After a lunch at Dundee Bistro we drove up highway 47 to Patton Valley Vineyards. Owner Monte Pitt and winemaker Jerry Murray took us through a tasting of their 2007 Pinot Noirs. 
We followed the 2007s in the barrel cellar sampling barrels of their 2008 vintage. The appellation is Willamette Valley, Patton Valley is just north of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA and west of the Chehalem Mountain AVA. The 2007 pinot noirs from Patton Valley are some of the most elegant Oregon Pinot Noir that I have tasted in some time. They have beauty and structure, perfume and elegance. I look forward to watching the 2007s evolve. 
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Posted on May 29, 2009 at 8:18pm | in Newsletters | No Comments »
Olson Vineyard
I went to Portland this past Thursday to visit my brother. I spent Friday in the beautiful Willamette valley. Spring was everywhere. Fields of red poppies, pink rhodaenderoums, bright green grape leaves. I met with Margie Olson owner of Torii Mor Friday morning. They have a relatively new winery where Jacques Tardy is making expressive pinot noir, pinot blanc, pinot gris and chardonnay. The name comes from two languages; Torii is Japanese for the ornate gates that designate the entrance to a garden or temple. Mor is an ancient Scandinavian word that means earth. The winery was founded in 1993 by Dr. Donald Olson and his wife Margie. Their Olson vineyard (formerly McDaniel Vineyard) was planted in 1972 making it one of the oldest vineyards in Yamhill County. For more information on Torii Mor visit their website at www.toriimorwinery.com.
Cyndi and I in the Japanese gardens at Torii Mor Vineyard and Winery
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Posted on May 25, 2009 at 11:01am | in Newsletters | No Comments »
Last year we built a beautiful wine cellar in the dining room to showcase our wine list. The project was given to me by our CEO Russ Olsen. I was enlisted with creating a showcase for our wine list, but to also create a visual counterpart to the spectacular mountain views seen from the windows on the other side of the Glitretind restaurant. I wanted the wine labels to be viewed as art. I have seen hundreds of wine cellars that have the capsules of wine on display and I was adamantly apposed to that view. I worked with Jake Barlow, a Utah builder and contractor and we designed and built the interior. We then added Rick Jedruski who designed the exterior, using the oversized cabinet that holds our crystal stemware as inspiration. We call this space the Wine Room since the Wine Cellar is still located on the level below. This small room has a capacity of 2370 bottles which is an exceptional ratio of space to bottle ratio. I was very conscious of maximizing space. I think all sommeliers want to be able to house more wine. We have three wine coolers in the back of the room to house the white wines at proper service temperature. The room has a split level cooler that keeps the space at 62F. Wine is stored from the floor to the ceiling. One of my wonderful customers Billy Koral built me a step stool so that I could reach the top rows. Jason Berrett, the Co-Food & Beverage director was also intagral in the development of this work of art. He kept me examining my ideas until we codified the layout in the form of blueprints. And without the support of our board of directors this project would never have succeeded. A special thanks to D.S. and K.P.
Jim Dahlgren took this photograph as well as the one at the top of the blog. Jim is my assistant sommelier and I am thankful that he is a skilled photographer as well.
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Posted on May 8, 2009 at 3:43pm | in What we are pouring | No Comments »
