S. Oregon viticulture

[Cole]

Hello!

Southern Oregon is so interesting . . . such great potential, so little realization!

Basically, I agree with you, cpurvis, on your overall evaluation of So OR wineries. I rarely drink any of their wines for my own pleasure, and it is only occasionally that I find a winner from down there. But it is that "occasionally" that intrigues me!

I absolutely agree that there is a vast lack of sophisticated viticulture and winemaking skill in So. OR. But that alone doesn't solve for me the riddle of the variable (and relatively low) quality of the wines. There are a lot of equally self-taught winemakers in the Willamette AVA who are using equally rudimentary facilities and still making outstanding wines--so whay aren't there more from So OR? (I still think it has a lot to do with poor viticultural practices.)

Basically, there are no really great wines that I've seen from down there--"great" meaning that I'd compare them to, say, the top 1/3 of the same varietals produced from CA, WA, FR, or AU.

That being said, I do contend that if you take the So. OR wineries on their own terms, there are some "good" wine values, and that the overall quality is improving--albeit slowly!

For instance, in the case of Valley View, I absolutely agree that they aren't making superb wines (and sometimes not even "very good" wines). But, they aren't trying to. They are explicitly trying to make wines that will sell to their primary market, which is So. OR. They believe (rightly or wrongly)that their market will only buy a certain style wine in a certain price range. In their experience, if they go too much outside what they perceive this style and price band to be, they will not sell.

Maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong, but it is their business model. Frankly, I'd prefer to see all wineries make the best possible wines each year, and work to "up" the taste standards of the market . . . but I'm not running their business. (Probably, what they need are more wine buyers like you and me standing up and saying to them "hey, I want better wine from you guys"--which, come to think of it, is just what we are doing!!)

So, within that, I'd rarely expect to see anything really good from VV. Still, I think their wines have gotten a somewhat better--probably due to a few good vintages and some new fruit sources (but with the same winemaker for many years, probably not the winemaking). And when I see something that does stand up from their norm, I yell hallalujah! And I think their ice wine is an example.

(Parenthetically, Abacela--Umpqua AVA is So. OR in my book--IS trying to make so-called world class wines, so I do try to judge their wines against the top 1/3rd, etc., which they miss, but are getting praiseworthingly close).

So, to take the "ice wine" (the "ice" part being artificially induced). Is it a TBA lookalike? Of course not. Is it as good as the Canadian ice wines? Well, as good as some I've had, but certainly not comparable to the best. But it is a damn sight better than ANYTHING else OR has to offer in the way of late harvest wines (I think I've probably tasted them all, and for my money, I've only ever had ONE that rose above the one-dimensional fruit syrup category) and is definitely a surprise coming from VV, and I think deserves huzzahs--and is just another example of that occasional evidence of potential that keeps me expectantly trying every new bottle, hoping for that jump upward in quality that I am convinced is possible. (How they decide to price it is another issue--"value for dollar" being a separate subject!)

So, anyway, sorry for the long-windedness of all this (a congential problem of mine).

And, to answer your first question about my involvement in the wine industry: I publish a magazine called the Oregon Wine Report. Two years old (the magazine, not me), 32-44 pages, quarterly.

And, some last minute quick reactions: All else being equal, the better tended the vines, the better the resultant wine. More viticultural attention goes into the Griffin Creek vineyards than most any other So OR winery (still, not at the same level of what Ken Wright, for example, demands from his vineyards). Sure, their wines are too expensive. Sure, they're not all great. But their average quality is a good step above the So. OR norm (I'm not sure I've ever had a Merlot that wasn't a one-dimensional fruit bomb . . . unless it cost hundreds of dollars a bottle and said domething like Petrus on the label), and more power to them for trying to up the ante for So. OR wines!

Now, if the folks in So. OR just started paying more attention to site selection, varietal/microclimate matching, rootstock selection, vine management, and crop load, it would be a good start!

Anyway, like you, I'm a tastin' and a watchin' and a hopin' for better things to come from So. OR!!

Here's to sumptuous sipping!
-Cole