May 31, 2007 at 7 pm - Traditional Lebanese Meza prepared by Chef Ramsey of Barking Squirrel Catering
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT, but you can still add your name to the waiting list. Only $50/person, all-inclusive.
541.617.1102
FIRST COURSE - Lemon, Garlic and Tahini Hummus, Hummus with Buffalo, Baba Ghanouj
Tyee Pinot Blanc -Willamette Valley, Oregon
Pinot Blanc is a high acidity wine, making it very food friendly, especially when paired with the creamy, rich flavors and textures of hummus and baba ghanouj. Its musky aromas and flavors of apple, almond, melon and spice will complement the lemon, garlic, buffalo and eggplant beautifully. Winemaker Barney Watson is one of Scott's mentors - a great guy who makes remarkable wine.
SECOND COURSE - Tabbouli Salad and Fattoush Salad (Lebanese Bread Salad)
Amity Vineyards Riesling 2004 - Willamette Valley, Oregon
This is a dry Riesling from Amity Vineyards, again, a wine with well-balanced acidity, plus clean, up-front fruit that can handle strong spices.
THIRD COURSE - Sumac Lemon Garlic Chicken Kebab and Shaniko Lamb Basha
Volcano Vineyards Syrah 2004- Rogue Valley, Oregon
Our syrah – which was designed to be food-friendly - works perfectly with salty and bitter food, which allow the fruit flavors of blueberry and plum shine through. Lamb is the ideal meat pairing with the syrah as is the lemon and garlic flavors with the chicken dish.
DESSERT - Apricot Baklava with Rosewater Syrup
La Rocca Late Harvest Zinfandel 2002 - Sierra Foothills, California
The apricots lend a nice acidity to balance out the sweetness in the zinfandel. La Rocca wines are organic and made without added sulfites.
Hope to see you there!
www.volcanovineyards.com
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Volcano Vineyards Vintage Updates
Vintage 2005: The 2005s are in the bottle, we’re just waiting on final label approval from the Feds. Both merlot and syrah are tasting great. The merlot is another triumph from Aguila Vineyard in Talent, although for 2005 Scott decided to blend in about 8% cabernet franc. Right now that change is most evident in the nose, which has a distinct hint of cassis, blackberry and violet.
As many of you know, the Aguila Vineyard syrah never fully ripened in 2005. While our original plan was to have two distinct syrah styles for vintage 2005, we’ll only have the Lakeside Vineyard Syrah. Those grapes are a Hermitage Clone, and the site is much more vigorous than Aguila. Right now it is much bigger than the 2004, less earthy, distinct raspberry on the nose, bold fruit throughout and starting to show the classic syrah white pepper on the finish.
Release dates will probably be late summer. After two years of no increase, prices are going up for vintage 2005 – but you can pre-order Vintage 2005 wine now at Vintage 2004 prices. Use our secure on-line store, pop into the Tasting Room or call us toll free at 866.844.9487.
Volcano Vineyards website: http://www.volcanovineyards.com/
Vintage 2006: It’s racking and blending time. Racking is a siphoning process that removes the sediment which accumulates during barrel aging. It is also the perfect time to consider any blending. This last week Scott was in Medford doing blending trials and he decided to keep the Ft. Miller syrah as a single vineyards designated wine, while the Serenade Vineyard and Lakeside Vineyard syrahs will be blended together. Serenade Vineyard is similar to Aguila in that it sits at an elevation (2100 feet), but the vines face west, get sun all day and are treated to a cool breeze that keeps the temperatures from getting too hot. So, the grapes have good acidity but slightly higher sugars than the Aguila grapes. This syrah will be complex with characteristics of both warm weather syrahs and cool weather syrahs. The syrah grapes from all three vineyards were co-fermented with viognier. I’m not going to torture you with the viognier speech again, but if you need a refresher, you can find it in the archives of our blog.
The producers of Rogue Valley wines get together every year for a blind tastings of their barrel samples. This year, our 2006 merlot and syrahs were at the top of the heap. We are predicting the 2006 wines to be our breakout vintage.
As many of you know, the Aguila Vineyard syrah never fully ripened in 2005. While our original plan was to have two distinct syrah styles for vintage 2005, we’ll only have the Lakeside Vineyard Syrah. Those grapes are a Hermitage Clone, and the site is much more vigorous than Aguila. Right now it is much bigger than the 2004, less earthy, distinct raspberry on the nose, bold fruit throughout and starting to show the classic syrah white pepper on the finish.
Release dates will probably be late summer. After two years of no increase, prices are going up for vintage 2005 – but you can pre-order Vintage 2005 wine now at Vintage 2004 prices. Use our secure on-line store, pop into the Tasting Room or call us toll free at 866.844.9487.
Volcano Vineyards website: http://www.volcanovineyards.com/
Vintage 2006: It’s racking and blending time. Racking is a siphoning process that removes the sediment which accumulates during barrel aging. It is also the perfect time to consider any blending. This last week Scott was in Medford doing blending trials and he decided to keep the Ft. Miller syrah as a single vineyards designated wine, while the Serenade Vineyard and Lakeside Vineyard syrahs will be blended together. Serenade Vineyard is similar to Aguila in that it sits at an elevation (2100 feet), but the vines face west, get sun all day and are treated to a cool breeze that keeps the temperatures from getting too hot. So, the grapes have good acidity but slightly higher sugars than the Aguila grapes. This syrah will be complex with characteristics of both warm weather syrahs and cool weather syrahs. The syrah grapes from all three vineyards were co-fermented with viognier. I’m not going to torture you with the viognier speech again, but if you need a refresher, you can find it in the archives of our blog.
The producers of Rogue Valley wines get together every year for a blind tastings of their barrel samples. This year, our 2006 merlot and syrahs were at the top of the heap. We are predicting the 2006 wines to be our breakout vintage.
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