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2022 Trisaetum Coast Range Estate Dry Riesling: 

(Carefully curated notes below are taken from the Producer’s website)

Varietal Composition Riesling

Location Yamhill-Carlton, Oregon 

Drink Now or Cellar? Enjoy now or cellar through 2035

A Few More Details: 

2022 Vintage Notes: A cold spring and mid-April frost created a very late start to the growing season and delayed harvest. Fortunately, the 2022 vintage had the sparkling harvest occurring from September 20th-30th; and the still wine harvest not beginning until October 1st and lasting until October 22nd. A thirty-two day picking window with perfect temperatures and no rain is very rare and produced some of the longest hang times we have ever seen. And long hang times produce exceptional wines. 45 million year old mix of marine sediments and intrusive basalt flows in the foothills of the Coast Range mountains.

Tasting Notes

Exclusively from the steep slopes of the remote Coast Range estate, this wine shows a compelling complexity of green citrus fruits, flinty minerality, and a backbone of bright and piquant acidity.

Food Pairing

Seafood

• Grilled prawns with lemon and herbs; Seared scallops with a light beurre blanc; Oysters on the half shell with mignonette; Crispy fish tacos with cabbage slaw; Lemon butter halibut or Dover sole

Asian-Inspired Dishes

• Thai green curry (especially with shrimp or tofu); Vietnamese spring rolls with shrimp and fresh herbs; Sushi and sashimi, particularly with white fish or roe; Ginger chicken stir fry

Vegetarian Options

• Roasted vegetable quinoa bowls (think asparagus, zucchini, bell peppers); Grilled artichokes with aioli; Asparagus risotto

Poultry

• Lemon herb roasted chicken; Chicken piccata (with capers and lemon); Turkey breast with apricot glaze

From them to you:

Being the first in his family to go to college, James Frey met Andrea Lassa at university.  With limited resources and much debt, they began their life together with the hope to one day own a piece of land on which they could farm, raise a family, and make a living. In 2003, the opportunity presented itself, and James and Andrea purchased a steep and rocky site five miles outside the town of McMinnville.  They moved their young children to Oregon, planted a vineyard, and founded Trisaetum (tris-say-tum) in one of the few places where climate, soil, and entrepreneurial spirit combine to produce some very special wines. Two years later, they found another piece of land twenty minutes away on Ribbon Ridge, cleared the site, planted a second vineyard, and eventually built the winery where the wines are made today. The name Trisaetum is an amalgam of James and Andrea’s two children—Tristen and Tatum. Since the family lives on site, James and Andrea have been committed to farming in a manner that creates a healthy and diverse ecosystem. This includes preservation of the natural habitats that surround their vineyards, dry-farming, never using herbicides, low or no tilling, extensive composting, bee-friendly viticulture and hand-harvesting every cluster. 

Source: https://www.trisaetum.com/ 

ST. INNOCENT PINOT NOIR VILLAGES CUVEE 2022: 

(Carefully curated notes below are taken from the Producer’s website)

Varietal Composition Pinot Noir

Location Willamette Valley, Oregon

Drink Now or Cellar? Enjoy now or cellar through 2031

A Few More Details: 

Our Villages Cuvée is produced from Pinot noir grapes grown in Oregon’s northern Willamette Valley. Fruit from three Willamette Valley Vineyards are  blended to create a Pinot noir that is expressive in it’s youth. To enhance this match, we blend to maximize both the spectrum of flavors and length on the  palate while minimizing the use of new oak. The composition for this bottling is: Shea Vineyard, Freedom Hill Vineyard, and Temperance Hill Vineyard.

Tasting Notes

Beautiful dark ruby color with aromas of dark cherries and berries, red flowers, allspice, lavender with hints of white pepper and cinnamon. Currently, the floral components from Shea and sweet forest earth floor of Freedom Hill dominate the flavor profile. Its broad tannin structure is revealed as dried flowers and berries. With air, the dark fruit components emerge. 

Food Pairing

Meat and Poultry

• Roast chicken with herbs (especially thyme, rosemary, or sage); Duck breast with a cherry glaze or berry compote; Pork tenderloin with roasted root vegetables; Grilled lamb chops with mint chimichurri; Seared duck confit or cassoulet (for a richer pairing)

Vegetarian Dishes

• Wild mushroom risotto or pasta with mushroom cream sauce; Roasted beet salad with goat cheese and walnuts; Charred eggplant with tahini dressing; Stuffed portobello mushrooms

Other Fun Matches

• Duck or turkey burgers with cranberry relish; Charcuterie boards featuring pâtés, rillettes, and cured meats; Pasta with a light tomato sauce or ratatouille

From them to you:

Mark Vlossak had an unusual upbringing. His father was a wine educator and importer who instilled his passion for wine in Mark at the tender age of seven years old. Mark’s mother trained under a master chef and prepared meals to accompany the wines they were tasting. Together, his parents showed him the beauty of the partnership between food and wine and how one served to elevate the other.

Mark began St. Innocent Winery in the Willamette Valley in 1988 and quickly established himself as one of the premier winemakers in the area, finding sites that had potential to produce wines with a true sense of place. Today, under Mark’s leadership, the winery continues to produce outstanding wines from esteemed sites within the Willamette Valley.

Source: https://stinnocentwine.com/