bit of sales. Athena in PDX, me in Seattle.

The fantastic weather continues today. It's nice that the projected heat has moderated a bit. This hot, dry weather will push ripeness along on the blocks that are lagging and won't stress out the vineyards that are close to ripe.

Picking schedule for this week:

Tues, Sep 22 - Block C (114) Hirschy Vineyard
Thurs, Sep 24 - Block D (667 & 777) Hirschy Vineyard
Fri, Sep 25 - Block 30 (777) Shea Vineyard
Block 8 (667 & 777) Cherry Grove Vineyard
1/2 Block 3 (every other row) Cherry Grove Vineyard

The rest is too far out right now. More sampling tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 4 (Cont)

I spent the morning and early afternoon out sampling a few more of our sites. Shea and Cherry Grove Vineyards are generally early sites, so I wanted to ensure that I stayed on top of ripening curves at both places.

Cherry Grove Vineyard:

Nice serenades from the bird screamers today as I walked through.

Block 3, Pommard Clone: dark-ish pink color. Very tart cherry flavors. 22.8 Brix
Block 8, 667 clone: Purple color. dilute purple cherries & tea notes. 23 Brix
Block 8, 777 clone: Dark pink/red. Straw notes mixed with cherries. 23.6 Brix
Block 6, 114 clone: Pink. Rich green strawberries/straw. 21.2 Brix
Block 7, Wadenswil: Pink. very tart. 20.4 Brix

Tentative Pick Dates:
Friday, Sep 25th: Pick Block 8W & 8E. Pick every other row of Block 3
I'll go to the vineyard on Wednesday, Sep 23rd to confirm
Tues, Sep 29th: Pick rest of Block 3

Block 6 -- Don't know yet. 10+ days
Block 7 -- Don't know yet. 14+ days

Shea Vineyard:

Block 30, West Hill, 777 clone: 24.0 Brix, Purple juice, brown stems and seeds, green tea notes on rich cherry fruit. Nice brightness in the acid structure still to lengthen flavors.
Tentative Pick: Wed or Friday
Block11, East Hill, 115 clone: 24.0 Brix, dark pink juice, rich cherry and tea flavors, bright acidity.
Tentative Pick: Sun/Mon

Anderson Family Vineyard:

Chardonnay: 21.6 Brix, dark green juice, honey-soaked hay flavors Probably 2 weeks from picking

South Block Pinot Noir: 19.8 Brix, very well-developed flavors for such low sugar levels. This should be spectacular once it ripens. Probably 2 weeks from picking.

First White Grapes?

On top of all this, I got a call from Stirling Fox, whose Buttonfield Vineyard Pinot Gris makes up our Old Vine PG. He's pretty sure his Pinot Gris will be ready to pick by mid-week. I need to get up there now to check it out. This is a bit earlier than I anticipated for white grapes, but it's all good. If the fruit's ready to go, it's time to fire up the press.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 4

Lots of new info on vineyard status. Charlie Stanton brought up samples from his Eugene vinyard yesterday, and, wow, it's much farther along than I thought it would be, especially the Pinot Blanc.

Stanton Vinyard, 9/19 samples
Pinot Blanc
Brix: 19.1
pH: 3.12
Juice color: dark green
Flavors: honeyed grape stems
The flavor development was much further along than either I or Charlie thought it would be. This is going to be some spectacular Pinot Blanc!

Pinot Noir (4th Leaf section)
Brix: 20.2
pH: 3.38
Juice color: dark pink
Flavors: dark strawberry/cherry

Pinot Noir (5th Leaf section)
Brix: 20.4
pH: 3.35
Juice color: pink
Flavors: strawberry, straw, green cherries

Both blocks of Pinot Noir are showing nice depth of flavor already. I'm really excited about this year in this vineyard.

In other news, we also launched our new wine club at the Open House yesterday. Feel like we're finally able to give back to our supporters. It was great to have a chance to talk to everyone, too.

More to come later today once I test the samples I collected this morning...

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 3

Don't forget to stop by our Open House Saturday, Sept 19th, 2pm-5pm It's the sneak preview of our 2007 Pinots and the last chance to see me and Athena before we disappear into the winery until November.

Quick updates today. Lots of sunshine pushing ripeness. Made a quick run out to the valley to pick up some last minute supplies (fermenters, barrel racks) and check out progress at Hirschy Vineyard.
Block C (Dijon 114): 26.5 Br, 3.59 pH, some raisining. Want to pick this first.
Block D (Dijon 777): 23.8 Br, 3.33 pH, still tart. Want some more sunshine
Block D (Dijon 667): 25.0 Br, 3.31 pH, ditto.


I'm calling the crew right now to set up a Tuesday pick for the Block C fruit and a Thursday pick for the Block D fruit. Hopefully, we can bring in Block 30 from Shea on Thursday, too.

Just of note, the first fruit of the year came into the facility last night. Not ours, but one of our clients, Anne, brought in some Syrah from Eastern Washington. This was a nice surpise, as it allowed us to get the equipment up and running.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 2

OK, I admit it, Yesterday's rain freaked me out a little. Not that it was too material, but just the fact that it was quite a bit more moisture than originally forecast reminds me that I'm in Oregon during September. The marginal weather makes it one of the top spots in the world for Pinot Noir, but it wreaks havoc on planning. We can go from "Sure, we'll pick that block in 10 days" to "Pick it tomorrow!" or "Well, now we need to wait 5-7 days for it to dry out". It's all part of the fun.

Fall Weather in Oregon

Here's a current satellite image from the NOAA web site: This image shows the water vapor in the atmosphere. Note the dry region South of the Northern Willamette . The swirling high pressure system off the OR/CA border is what keeps us dry (shunts the Jet Stream and most of the weather North to WA and B.C.). As soon as that high pressure system falls apart in late October, it's nothing but rain until April.

Prep work in the winery

While we wait for our first fruit to come in, there's plenty to do in the winery. Athena was working until midnight last night, cleaning, organizing, and getting everything ready to go. Her paranoia about schedule is what keeps us from having to scramble once Pinot starts to show up. The next few days are all about pressure washing, scrubbing, and test firing all the equipment.

Open House this Saturday, Sep 19

We're also hosting our Pre-release sneak preview of our 2007 Pinot Noirs this Saturday from 2-6 pm. Stop by to taste these absolutely stunning wines (we'll be pouring Stewart , Athena, and all 4 single vineyard bottlings). This will be everyone's last chance to taste them until we release them starting in January 2010.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 1

With our first fruit sampling officially done now, Boedecker Cellars Harvest '09 is "Officially" underway. Athena and I will be updating the blog, Facebook, and Twitter now until the last of the wine is in barrel sometime in November. I'm excited to get harvest going!

2009 is shaping up into a fantastic vintage. The cool nights are keeping acidity bright, and the warm days are pushing ripening along. The most exciting thing is the degree of phenolic ripeness in seeds, skins, and stems. This could be a very lush, round, velvety year for Oregon Pinot. I love this! Vintage variation is why I'm making wine in Oregon instead of someplace easier like CA.



OK, on to numbers and harvest date predictions

Hirschy Vinyard: Sampled Friday, 9/11
Vineyard looking very clean and beautiful
Block C (Dijon 114) 24.1 Brix
Ripe flavors, but a little diluted from the rains. Pretty back notes.
Block D (Dijon 667) 23.8 Brix
Black color! Dark blackberry, oolong tea, and notes. Almost there.
Block D (Dijon 777) 23.7 Brix
Pretty red-fruited notes, cherries, red currant, diluted from rains.
Stewart's Prediction: Picking all of it Tues 9/22 or Wed 9/23

Shea Vinyard: Sampled Tuesday, 9/16
A little bit of raisining due to splitting after the rains. We're picking ahead of next rains, but there's nothing to worry about.
Block 1 (Dijon 115) 23.2 Brix
Green notes on the nose, banana and strawberry in the mouth. Needs more time.
Block 30 (Dijon 777) 24.0, pH 3.24. I didn't sample this, but Drew (Shea's winemaker) was kind enough to share his numbers from the same block.
Stewart's Prediction: Picking Block 30 Wed 9/23 or Thurs 9/24, Block 11 Fri 9/25 or Sat 9/26

Here's a short clip from Shea yesterday:

Walk through Boedecker Cellars blocks at Hirschy Vineyard

Hirschy Vineyard on Sep 12th.

Athena and I went out for our first afternoon of cluster sampling. Unfortunately, I forgot to check battery level in the Flip before we left, so there's just a short bit of video of us walking through Block C (Dijon 114).

The sugars are definitely developing here, but the flavors are still a ways off. I'm glad for the cooler weather forecasted this week, as I'd like to slow down sugar accumulation and the slight raisining we're starting to see in some sections.

The torrential rains last week definitely plumped up berries and diluted the pulp, too. There are a few split berries where cluster swelling crushed a few grapes, but everything looks very clean. No worries of disease pressure here.

Harvest prediction -- Tuesday, Sep 22. First fruit into the winery!!

Punchdown Pal demo

Our good friend Charles Alexander has been working on developing a safe, light, and portable platform we can use when doing punchdowns in our small, 1.5 ton fermenters. Here's a quick look at the original prototype and the official Rev 1 Punchdown Pal.

Vineyards - Sep 4 '09

I made a quick run out to a couple of vineyards ahead of the Labor Day weekend rains.

Momtazi Vineyard - Things are looking good. Veraison seems very even, and the vineyard will definitely appreciate the quick soaking from the weekend. Estimated pick date = Oct 10.

Hirschy Vineyard - Certainly the furthest ahead of any of our sites. The canopy looks fantastic and there's sweetness in the fruit! I'm guessing we'll pick this by Sept 17th if we really get the forecasted warm weather over the next week.

Harvest 09-1 First post in the BC Harvest open book videos

OK, so I have to come up with a better title for this. Someone help me out here. The idea is that I'm going to post daily video updates (more, if I have time) of everything happening during harvest. No secrets, no hidden winemaker garbage. You'll see everything we do, and I'll try to make some intelligent comments about all of it. Great Pinot is not about secret bs ingredients. It's about great vineyards and not screwing it up in the cellar.


For the first post, since we're not picking for at least a couple of weeks, I have a short video of everyone working tonight in the winery. They're racking (moving) all the '08 Pinots from new barrels over to neutral oak. We like the extra maturity and complexity we get from 18-20 months in barrel, but we don't like oak tea. So we move the wine every summer over to seasoned (previously used 3-4 times) barrels for the last 6-9 months.

Check in at Cherry Grove Vineyard, Sep1 '09

A quick video of my visit today up to Cherry Grove Vineyard. The place looks fantastic! Bob Van Steenberg has done a great job this year. Every block looks very even, and the canopy is still pumping sugars into the grapes. As I say in the video, we're looking at the last week of September for picking...assuming the cold snap predicted for next week doesn't turn into something major.

Check out the video satellite image of Eastern Pacific water vapor

I forgot to attach this link to the wider-view Southern Pacific sat shot

First looks at the satellite weather

It's that time of the year again. Once again, I'll be obsessing over the satellite weather images. To the left is the water vapor image from NOAA's geostationary satellite that sits over the Western Pacific.

Note the streak of clear sky that runs from mid-Pacific off the coast of Mexico up to the Oregon/California coastal border. The terminus point on the coast is where an annual high pressure system sits all summer long, routing the jet stream North toward British Columbia. While this high stays in place, Western Oregon stays mostly warm and dry. The danger point for us is when, sometime during October each year, this high pressure system breaks down. At that point, the jet stream slips down and points every major Pacific storm right at the Willamette Valley.

So between now and our last picking date, I'll be watching for signs that our nice high pressure system is breaking up. When I see that happening, I'll start making calls to growers to set any pick dates I don't already have in place, because once the jet stream slips South, the sun and warmth are pretty much gone.

Boedecker Cellars Walk Through Stanton Vineyard Aug 20 '09

Stanton Vineyard

This is our only vineyard down near Eugene, and it's also the only site with sandstone substrate below the surface soil. The vineyard's pretty young, but even last year we could see some marked differences in fruit profile from here.

Please bear with the sound levels on this video. I now know that the mic on my Flip is somewhat directional. Charlie Stanton's audio is a bit lost. I'll make some time to get commentary from him in the future, as he'll be joining us for a week or so in the winery this fall.

Boedecker Cellars Walk Through Carlton Hill Vineyard Aug 17 '09

Another late post. This is a short video of my last visit to Carlton Hill Vineyard, located just outside of the town of Carlton itself. I have a few short bits of conversation with vineyard owner David Polite, but they don't do him justice. He's one of the most entertaining growers I have; hopefully, I'll have more time chatting with him on future videos.

Carlton Hill Vineyard has a gentle, East-facing slope that ensures great exposure and warmth in the morning hours and some protection from the extreme afternoon heat. Because of its exposure, this is usually the first site we pick each year.

Belated vineyard posts from Aug 16/17

I am sooooo late posting these. I took a quick run through three of our vineyards on August 16th and 17th. Everything's progressing nicely, although seeing these places made me realize that I only have a few more weeks to prep for harvest. Stop by the tasting room now if you want to see me...


Holmes Gap

This is my first trip of the year down to Holmes Gap vineyard (just North of Rickreall). Owner Jack LaRue was just putting on the last spray of the season as I drove up, so I don't have any conversations with him on this video. Next time Jack.

Stoller

Back to Stoller for another quick visit after the first round of cluster thinning. Even at one cluster per shoot, we're still at ~ 3.5 tons/acre, too high to guarantee optimal flavor development. We're taking a second thinning pass through the vineyard later this week to get the crop load down to closer to 2.5 tons/acre. I'm very excited about this fruit, as it's some of the most delicious wine in barrel from 2008.

Hirschy
A first walk-through of Hirschy Vineyard. This is a new vineyard owned by our friends John and Linda Hirschy. This is going to be a SPECTACULAR site! Check out the color in these clusters. John's place is a good 3-5 days ahead of everyone else at this point, ensuring that his will be the first Pinot Noir into the winery this fall.

Carlton Hill Vineyard Aug 17'09

We started buying fruit from David Polite in 2006. The bulk of the fruit from this vineyard goes into David's own Carlton Hill Wine Company. We usually get enough fruit for one fermenter, and it's quickly becoming one of our favorites each year. One reason Athena and I both love it is because we can usually do partial whole-cluster fermentation with the fruit from Carlton Hill. It's an early ripening site, so the stems are usually lignified enough (brown and crunchy, not green and stemmy) to allow us to bypass the destemmer.

Hirschy Vineyard visit Aug 17th

Hirschy vineyard is a new site to us this year. John and Linda Hirschy have planted a fantastic new site just North of the town of Carlton. I freaked out a little bit when I saw so much color here on Aug 17th. This will definitely be the first fruit we pick this season!

Anderson Family Vineyard walk 8/12

August 12th walkthrough at Anderson Family Vineyard (Dundee Hills) with vineyard owner/manager Cliff Anderson. We get both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Anderson Family Vineyard. It's a unique site - depending on the vintage, the Pinot from this site flexes between our Stewart and Athena bottlings. We also usually bottle an Anderson Family Vineyard designate wine from this vineyard each year.

Boedecker Cellars Summer Whites Tasting Notes

Joint Tasting notes from Saturday, Aug 15

This is a joint compilation of notes Stewart captured while everyone talked in the tasting room.

Tasters: Gwen Goodrich, Joel Strimling, Athena Pappas, Stewart Boedecker

2007 Boedecker Cellars Purity Chardonnay

- Lemon zest and tropical fruits on the attack

- Nice weight on mid-palate

- Dark nuttiness on finish, along with notes of hazelnut/peanut skin

- Lean framework with acidity to carry heavy fish dishes or mushrooms

** Favorite between the two Chardonnays

2008 Boedecker Cellars Purity Chardonay

- Key lime cream pie, marshmallows & citron

- Notes of cotton candy in middle with a touch of perceived sweetness

- Fat on the finish, with roundness that persists

- Great match for Thai food, Kung Pao Chicken, or paella

2007 Boedecker Cellars Old Vine Pinot Gris

- Creamy butterscotch, Werther's candy (nice one Joel)
- Toasted nuts and lemon pith on top of stone fruits
- Very, very weighty for a Pinot Gris (we think this is why Paul Gregutt liked it)

2008 Boedecker Cellars Old Vine Pinot Gris

- In your face fantastic aromatics! Everyone kept adding to descriptors: stone fruit, apricot, honeydew, casava, peaches, yellow pluoct, white flowers

- On the palate, fruit/flower/honey, "vanilla bean in a dirt clod" depth, sweetness carrying fantastic apricot/peach flavors.
- This is possibly the best Pinot Gris I've ever tasted (Stewart)

Boedecker Cellars visit to Anderson Family Vineyard

Short trip through Anderson Family Vineyard, source of both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and another beautiful place in the world.

Boedecker Cellars White Wines in the Tasting Room this weekend

Summer's a time for white wines, and we're celebrating by focusing an entire weekend on the Boedecker Cellars whites in the Tasting Room.

We'll post some tasting notes later this afternoon, but be sure not to miss the 2008 Old Vine Pinot Gris. We're just releasing it now and it is killer! -- Ethereal aromatics and the most fantastic texture of any white wine we've ever released!!

Vineyard Visits: Momtazi, Stoller, Cherry Grove

Here are my first experiments with using my new Flip Video camera to document the developmnt in the vineyards. I need to work on my steady-cam stills (scenes are a bit Cloverfield-esque) and naration, but I'm still pretty excited about what I'll be able to do throughout harvest this year.

For the first post, I captured bits of my walk-throughs of Momtazi, Stoller, and Cherry Grove vineyards. I hope you enjoy. I'm going to try to give a fairly continuous stream of updates through the end of harvest this year.
-sb

The June and July heat pushed the vines forward by 3-4 weeks, and now most of Oregon is actually running a little ahead of schedule for the year. If the warmth persists, we'll pick our first Pinot by mid-Sept.

All the vineyards look fantastic. Canopy health has never been so even across the entire valley, and fruit set is very even. Berry sizes are quite uniform, and clusters are quite sizable. We've already been dropping a good amount of fruit across all sites, and we'll continue with that as August progresses.

Momtazi Vineyard - McMinnville AVA

Stoller Vineyard - Dundee Hills AVA

Cherry Grove Vineyard - Willamette Valley, just outside of Gaston, OR