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  • Thanksgiving weekend in the northern Willamette Valley

    Number of comments: 2
    I managed to visit some wineries yesterday in McMinnville, Carlton and then up on Ribbon Ridge. The day couldn't have been more beautiful, and the wines and beer at each stop were excellent. This was one of those really good days in wine country.

    I started with the long' [...]
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    Posted: November 28, 2009, 4:45pm EST
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Post harvest dinner, with wine

    A bunch of us affiliated with the winery got together last night for perhaps the best pot luck I've ever attended. Homemade pickles, butternut squash and cheve tarts, provencal beef stew, cous cous with butternut squash, farro with chantrelles and spicey delicata squash rounds, asparagus with garlic and parmasean, homemade' [...]
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    Posted: November 23, 2009, 10:45pm EST
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Cinderellawine.com

    Number of comments: 0
    I don't have a lot of rules in life, but one is that any reference to Cinderella in pop music is strictly forbidden. The whole concept of Cinderella makes me a little ill. Just seeing the name makes my stomach turn a bit. Apologies if that's true for you.

    [...]
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    Posted: November 19, 2009, 8:34pm EST
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • 2007 Badia Alle Corti Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

    Number of comments: 0
    What's the best cheap red wine I've had in months, possibly this whole year? The 2007 Badia Alle Corti Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, hands down. This might even be better than my longtime favorite from this DOC, the basic bottling from Masciarelli.

    There's nice freshness here, with a deep perfume that's' [...]
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    Posted: November 19, 2009, 9:39pm EST
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Elevage and Thanksgiving

    Number of comments: 0
    In my recent post wrapping up the 2009 Vincent Cellars harvest, I wrote that elevage had begun. Elevage is what winemakers call the time from the end of primary fermentation at harvest through to bottling. In the case of pinot noir, that's typically one or two years where the new [...]
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    Posted: November 17, 2009, 8:05pm EST
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • 2001 Loosen Riesling Auslese Wehlener Sonnenuhr

    Number of comments: 0
    Talking with a friend recently about German riesling, I was reminded about the great 2001 vintage. For me, 2001 was the revelatory year for me regarding the riesling of Germany's Mosel Valley and beyond.

    In particular, I remember a trade tasting in spring of 2002 that I was able [...]
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    Posted: November 15, 2009, 6:12pm EST
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Aging beer: Abyss vs. Top Sail, and more

    Number of comments: 1
    Though I'm mostly interested in wine, there's a place for serious beer in this blog. Last night I attended an annual winter beer and cheese gathering hosted by my friend and blog reader Dudley. The event attracts local brewers, vintners and regular folk like me, though I guess I've moved [...]
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    Posted: November 15, 2009, 11:36am EST
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Cowan Cellars and "Florida" Jim Cowan

    Number of comments: 2
    There are several stories of internet wine geeks making the leap into commercial production. The common one, if anything like this is really common, is a younger guy following his passion for wine, leaving the day job and, with significant help from contacts made in the online wine community, committing [...]
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    Posted: November 11, 2009, 3:57pm EST
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Odds and ends

    Number of comments: 2
    Nothing so pressing for a full post, so let's hit it three dot style...

    There's another train wreck over on the Robert Parker bulletin board today with unspecified allegations of additives in zinfandel and unreported blending in pinot noir. Of course these things happen, but it gets tiring [...]
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    Posted: November 10, 2009, 9:37pm EST
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • 2006 Crowley Chardonnay Maresh Vineyard

    Number of comments: 0
    After tasting the oh my god good 2007 Kelley Fox Wines Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard, I came home to homemade butternut squash soup, wheat levain and apple, gruyere and walnut salad for dinner. With that Dundee Hills inspiration, what else to try but the 2006 Crowley Chardonnay from the same [...]
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    Posted: November 07, 2009, 11:07pm EST
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Southern Oregon Wineries Tasting last night at the Governor

    Number of comments: 8
    Where was everybody? I went to the Southern Oregon Wineries tasting last night and didn't see anyone there I know, aside from a couple of producers. There was a good crowd though. Lots of happy tasters, some totally blitzed.

    The event featured more than two dozen producers from the' [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 9:41pm EST
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • With harvest done, elevage begins

    Number of comments: 0
    This evening saw the final wine go into barrel, the last fermenter cleaned, everything tidied up and put to bed for the season. For the Vincent project anyhow. There's lots more going on at the winery. I'm just glad to say my wine is safely in barrel and now elevage [...]
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    Posted: October 31, 2009, 11:37pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • That much closer to the end of harvest

    Number of comments: 2
    Today's the first quiet day in almost a month for my Vincent wine project. After getting ready for the grape harvest, bringing pinot noir grapes into the winery, fermenting the grape juice into wine, then draining and pressing the contents of all three fermenters, all that's left is to let [...]
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    Posted: October 28, 2009, 6:16pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Five barrels of pinot noir

    Number of comments: 2
    I have my first five barrels of pinot noir tonight, all free run wine from the Domaine Coteau vineyard on Walnut hill. Two fermenters worth, and they taste pretty promising I think. The press wine from this lot is still to come, and the free run and press wine from [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2009, 11:05pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Totally negative

    Number of comments: 2
    All three fermenters of pinot noir are in negative territory, meaning below zero on the brix scale. Brix measures soluable solids in grape juice, most of which are fermentable sugars. Even though it's not exactly right, we think of brix as the measure of sugar. As sugar gets converted to' [...]
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    Posted: October 24, 2009, 10:20am EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Near the end

    Number of comments: 0
    The crush of crush is past peak, like nearly every fermentation in the winery. Just looking around it's obvious. Space on the floor is opening up as bins begin to be drained, the pomace pressed, the new wine settled before being put in barrel. Workers have a bit more room' [...]
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    Posted: October 21, 2009, 10:41pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Feeling good and not so good

    Number of comments: 2
    Earlier this week I managed to slip and bang my right ribs onto the edge of a big plastic container. It knocked the wind out of me for a moment, and hurt pretty badly. I hoped I'd only bruised myself, but I walked around outside for a minute and thought' [...]
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    Posted: October 17, 2009, 4:59pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Fermentation

    Number of comments: 0
    The two fermenters of pinot noir are humming along. One's down to 10.2 brix (percent sugar, essentially) as of this morning. The other's at 12.6. And what about those temps. Cap temperatures are at or slightly above 100F, which is pretty hot and called for pump overs to aerate and [...]
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    Posted: October 15, 2009, 8:39pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Slow ferments

    Number of comments: 0
    Two of my three fermenters are actively fermenting. Well, one more than the other. We had a heating plate in one fermenter overnight, and then it was switched over this afternoon to the other fermenter. The first one seems to be going pretty good, the second one should take off [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 9:52pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Quick update - day 7

    Number of comments: 0
    The cool and dry weather is about to end, meaning most people have picked their red grapes here in the northern Willamette Valley of Oregon. Some whites are still out there, and some red I'm sure. It's only October 12, but after the hot summer and gorgeous weather the last [...]
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    Posted: October 13, 2009, 9:17pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Last fruit in today

    Number of comments: 0
    What a satisfying day. Today saw the last pinot noir in at the winery, including a ton or so of Pommard clone from Zenith vineyard for my label. Gorgeous fruit, big clusters but not such large berries. Rather, lots of middle and sometimes tiny berries, more than I ever remember [...]
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    Posted: October 11, 2009, 9:38pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Harvest and baseball

    Number of comments: 1
    So I have two bins of pinot noir soaking in the winery. I'm swamped at my "real" job but nothing much happens during the cold soak. Light mixing of the skins and juice each day, maybe a pump over to mix things up for a good sample to take brix' [...]
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    Posted: October 09, 2009, 9:05pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • First fruit in today

    Number of comments: 0
    We brought in the first pinot noir fruit for my new wine project Tuesday. 2.5 tons of a mix of Dijon clones from the Walnut Hill area of the Eola-Amity AVA. Nice volcanic soils, steep south slope, 10 year old vines, not to shabby produce in this hot year. There [...]
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    Posted: October 07, 2009, 11:54pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Dropping bins and a local tempranillo

    Number of comments: 1
    I got up early and spent the morning picking up and dropping off picking bins are a couple of vineyards around the valley. There was some light rain overnight, but that should be the last precipitation for about a week, possibly longer. Forecast temps aren't quite as high as a' [...]
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    Posted: October 05, 2009, 9:40pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • 2001 Martelet de Cherisey Blagny 1er Cru La Genolette

    Number of comments: 0
    Tonight we made a light vegetable stew with corn, red pepper, tomatoes and green beans. Add in Basmati rice and pan fried Carlton Farms thick cut pork chops, and I thought a nice red Burgundy would be the right match. Indeed.

    Blagny is the red appellation in the Cotes [...]
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    Posted: October 03, 2009, 8:29pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Absolutely beautiful day

    Number of comments: 0
    I finally got a little more dirty today at the winery, sorting a few tons of syrah and grenache from southern Oregon and cleaning up the line, which can be fun the first few times of the season. The fruit looked and tasted good. Now the sun's out and mild' [...]
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    Posted: October 03, 2009, 4:15pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Picking next week

    Number of comments: 0
    I've been blogging and Twittering about the great weather we're expect this coming week. Today was pretty nice too after some light rain early. The afternoon was cool, sunny and dry, just want we really need to get ripe flavors without much more sugar acculumation. Looks like the coming week [...]
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    Posted: October 03, 2009, 9:07pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Great blog from Scott Paul

    Number of comments: 0
    I'm finding myself surprised at how great Twitter is. I admit I was very reluctant about it for the past year. Now I get it, though I refuse to use the word "tweet." I can post quick thoughts to this site via Twitter. Check out the right sidebar for the' [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 11:22pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Harvest, the latest from here

    Number of comments: 0
    I admit it. I was freaked out about the approaching cold front yesterday. The satellite loop looked more like December than late September, with a juicy looking swirl and lots of potential rain with the front and behind it with lots of unstable air. The only problem? The good forecasters [...]
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    Posted: September 30, 2009, 9:43pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Oregon harvest update

    Number of comments: 4
    I spent the day visiting a couple vineyards in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, sampling at one after some discussion about whether we had a good read on just where the grapes are ripeness-wise, then stopped by August Cellars outside of Newberg to check in on some friends bringing in fruit [...]
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    Posted: September 26, 2009, 6:48pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Pinot is getting ripe

    Number of comments: 0
    A friend pulled samples today from a series of vineyards around the northern Willamette Valley, including the two where I'm getting fruit. I stopped by the winery to help process them, meaning hand crush the clusters from each site and block in ziplock bags, using the juice to analyze ph,' [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 8:05pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Harvest getting closer

    Number of comments: 1
    The pinot noir harvest is getting close here in the northern Willamette Valley. Already, other varieties are coming in from southern Oregon and eastern Washington. The pinot typically waits until the last week of September and the first few weeks of October, depending on the site and vine age.

    [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 10:37pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Meo Camuzet Clos St. Philibert Blanc

    Number of comments: 0
    Here's a quick note tonight to say that I tried the 2006 Meo Camuzet Haut Cotes de Nuits Blanc tonight from the Clos St. Philibert vineyard. This high elevation site is technically in the Cote d'Or commune of Flagey-Echezeaux but classified as merely Haut Cotes de Nuits. It's planted to' [...]
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    Posted: September 19, 2009, 11:09pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • The latest on my first harvest

    Number of comments: 0
    Lots to report on the approaching harvest, my first producing wine commercially. Number one, I signed the custom crush contract just this evening, toasted with some delicious Heater-Allen Pils from Rick Allen down in McMinnville. And I wrote a check for the first payment toward my custom crush fee, based [...]
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    Posted: September 16, 2009, 8:19pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • 1998 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Mountain

    Number of comments: 0
    1998 was an El Nino vintage in California, meaning cooler and wetter than normal. We think it's always sunny and pleasant in my home state, but it's not so. Some years, particularly El Nino years including 1988 and 1983, are particularly challenging to grape growers and winemakers.

    Yet 1998 [...]
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    Posted: September 12, 2009, 8:10pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Grochau Cellars pre-harvest release this Sunday

    Not to be all nostalgic, but this is the 300th post in the 4+ years of this site. At the beginning I never thought how long I'd be doing this blog. It's all right though. Here's to at least 300 more.

    So, this Sunday, September 13, I'll be down [...]
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    Posted: September 12, 2009, 11:46pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Maison Ilan blog from Burgundy

    Number of comments: 3
    I twittered about this yesterday but wanted to give this a little more attention. Are any of you following Ray Walker's story? I think I wrote about him previously. The short version -- wine geek gets the winemaking bug (sounds familiar), gets any work he can manage in local California [...]
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    Posted: September 10, 2009, 9:34pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Great write up from Storyteller Wine in Portland

    Number of comments: 2
    I'm a big fan of Storyteller Wine Company here in Portland. We have a number of great wine shops, but this relative newcomer is among the best. The store itself isn't the typical retail establishment with a ton of wine on the shop floor. Rather, there are several carefully [...]
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    Posted: September 09, 2009, 10:44pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Garage tasting wrap up

    Number of comments: 1
    Thanks to the dozens of friends, neighbors and blog readers who came by the garage yesterday for our second garage wine tasting. I think the foul weather kept even more people from coming by, which might have been just as well since the garage isn't that big. At two different' [...]
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    Posted: September 07, 2009, 6:20pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Garage tasting is here

    Number of comments: 0
    We spent some of the afternoon getting the garage ready for Sunday's wine tasting. Clearning out all the junk we usually store out there. Sweeping the floor and wiping off the old barrels we use for tables for these events. We have some cheese and meats and what not to [...]
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    Posted: September 06, 2009, 10:48pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Crop loads

    Number of comments: 0
    I've been writing about how crop set here in the northern Willamette Valley this year was huge. It's a good thing given the summer heat we've experienced. The challenge now is that, if you're buying grapes by the acre, you might end up with more grapes than you planned. Do' [...]
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    Posted: September 03, 2009, 9:10pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • September, and launching my new wine project

    Number of comments: 2
    It's September, and my first harvest making wine commercially is nearly here. It's an exciting time.

    I've written here and over on Wine Berserkers to announce the launch of my wine project Vincent Cellars. This fall I'll be crushing 3.5 tons of pinot noir from the Zenith [...]
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    Posted: September 01, 2009, 7:29pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Old Chianti

    Number of comments: 3
    I like to take chances on random older wines at auction. Sometimes it's not such a smart way to go. Other times, it's good enough to make up for the misses. Here's one of those.

    About a year ago I bought a lone bottle of 1988 Antinori Badia a [...]
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    Posted: August 30, 2009, 7:38pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • 2005 Marchesi di Gresy Nebbiolo Langhe Martinenga

    Number of comments: 0
    One of the best bargain nebbiolo out there is Marchesi di Gresy's Nebbiolo Langhe Martinenga. I opened the 2005 edition of this wine last night and found it to be absolutely delicious. Classic floral, tar and cherry aromas of nebbiolo, with nicely sweet red fruit, fine tannin, persistent flavors and [...]
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    Posted: August 29, 2009, 5:55pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • 2002 Château de Chasseloir Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine Cuvée de Ceps Centenaires

    Number of comments: 0
    Ah, the pleasure of Muscadet.

    It's known as the poor man's Chablis, the most underpriced appellation in France, confused by some for innocuous white wine that doesn't age. It's all that, but really it's just delicious wine. Yes, it's misunderstood and thus underpriced. Yes it can give that strong' [...]
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    Posted: August 28, 2009, 5:50pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • More on the garage wine tasting

    Number of comments: 2
    Wow, there's been lots of interest in the garage wine tasting a week from Sunday. Lots of friends, of course. And, once again, people I've never met. Some with friends and acquaintances, others who read this site and have bravely written to see if they can come. Yes, by all' [...]
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    Posted: August 26, 2009, 7:51pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Garage wine tasting, and changes

    Number of comments: 1
    Lots of good news here on the winemaking front. My 2007 homemade pinot noir is finally ready to pour, so we're having another wine tasting in the garage. Date is Sunday, September 6 from noon to 4 or 5 or whenever. Location is my place in NE Portland. Email me' [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 11:08pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Tardy wines

    Number of comments: 1
    I happened to have two French wines in the past week from different producers, both named Tardy. One is from Burgundy, the other from the northern Rhone. Both were exceptionally interesting, making up for power and weight with deep fragrance and subtlety amid complex, rich flavors.

    The 2004 Jean [...]
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    Posted: August 13, 2009, 9:13pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Rosé

    Number of comments: 1
    It was smoking hot this week in Portland, OR. Near all-time record temperatures, including two 106F (41C) days in a row. Ouch. Annoyingly hot.

    Happily, Thursday night was tasting group in the assertively air conditioned confines of a local wine establishment. I was tempted to show up "early" Tuesday [...]
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    Posted: July 31, 2009, 6:53pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche

  • Wines for Crab and Steak

    Number of comments: 2
    With my vegetarian wife away for nearly a week and the kids over at friends for a movie and pizza night, I took the unusual opportunity to dine alone. Why not eat and drink well? One the menu, dungeness crab, T-bone steak, salad and a baguette, and an old copy [...]
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    Posted: July 26, 2009, 2:50pm EDT
    by Vincent Fritzsche
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