As the heady days of summer give way to our beautiful fall, so the cold rosés, whites, and spritzes move over for autumn “comfort wines.” These bottlings will make you feel like you just put on your favorite cozy sweater and are ready to settle by the fireplace.
Teutonic — Riesling “Candied Mushroom” ($30) Riesling isn’t just another grape to Teutonic Wine Company’s proprietors, Barnaby and Olga Tuttle — it’s their passion. Tasting a wide variety of rieslings from the Mosel valley opened their eyes to the versatility of this grape. They now make other wines as well, even pinot noir, but riesling will always be their first love. The grapes for this wine come from the tiny Crow Valley vineyard. This vineyard tends to get botrytis, also known as “noble rot,” a fungus that causes the grapes to dehydrate, concentrating the flavors. Barnaby calls this particular wine his “Umami Tsunami,” as it is very complex with sweet, sour, salty, and umami.
Abbey Road Farm — Estate Gamay Noir Rosé ($20) Carlton’s Abbey Road Farm grows an impressive 16 different grape varieties in their 42-acre organically farmed vineyard. The rosés are always interesting, as they use different grapes for different styles of the wine. Gamay noir is the red grape that French Beaujolais wine is made out of. It is light and very fruity. The grapes were cold-soaked for 24 hours before getting pressed off, leaving the wine with a gorgeous light pink color. It’s a lively, vibrant wine that is refreshing, with a hint of minerality on the finish.
Maison L’Envoyé — Pinot Noir “Straight Shooter” ($20) This wine is a real gem, and most people probably don’t know about it. Maison L’Envoyé was founded by the Hollywood producer and wine nut Mark Talov. I got to spend a whole day with Tarlov once and must admit I went into it with a mindset of “Oh great, another Hollywood bigshot wants to play winery.” Nothing could be farther from the truth; he has an immense knowledge of wine, its production and history. He is good friends will all the famous winemakers in Burgundy, from DRC to Leflaive. Maison L’Envoyé has two wineries, one in Dundee and one in Beaune, Burgundy. This pinot noir is unmistakably Oregonian but with a Burgundian sensibility. Light, elegant, and complex, it is an incredible value.
Watermill Winery — Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($35) For the final wine of this issue, we’re leaving the Willamette Valley and going up and over to the Walla Walla valley. Did you know that more than half of the vines in that valley are grown on the Oregon side? But even if you grow the wine in Oregon and take it to Walla Walla, Washington, to crush, the bottle will say Washington on it. Not so with Watermill Winery. This family winery never left Milton-Freewater, so this is genuine Walla Walla Oregon wine.
Boris Wiedenfeld-Needham has been in the Oregon wine industry for two decades. He owns and operates Bo’s Wine Depot, a small chain of wine stores, as well as Nero, a jazz and wine bar in Eugene’s historic Whiteaker neighborhood. He also serves as wine critic to Beverage Dynamic magazine and writes for several other publications.
