AWESOME PRESS!

"COOLEST, COOL CLIMATE VARIETALS"

Our site is very cool. We are one of 9 reference vineyards that are scattered throughout the Umpqua that participate in an ongoing research project. We are collecting climate and phenology data from each of the sites. Our site is the coolest of the nine and our growing degree days have not reached the 2000 growing degree days that are the minimum threshold to be classified as a region I. Region I is generally considered to be the only climate cool enough to grow top quality pinot noir. We are farming on the edge, and that is what always gives the most distinctive grapes, stretching the ripening curve to the very last minute.

Up and coming....

• Elkton Food Drive from now until December 15

  (bring your food items to the winery from 11am-5pm daily)

• Please help us feed those in need this Holiday season
• ($1 off glass of wine when food is dropped off )
• Thanksgiving Weekend Open House November 28,29 & 30
  • $5 tasting fee includes wine and goodies
  • $20 fee includes OR Riedel Crystal Pinot Noir glass and goodies
  • Special Oregon Bounty 6 pack bag with purchase of 6 bottles with a 10% discount
• Customer Appreciation Reception
• December 21 from 3pm-5pm
• Join us for a complimentary glass of wine and nibbles as we say thanks to our
• dedicated customers!
• Reminder ORCA Wine Club Members....
  • Until December 15 all case sales (whole or mixed)
  • are entitled to a 33% discount!

July 2008 Wine Enthusiast

87 pts . . . Brandborg 2006 Bench Lands Pinot Noir (Umpqua Valley); $20

Here is your perfect salmon wine, light in color and offering plenty of fresh herbal flavors along with tart currant and cranberry fruit. It does not have the color or density of Yamhill county Pinots, but that makes it more suitable for a meal, and the herbal side of the wine is nicely matched to its juicy acids and tight tannins. - P.G.

88 pts . . . Brandborg 2006 Love Puppets Pinot Noir (Umpqua Valley); $30

Brandborg has established a style that is well-suited to the locale, and their Pinots are perfectly balanced and mix in spices and fresh herbs with the tart, cool climate fruit. This is a crisp, unpretentious style of Oregon Pinot. - P.G.

89 pts . . . Brandborg 2006 Ferris Wheel Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir (Umpqua Valley); $38

As with the other Pinots from Brandborg, this estate bottling puts the spices front and center, and matches the intensity of the fruit and the barrels appropriately. This is seductive and elegant with feminine grace. The spicy plum and red currant flavors carry some tasty barrel notes of clove and cinnamon, and the wine has a bit more intensity than its stable mates. - P.G.