Anne Amie Vineyards, Carlton Oregon

Vintage Berkeley

Yesterday Thomas and I spent the day doing work withs in San Francisco and Berkeley respectively.  Pictured above is Rick Mickaels from the Henry Wine Group in front of one of the coolest wine shops I've been in - Vintage Berkeley.  The shop is located on Vine Street (of course) in the old 1930's municipal water pumping station.  The focus is on small production wines and if all goes well they'll be picking up our 2007 muller thurgau!

After a long day we enjoyed dinner at Absinthe in San Francisco where we shared an assortment of oysters and a bottle of our good friends and neighbor Soter's Brut Rose.  It was pure heaven and a great reward for the last three busy days.

Thanks, we'll see you soon California!

Cheers,

Kim

The End of the Road (Show)

Today was the final "Discover Oregon Wine" Road Show at the Officer's Club at Fort Mason in San Francisco.  Wines from 40 wineries all over Oregon were showcased in this unique trade tasting event.  Chef Vitaly Paley from Paley's Place in Portland even made the trek down to pair his amazing culinary creations with our wines. 

It's interesting how so many people don't realize that Oregon even has a wine country and "you can grow cabernet and syrah in Oregon?  But it's COLD and RAINY!"  Well, we were all there to answer questions like that and more.  Oregon has 16 AVAs and with almost 400 wineries and about 800 vineyards we have a lot to offer any discerning palate. 

Today Thomas and I had fun showing off his 2007 releases - Estate Riesling and the new dry Muller Thurgau.  I love hearing "I'll skip the muller thurgau" and then after the first sip it's all they can talk about.  We also previewed our 2006 Winemaker's Selection Pinot Noir which won't be released until around Thanksgiving.  Both the '07 Riesling and '07 Muller Thurgau are available now and can be purchased from our distributors, the winery or our website.

We had a great turnout so hopefully you Californians who know a thing or two about Oregon wines will find more and more of us popping up on lists at your favorite restaurants and retail shops.

Thanks to the Oregon Wine Board for putting this all together and thanks to everyone in DC, Dallas, NYC and San Francisco who took time to come out and see us.

Cheers,

Kim

Thomas relaxing in the flowers

The view from our tasting

Wine Literary Awards

Our trip to San Francisco didn't stop with the intimate Oregon tasting.  On Friday night we hit the 18th annual Wine Literary Awards at the California Culinary Institute in San Francisco.  Armed with my lady posse in our fancy party dresses we headed to the "ball".  Ben Narasin who attended our tasting the day before was the lucky gentleman to share a table with the six of us.  Ben is a freelance writer for publications such as the San Francisco Chronicle and Wine Enthusiast.

Over 1000 wines including several from each of our wineries (Adelsheim, Elk Cove, Willamette Valley and Anne Amie Vineyards) were opened for a grand tasting at 6pm.  A dinner prepared by the students at the Culinary Institute was served and we all enjoyed a good laugh when Charles L. Sullivan, wine historian and author of the Companion to California Wine and recipient of this year's literary award was interrupted mid-speech by an extremely intoxicated party crasher.  Mr. Sullivan handled it with grace and only paused a moment before finishing his joke. 

Pictured from left are Leah from Adelsheim Vineyards, Meg from Willamette Valley Vineyards, Shirley from Elk Cove Vineyards, Stephany & Mariko from the Oregon Wine Board and me. I might be biased but I think we clean up pretty well! 

I know I've said before that work travel is tiring but being included in this group of talented smart women and the wineries and wine board that supports us make it all worth it.  Thanks for the memories ladies and stay tuned wine media...we might be coming to a town near you soon!

Cheers,

Kim

Recipe for Success: San Francisco

A selection of amazing Oregon wine from Adelsheim, Elk Cove, Willamette Valley and Anne Amie Vineyards:

CHECK.

The incredible Michelin rated Bushi-Tei restaurant in San Francisco with a creative chef who knows how to pair wine and food:

CHECK.

An esteemed group of journalists who decided to take a chance on us:

CHECK.

On Thursday, April 24^th I had the privilege of sharing the company of three incredible wineries at an intimate Oregon tasting for the media in San Francisco.  Leah Jorgensen from Adelsheim Vineyards in Newberg, Shirley Brooks from Elk Cove Vineyards in Gaston and Meg Hursh from Willamette Valley Vineyards in Turner joined me in Japantown at Bushi-Tei Restaurant where we held a tasting for select members of the media.  Among our guests were Harvey Steinman, Lynne Bennett, Tim Teichgraeber, Ben Narasin, Michael Shapiro, Justin Linkner, Kaveish Sewalia, Raul Gallyot, Amy Sherman, Danny Ronen and photographer Bob Holmes.

The tasting consisted of five flights (see menu below) and five wines from each winery paired with five courses.  The purpose of this tasting was to bring the wines of Oregon to California and the media in particular.  We know how hard it is for people to gather for a tasting like this in their own state or city let alone get up to Oregon.  Chef Waka is so talented and showcased our wines beautifully showing how Oregon wines are diverse enough to be paired with many types of cuisine.

 

Oregon Wine Tasting & Food Pairing

Bushi-Tei Restaurant

 

FIRST FLIGHT:

Anne Amie Vineyards 2007 Pinot Gris

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Pinot Gris

Adelsheim Vineyard 2006 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris

Elk Cove Vineyards 2007 Pinot Gris

 

Jamon Serrano wrapped white asparagus, green apple Parmesan dust,

upland cress olave extra virgin olive oil

 

SECOND FLIGHT:

Elk Cove Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir Rosé

Anne Amie Vineyards 2007 Cuveé A Müller Thurgau

Adelsheim Vineyard 2006 “CH” Chardonnay

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2006 Estate Chardonnay

 

White sesame blanc mange, oyster, scallop, black tobiko,

mizuna, raspberry-ume coulis, vanilla bean oil

 

THIRD FLIGHT:

Adelsheim Vineyard 2006 Auxerrois

Anne Amie Vineyards 2007 Estate Riesling

Elk Cove Vineyards 2006 Riesling Estate

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Riesling

 

Scottish halibut crepinette, coco blanc bean,

spring vegetables, fennel nage, kinome oil

 

FOURTH FLIGHT:

Anne Amie Vineyards 2006 Cuvée A Pinot Noir

Adelsheim Vineyard 2006 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2006 Estate Pinot Noir

Elk Cove Vineyards 2006 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

 

Muscovy duck breast, mushroom melange, fingerling potato, dried cherry sauce

 

FIFTH FLIGHT:

Anne Amie Vineyards 2006 Winemaker’s Selection Pinot Noir

Adelsheim Vineyard 2006 Elizabeth’s Reserve Pinot Noir

Elk Cove Vineyards 2006 Pinot Noir Five Mountain

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2006 Tualatin Pinot Noir

 

Espresso crusted Sika venison loin, kabocha squash,

wild berry chutney, coco mas disk

Winemaker Thomas Houseman’s 2007 whites, his first vintage with Anne Amie, showed very well.  The Pinot Gris, Müller Thurgau and Riesling worked beautifully with Chef Waka’s creations.  Our 2006 Pinot Noir (Cuvée A & the not yet released