Wine Blog

Last week, based on a reader suggestion, I started researching oddball grapes grown in the Willamette Valley. I found too many to include in one post so I concentrated on white grapes. This week I am finishing up with red grapes. Read and be amazed at the variety of red grapes that local vintners can…

Last week I wrote about the king of Willamette Valley grapes: Pinot Noir. This week, we’re discussing some lesser known grapes a few pioneering vineyards have embraced: Müller Thurgau and Grüner Veltliner, Auxerrois. *Geek warning!* You may never run across these grapes in your wine journey if you’re not looking for them but for us…

If you’ve ever visited the Willamette Valley for a wine tastingone thing becomes apparent: Pinot Noir, the king of Oregon grapes, dominates the wine offerings here in the valley. Why? First, a little history and geography lesson. Don’t worry, the modern day Oregon wine industry only goes back to the 1960’s so it won’t be…

Have you ever been confused about port wine? What exactly is it and how does it differ from “regular” wine? When do you serve it and how long does it last once opened? Let’s start in Portugal, namesake for Port and city of Oporto. Port wine is a separate category of wine called fortified wine…

By popular demand (aka my daughter, the millennial) this blog post will be about grapes and wine types. Talking to her, I realized not everyone knows what makes a wine a white, red, rosé, etc. I wrote this blog post to help people understand how the color of a wine is determined. More specifically, I…