I sometimes brag that I can walk from my house to several world class wineries. This past weekend I did just that. One was a well established winery, the other a more recent addition. Despite the fact that I've lived in McMinnville for over five years I'd never visited Eyrie Vineyards Winery. It's located in the industrial area of McMinnville in what was at one point in time a turkey processing plant. There is nothing about the setting which would indicate that amazing wines would be inside, but they are. One of the people pouring wine for us turned out to be Jeff Hornick a local band teacher (and wine lover.) Jeff said that he pours wine for Eyrie and in return receives credit towards the purchase of their wines. That's about the only way a teacher would be able to afford these beautiful creations. The tour was a bit sad because the winery is preparing for a memorial service for their founder, David Lett who died in October. He was an amazing Oregon wine pioneer. It was especially fun to taste was the 06 Pinot Meunier. This is a relative of Pinot Noir which can only be used as a blend in Champagne in France, but can be sold as it's own varietal here. Very fun to try a wine I've never had before.
We walked out of the winery and headed west, continuing in the industrial district. Our next stop was a brand new addition to McMinnville wines. We rounded a few corners and found our way to Sol et Soleil Cellars. This is another no nonsense winery where production comes first and creature comforts second. The pourers were very excited that Nick Pierano (owner of Nick's Italian Cafe) had been by and liked their wines. That's an amazing blessing to receive. Nick is a legend here in this part of Oregon for his cooking and love of wine. The owners were very excited about his visit. It was as though a rock star had just visited the place.
Also sharing the space is Remy Drabkin a 27 year old powerhouse of a young woman who has a passion for wines. She was pouring some powerful Italian style wines that were absolutely amazing. She was also giving barrel tastes of two wines. I thought th
e '07 Syrah tasted from the barrel was particularly good and also loved the full bodied, expressive Sangiovese and the unique Lagrien. This woman is making some beautiful, bold red wines and I love it. In between pouring tastes of her wine she shared how she had wanted to make wine all her life and did an internship in a winery when she was in high school! It was fun to meet such a young, independent wine maker who is finding her own, non-pinot noir way in the Oregon wine world. It's also good to know that new wine innovators are coming along on the heels of people like David Lett. I'm sure he's looking on with love and blessings.
e '07 Syrah tasted from the barrel was particularly good and also loved the full bodied, expressive Sangiovese and the unique Lagrien. This woman is making some beautiful, bold red wines and I love it. In between pouring tastes of her wine she shared how she had wanted to make wine all her life and did an internship in a winery when she was in high school! It was fun to meet such a young, independent wine maker who is finding her own, non-pinot noir way in the Oregon wine world. It's also good to know that new wine innovators are coming along on the heels of people like David Lett. I'm sure he's looking on with love and blessings.