It’s no secret that the wines of Willamette Valley’s Eyrie Vineyards are among my very favorite on the planet. The wines, particularly the pinot noirs, are full of character and complexity that rival the great wines of burgundy, yet are uniquely Oregon. It was a sad day when Eyrie founder David “Papa Pinot” Lett passed away on October 9, 2008. David Lett essentially invented the modern wine industry in Oregon through the founding of Eyrie Vineyards, and his epic story is truly incredible. I came across this video of David’s son Jason Lett giving the commencement address at the Linfield College in Willamette Valley and was pretty blown away by it. David was also honored with an Honorary Doctor of Science degree by Linfield College faculty and trustees, and Jason’s address beautifully tells the story of this legendary wine pioneer and the lessons that can be learned from his journey.
Part 1 of Jason Lett’s 2009 Commencement Address
Part 2 of Jason Lett’s 2009 Commencement Address
There has been a lot of buzz around The Allison “premier inn and spa” opening in Willamette Valley in August. I recall many conversations about it at Pinot Camp last summer, with some excited about the new business and amenity opportunities and others unsure about the impact the new resort will have on the area. Continue Reading »
We were saddened to hear that ‘Papa Pinot’ David Lett of Eyrie Vineyards passed away on Thursday. I never met David in person, but I did get the opportunity to know him well through his wines and contributions to the wine industry. I met with his son, Jason, in August to research an article on Eyrie, which was included in the last issue of Mutineer Magazine.
If you haven’t had a bottle of Eyrie Pinot Noir, do yourself a favor and track down a bottle.
Here is a link to the obituary in the LA Times.
A look at the beautiful vineyards of Domaine Drouhin in 2007.
It is that time of year again, HARVEST. Different regions harvest at different times throughout the fall, and it is around this time that Oregon’s Willamette Valley typically begins the annual wine making process, but this year things are running a little bit behind.
What does this mean? Nothing yet. Things can change in an instant in Oregon, and all we can say so far is that this has been a cool year, things are behind schedule, and vineyard challenges have been minimal. As a fan of wines that highlight complexity instead of alcohol, I see this vintage as holding huge possibilities. Continue Reading »
Today I discovered something about the Willamette Valley…it’s friggin’ big! I left the Willamette Valley today to begin my pilgrimage to the Rogue Valley of Southern Oregon, and after driving south for 3 hours, I saw a billboard proclaiming wine and music at a winery off the next exit. Ignoring the pleas of my GPS system, I headed towards the mystery winery. Continue Reading »
There are a lot of exceptional Pinot Noir wines coming from the Willamette Valley, and I’ve been fortunate enough to try a great deal of them, some of which I’ve ranted about on this blog. That said, Eyrie Vineyards, in my humble opinion, is the crown jewel of the Willamette Valley. These wines are RIDICULOUS! I’d go into more detail here, but if I get going I’ll never stop, so look for a piece on Eyrie in the upcoming issue of Mutineer Magazine, and in the meantime, hunt down a bottle of Eyrie for yourself…you’ll be glad you did.
Soter Associate Courtney Shields is my host today, and we start off by heading into the vineyard to sip some Soter sparkling wine affectionately referred to as “Soter Pop”. Sparkling wine represents a relatively small amount of Soter’s production, but both the Rose and Blanc de Blancs are great if you can find them (rumor is the Blanc de Blancs is pretty impossible to find).
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Antica Terra only makes wines that do the label justice. Not the most original marketing banter I’ve heard, but try this on: Antica Terra didn’t feel the 2005 crop from the Antica Terra Vineyard was up to snuff, so they, um, DIDN’T MAKE ANY WINE!!! The lesson here is, don’t call their bluff, these people mean business.
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