Favorite Oregon Wines

May is Oregon Wine month.  What better way to ‘celebrate’ the occasion than by drinking some great Oregon wines!  Here are a few of our favorites, all under $20:

All are available at BevMo, Specs, TotalWine

Sokol Blosser Evolution ($13-$18)

A favorite summer wine. Flavorful white blend with big tropical fruits up front, and a crisp, clean finish.  Poor a glass and go chill on the patio.  Food optional. 

A to Z Pinot Noir ($16-$19)

My brother Greg, and his wife, Jennifer shared this wine with us.  It is one of their ‘go-to’ wines, and after tasting it, you’ll understand why! It is a classic Oregon pinot, and hits three high notes for me:  enjoyable ‘ingredients to dessert’, under $20, and screw cap!

Erath Pinot Noir ($14-$19)

A regular favorite, and the wine that changed my mind on screw caps.  A lighter, fruitier pinot than what typically comes from Oregon. While it does pretty well on its own, it is best paired with food. 

What are your favorite Oregon wines? 

Mother's Day Brunch with Gruet Blanc de Noirs

Mother’s Day is a time to treat Mom to a few of her favorite things. For my Mom, these include sun, roses, and sparkling wine. Our backyard provided the first two while the third was from New Mexico.

That's right - bubbly from New Mexico!

The winery is called Gruet and they make some outstanding sparkling wine. We recently enjoyed some Gruet Demi-sec with my parents and also mentioned Gruet in a recent post about some of the many great reasons to open a bottle of bubbly.

Today’s sparkling wine was Gruet’s Blanc de Noirs. It’s made entirely from red grapes and is distinguished by a reddish tint. It is a creamier sparkling wine with wonderful berry flavors that paired perfectly with our meal. Our Sunday brunch consisted of a hash brown casserole, scones, and berries.

Jeff's Mom & Dad enjoying Mom's Day brunch

You can find Gruet Blanc de Noirs at Bevmo, Specs, and Total Wine.

Take a chance on Benziger's <$20 Merlot

We were amazed to hear the same line over and over on our recent California wine trip:

"Despite what you may have heard from that movie (Sideways), Merlot can be pretty good!"

It's amazing that a movie released in 2004 is still giving wineries and consumers a complex about Merlot. Of course, Sideways was a pretty good movie with an inordinate influence on California wine drinkers. There's also been plenty of crappy Merlot on the market that would justifiably sway people against the varietal.

We're not typically huge Merlot fans, but occasionally we'll come across some that we believe even Miles would enjoy. Once in a blue moon that really good Merlot costs less than $20.

That was the case with a bottle of 2008 Benziger Sonoma County Merlot. We've talked about this terrific winery in the past when we reviewed their Signaterra Pinot Noir and in a post about how we're all connected in six degrees of wine.

We enjoyed the Merlot with a hearty beef stew and were surprised at how good this wine tasted with and without food. It was very fruit forward with bright red fruit tastes, a little spice, and supple tannins on the finish. 

This wine typically sells for just $13.99, though finding it can be a little difficult. We picked up a bottle a few months back at one of our local wine shops, but they're now out. Total Wine and Specs both have it listed for sale on their websites and they can ship to most places.

Sparkling Wines ~ great with more than celebrations

Weddings, holiday parties, birthday celebrations.  These are all events in which it is common to serve a little bubbly.  Yes, these are great wines to enjoy with big festivities, but sparkling wines are versatile and can be enjoyed with a variety of foods, in various settings.  We’ve been known to pop open a bottle with brunch (and not spoil it with OJ), but why not enjoy alongside appetizers before dinner with friends, or while sitting on the patio enjoying the afternoon sun? 

Here are a few different styles of bubbly we’ve shared with friends:

Blanc de Noirs 

Blanc de Noirs are made from dark grapes.  Grab a seat on the patio and enjoy with an assorted cheese platter.  Select rich, buttery triple – crèmes and brie type cheese, like camembert and herbed cream cheese

Recommend: Gruet ($15): We first discovered this sparkling wine for our New Year’s Eve, “Coast-to-Coast Champagne Toast” party.  A surprising find from New Mexico! 

 Crémant 

Crémant is French for “creamy” and traditionally refers to a sparkling wine with softer effervescence.  This is a great one to pair with appetizers, or as a palate cleanser before a great meal.  Try it with salty, sharp cheese, fruit plates, and even Thai food.

Recommend: Scharffenberger Cellars ($25): We discovered this on our latest California wine adventure.  Unfortunately, it is only available direct through the winery, but a great find…go ahead, order it!

Brut

Brut style sparlings taste quite dry on the palate.  A great brunch bubbly, and it’s perfectly ok to drink straight up, don’t mix with OJ or other juice!  This pairs well with great brunch staples like eggs, potatoes, bacon and sausage, and pastries. 

Recommend: Roederer Estate ($20): This is a regular find in our fridge, and can be found in most wine shops like BevMo and Total Wines.  Well balanced, crisp with lemon and apple flavors. 

Prosecco

Prosecco is generally sweeter than Champagne-style sparkling wines.  Bring this one along on your picnic and pair it with creamy pastas, spicy foods, seafood, and even fried chicken.  I’d skip enjoying with anything too fruity, as it clashes with the higher acidity of this wine.

Recommend: LaMarca ($15):We were introduced to this bubbly when our friend Terri shared a bottle with us.  It has crisp peach and apple flavors, and goes surprisingly well with popcorn.  That could be why Terri loves it so much!

Raymond Burr

Raymond Burr VineyardsOn our recent road trip through California Wine Country, we visited a number of new wineries recommended by fellow wine lovers.  One of these stops was a recommendation from our friend, Michele ~ Raymond Burr (yes, as in Perry Mason).  She discovered this place on a wine excursion to Napa/Sonoma, and we are so happy she shared it with us! 

Raymond Burr is a small production, 100% estate grown vineyard located in Healdsburg.  The tasting room is intimate, but has a great patio area with huge shade trees and wonderful views of the valley.  For those of you who are fans of the actor, you’ll enjoy all the memorabilia throughout ~ we focused more on the wine.  During our visit, Frank served us a tasting of their current releases of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, their Bordeaux-style blend “Quartet” and my personal favorite, Cab Franc.

2010 Chardonnay ($28) - Less than 313 cases produced

Portuguese style ~ crisp citrus flavors with a well-balanced creamy finish, without being buttery.  Great food wine.

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon ($38) – 91% cab, 9% Malbec

Smooth cab that is very drinkable on own, as well with a juicy steak.  Berry nose, with bold cab flavors slightly mellowed by the bright fruits of the Malbec.   Very tasty and excellent value (we brought some home!).

2010 Quartet ($44) – Bordeaux-style blend

Blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.  Bright fruit on the front palate, grows in intensity, and has a very smooth finish.  Universal food wine, and definite crowd pleaser.

2010 Cabernet Franc ($38) – 100% Cab Franc

No secret I am a fan of this varietal, and can be hard to find (good ones).  I was thrilled to see it!  Classic green pepper nose, light fruit forward flavors with smooth, well-balanced tannins and a hint of cinnamon on the finish.  Rich layers of great flavor – this one came home, too!

The wines are not distributed, but can be ordered online for shipping.  If you like big wines, it’s worth ordering on recommendation alone ~ thanks Michele for discovering and sharing this great find!

 Jeff and Sally outside Raymond Burr tasting room