History and Philosophy Vintage Reports: 2004 2003 2002 Winemaker Notes: May 1999 May 2000 May 2001 May 2002 May 2003 May 2005 Order Blank Location (with Map)

Winemaker Notes - May 2004 Not being a writer, I am not sure of the correct definition of writer's block. However, I believe I have it. Frequently. Perhaps in my case it would be better called writer's terror, I have nothing to say-itis, or OHMYGOSHITSNEWSLET-TERTIMEAGAIN! I do not dislike writing the newsletter, I just hate worrying about writing the newsletter. Unfortunately, the time has come for me to put my fingers on the keyboard and, worried or not, here it is... For several years, my Winemaker's Notes column has been inspired by my experiences in France. The spring newsletter is writen just after I return from my annual trip. This year, my trip was in December and any specific wine tasting memories have taken a back seat to the experience in general. My trips to France are usually a solo experience. I spend the better part of three weeks visiting winemakers in Alsace, Burgundy, and another region that varies from year to year. I go to two or three domaines each day, extensively taste the recent vintages, and try to understand how the winemakers coped with the challenges or strengths of the harvest. Roughly two-thirds of my appointments are at cellars where I have tasted before. The remainder are new wineries that I picked to experience a new region or were recommended by colleagues. My goal is to better understand how winemakers capture the details of their terroir and the attributes of a specific vintage. I intend it to be more of a philosophy lesson than a how-to seminar. My tastings are very intense experiences because I am not tasting to determine like or dislike, but rather I want to see if the wine's essence has been captured or lost. It is very much about the wines. My trip this past December was quite different. First of all, I went with four other Oregon winemakers. We each had contacts in Burgundy and our appointment schedule was a veritable Who's Who of top Burgundy domaines. The Alsace portion was similarly impressive. The difference was that none of my colleagues had visited Alsace before. It was destined to be an intense experience. We left the day after the Thanksgiving open house and our first appointment in Burgundy was eight hours after our 7 am arrival in Paris. Over the next three and a half days we visited 11 Burgundy domaines and were blessed with two dinners and one lunch hosted by Burgundy winemakers. After a day of travel, nine Alsace domaines followed over the next four days. The final tour de force was our invitation to the Paulée, a French winemakers' harvest party, this year hosted in Alsace. Sleep was strictly rationed and rest was not on the agenda. We really know how to have fun. I admit that our schedule was even more deranged than my usual abuse scenario that passes for an itinerary. Despite this, the sum total of our visits was extraordinary. This time my experience was not framed by the wines. One of my companions is one of the great winegrape growers in Oregon. His perspective and questions regarding viticulture broadened the scope of conversation considerably. We had in-depth discussions with Olivier Humbrecht (Domaine Zind-Humbrecht) and Patrick Meyer (Domaine Julien Meyer) about biodynamie. Patrick encouraged us to be extremely practical about our evaluation of biodynamic grape growing. He acknowledged that it was something of a fad in Alsace, but that he embraced it primarily because it worked. His vines were healthier, the wines were better, and it was a less expensive way to farm. We visited his compost pile and looked at the boxes of plants he used to prepare teas, or infusions, that he sprayed on his vines to keep them healthy. Olivier explained why he avoided hedging and green harvesting and explained the alternate techniques he used to control yield. This may seem a bit over the top (and it was). However, it was exactly the kind of discussion that pushed the limits of our understanding and hopefully will lead to making better wine. We were blessed by traveling with a colleague fluent in French who had worked with Denis Mortet a decade ago. Never underestimate the value of clear communication, especially when discussing winemaking philosophy with a Frenchman. My French is passable and although I was able to understand almost all of his conversations with the vignerons, his ability to frame questions right on the mark was a true gift. One particularly great moment came during a discussion with Bernard Noblet, the cellarmaster at Domaine de la Romanée Conti. The question that cut to the heart of the matter was whether he addressed his wine by the informal 'tu' or the formal 'vous', the french word for 'you'. The implications of his answer would be profound: are his wines, the wines of the greatest of Burgundy domaines, a thing of reverence and his job an exalted position, or was it something more personal. His answer was immediate. He used the familiar 'tu'. It was clear that the wines of DRC were his life, his passion, and that his relationship to them was intimate. It was a great moment of seeing the soul of the winemaker. It was also not a question I could have framed. These are just a few of many great moments that we shared together. One of the greatest privileges of being part of the Oregon wine industry is the camaraderie that we share. It made my latest trip to France the most educational, the most intense, and the most pleasurable. Thank you Bryce, Steven, Terry, and Ted. Mark Vlossak, winemaker Back to top of page