The very last Oregon Pinot Camp event was held at Brooks Winery in the Eola-Amity Hills. In the Wine Wizardry seminar, we teamed up with the winemakers from Brittan, Brooks, Shea, and Winderlea to learn how decisions made in the vineyard follow through to the final decisions made when blending wines.
The first order of business was to taste Pinot Noir barrel samples from the 2018 vintage. Each winery poured two wines, one that was 100% Pommard (a common, well-structured Pinot Noir clone in the Willamette Valley) and another wine made of other Pinot Noir clones (667, 777, Swan, and/or Wadenswil).
Next, our task was to work together as a team to blend two or more of these wines to determine a tasty final blend and subsequently create an associated winery name, label, and marketing strategy for our wine. In the end, each team gave a brief presentation, promoting their wine and brand.
My team’s final blend of Pinot Noir consisted of 42% Brooks Pommard, 42% Shea Pommard, and 16% Winderlea 667. We named our winery the Seven Sisters (as our team was all women!), and our wine was titled, Persephone’s Pinot, the Greek goddess of vegetation that rules the Underworld.
Our wine came in second place, and we won first place for a creative winery name! After much applause and laughter, we headed downstairs for a delectable lunch overlooking the vineyard. What a perfect way to spend the afternoon, ending on such a high note.
~ Cover Photo Features Marilee Bostic with Chris Williams, Winemaker for Brooks Winery ~
