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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.alexanawinery.com For a relatively new winery to the Willamette Valley, Alexana has really started turning heads and palates towards its style of winemaking. Started by Dr. Revana of Napa-fame, this family-run business has created quite a good buzz in the hills of Dundee Oregon. Technical Data:  Appellation: Dundee Hills Vineyard Designation: [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.sevenofheartswine.com The winemaker of Seven Hearts wine, Byron Dooley, never ceases to amaze me on the quality of wine he churns out that are at very reasonable prices and this fun little bottle of dessert Pinot Noir is no exception. Technical Data:  Cases Produced: 63 (750ml equivalent) Approach: Traditional Port [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.lecadeauvineyard.com Fewer things in life can be more frustrating than falling in love with a wine, only to have it ripped out from under you – such a tease. This 2009 Le Cadeau Red Label Pinot Noir is such a wine – it’s as if these wineries like messing with [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://ayoubwines.com For winemaker/owner, Mohammad Ayoub, making the best possible wines starts with sparing no expense on the fruit and necessary equipment.  He’s one of those kinds of winemakers who really does put his money where his mouth and heart are – making great wines that reflect the terrioir, no matter [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.argylewinery.com/ Located in Dundee Oregon, Argyle winery has not only built up a loyal following and fanbase, it’s nearly turned cult-like and for good reason. Its wines have a pedigree of showing very well in regards to terroir, flavor and balance – not to mention its great-tasting bubbly. This “Nuthouse” [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.lecadeauvineyard.com Le Chadeau is a winery in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and has a somewhat unique way of producing tasty wines from its estate vineyards – they have a different winemaker for each bottle. Additionally, each winemaker picks different blocks of the vineyards in an effort to showcase what [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.sevenofheartswine.com When I first met winemaker, Byron Dooley, at a wine event in the Yamhill area of Oregon last year, I knew right away he was dead-serious about making kick-ass wines. This “Special Reserve” is his flagship Pinot that brings a lot of prowess to it – it’s a Pinot that [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.alexanawinery.com Alexana Winery was started by the same Dr. Revana who started Revena Family Vineyard winery in Napa but clearly this winery’s mission is all about burgundy varietals. He hired winemaker, Lynn Penner-Ash, to produce world class wines from the fruit of the Willamette Valley. Technical Data: Varietal: Pinot Noir [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://panthercreekcellars.com If you’ve been following my reviews for awhile, you’ll notice that I’m a fan of Panther Creek in McMinville Oregon because they have an excellent track record of producing quality Pinot Noir at competitive prices. This wine is from the nearby Freedom Hill Vineyard that they have a good [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website:  http://librawines.com/ Bill Hanson is no stranger to the Willamette Valley and to pinot noir. As the assistant winemaker for Panther Creek, he and the team there have carved out quite a name for themselves as producers of high quality Pinot Noir. His passion and know-how of producing good Pinot comes [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://panthercreekcellars.com Located in McMinnville, Oregon, Panther Creek Cellars has become one of the “go-to” pinot producers of the Willamette Valley because of its continued quality in a variety of price points. This reserve bottling combines top fruit from various vineyards across the Willamette Valley. Technical Data:  Appellation: Willamette Valley Alcohol: [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.luminoushills.com/ I first met owner/winemaker, Byron Dooley at the Yamhill tasting event back in June and he was serving up what was probably my favorite Pinot of the day. Talk to him even briefly and you’ll see and hear his passion for producing varietally correct wines that reflect the region [...]

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Winemaker Rebecca Pittock was a jet-engine mechanic in the Oregon Air National Guard and within the past few years has traded in wrenches for hoses, pumps and barrels. Her natural wit, charm and passion comes out in every bottle she makes – these wines are under the Ghost Hill Cellars label. Rebecca partnered with a [...]

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For most Northwest wine lovers, the great state of Oregon produces some of their favorite Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris wines and there’s no mystery as to why. Oregon is a world class producer of both of these varietals and has done a stellar job with them so far. King Estate has a label called [...]

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Ghost Hill Cellars is really all about the history of the land it sits on which was first bought back in 1906 by the Bayliss family. Even thought it has changed formats during its 100-year tenure – going from dairy to growing grapes – is history is very much a part of what’s in the [...]

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Panther Creek, located in McMinnville Oregon, is passionate about its wine and that passion leads them to source fruit from some of that state’s top vineyard spots who are operated by folks who have a similar passion. Its Pinot Noir has garnered a large number of accolades over the years and has been some of my [...]

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I have to be honest in that I got a bit bummed out the way other varietals got slammed in the movie sideways and how the film elevated Pinot Noir to a very noble status. I’m not suggesting that it’s not a noble grape, however, am just saying that I think that film in particular [...]

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