Our guests consistently ask for a wide variety of informative seminars and tastings, and we are pleased to offer numerous different classes to choose from at the 2013 IPNC. All of the classes are held in the early afternoon after the alfresco lunch (2:00 - 3:30PM) and are included in the full weekend ticket price. Courses are held concurrently and guests will attend only their top seminar choice. All featured winery representatives and media guests are also encouraged to enroll, as this will not interfere with your weekend responsibilities. Shown below are all of the University of Pinot classes for the 2013 IPNC. Review your options and Enroll in a course HERE. If you do not enroll in a course by July 15, you will be automatically assigned to a class where space allows.
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Evolution 201: Sleeper Vintages
Geography 201: Northern California AVA's
History 101: Oregon Wine Pioneers and Beyond
History 201: The History of Pinot noir
International Relations 410: It's All Greek to Me
Terroirology 301: Three Oregon AVA's Under the Microscope
Wood Shop 401: The Nuances of Oak in Pinot noir
Extracurricular Studies: Tea Seminar
‣EVOLUTION 201: Sleeper Vintages
Some vintages surprise us. Wines that may seem lackluster in barrel or are released to low critical acclaim sometimes come around, given time, surprising even the winemakers who crafted them. Winemakers from Burgundy, California, New Zealand and Oregon will share wines they have selected from their cellars that have far exceeded expectations. This seminar explores why some vintages just take more time to come around, and sheds light on how to snatch up these wines before the next vintage rolls around.
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Moderator: Allen Meadows, BURGHOUND
After 25 years as a finance executive, Allen Meadows elected to retire to author a book on the subject of Burgundy, his long time passion and obsession. The book project evolved into an extensive quarterly review, Burghound.com. The review was initially devoted exclusively to the coverage of the wines of Burgundy, but he later added American Pinot noir and bi-annual coverage of Champagne. The critically acclaimed quarterly publication has subscribers in more than 50 countries and nearly all 50 states. Hailed as “the world’s foremost Burgundy expert” by respected wine author Matt Kramer, Meadows published his first book, The Pearl of the Côte – the Great Wines of Vosne-Romanée, released in July 2010. |
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Bertrand Ambroise, MAISON AMBROISE (Prémeaux-Prissey)
The Ambroise family settled in Prémeaux-Prissey, near Nuits-Saint-Georges, 300 years ago. Bertrand Ambroise studied viticulture and winemaking and then traveled to Champagne and Cognac to learn the approaches of other regions. In 1987, he created the house of Ambroise, a négociant that also draws on the family’s 40 acres, which includes two Premier Crus in Nuits-Saint-Georges. They now produce 11,000 cases a year with bottlings of Chardonnay and Pinot noir. Bertrand views winemaking as a dialogue between traditionalists and modernists. |
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Ryan Hodgins, BREGGO CELLARS (Boonville, CA)
Ryan Hodgins has been Breggo Cellars’ winemaker since its inception in 2005, and is the linchpin of the property. Breggo Cellars produces Pinot noir and aromatic white wines from sources throughout the cool Anderson Valley of Mendocino and the true Sonoma Coast. Guided by founding Winemaker Ryan Hodgins, President Jack Bittner and owner and Alberta native Cliff Lede, Breggo’s wines celebrate their cool climate sources and articulate a tension between acidity and texture. The winery gained international attention in 2008 when Food & Wine Magazine named Breggo the “Best New Winery in America”. That year also saw famed wine critic Robert Parker declare, “One of the best discoveries I have made recently is Breggo Cellars where [they are] making some excellent whites as well as gorgeous Pinot noirs.” |
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Clive Jones, NAUTILUS ESTATE (Marlborough, New Zealand)
Clive Jones joined Nautilus Estate as Winemaker in August 1998, and the 2013 season was his 22nd vintage making wines from the Marlborough region. Prior to joining Nautilus, Clive worked as an industrial chemist. Deciding the wine industry was perhaps a tastier career choice, he completed a degree in wine science by correspondence from Charles Sturt University. He then spent six years absorbing New Zealand’s Dalmatian wine heritage at Selaks Wines in Auckland before making the change to Marlborough’s better climate and more relaxed lifestyle. Clive completed the 1999 vintage with WillaKenzie Estate & in 2004 he made a pilgrimage to Burgundy to work a vintage at renowned producer Domaine Dujac. With a consistent pedigree going back to Clive’s first year at the estate, Nautilus Pinot noir is today considered a Marlborough benchmark. Clive is a respected member of the local winemaking community, recently joining the board of Wine Marlborough. He also represents the region on various panels and debates both locally and overseas. |
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Anthony King, LEMELSON (Carlton, OR)
Anthony began his career in the wine industry planting Rhone varietals in central Texas. Raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, he left to pursue a Physics degree from Grinnell College in Iowa. A few years after college, Anthony landed back in Texas editing a high-school physics textbook. A keen interest in cooking and foodiness led to an obsession with wine and a freelance wine writing gig with a local Austin newspaper. He then turned to friends in the local wine industry to begin his winemaking career. Leaving Texas in search of experience in a cooler climate, Anthony worked for a year in the Napa Valley before attending UC Davis, graduating with a masters in viticulture and enology. After graduation, he was hired as assistant winemaker at Acacia Vineyards, where he went on to become winemaker, general manager and vineyard manager. In 2006, Anthony left Acacia to pursue the roots of his interest in Pinot noir at Lemelson. |
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Matt Mavety, BLUE MOUNTAIN (Okanagan Falls, British Columbia)
To the Mavety family, "estate" means more than the piece of land; it extends to the practice of both viticulture and wine making by the same owner-operators. At Blue Mountain, it also means the use of 100% estate-grown grapes. The Mavetys acquired the land in 1971, overlooking Vaseaux Lake. Focusing on varietal wines made from Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, and Pinot noir, Blue Mountain strives to produce complex, age-worthy wines, consistent in style while allowing the expression of both the terroir and the individual growing season. Matt had the good fortune to study viticulture and oenology on a student exchange at Lincoln University in Christchurch, New Zealand. Upon graduation from university in 1997, he started working full-time with Blue Mountain. |
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Rick McIntyre & Martin Spedding, 10 MINUTES BY TRACTOR (Mornington Peninsula, Australia)
Ten Minutes By Tractor is the story of three vineyards that are located in Main Ridge, one of the coolest and highest areas of the Mornington Peninsula. The three vineyards, with a mix of vine age, clones, elevations and their different aspects and mesoclimates produce wines with remarkably different terroir character, given their proximity, just ten minutes by tractor apart! The viticulture is done almost all by hand with minimal tractor work and they are progressing to fully organic practices. The winemaking philosophy is to utilise traditional winemaking techniques, including wild yeast ferments, natural malos and the best French oak to bring together all the elements necessary to provide the most precise and compelling expression of our vineyards' terroir. |
‣GEOGRAPHY 201: EXPLORING NORTHERN CALIFORNIA'S AVAs
California's Pinot producing AVAs(American Viticultural Areas) have come into their own over the past years. There are too many to tackle in one year, so this seminar will take a look at regions north of San Francisco. Rajat Parr will lead you through a tasting of wines from this region and you'll learn from the wine growers why climate, soil and weather have such an enormous impact on their decision to plant Pinot where they did.
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Moderator: Rajat Parr, MICHAEL MINA GROUP
Though food was Rajat Parr’s first love, wine became his great passion. He began his career as an apprentice to one of the industry’s most acclaimed master sommeliers, Larry Stone at Rubicon. There, he worked closely with Stone to gain extensive knowledge of great wines from around the world, as well as an affection for wines of Burgundy. In 1999, Parr brought his expertise to Fifth Floor in San Francisco, which quickly received rave reviews and the Grand Award from Wine Spectator after only 2 years of its opening. In 2003, Parr was named wine director of Mina Group where he is responsible for developing and managing the wine programs at each restaurant. As Wine Director of Mina Group and its signature restaurant, MICHAEL MINA, Rajat presides over a list of more than 2,500 wines from all over the world, including one of the most in-depth lists from Burgundy. Rajat's first book Secrets of the Sommeliers: How to Think and Drink Like the World's Top Wine Professionals, was co-authored with Jordan Mackay and was nominated for a James Beard Award. |
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Theresa Heredia, GARY FARRELL VINEYARDS & WINERY (Healdsburg, CA)
A pioneer in Russian River Valley winegrowing, Gary Farrell Winery has been crafting small-lot artisan wines that capture the balance and stylistic elegance of some of the finest vineyards in California, including Rochioli, Hallberg and Bien Nacido. The winery's 30-year legacy, producing Burgundian-styled, varietally expressive, site-specific Pinot noir and Chardonnay, is being expertly tended by winemaker Theresa Heredia at the beautifully designed winery on Westside Road near Healdsburg in northern Sonoma County. Theresa came to Gary Farrell from Freestone Vineyards in the Sonoma Coast, where she achieved significant critical acclaim, including “Winemaker to Watch” honors from the San Francisco Chronicle. |
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Jasmine Hirsch, HIRSCH VINEYARDS (Cazadero, CA)
Hirsch Vineyards is recognized as one of the premier sites for Pinot noir in the New World. David Hirsch planted his vineyard overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the extreme Sonoma Coast in 1980, and since then it has become one of a leading source for premium Pinot noir grapes, providing fruit to Littorai, Williams Selyem and Kistler, among others. Since 2002, David has been producing his own estate Pinot noir and Chardonnay from this complex, cool-weather site. These are wines of balance, concentration, complexity and site-specificity. In 2010, Ross Cobb joined as winemaker, bringing many years of experience working with western Sonoma Coast vineyards as the head winemaker at Flowers Winery. |
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Ehren Jordan, FAILLA (St. Helena, CA)
FAILLA is dedicated to sourcing cool climate fruit from the extreme coastal areas of Sonoma County. Winemaker Ehren Jordan began his career with a two-year apprenticeship in the Rhône, followed by years of making wines for Neyers Vineyards and Turley Wine Cellars. Ehren and his wife Anne-Marie Failla founded FAILLA in 1998 and since then have built a winery and wine caves in St. Helena, as well as a reputation around a growing portfolio of wines that include Pinot noirs, Syrahs, and Chardonnays influenced by Ehren’s viticultural training in France. In 2008, The San Francisco Chronicle named Ehren “Winemaker of the Year”. Robert Parker, Jr., describes FAILLA as “A top-notch source of high quality, European-inspired wines that combine flavor intensity and elegance.” |
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Jamie Kutch, KUTCH WINES (San Francisco, CA)
Self-described “wine geek” Jamie Kutch left a career as a stock trader in 2005 to pursue his dream. “I was closely following the progress of Pinot Noir online, and when wine consumption in America surpassed beer around 2004, I decided to go for it,”. Kutch is now producing 3,000 cases a year, most of which is sold via a mailing list. "To me, he's in the top five producers in America," pronounces Rajat Parr, the wine director for Chef Michael Mina's Mina Group. Kutch lives in San Francisco, owns most of his equipment housed at a winery in Sonoma and has over 25 acres leased through acreage contracts mostly on the Sonoma Coast. Kutch’s philosophy is to utilize classic, old world techniques and let the grapes and sense of place where they are grown both speak for themselves.. |
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Darrin Low, FLOWERS VINEYARD & WINERY (Cazadero, CA)
Perched on top of soaring coastal ridges and just two miles from the rugged Pacific Ocean, the two estate vineyards of Flowers Vineyard and Winery were some of the first planted on the “extreme” Sonoma Coast. Elevation, ranging from 1,150 to 1,875 feet, ensures that maritime breezes and coastal fogs cool the vineyards during the heat of summer allowing fruit to fully mature with fresh, complex flavors and lively acidity. Winemaker Darrin Low created his own oenology major at UC Santa Cruz and through the education abroad program at UCSC, he completed the first year of the French DNO (Diplome National d’Oenologue) at the University of Bordeaux as part of his degree. After interning in France, Darrin worked with wineries such as Piper Sonoma, J, and Grgich Hills prior to joining Flowers in 2004. |
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David Low, ANTHILL FARMS (Healdsburg, CA)
Anthony Filiberti, David Low, and Webster Marquez started Anthill Farms as an unusual partnership in 2004. All former cellarhands, they were passionate about meticulously farmed North Coast vineyards as well as the elegant, poised, and tightly-structured wines that these vineyards can produce. Together as co-owners and co-winemakers (but with day jobs), they purchase and produce very small quantities of of single-vineyard Pinot noirs from several family-farmed sites in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. They also farm a small plot named Abbey-Harris themselves, high above Boonville in the Anderson Valley. |
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Jon Priest, ETUDE (Napa, CA)
In 1982, Etude was founded on the philosophy that winemaking begins in the vineyard long before the harvest and that superior grape growing diminishes the need for intervention by the winemaker, resulting in authentic varietal expression. The word “Etude” means study in French, and Winemaker Jon Priest echoes Etude’s founder, Tony Soter, when saying there is no better vehicle with which to study the craft of winegrowing than Pinot noir. Today, the Etude story is brought to life on its Estate Vineyards at Grace Benoist Ranch, tucked away in the far Northwest corner of the esteemed Carneros Appellation. Known for its 30 year legacy of producing high quality Pinot noirs, as well as its collectible Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons, Etude consistently delivers the best of the old and new world styles, combining rich, ripe fruit with an elegant structure. |
‣HISTORY 101: Oregon Wine Pioneers and Beyond
History can be a tricky thing when it comes to being written and remembered, and the complex history of Oregon wine is certainly no exception. Wine enthusiasts and researchers alike have many questions about Oregon wine ‘firsts,’ Pinot clones, and the evolution of the industry. Enjoy a glass of Pinot while you explore Oregon wine’s past and present by looking at some of the artifacts preserved in Linfield College’s Oregon Wine History Archive and its digital collections.
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Rachael Woody, LINFIELD COLLEGE
Rachael Cristine Woody joined Linfield College and the Oregon Wine History Archive in November, 2011. Rachael and her team of students has been working with the Oregon wine industry in an effort to document, preserve, and make accessible the history of collaboration, achievement, and pioneering spirit that is Oregon wine. Before arriving at Linfield, Rachael worked at the Smithsonian Institution where she managed several pan-institutional grants, created an international web resource for ancient artifacts of the Middle East, and built a sustainable advocacy program for the Smithsonian Archives and Special Collections. |
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Kathleen Spring, LINFIELD COLLEGE
Kathleen Spring is Collections Management Librarian/Assistant Professor and DigitalCommons Coordinator at Linfield College. She has worked in libraries since 2003. Kathleen’s professional interests include the intersections of libraries and communication studies (particularly the performance of librarianship), as well as institutional repositories and digital collections, collaborative library partnerships, and international librarianship. Prior to beginning a career in libraries, Kathleen taught speech communication at Eastern Oregon University, Suffolk County Community College, and Hofstra University. |
‣HISTORY 201: The History of Pinot noir
The history of Pinot noir is not only the viticultural record of the individual grape variety and its related family members, but also the unfolding story of its appreciation by both vintners and consumers alike. In this seminar, we will pay special attention to when, where, and most important, why Pinot noir became valued as something special, a grape capable of producing distinctive-tasting wines of great value. In the process, we’ll explore the very notion of a wine or grape’s “value”—in economic but also in more broadly cultural terms- over a glass of Pinot noir.
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Paul Lukacs, AUTHOR OF INVENTING WINE
Paul Lukacs is a wine writer, educator, and advisor. He is the author of three books: Inventing Wine: A New History of One of the World’s Most Ancient Pleasure (WW Norton), The Great Wines of America: The Top Forty Vintners, Vineyards, and Vintages (WW Norton) and American Vintage: The Rise of American Wine (Houghton Mifflin hardcover; WW Norton paperback). Inventing Wine, published last December, offers readers a tour of wine’s 8,000 year history, emphasizing the changes and disruptions that transformed wine drinking from an occasion for spiritual solace to a source of sensual enjoyment. The book has been reviewed positively in many newspapers and magazines, everything from The New Yorker to The Washington Post, and Lukacs has been featured on many radio and television programs, including BBC America’s “First Person” and National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air.” Writing in The New York Times, columnist Eric Asimov called Inventing Wine “fascinating,” and Yale professor Paul Freedman acclaimed at as “a premier grand cru of wine history.” Lukacs has traveled to many of the world’s most important winegrowing regions, and he evaluates literally thousands of wines every year. He has taught numerous wine appreciation and education classes. Since 1999 he has worked as a consultant for restaurants in the Washington, D. C. area, helping select wines for wine lists, pair wine with menu items, and train wait staff. Lukacs also has served as a judge at numerous wine competitions, both in America and in Europe. |
‣INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 410: It's All Greek to Me
Many well-known producers of Pinot noir will tell you that Kyriakos Kynigopoulos has made a big difference in their winemaking. How did this native of Greece become such a force in the world of Pinot? How has he influenced his clients’ style of wine? Join Kyriakos and a panel of some of the winemakers he works with to learn a few of the secrets of one of Pinot's most ardent supporters. Taste Pinot noir wines that show their terroir, the hand of the winemaker, and the guidance of one of the wine industry’s foremost consultants.
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Kyriakos Kynigopoulos, INTERNATIONAL WINEMAKING CONSULTANT
Soon after graduating f rom the University of Thessalonica, Kyriakos Kynigopoulos arrived in Dijon in 1982, with the strong idea to specialize in oenology, a field for which he seemed made since he was born in Ampelokipi, in Greece, which literally means "wine gardens". As he worked on his PhD, he fell under the spell of Burgundy, which he would never leave afterwards. Kyriakos is now a household name when it comes to wine consulting wherever Pinot noir is grown. His open mind, his affability and his passion bring his scientific prowess with wine down to earth, both for winemakers and for those trying to understand the nuance behind how some of the world’s finest Pinots are being crafted. |
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Pascal Arnoux, DOMAINE ARNOUX PERE & FILS (Chorey-lès-Beaune)
Pascal Arnoux is a graduate of the Lycée Viticole in Beaune. After working with his uncles Michel and Rémi for most of the past two decades, he took over complete control of the family domaine in 2007. Based in the village of Chorey-lès-Beaune, Domaine Arnoux covers just under 50 acres spread out over several parcels in Chorey and Savigny-lès-Beaune, Beaune, and the hill of Corton. Pascal works his vineyards by hand and employs natural alternatives to chemical pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, and many other of the latest bio-friendly viticulture methods. Pascal is non-interventionist in the cellar, though he does put a lot of thought into the oak selection process. He knows a thing or two about barrels, as his father was a cooper. The Domaine's holdings are spread out over several parcels in Chorey and Savigny-lès-Beaune, Beaune, and the hill of Corton. |
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Dimitri Bazas, DOMAINE CHAMPY (Beaune)
Founded in 1720, Domaine Champy is the oldest wine house in Burgundy, thus heading an ancient commercial tradition. A part of the living history of Burgundy, it remains one of the smaller, high-quality wine houses of the Côte d’Or. In 1990, Henri and Pierre Meurgey, longtime courtiers (representing domaines that sell their wine to négociants), bought the cellars with their partner Pierre Beuchet. Producing only high-quality and well-balanced wines, each wine reflects the unique character of its terroir. Dimitri Bazas has been the winemaker since 1999, after having worked for eight years as a consultant to the finest domaines of the region. With 30 acres of vineyards, Champy vinifies a majority of its wines. Not believing that bigger is better, the Meurgeys insist, “We are not hectomaniacs.” |
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Olivier Cyrot, DOMAINE CYROT-BUTHIAU (Pommard)
Domaine Cyrot-Buthiau is located in a small village surrounded by vineyards in the heart of the Côte de Beaune. Paul Joseph Cyrot, who had been the manager of Château de Pommard and then Clos de Tart in Morey-Saint-Denis, created the Estate in the 1920s. In addition to these two prestigious properties, he acquired vineyards additional vineyards in Pommard. Four generations have passed since then. In 1989 Olivier, the great-grandson, and his wife Fabienne, took over the estate which is now 6.35 hectares. The wines of Pommard have long been appreciated by wine lovers including Henri IV, Louis XV, Ronsard and Victor Hugo. They are exclusively red, from Pinot noir. Domaine Cyrot-Buthiau wines are detailed and robust, with beautiful ruby colors and aromas of red and black fruits. These exceptional wines require several years of cellaring depending on the vintage. |
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Ben Casteel, BETHEL HEIGHTS (Salem, Oregon)
Bethel Heights is a family owned and operated estate winery in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA of the Willamette Valley. Established in 1977 by two families, Bethel Heights has expanded in recent years to include second-generation leadership and ownership. The winery now produces around 13,000 cases each year, most of which comes from the 70-acre estate vineyard, with its backbone of 30-year old, own-rooted Pinot noir and Chardonnay vines. After college and a season working in Burgundy, Ben spent five years at Rex Hill Vineyards, working his way up from cellar rat to assistant winemaker. In 2005 he finally came back to Bethel Heights to make wine with his father until 2006, when Terry retired and Ben became winemaker. |
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Mimi Casteel, BETHEL HEIGHTS VINEYARD (Salem, OR)
Co-owner & General ManagerWith a background in horticulture and forest ecology, and a strong commitment to environmentalism, Mimi is second generation co-owner and general manager of Bethel Heights Vineyard. Established in 1977 by two families, Bethel Heights Vineyard remains a family owned and operated estate winery in the Eola-Amity Hills of Oregon's central Willamette Valley. Mimi is now working with Ted Casteel (co-founder, co-owner, and vineyard manager) to learn everything he knows about viticulture. |
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Michael Davies is winemaker for A to Z Wineworks and REX HILL wineries and makes Matzinger Davies wines with his wife, Anna. A small town New Zealander, Michael completed a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Scandinavian Studies and Political Science at the University of Auckland and tested the unusual employment possibilities that afforded before returning to Lincoln University for a post-graduate diploma in Viticulture & Enology. Prior to joining A to Z Wineworks, he served for 6 years at Chehalem as the Vineyard Manager and Assistant Winemaker. He has also worked in Burgundy, California, the Hunter Valley of Australia and numerous regions of New Zealand. |
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Anna Matzinger, MATZINGER-DAVIES (McMinnville, Oregon)
Anna began her winemaking career as a lab technician at Beringer Vineyards in Napa Valley. After working harvests and helping make wine in New Zealand, Australia and California, Anna joined the winemaking team at Archery Summit in 1999. Three years later, she became winemaker. Since 1993, Archery Summit has been committed to producing superior quality Pinot noir from 115 acres of estate vineyards in the Dundee Hills of Oregon. In 2006 she started making wine with husband & winemaker Michael Davies under the label Matzinger-Davies. The intention of Matzinger Davies Wine Company is to produce wines with a resonant voice; speaking to geographical origin, varietal typicity and season. Authenticity, vibrancy and integrity should be their calling cards. |
‣TERROIROLOGY 301: THREE OREGON AVAs UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Now that Oregon's AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) have been around for several years, we will be taking a closer look at what really sets each one of them apart. We can't cover them all in one seminar, so we'll hone in on three of Oregon's most respected vineyards, each of them in a different AVA. Since it takes two point to draw a line, we've found two winemakers who source fruit from each of the three sites. As we taste through the wines, we will try to distinguish the hand of the winemaker from the terroir of the site, and come away with conclusions of what makes each of these three places so special. Vineyards to be featured include Hyland (McMinnville AVA), Shea (Yamhill-Carlton AVA) and Temperance Hill (Eola-Amity Hills AVA).
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Moderator: Doug Tunnell, BRICK HOUSE WINE COMPANY (Newberg, OR)
After studying philosophy and international affairs at Portland's Lewis & Clark College, Doug Tunnell enjoyed a long and successful career abroad as a CBS foreign correspondent before a cluster of small epiphanies led him to make a U-turn and head home, determined to plant his future in the fertile soil of the Willamette Valley. In 1990 he planted his first vineyards and began growing organic grapes. With a 29-acre vineyard on the sedimentary soils of Ribbon Ridge, Doug Tunnell and Melissa Mills grow and produce wines from the three great varietals of Burgundy: Pinot noir, Chardonnay, and Gamay noir. All Brick House wines are estate-grown and produced in the old horse barn that serves as the farm’s winery. |
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Robert Brittan, WINDERLEA VINEYARD & WINERY (Dundee, OR)
Representing Shea Vineyard: Yamhill-Carlton AVARobert Brittan's winemaking career began in a dorm room at Oregon State University, where he was a physics and philosophy major. Being both geeky and broke, he soon realized that alcohol was an attractant to co-eds, so he began a career in fermentation sciences in order to get a date. In due time he moved to Napa Valley and made wine for Far Niente, Saint Andrews and Stags’ Leap Winery. With over 30 years of experience growing grapes and making wine, Robert brings a significant amount of viticultural and winemaking knowledge to the table. His passion for Pinot noir has most recently brought him to the McMinnville AVA, where he makes his wine for Brittan Vineyards. In addition to his own label, Robert is also the winemaker for the Winderlea and Ayoub wines, both located in the Dundee Hills. As Robert has found, Pinot noir lends itself to many wonderful interpretations, depending on the soils and microclimates where it is grown. |
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Dai Crisp, LUMOS WINE CO. (Philomath, OR)
Representing Temperance Hill Vineyard: Eola Amily Hills AVA
The Lumos Wine Co., launched in 2000 by Dai Crisp, dashing grape grower and winemaker, and his groovy wife and business partner, PK McCoy, is a small operation at just 2,500 cases per year. With the help of his dauntless crew, Dai grows all of the fruit that goes into the Lumos wines on three Certified Organic vineyards. The Pinot noir, Pinot Gris, Rosé and Gewurztraminer come from Temperance Hill Vineyard (Dai’s day job), Wren Vineyard (estate vineyard) and Logsdon Ridge Vineyard (aka Rudolfo). Dai does all the winemaking with Julia Cattrall, of Cattrall Brothers Vineyards. Dai and Julia are close collaborators in the winery, working together to carefully craft the wines with minimal intervention so that the each vintage clearly reflects the seasonal expression of fruit and terroir. |
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Gary Horner, ERATH (Dundee, OR)
Representing Hyland Vineyard: McMinnville AVAAs 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. Horner takes pride in making a range of Pinot noir styles, from the hugely popular Oregon blend to the highly-acclaimed, limited-edition single-vineyard selections. His goal is to make the best Pinot noir the region has to offer – it's time-honored, authentic and uniquely Oregon.. |
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Laurent Montalieu, SOLENA ESTATE (Yamhill. OR)
Representing Hyland Vineyard: McMinnville AVAAfter successful careers in the Oregon wine industry, the husband and wife team of Laurent Montalieu and Danielle Andrus Montalieu purchased an 80-acre estate to commemorate their marriage. In May 2002, they launched Soléna by releasing their first bottling and, shortly thereafter, opening a tasting room in Carlton. Soléna is the combination of the Spanish and French words Solana and Solene, celebrating the sun and the moon, and the name that Laurent and Danielle gave to their daughter. Their estate property in Yamhill is now home to the new Soléna winery, completed just in time for the 2009 harvest. This state of the art facility focuses on gentle winemaking through gravity flow. Each Soléna wine is handcrafted in small lots often using rotary oak barrel fermenters to achieve a complex style with intense fruit and finely integrated tannins.. |
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Jim Prosser, JK CARRIERE (Newberg, OR)
Representing Temperance Hill Vineyard: Eola Amily Hills
Owner and winemaker Jim Prosser has come to understand Pinot noir from the messy grape cellar end of things and learned the trade by working for eight great producers in four countries including Erath, Domaine Drouhin, Brick House and Chehalem in Oregon; Villa Maria in New Zealand; Tarra Warra and T'Gallant in Australia; and Domaine Georges Roumier in Burgundy. These are his friends and they have provided his foundation. In 1999, Jim established his own winery, sourced good grapes and started making wine as J.K. Carriere, the combined names of his grandfathers. From the start J.K. Carriere wines have received critical acclaim. Jim will tell you his success stems from great vineyards, focused winemaking and the willingness to go right through the middle of the work. He makes primarily Pinot noir, producing classic, vivid and ageable wines with fruit on the first uptake, movement on the palate and elegance throughout. Jim's intent is to astonish you, intentionally spark you, and give you every reason to share that experience with someone else. In fact, this is his ruthless pursuit. |
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Scott Shull, RAPTOR RIDGE WINERY (Newberg, OR)
Representing Shea Vineyard: Yamhill-Carlton AVAFounded in 1995 by winemaker Scott Shull, Raptor Ridge winery gets its name from the many families of raptors – red-tailed hawks, kestrels, sharp-shinned hawks, and Owls – that share the winery's 27-acre estate. Raptor Ridge produces about 7,500 cases of wine per vintage year. Approximately nine different cuvées comprise this case quantity, including Pinot gris, several distinct vineyard designates, and consistent blends of Reserve and Willamette Valley Pinot noir. Owners Scott and Annie Shull along with Assistant winemaker Kevin Wiles regularly taste through and segregate every barrel into their select cuvées. Uncompromised quality is the focus, not quantity. In addition to the Raptor Ridge brand, Scott is the consulting winemaker for a couple other Oregon wine brands. Photo courtesy CWK Photography. |
‣WOOD SHOP 401: The Nuances of Oak in Pinot noir
During the 2012 vintage, Adam Campbell of Elk Cove Vineyards made eight different wines from two different vineyards, using four toast levels of new oak barrels, made by Rick DeFerrari of Oregon Barrel Works. The vineyards are Clay Court (Jory soil) and Shea (marine sediment) and each wine was aged in light toast, medium, heavy and neutral barrels. Rick and Adam will guide you through this one of a kind opportunity to taste different types of oak barrels and learn how well they harmonize with two distinct vineyards.
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Adam Campbell, ELK COVE VINEYARDS
A fourth-generation Oregon farmer, Adam grew up on a 40-acre vineyard in the foothills of the coast range in Yamhill County. He joined the family business full time in 1994, heading up a new vineyard development project that has grown the Elk Cove vineyard holdings to 260 planted acres. Extremely low yields from meticulously farmed Estate grown fruit give him excellent raw material, natural winemaking methods provide the rest. Adam also has a passion for sustainability including a solar energy project at the winery, bio-diesel for all farm vehicles & use of organic farming methods.Adam has served on the Board of Directors for the International Pinot noir Celebration (IPNC), Oregon Pinot Camp (OPC), Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV) and the Salud Pinot noir Auction. He also has a Political Science degree from Lewis and Clark College. |
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Rick DeFerrari, OREGON BARREL WORKS
Part-time wine enthusiast and full-time cooper, Rick de Ferrari is the founding force and artisanal hand behind Oregon Barrel Works (established 2000). Passionate about everything local from early on, Rick created his cooperage with the idea of marrying local wines with local Oregon oak. With a formal education in forest engineering, Rick embarked on a life-changing adventure in Burgundy, France working with the Francois Freres cooperage, then later in Cognac with Taransaud. Mastering the art of barrel making, Rick also developed a deep understanding of the nuanced relationship between wood and wine. In 2012 he decided to add beer to that list! In partnership with Rogue Brewery, Oregon Barrel Works hand-crafted the first-ever, all-Oregon oak 1500 gallon fermenters.While Oregon Barrel Works reinvigorated the art of coopering and championed the use of Oregon oak, Rick understood the industry’s demand for barrels made from French oak. To meet those needs, Rick made an addition to his cooperage in 2007: Tonnellerie DeFerrari. This arm of the cooperage offers barrels from six different French forests When not building barrels, Rick turns his hand to wine making. Under the De Ferrari label, Rick produces Pinot noir and Chardonnay – all generously oaked, of course! |
‣EXTRACURRICULAR STUDIES: TEA SEMINAR
Aromas, flavors, tannins, balance, structure, depth, complexity, richness. These are all words we commonly use to describe Pinot noir. They all apply equally well to tea. Steve Smith sources his aromas and flavors from the far corners of the world, but also from places just under his nose, right here in Oregon. The product is a wonderfully interesting array of teas from everyday to exotic. Take a break from Pinot noir and try applying your senses to tea as Steve takes you through a guided tasting and discussion. Back by popular demand from last year's University of Pinot!
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Steve Smith, SMITH TEA (Portland, OR)
Steve Smith wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. But he uses one every day to taste, test and perfect some of the most interesting teas in the world. Smith Teamaker is a wonderfully small teaworks on a shady street in Portland, Oregon where one may encounter the finest, freshest full leaf teas, tonics and elixirs handcrafted in very small batches by master teamaker Steve Smith and his talented, hand-picked team. Starting after the harvest of 2011, Steve collaborated with Adelsheim Vineyard to create Méthode Noir, an elegant mix of three high-grown Ceylon black teas, aged and scented in a pinot noir barrel. |