From: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Taste: This Pinot Noir represents 14 family-owned vineyards located in the North Willamette Valley, with about 40% located in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA and mainly coming from sedimentary and alluvial soil. It is fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in French oak barrels (10% new oak) for 10 months. It is meant to be fruit-forward. Heady aromas of cedar, mushroom, earth, and black cherry emerge from the glass. On the palate, the fruit-driven wine shows soft tannins and flavors of dark cherry compote, strawberry leather, stewed plums, and rose oil. The finish lingers with bright acid to complete the experience. 3400 cases made.
Pairing: We came across Pacific Rim & Co.’s blog post and decided to share it for our tasting note today because it details an excellent approach to deciding your pairing, and inspired us to select Mark Bittman’s Creamy Chicken Liver Pâté as our shared recipe. It’s easy, classic, and delicious!
WHAT TO PAIR WITH OREGON PINOT NOIR
Published July 6, 2020
The best Willamette pinot noir is the perfect pour for an astonishing array of foods. This is the secret strength of pinot noir pairings. It might be the red wine that you can use most flexibly in creating pairings that are thrilling and unexpected. Start with the tried and true so you really develop an idea of how pinot noir brings out certain qualities in unique ways.
PINOT NOIR & MEAT
Oregon pinot noir is straightforward, so the first key is to avoid overthinking your pairings. They all have a higher acidity. This means meats with a degree of fat goes very well with it. Think something like duck and other game birds, where the taste of the fat lingers to interact with the acidity of the wine. In fact, pinot noir pairs very well with most meat. For a truly memorable pairing, try it with elk. One of pinot noir's most exceptional qualities rests in how it brings out not just taste but also textural qualities of the food with which it's paired. With any meat, pairing it with a sauce that incorporates pinot noir helps bring the flavors closer together. Have your eye out for clever ways to bring pinot noir into your sauces.
PINOT NOIR & VEGETARIAN OPTIONS
Many fruits, vegetables, and nuts work incredibly well as pinot noir pairings. Think of hazelnuts and roasted root vegetables: beets, yams, artichoke. You can also try this in the form of soup. Most squash soups go exceedingly well with a pinot noir pairing, especially when they retain some of their natural sweetness. Once you get a feel for it, try it with a squash soup that has both sweetness and spice. The pinot noir can accentuate each flavor for a rare mouthfeel.
THE RARE RED FOR FISH
One great part of Oregon is the amount of fresh fish available. Fish is normally reserved to pair with white wines, but the best Willamette pinot noir has a lightness that can complement salmon and other fatty fishes. Some recipes will dry out the salmon more than others. Pinot noir should be used with recipes that let the salmon retain its oiliness. The fun of pinot noir pairings is learning the taste well enough that you develop your own, unique pairings. Once you try some of these suggestions, be brave and adjust recipes to incorporate pinot noir as a pairing in inventive ways!
Creamy Chicken Liver Pâté
By Mark Bittman
Many thanks to importer Vos Selections for the following information. Born in Racine, Wisc., and raised in Idaho, Pennsylvania and Illinois, winemaker and winegrower Chris Berg didn't always know he wanted to make wine. In fact, when he graduated from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, with a bachelor's in English, he wasn't sure what his future held, as far as a career. Meanwhile his parents, Chuck and Dian Berg, had decided to relocate to Oregon from Illinois with the purchase of a manufacturing company in Tualatin, Ore. Chris soon followed and helped his parents at the plant, as well as the other reason for the big move: planting a small vineyard.
In 1999, the Bergs planted seven acres of mostly Pinot Noir on the 20-acre property near Yamhill in the Yamhill-Carlton District of the Willamette Valley. Chuck and Dian built a small house on the vineyard, and Chris lived in Portland with his wife, Hilary, also a Jayhawk. The manufacturing business closed its doors in 2000, and the Bergs found themselves full-time winery folk. In 2001, Chuck and Dian moved to the sunny locale of Wickenburg, Ariz., to be near Dian's parents. Chris and Hilary were then given the opportunity to move to the vineyard from Portland. In 2002, the Bergs picked their first harvest of a whopping three tons, which were made into 72 cases of Pinot Noir.
Today, Roots produces approximately 5,000 cases annually. Wines include the flagship estate Pinot Noir, as well as eight single vineyard-designate Pinot Noirs, sourced mostly from neighboring vineyards in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Other wines include a Grenache, Pinot Gris, Melon de Bourgogne, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and a Méthode Traditionnelle sparkling named after their son, Theo. All these wines are made in small lots and handcrafted using indigenous yeasts. Roots' reserve Pinot Noir label, Racine, honors the town in which Chris was born. (The name means "root" in French).
In homage to one of Chris' favorite artists, Roots' second label, Klee (named after Paul Klee), makes up the largest portion of the case production with 2,000 cases made annually. The artwork is their own adaptation of a Klee painting. Roots' other second label, Sheboygandy — a play on words combining Sheboygan (another Wisconsin town) and Burgundy, the ultimate Pinot Noir region. Both Klee and Sheboygandy are made from premium Pinot Noir fruit.
Farming/winemaking practices: organic. Indigenous yeasts only. The wines are not fined (except the whites, with bentonite) and are vegan.
This wine. In homage to one of winemaker/owner Chris Berg’s favorite artists, the wine is named for the famous Bauhaus artist Paul Klee. The artwork on the label is an adaptation of a painting called Solution “ee”. of the Birthday Assignment, 1924. Like the Bauhaus school where art is for the people, this wine is for the people!