WillaKenzie
Estate is a family-owned winery dedicated
to making great wines from the Pinot family
of grapes: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot
Blanc, Pinot Meunier, and Gamay Noir.
There
are 18.4 acres of Pinot Gris (planted in
1992, 1993,
and 1995) in several different locations
on this cattle ranch-turned-estate. All of
the grapes are estate-grown using sustainable
farming practices.
The goal of the winemaking is vineyard expression,
producing wines that truly reflect the unique
qualities of the place where the grapes are
grown.
Because
the goal is to produce white wines that
fully express
the
characteristics
of the fruit, this Pinot Gris is made entirely
in stainless steel, with no malolactic
fermentation and no barrel aging.
In
their gravity-fed winery, the 2006
Pinot Gris was made in a rich and complex
Alsatian style. Whole clusters were pressed,
and after cold settling of the juice, it
was inoculated with yeast from the Alsace
region, chosen
to enhance the fruit’s aromatics.
The juice was then fermented in stainless
steel tanks slowly and at low temperatures
to
optimize
the freshness and subtlety of the fruit.
A
beautiful golden color and aromas of white
peach, mango, honeysuckle, starfruit and
flint characterize the 2006 Pinot
Gris. Lush and silky in the mouth, this wine
has great intensity and balance with enough
acidity to make it especially
compatible with Asian foods such as curries,
white fish including halibut and sole, seafood
bisque and chilled melon soup.
Drink
it now and over the next five years, and
serve it moderately chilled.
93
Points - Wine & Spirits,
Dec. 2007
|
Best
Oregon Pinot Gris - Food & Wine,
Dec. 2007
|
Natural
boundaries and the Willamette River create
the 100-mile long, 60-mile wide Willamette
Valley, home to more than 300 Oregon wineries
and many wine shops. Coolest of Oregon's
wine regions, this elongated, "V"-shaped
Valley is bordered to the north by the
Columbia River, to the south by the Calapooya
Mountains
(south of Eugene), to the east by the Cascade
Mountain foothills, and to the west by
Oregon's Coast Range. Most of the wine
grapes grown in the Willamette Valley come
from vineyards
located on bench-land
hillsides in the western portion of the
Valley.
Considered
to be a cool wine-growing region,
the Willamette Valley's climate is
suited to a narrower range of wine grape
varieties than many other American wine regions.
Its average temperatures are cooler than
75% of Washington's wine growing areas...not
surprisingly, since almost all Oregon wineries
are located to the west -- the "wet
side" -- of the Cascade Mountains, while
most Washington wineries are located to the
east of the range. The Valley's climate is
particularly well matched to the early-ripening
Pinot Noir grape, for which Oregon wineries
in the region are well known.
When the Willamette Valley AVA was first
authorized 1984, its geographic description
included some 3.3 million acres! Twenty years
later, winemakers and wine growers succeeded
in submitting applications for approval of
six sub-regions within the Willamette Valley,
to better describe micro climates proven
over the years to be distinctly suited for
the growing of wine grapes. McMinnville Foothills,
Dundee Hills, Ribbon Ridge, the Yamhill-Carlton
District, Eola-Amity Hills District and the
Chehalem Mountains were all authorized as
official American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)
in 2005 and 2006.
Educated
Guess Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is Roots Run Deep
Winery’s first release and flagship wine, crafted
from grapes
grown in the prestigious Napa Valley
wine districts of Yountville, Oakville, and Rutherford.
The two primary sources for the Educated Guess Cabernet
are Beckstoffer Vineyards in Rutherford, and the
Napa Wine Company in Yountville and Oakville—whose
grapes are 100% organically grown. The wine is made
in Oakville, California at the Napa Wine Company.