I was able to get back up to Coeur de Terre Winery today, and this time I wasn't working, I was enjoying the beautiful wines. For the last two weekends the winery has been doing a special vertical tasting of their estate Pinot Noir. It is so interesting to me to see how much of a difference you can taste in the wines from year to year. The basic backbone of the place is present in each, but they are also quite different. And they are holding up beautifully. Scott and Lisa only stated making an estate blend in 2005. Up until that point all of the wine came from
one block. '05 was wonderful and is ready to drink right now. The '06 tastes to me like it will continue to get better and better. '07 is so different--so full of an earthy, musky type of aroma and I love it. We had the pleasure of sitting and talking with Lisa Neal who with her husband, Scott, owns Coeur de Terre. We get her talking about the very beginning of the winery. "We had to go slowly because we didn't have much money, and I think that was really good" she said. That time allowed them to explore their property, find out where the cold spots were, where the soil drained well, and where it didn't, and just gave them a better feel of where vines would thrive. Figuring out the soil took some detective work. There are several different soil types in their small estate. Just Abby's Block alone has four or five different types of soil all by itself. 
They also couldn't afford to purchase grape vines that were already grafted, so they decided to do the work themselves. It cost them $1 per plant to do it themselves, and it cost $3.50 per plant to get them already grafted. Scott signed up for an internet class on grafting and proceeded to purchase every book he could find on the subject. They also found some budding vineyard owners and sought out their help. It was funny because Karlene (Jeff's mother) was asking me on the way up how wine makers learn their craft. I shared with her that some go to school, and then work in a winery. Others hang out with other winemakers and watch what they do (kind of like I did this year.) Quite a few start making wine in their basement and decide to make the leap to larger production.
They also couldn't afford to purchase grape vines that were already grafted, so they decided to do the work themselves. It cost them $1 per plant to do it themselves, and it cost $3.50 per plant to get them already grafted. Scott signed up for an internet class on grafting and proceeded to purchase every book he could find on the subject. They also found some budding vineyard owners and sought out their help. It was funny because Karlene (Jeff's mother) was asking me on the way up how wine makers learn their craft. I shared with her that some go to school, and then work in a winery. Others hang out with other winemakers and watch what they do (kind of like I did this year.) Quite a few start making wine in their basement and decide to make the leap to larger production.
Some experienced vineyard owners told Lisa and Scott not to do their own grafting--that it would never work. This acted as a catalysis for Scott and made him determined to do it himself.
I look out into the production side of the winery and it is jam-packed with barrels. I'm not sure how many more they could get in there. They are still out in the warm side of the production facility because they are finishing up their ML fermentation. I also get a chance to walk around the vineyard a bit. There are so many birds, more than when the fruit was still on the vines. It is so nice to sit and listen to them--without having a propane cannon go off next to your head. Lisa says that at some point she'd like to try and do some self-rooted plants in the vineyard. She explains that the grafted vines will only live for about 35-40 years. Self rooted vines will produce fruit for over a hundred years--IF they don't get infected with the phylloxera root louse. It is interesting to me that I may live to see many vineyards of Oregon replanted eventually.
Friday night at Wednesday Wines we had a little retirement party for my walking partner, Irma Karns (she's retiring from her insurance job, not from being my walking partner.) It was a wonderful way to celebrate a life of service and integrity. We're also going to a special wine tasting and luncheon tomorrow with some good friends. I love to enjoy beautiful wines with people that I love. Sharing a glass of wine can add so much to an already wonderful celebration. We'll be celebrating a great deal this next year. I celebrate that I'm going to be able to see my worshiping community again next week. Then my son's wedding takes place in January, and my daughter's in August. That's a lot to celebrate. And so is a day spent with friends enjoying half a decade of estate wines. On the way out to the car Judy shares that this is one of her favorite wineries, both the wines and the place. I couldn't agree more.
