Winemaker Interview: Amy Wesselman of Westrey Wine Company

Fall in Oregon is a bit like Russian roulette if you're a winemaker. But the gamble--against cool weather, mold, rot and rain--is more than worth it...if you win. On the day I visited Amy Wesselman of Westrey Wine Company at the vineyard she owns and farms in the Dundee Hills with her husband and partner, David Autrey, it looked like Mother Nature might have the upper hand. I had been trying to outrun the rain on the drive over the Eola-Amity Hills from Bethel Heights, but as I bounced along the dirt road that led the Oracle Vineyard the dark, thick clouds told me we were done for.

Click to read more ...

Winemaker Interview: Peter Rosback of Sineann

Spend 15 minutes talking to Peter Rosback, and you won't be surprised to learn the thin, red-headed Sineann Winery owner and winemaker is also a hockey player. He peppers his conversation with good-natured, witty crosschecks and self-deprecating barbs, every now and then turning the tables to make you wonder whom, exactly, is interviewing whom.

Click to read more ...

Wine Wednesday: 2008 McKinlay Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Matt Kinne looking out over his vineyards.

"Decent wine needs to be affordable," says Matt Kinne, the bearded, soft-spoken sage of McKinlay Vineyards in the Willamette Valley. "Then wine will have a chance to surpass Budweiser as the national beverage."  Of course, it also has to be good. Kinne's 2008 McKinlay Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($16.99) is both. Made from entirely estate-grown fruit on jory and nekiah (igneous volcanic) soils at a combination of three small vineyards near his home. 

Click to read more ...