On Saturday, August 18th during one of the Wine Bloggers Conference breakout sessions you will have the opportunity to join Erath (@erathwinery) winemaker Gary Horner for a discussion about Oregon terroir, vineyards and Pinot Noir clones. This is one of the three Wine Tasting breakout sessions that will be presented and we’ll cover the remaining two in subsequent posts.
We’ll start in the vineyards and learn about the appellations, vineyards and diverse soils in which Oregon wines are rooted. Then we’ll taste the result in the glass – sampling Pinot Noir sourced from single vineyards within several appellations. Next we’ll dig a bit deeper and learn about clones and how they play a role in crafting Pinot Noir. Like spices in a spice rack, each offers their own unique characteristics that contribute to the final blend.
Taste three individual single-clone wines – sourced from the same vineyard, treated with the same barrel regime and made by the same winemaker. This is an opportunity to compare and contrast three individual clones that are literally within feet of each other in the vineyard. Then taste the wine with all three clones blended into one wine.
About Erath and Winemaker Gary Horner
As one of Oregon’s wine pioneers, Erath winery’s founder, Dick Erath, was driven by the belief that the future of Pinot Noir was in Oregon. Today Erath wines are an expression of the land that the winery has cultivated for more than 40 years, longer than any other winery in the Dundee Hills of Oregon. Winemaker Gary Horner, who shares Dick Erath’s background in science and a reverence for Oregon’s unique terroir, strives to reveal classic Oregon Pinot: light, delicate and fruit-forward. His goal is to make the best Pinot Noir the region has to offer – it’s time-honored, authentic and uniquely Oregon.
I think I will start packing now
I think I will start packing now!