Melissa Burr, who learned winemaking through Chemeketa College and Oregon State University, began working for Bill Stoller in 2003. During the past decade, she’s established a reputation as one of the Willamette Valley’s top rosé producers, and her latest and largest bottling also might be her most delicious. Welcoming aromas of strawberry freezer jam, golden raspberry and rose … [Read more...] about Stoller Family Estate 2016 Pinot Noir Rosé, Dundee Hills, $25
Oregon
Plaisance Ranch 2014 Petite Sirah, Applegate Valley, $30
Southern Oregon grower/winemaker Joe Ginet was inspired and taught by French cousins who were nurserymen in the Savoie region. It’s rather fitting that his former dairy near Jacksonville does well with Petite Sirah - a Rhône variety developed near the Mediterranean city of Montpellier in the 1860s by French nurseryman François Durif. Deep tones of plum and blackberry come with … [Read more...] about Plaisance Ranch 2014 Petite Sirah, Applegate Valley, $30
Ponzi Vineyards 2015 Tavola Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $27
Luisa Ponzi produces as many as 10 examples of Pinot Noir, including a stunning rosé, but it is her Tavola that’s become the ambassador for arguably the most important family in the Oregon craft beverage industry. Their certified-sustainable Avellana Vineyard, a young site planted "clonal massale" on the north slope of the Chehalem Mountains, provides the foundation for this … [Read more...] about Ponzi Vineyards 2015 Tavola Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $27
Leah Jørgensen Cellars 2014 Clos Rogue Valley Reserve Cabernet Franc, Southern Oregon, $50
Portland vintner Leah Jorgensen continues to grow her following by producing several expressions of Cabernet Franc from the Rogue Valley. Sundown Vineyard is a Salmon-Safe site planted in 1999 and managed by the Moore family of Quail Run Vineyards acclaim, and this collaboration leads to a showy Cab Franc. Sweet cherry, blueberry and dusty raspberry aromas include just a hint … [Read more...] about Leah Jørgensen Cellars 2014 Clos Rogue Valley Reserve Cabernet Franc, Southern Oregon, $50
Seven Bridges Winery 2013 Seven Hills Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Walla Walla Valley, $38
Owner/winemaker Bob Switzer in Portland focuses much of the attention for his red program at Seven Bridges on Seven Hills Vineyard, across the state in Milton-Freewater, Ore. Black cherry and blackberry aromas offer charming herbal notes and complexity of dusty minerality. There’s creaminess to the mouth feel of dark cherry and pomegranate, presenting a medium structure and … [Read more...] about Seven Bridges Winery 2013 Seven Hills Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Walla Walla Valley, $38