Eugenia Keegan

As one can imagine everything that I am doing now is on a steep learning curve. Certainly general winemaking practices apply particularly those about good housekeeping as sanitation is the backbone to the cellar. But otherwise the grape variety itself, the age and layout of the vineyard, the growing issues specific to southern France and the Roussillon, and the techniques employed in the winery are all new. This of course is the excitement but can also be frustrating.

So, imagine my delight when my friend Carrie Sumner told me that she was going to make a pinot noir. She and her husband Marcel have a small winery in Maury, Domaine des Enfants www.domaine-des-enfants.com. Of course they make the wines that are known from this area, grenache gris/blanc, grenache noir and carignan. But Carrie is from Oregon and has wanted a small project of her own so pinot noir was a natural. She and Marcel found the fruit in Limoux. The vineyard is farmed biodynamically which is in keeping with their philosophy of farming here in Maury.

I took the morning off to hang out and provide moral support. It was also fun in that I could share all that I had learned on the specifics of pinot noir such as no crushing, whole berries only, a three to five day cold soak, punch down protocol, etc. Of course they attacked this project in the same meticulous way that they handle their other grapes. They literally review EVERY cluster and by hand remove any unwanted berries (this is after severe triage in the vineyard). For 1/2 a day I felt completely at home. Thanks Carrie and Marcel!

So, what does this mean, the latest (or in the case of France, the earliest) harvest ever?  The season of the grapevine is like that of any other plant.  Certain conditions, in this case soil temperature, set off a chain of physiological events, kicking off the annual cycle of the plant.  This year 2011, we have had a cool, wet spring (as we did in 2010)  followed by a VERY mild early summer.  This past weekend, the final weekend of July, we had a string of days with temperatures from the high 70’s to the low 80’s, clear, low humidity, and a very slight breeze.  Perfect grape growing weather.  But this weather should have started a month earlier. Coupled with a cool spring and therefore a late bud break (first signs of new life) the whole cycle runs tardy.  For Oregon this means harvest (there is a formula that predicts harvest based on the flowering portion of the cycle, when the actual berries are fertilized and formed) should start around the last week in October and finish around the end of November.  One should assume that around that time of the year we will  have lower temperatures and rain.  So, can anything be done to facilitate earlier ripening?

Sadly, not much.  Solid heat for as long as possible is very important to staying on track and maybe pushing things along a day or two.  When the temperature is too high, over 95-98 ambient degrees the leaf surface is well over 100 degrees.  The vine realizes that it is expelling liquid faster than it can possibly find replacement H20 and the vine literally shuts down. Hot weather is not an opportunity to play catch up.

One technique that is frequently used however is leaf pulling or leaf removal.  Leaves on the east or morning side of the plant are stripped from the fruiting area that lines up along the lower catch wire.  This exposes the front side of the cluster to greater sunlight and opens the foliage to help lower any mildew pressure by allowing breezes to pass through the canopy.  This measure does not come without its potential of a downside however, most notable is berry susceptibility to sunburn if there is a heat wave. In my experience the birds seem to find these exposed berries a little more quickly as well.

So what do we do?  Drink a little rosé, do a sun dance, hit the river, and prepare for a late, potentially wet season.  Up until now, 2010 was the coolest vintage in history.  The reds are bursting with red/blue fruit backed by ripe tannins and juicy acid.  The whites are simply spectacular:  bright stone fruit flavors sparkling with racy acidity.   Another glass of rosé please.

Well, we have been through this before. Somehow my adventures in France seem well, just like adventures. My life at home just seems like life. People routinely remind me that what I am doing is very cool, and fun, and of interest, and then when I am reminded to get to the blog so much has transpired that I am much too far behind to “catch up”. So, who the hell cares that every moment is accounted for and that it is all in chronological order? ME, that’s who. I will now get over myself and get back to blogging!

This is a most odd year in grape growing. Getting tired of hearing that? This is the earliest year in recorded history in France and the latest year in recorded history in Oregon…..yes, later than last year, the epic late year of 2010. Good news for me is that I can be present for both my French harvest and back in time to participate in the Oregon harvest.

Bloom in France was complete by the middle of May (yes, including Bordeaux). At that time the vines in Oregon were just waking up. Bloom in Oregon started around the first of July.

And after an extensive vineyard “tour” with old friends around a remarkable series of vineyards in Eola-Amity and Carlton, there is still some bloom in action in the higher altitude sites (July 26/27, 2011).  Here are a couple of the more spectacular views from these sites:

Wow, what an amazing adventure can be had in just a day or two. There is so much culture available in any major city in the US that a weekend of submersion is a lifetime away.

We left Portland on Friday morning, arriving to a clear, warm day in greater Los Angeles. The hills barked back with clarity on one of those precious spring days in SoCal following a cool wind off the ocean. We chose a great priceline deal and stayed in Santa Monica although our event was in Beverly Hills (ah….the beach or Rodeo Drive??? My checkbook says the beach!). After a really spectacular lunch (who knew, a Sheraton?) of shrimp Provençal and heritage tomatoes with burrata cheese and baby basil, we dressed (cocktail casual) and headed to the Beverly Wilshire.

One never knows what one will get when attending wine related events.  Wine guys are asked to donate wine and time routinely. Some events are great, most pretty good, and then there is the occasional bomb. This event, a fund raiser for the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center,  featuring the Gil Nickel Humanitarian Award was really quite lovely. Gil Nickel, who owned Far Niente Winery in Napa Valley died of cancer in 2003. This award was established in his name as he became a large benefactor to the center that helped him in his fight against cancer.

The president of Far Niente, Larry Maguire (and an old friend of mine from Napa….that was a very fun reunion, one of several!) is a co-chair of the event. In earlier years only Far Niente wine was served but in recent years Larry has moved away from this to other wines, other regions. This year the theme was the wines and cuisine of the Willamette Valley, featuring Oregon Pinot noir.

Wineries included Adelsheim Vineyard, Archery Summit, Beaux Frères, Bergström, Brooks, Bethel Heights, Chehalem, Cristom, Domaine Serene, Domaine Drouhin Oregon, Eyrie, Montinore, Ponzi, Raptor Ridge, and Willakenzie.

Restaurants that showcased their food were The Painted Lady, Wildwood, Lincoln, Beaker & Flask, and The Allison.

After a fabulous walk about tasting with great wine and super tasty tidbits we sat down to a cheese and charcuterie plate, more wine, and a short well executed evening. The auction was lively and brisk and raised almost $1M dollars.  The entertainment was great.

The Gil Nickel Humanitarian Award was given to David Nevins, President of Showtime so there were plenty of Showtime stars there. Laura Linney, star of the comedy “The Big C” handed out the award.

It is impossible to attend something like this and not be touched.  For one evening we are allowed into the lives of people we would otherwise not know.   Everyone there has had to deal with cancer in their lives.  The stories are raw and intimate.  The evening was very moving.

The following morning we headed down to the ocean for a walk along the boardwalk in 75 degree weather and a light breeze. I do love warm weather. We happened into the Saturday market. This being southern California the produce is ahead of the northwest as you will see by my lengthy photo shoot.

The walk was followed by lunch at Junior’s, a true Jewish deli. Then a trip to the Getty with friends Harry Peterson-Nedry (Chehalem Winery) and Didi Nowers. We ended our day with a delicious dinner at a French bistro within walking distance of the hotel. The moon was one day short of full, the air was tinged with gardenia mingled with the scent of the sea.

Sunday breakfast was also in Santa Monica at a true German deli.  We opted out of the weisswurst.  I think David regretted that decision.

The cultural part of the day was spent at MOCA in downtown next to Disney Hall, the architectural conceit of Frank Gehry.  It will be interesting to see how the titanium holds up, but it certainly was beautiful and flowing in the spring sun.

MOCA has some incredible art as part of their permanent collection.  There is one room dedicated to the work of Mark Rothko.  Works included an earlier painting before the large canvases heralding the “abstract expressionist” movement of New York (although Rothko hated that title).  A large Pollock filled one wall.  I looked for the hidden message, but it alluded me.

We finished our visit with a side trip to the Geffen Contemporary.  We stumbled upon opening day of “Art in the Streets”, a tribute to the graffiti artists from the 60’s onward.  All I can say is, “what a trip”!!

I love LA!

OK, I guess I have to acknowledge it. I am more sun sensitive than I like to admit. I have always believed that I could will my Vitamin D levels up…..of course I was living in sunny NorCal at the time.

But now I live in Willamette Valley, Oregon and it is very gray here…OK, so that is not news. We just broke some crazy record for number of days of rain, wettest March, all those kinds of things. But now that we have a bright sunny day (OK, diffused, but there are serious shadows), I am out of here.

Good thing that my lair has such engaging winter materials to absorb, enjoy. I’m still working through the goodies from Xmas (no, not the candies, those were gone ages ago); tons of new music, books, electronic keyboard……

Damned if by the time I hit the road there was nary a shadow in sight, but after a few minutes of doing my spoiled child routine I jumped in the car and headed out rain or no rain…ok, rain.

The destination was Left Coast Cellars in Rickreall. I am familiar with their wines and certainly their incredible estate (although I had only heard about it and seen photos) but just learned that they had a “truffle orchard” on the property planted in the early aughts. (Thanks Kimberley!).

I headed south on the Lafayette Highway through Amity:

Yeah, had to stop for one of those pies on the way home!

There is a small café at the Left Coast Cellars tasting room and I planned to end up there for lunch. In the same neighborhood are Cherry Hill Winery and Van Duzer. I did a drive by on both and then back to LCC for tasting, lunch, and conversation.

I had a chance to say hello to friend Mark Pape who started at LCC last August. Prior to that he was working at Witness Tree. AND had a great chat with Luke McCollom, winemaker and viticulturist. He clearly loves growing things. He currently has a black lab puppy in training to be a truffle dog.

As they had a white wine production meeting on the afternoon agenda I took my leave with an agreement to come back for an in depth discussion on growing truffles (both European and domestic) in Oregon.

No trip to rural Oregon is not without its moments.