Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to the Newsletter of Newsletters for the Tasting of Tastings at the Wine Shop of Wine Shops, Carpe Vinum! This week we’re heading to Oregon! Meaning, really, we’re just staying put. I mean, those of us who are already here are staying put. Here in Oregon, that is. I mean, of course we’re heading to Oregon in spirit. (Or spirits, rather. Hee hee.). Not that we were really GOING anywhere in the first place. I mean the tastings are just a travel through the space of seven wines from a region, not the actual region itself. But if we WERE going to the actual region itself, we’d actually BE there this time, right?

And speaking of going somewhere, not that the last paragraph was actually going anywhere, did anyone go anywhere during the Memorial Day Weekend? Me neither. It’s the weekend that all of the wineries in Oregon open their doors for a day or two, and then close them again until Thanksgiving. Why? Dunno. Spring release weekend, I guess. It seems like as a good a time as any for selling some wine. But is it really the best time to be out tasting some wine? That all depends on how much you like battling the traffic and the hoardes of wine-thirsty public. I heard last year it was just a stand-still-parking-lot-like traffic through Dundee for four or more hours. That’s the wrong kind of wine tasting, in my own opinion. Here comes the right kind of wine tasting! But first, let me digress . . .

I think back to one of my favorite observations of human behavior by legendary late author Douglas Adams about how humans constantly state the obvious. “‘It’s a nice day’, or ‘You’re very tall’, or ‘Oh dear, you seem to have fallen down a 30-foot well. Are you alright?’” So in keeping with stating the obvious I’ll just say that for those of us here in Oregon, it’s very hot. I don’t think this time we can say it’s the humidity. It’s just hot. Also, with the hotness, it really makes you appreciate the cool. And what’s cool is that the cool really needed to be appreciated to keep it cool. So what’s really cool on a hot day? No not beer. Don’t even say beer. I’ve found that a nice and chilled white wine is more cooling on a hot day than a beer. You know what’s even more refreshing than a nice and chilled white wine on a hot day? A wine popsicle! A winesicle! But I digress from my digression . . .

Now, if I may digress from my digression’s digression, you know what Oregon is famous for? No, besides Tanya Harding. No, not the Rajneeshis. No, no, no . . . not Courtney Love! Heck she’s technically not even FROM here. We’re talking about wine, alright? Right. Pinot Noir. There you go. It’s big right now. We’re famous! Hooray! It’s easy to lose sight, however, of the fact that we do a lot of things well here, and we mustn’t forget it! Pinot Noir may be the most widely-grown grape in Oregon, but pinot Gris is second. (And Chardonnay an unfortunate third). So for tomorrow we’ll be exploring a few (or a four) of Oregon’s finest nicely chilled white wine varieties.

We’ve got one of the finest examples of Oregon Sauvignon Blanc (and one of the rarest white grape varieties in Oregon), with Patricia Green. We’ve got one of the most misunderstood grape varieties that is Pinot Blanc with Youngberg Hill. We’ve got the new white-wine-rockstar of Viognier with Abacela. And finally we’ve got it good with Oregon’s second-most-widely-planted variety of Pinot Gris from The Pines. What fills out the rest of the tasting? Pinot noir from Big Fire, EIEIO and Chehalem!

Well, of course I’m pouring some Pinot Noir! I’m not crazy!

Okay, well maybe I am a BIT crazy, but I digress . . .

So Friday, June 1st, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Oregon!!!
Patricia Green 2006 Sauvignon Blanc
Youngberg Hill 2006 Pinot Blanc
The Pines 2006 Pinot Gris
Abacela 2006 Viognier
Big Fire 2006 Pinot Noir

More Oregon! mOregon!!!
Chehalem 2005 3 Vineyard Pinot Noir
EIEIO 2005 Cuvee E Pinot Noir

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.

Hope to see you here!

Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is Wines of New Zealand!

M