at's about it. Now it was Scott's turn. The first thing he sees when he looks out at this vineyard is on heck of a lot of work! "I think it's just human nature to always concentrate on the work you haven't accomplished yet." He said, "But it's amazing to me to look out and see all that we have been able to do." He then went on and shared for about 30 minutes different details that he is seeing in his vineyard. He said that with the sunshine over the weekend the vines had produced almost two inches of growth. That's amazing to me. He talked about how they will train up the new canes that are emerging from the vine, and how they will eventually top them off and thin out almost half of the fruit sets. He talked about the soil and how it is unique to their vineyard, and how many different types they have. Scott has a scientific mind that flows into every part of what he does, so I can't remember and didn't understand half of what he said. As he looked at the soil, he talked about geography and volcanic soils and sedimentary soils. Then he talked about subduction zones and inland seas. Scott had scientific names for the bud break and the newly forming grape clusters. Scott said that the vines are packed with an amazing amount of energy right now and they are just waiting for the sun. In the two days of sunny weather he said that the vines had produced over two inches of growth!
I then shared a reading from the Gospel of John the 15th chapter. It struck me for the first time as I was preparing for this class that Jesus
spoke these words to his disciples as they
were walking through a vineyard. They were walking along and Jesus stopped and pointed to a vine and he said see that? I am the vine. And see that new green growth coming off of that vine? That's you. And look at that pile of dead sticks over there getting ready to be burned? That's you if you don't produce fruit." I think one of the problems with the Bible is that we keep reading it in church buildings.
When we were done in the vineyard we got to go inside and try some of Scott's beautiful wines. Their tasting room is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. I love all of the warm wood and the panoramic views in every direction. We tasted a Pinot Gris that was unlike any I have tasted elsewhere. It has beautiful, bright grapefruit aroma that in some ways similar to a Sauvignon Blanc. Then we got a chance to try Scott's amazing Riesling. This wine is made from 40 year old vines grown in the Highland Vineyard just over the hill from Coeur de Terre. Like the most expensive German Rieslings it has a unique aroma component of what smells to me like asphalt! Scott says this is from the terpene molecules which are unique to older Rieslings.
We were treated to three of Scott's Pinot Noirs. One is marked McMinnville AVA and costs only $20 a bottle! It is an incredible value and it is the number two selling wine in our shop at Wednesday Wines. Going up th scale in price we tried the Estate Pinot, and then the Renelle's Block. All I can say is t
hat Scott makes beautiful wines.
I'm always surprised by how honest wine makers are--even about their failures and mistakes. Scott shared the struggles they went through to start their vineyard. They invested everything they had to purchase the land and plant their first vines. Three years later they harvested their first crop and went off to make their wine. It was terrible and never made it to the bottle. Scott said that he had been studying the wine makers in Dundee and copied their techniques. The problem was that the grapes from the McMinnville AVA have a much larger tannin component. So you have to treat them differently. When you deal with these grapes you want less extraction, so you don't leave them on the skins as long, you don't punch them down as often, and you don't disturb them once they are in the barrel.
Scott shared that Pinot Noir is the most transparent of wine grapes. Good wine, according to Scott, is about time and place. Each bottle should reflect where it was grown and what the weather was like that year. The McMinnville AVA Pinot Noir's reflect where they were grown. They have a tendency to reflect dark fruit, have more tannins and have more earthy, spicy, minerality.
The wines that Scott poured for us were a great object lesson to the words of Jesus. I'm sure those of us in the class we never read John 15 the same way again. And by the way, the fruit that Jesus is looking for--it's love. And it is surely love that Scott has for his vines and for the wines they produce. That extravagant love comes through in every glass--in eachsmall sip. And, I believe, that Scott's wine also reflects God's love for us. "See how much I love you?" It says. "I've given you these beautiful grapes to make this wonderful wine. Enjoy it, celebrate the goodness of creation, and share this love with everyone you meet."