Anne Amie Vineyards, Carlton Oregon

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Oh Harvest Chef, how do we love thee…

Meet Charron O’Brien. 

Charron is our amazing harvest chef who is completing her final internship for NECI with us and for this we are thankful.

Just a few of the dishes we’ve enjoyed so far…

chevre + arugula salad with peaches, fresh picked blackberries + local hazelnuts

 

steamed mussels in pinot blanc

salmon + baby bok choy

charcuterie plates

happy employees

View more photos and updates on harvest via the Anne Amie facebook page.

Thank you Charron!

 

Harvest Babies

 

The harvest crew has been busy picking and Jason and Thomas have been busy with their babies.  Congrats to Viticulturist Jason Tosch and his wife Aimee on the birth of their first child, beautiful little Olive Tosch.  And not wanting to be outdone, Thomas is proud to announce the birth of his garden beast – the banana squash baby.  Congrats!

Harvest Time 2009!

Flanked by Winemaker Thomas Houseman (L) and Viticulturist Jason Tosch (R), the crew toasts the 2009 vintage over pinot noir picked from our Justin-Grant Vineyard in the Chehalem Mountain AVA.

Below are freshly picked bins of Muller-Thurgau from our estate property.

Bottling Time Again.

 

Like robins returning in Spring and geese flying overhead in long, trailing V’s in Autumn, there are signals that nature sends us that the seasons are changing.  At the winery it is the appearance of the illusive, white Bravo truck.  When it glides up the hill, we know it is bottling time.  And, soon after, with our tanks and barrels emptied again and ready for more wine, it is time for another harvest.  Our webcam is up and running.  Please feel free to click on the photo below and watch us as we put the absolutely amazing  2008 Cuvee A and Willamette Valley Pinot noirs into bottle.  And, keep and eye on the cellar webcam, because the Bravo truck will soon depart, and the cellar will be scrubbed stem to stern, followed by the first pick of the 2009 season.  It’s what we live for here in the cellar all year long!   Bring on autumn!  Let the grapes appear at our threshold!  It wouldn’t be harvest without bottling!

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Technorati Tags: Anne Amie Vineyards,Cuvee A,Willamette Valley Pinot noir,Bravo Bottling,webcam,2009 harvest

Dirty Tooth and the Black-Tongues:

Sounds like a good name for an Irish Pub band, but it’s actually just Thomas, Tammie and Andy.

 

 

 

They have been bench trialing the new “Rubies” port-style dessert wine the last two days and I happened to walk in on the final tasting.

How convenient.

Cheers,

Ksandek

Nevermind the Hot Dogs, this is the Anne Amie Wine Club BBQ

Music: Earl & The Reggae Allstars

     

Dancing: Ksandek Podbielski

Making fun of Ksandek’s Dancing: Julie Armstrong

 

Guests:

 

Food and Paul Murphy’s Kitchen Crew: 

 

The Menu:

Appetizers:

• Prawns in Escabeche with fennel, sweet onion, garlic and sherry vinegar
• White Balsamic Marinated Mary Hill Peaches with arugula, manchego, and black pepper
• Pork Confit with pimenton, figs, and local honey 

Dinner:

• Cattail Creek Lamb Spit Roasted over Alder and Mesquite marinated in lemon, oregano, and olive oil
• Charcoal Grilled Salmon washed with olive oil, thyme and garlic
• Local Green Salad with radishes, white balsamic, and basil
• Local Summer Beans with shaved pecorino, basil, and olive oil
• Grilled Local Summer Vegetables with summer squash, chicories, sweet onions, eggplant, fennel, marinated in balsamic and olive oil
• Fingerling Potatoes poached with sea salt and olive oil tossed with rosemary, thyme, and garlic

Dessert

• Fresh Summer Melon
• Sliced Mary Hill Peaches with fresh whipped cream
• Fig and Fresh Ricotta Candies from Beroldingen
• S'Mores roasted fireside by you

Sunset:

  

Bonfire:

         

If you missed it, hopefully we’ll see you next year.

If you are reliving the fun, then thanks for being there. It was a lot of fun.

 

 

Cheers!

Ksandek

Rose City Wine Opener

It feels really good to get on board with a good cause. It feels even better when the folks behind that cause are able to organize a great event like this year’s Rose City Wine Opener. The Oregon chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation puts on this event each year to raise awareness and funds for their mission of curing and controlling cystic fibrosis.  

 

To learn more about the great work being done by the Oregon chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, please visit http://www.cff.org/Chapters/oregon/

Summer Events Clip show

For Career-Day in 8th grade I shadowed the Weatherman at News Channel 8, a local cable news station, in Northern Virginia. I actually had no interest in being a Weatherman. I was interested in film and television, and that was as close as I was going to get in the ‘burbs of D.C. I learned a lot from my Out-To-Work-Day experience; like how a green screen works, and what a news room looks like, and how two-way mirrors are used to prompt text onto the camera so that the broadcaster actually stares right into camera lens and appears to be speaking directly to each viewer at home. Yes, that’s right, there is nothing written on those papers they keep straightening out in front of them. The most important thing I learned, however, was that for every one person you see on camera, there are easily twelve behind the scenes. That’s twenty six total hands for just the two you see.

Blogging feels like a small sliver of that experience. It’s summer, the weather in great, we’ve got tons going on at the winery and instead of blogging a rerun I’ve decided to run a clip-show highlighting some of this summer’s events so far.

If you feel like you’re missing out, don’t worry. We’ve still got a lot happening through the end of the summer and on through the rest of the year. I hope you enjoy looking through these small tastes of the “best-of” the last month or so here up on the hill.

 

June Wine Club Party

   

“enjoying the wines and the view”     “A hawk circles our estate vineyard”

 

Oregon Pinot Camp

“Learning about Oregon Wines”

Flicks ‘N’ Flights Movie Nights above the Vines

 

“First we watch the sunset”                        “the lanterns lead the way”

 

“Just like what it sounds like…a great movie, on a big screen, above our vineyard” Come join us for the August 14 screening of “Princess Bride”

International Pinot Noir Celebration - Dinner

    

Clockwise from top left: - Wines being poured - Chef Maegen Loring and her crew working their culinary genius - Chehalem- a brie-style cheese from Beroldingen in Sherwood (go find them!) – Honey-Coriander Glazed Duck Breast with Morels.

 

IPNC Vineyard Tour and Seminar

  “Jason talks vines and dirt”

 

“IPNC guests taste through a selection of Pinot noirs under the arbor”

 

Anne Amie Supports a Great Cause-

The Morrison Kids Wine-Dinner at Lovely Hula Hands

 

 

 

Clockwise from top left:

-Recognizing the great work Morrison Family Services does – Cuvée A Rosé on the back patio – Cuvée A Rosé with Olive Oil Poached Albacore, Haricots Verts, Olives and Heirloom Tomato – Guests learning about their next course.

Learn More about the difference Morrison Family Services is making here.

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed surfing through this clip show. Check out what else is happing this summer here at the winery.

 

Cheers,

Ksandek

IPNC Madness + The Prince of Pinot!

The 23rd Annual International Pinot Noir Celebration is upon us and the valley is buzzing with excited guests, press + Pinot noir producers from the US, Canada, Austria, France,  Australia + New Zealand. 

Today we had the pleasure of a visit from Pinot noir devotee + creator of the online newsletter Pinot File, Rusty Gaffney the Prince of Pinot.  We compared the 2007 and 2008 vintages and played Thomas’ favorite game “taste the terroir” by barrel sampling pommard from Anne Amie Estate Vineyards, Rainbow Ridge Vineyard + La Colina Vineyard – all at about the same elevation but different locations and soil types. 

Pictured above Winemaker Thomas Houseman, Viticulturist Jason Tosch, Rusty aka Prince + Sales Director Kim McLeod.

Below Thomas explains the “rules of the game” and shows how his former modern dance skills come in handy while scaling the barrels in search of the pommard.

 

The tasting room crew is busy setting up the dining room while Chef Maegen Loring from San Luis Obispo’s Park Restaurant is in the kitchen prepping for the incredible feast she and her team are creating for us tonight.  Our friends from Goldeneye Winery in Anderson Valley and Rene Mure in Alsace, France will be joining us for our Pre-IPNC Winemaker Dinner in a matter of hours.  The winery is closed for this event as we’re all sold out but stay tuned for our post about how awesome it was and sign up for next year!

 

 

 

A Tale of Two Lees

 

I have just left Little Rock and the Capital Hotel.  It is bittersweet, in that I have other stops on my journey through the South, but I could easily settle in for an extended stay at such a wonderful hotel with such an excellent staff.  Two people specifically are to thank for their hard work and attention to detail- the two Lees.  Lee Richardson is the executive chef at Ashley’s, the crown jewel for dining in Little Rock, and his counterpoint front-of-house, Lee Ingold, is the maitre d’.  Collectively they run a tight ship- by ship, I mean restaurant. 

  

It was my third trip to Little Rock, the first being the Emeril fundraiser, when I first was able to experience the wonderful skills of chef Lee.  The night after the fundraiser chef Lee sat me at a table and, without a menu as a guide, food started arriving and kept coming, course after amazing course, until I literally could not take another bite!  It was right then, in my food stupor,  that I hatched the idea of a wine dinner at Ashley’s.   It took a few years to materialize, but here is the menu and some photos from the dinner. If you’d like to see more photos from the dinner check out Ashley’s kitchen blog.

 

 

As you can probably see from the photos and from the tenor of my post I have a soft spot in my heart for Ashley’s and much of it has to do with the two Lees and their wonderful staff.  That said, the entire experience at the Capital Hotel from the moment one arrives is one of polished calm.  Thanks to everyone at the Capital Hotel.  I’ll be back!

Technorati Tags: Capital Hotel,Anne Amie Vineyards,Ashley's,Lee Richardson,Lee Ingold,Emeril,wine dinner,L'iris,Prisme'

Anne Amie Pizza Friday!

Every Friday we bring in our leftovers and challenge each other to a pizza-off.  Today we were joined by our friends John Merritt from Frontier Packaging and Cinematographer Ben Garvey who is the producer of the Oregon Pinot Camp movie. 

John, Ksandek, Ben, Jason, Thomas & Annie in preparation mode

Katie’s garlic spears + cream sauce vs. Kim’s jalapeno sesame seed surprise

guest appearance by house band “ethyl acetate”

ben + thomas face off with tim + katie

shadow + henk wait for scraps!

  

    

thomas, jason, henk + kim

  

dedication + concentration

 

= perfection

PS - tonight we have the first of our flicks ‘n flights series.  we’ll be showing the movie amelie.  join us at dusk.  who knows, there might be left over pizza.  it’s free + you’re all welcome.  we will have wine for sale along with charcuterie plates. 

for more info call us at 503-864-2991

happy friday!

Call Me Shellfish,

But I have to blog about Amrita.  And, I promise I will not insert anymore bi-valve jokes (though I LOVE the 80’s fish song.  You youngsters should click for an education about REAL music.  Old-timers can reminisce.).

Speaking of reminiscing, I am going to tie two very divergent thoughts together-1970’s Chesapeake Bay, VA and the 2007 Willamette Valley, OR.  Bell bottoms meet Gore-tex.  What is the common thread?

Oysters.

As a child I'd trek to the mucky flats of the Chesapeake Bay at low tide in search of oysters. Briny. Earthy. Sharp as razors.  I’d plod out into the mud flats, the sticky ooze tugging at my Keds. I’d lug back misshapen conglomerates of shells, filling my rusty red wagon with muddy clods of oysters. I'd then head back home, a wagonload of dripping salty brine behind me, and  my mom would help me clean the oysters and so we could steam them.

The seaweedy smell of streamed oysters brings me back to my childhood no matter when or where I smell it.

Oysters.

 

 

 

Amrita.

 

Oysters.

 

Anne Amie. 

Congratulations Anne Amie on three wines

in the top 20 for the

Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition

and the 2007 Amrita  for being a winner!

Technorati Tags: Anne Amie Vineyards,Amrita,Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition,Wet Dream,Kip Adotta,Oysters,Chesapeake Bay,white wine blend

These Green Mountains

To paraphrase the Vermont state song-

“They say home is where the heart is
These green mountains are (not) my home (but they could be).” 

I’ve traveled to many places and seen some amazing sights, but what makes a place truly special AND what lures me back time and again are its people.  Vermont is one of those rare places that has both natural beauty and genuinely great people.  

I am going to take a stab at something I am not really known for-  brevity.  I am going to set aside my penchant for narrative and just let the photos from my very brief, but  jam-packed trip to Vermont speak for themselves.  To say the least,  Kim assigned me a rather ambitious itinerary.    Click on the previous sentence for a perfect example of what I mean!  You can see why I was tasting Amrita a 6 in the morning with chef Curtiss Hemm!  Thank you again, Kim-  REALLY!  I have a new marketing idea- “Amrita.  It’s not just for breakfast anymore!”

 

 

The following is a photo journal of my time in Vermont:

 

The exterior of Hen of the Wood restaurant- an old grist mill from the 1800s

and the location of my first wine dinner.

 

A*summer* view from the back patio dining area.

 

   

You’ll notice it wasn’t so green when I was there.  It is still

an amazing setting in which to dine.  The interior is just as dazzling, with its

rough-hewn beams and stone walls.

 

    

    Chef Eric Warnstedt created edible works of art,  paired with

Anne Amie wines selected by William McNeil.  I was able to show

up at the restaurant after a long working day and just relax and discuss our wines

enjoy the company of our guests.

 

My second wine dinner was at NECI (New England Culinary Institute).

As you can see from this photo taken by Hannah Marshall, the presentation

of our food was as beautiful as it was delicious. This was an exquisite pairing of

food and wine from Chef Michael Gunyan and Ed Boadway.

 

It was also  an opportunity to show off our newest wine in the Anne Amie line-up-

the 2007 Prisme’.  Judging from the response of the guests, it was a hit! 

 

 

The next morning I hopped on the road to drive from one end of the Vermont

to the other.  Road trip!!!

Nothing keeps me alert and on the lookout for an errant moose like sugar.

There’s no better place to stop for sugar in Vermont than Ben and Jerry’s!

Interesting how much they use “Amrita Blue” in their color scheme….

 

This is a road sign we don’t see in Oregon! Polls show 9 out of 10 moose

prefer Amrita over the leading Oregon white wine blend!

 

The entire visit culminated in a portfolio tasting with our distributor in

Vermont- Farrell.  Fred Delivert, aka “Fresh Toast” , from Martin Estate

in Napa, and I became fast friends. He is a wonderful guy who just happens

to also make tasty wines.

Going back to what I said at the beginning of this post, very seldom

am I lucky enough to visit a beautiful state with such wonderful people.

This is a photo from after my NECI dinner.  Unfortunately, Fresh

Toast was cropped out of the photo, but imagine him on the far left

of this group photo.  Included from left to right- Elena (Farrell), Hannah, Matt,

me, Donald (Farrell), and Susan.  Thanks to everybody in Vermont that made

a tough working trip so much fun!

Thomas

 

 

Technorati Tags: Hen of the Wood,NECI,Martin Estate,Prisme'

Parties Like We Have New Wines.

Oh yeah, that’s because we do have new wines!

May 17; Wine Club Exclusive Pre-release

We had such a great time at the Wine Club Pre-Release Event! Twice a year we sneak preview our upcoming new releases to our wine club members before they are available  to everyone else. Not only do we pull new releases, library wines, and limited release wines, but we also like to share some of favorite food parings for each wine.  

There was a lot to feel good about at the party; the weather was incredible, Chefs Jan-Marc and Barbara Baker paired some delicious and beautiful food with each of the new wines, and then there’s that. The new releases are just stunning. Everything from the new 2008 Muller Thurgau and Amrita to our Midnight Saignée and the award winning Pinot Gris was on hand for sampling. I even snuck a few bottles of the 2008 Winter’s Hill Vineyard Pinot Gris from the cellar to share with everyone. This is a beautiful reserve style Pinot Gris that was barrel fermented to give it some extra depth and structure.

 

 

The highlight of the tasting was without a doubt the brand new 2006 L’iris. This is our first release of a reserve level Pinot Noir and with two 91 point reviews it’s a great way to get started. But we didn’t leave it to the critics to tell us how good the L’iris is, our wine club members enjoyed the chance to see what this decade-worthy wine tastes like at first release.  

May 23-24: Memorial Day Weekend Open Cellar Experience

We did something a little different this year. Instead of the usual station to station tasting in the tasting room, we opened up our cellar and created a self guided tour for guests to see how we work through the different areas and stages of production. There were, of course, more wonderful wines to taste including new releases and food pairings that we’re still craving (even after eating it for two days I’m still hungry for Barbara and Jan'-Marc’s Chicken and Mango Wantons). 

Following the tour and tasting in cellar, guests were invited to hang out in the tasting room or out on the patio, taking in the spectacular view and enjoying perfect weather.

   

Thanks to everyone who came out for either (or both) weekend. It was a pleasure sharing our new releases for Spring with you. I hope to see you at the next event.

Cheers,

Ksandek

Denver, Taste of the Nation, and Bud Break!

What a busy season!  There’s so much to tell you about: Denver, Taste of the Nation, and Bud Break!

The buds are out!  And aren’t they beautiful… Sadly, this means the super-cute sheep are back on their side of the fence. 

But take a look at our gorgeous cover crop – this is one of the ways that we promote the good bugs and keep away the bad bugs.  Sustainability never looked so good!

Share our Strength’s Taste of the Nation was a great event!  It’s a fabulous evening of live music, silent auction packages, and the best food and beverages from around Oregon.  Taste of the Nation raises money for organizations that feed hungry children and work to solve the causes of childhood hunger.  We are proud to participate in such a wonderful fundraiser.  Andy, Ksandek and I had a great time with the guys from Nuestra Cocina at the table next to us, because their chicharones with spicy salsa verde went perfectly with our 2007 Müller-Thurgau. 

We got to swap tastes of delicious rosés with Adelsheim and  Elk Cove.  And, of course, we ran into a lot of our industry friends – Simpatica, Fenouil, Andina, and so many others.  

 

And Denver…. Oh, Denver…

At a population of almost 600,000, Denver feels strangely like home.  Being originally from Reno, Nevada and having lived in Oregon for almost five years, I find that Denver has interesting characteristics of both.  There are the mountains to the West, acting as a compass in the flat, high-desert landscape; the intimate neighborhoods with beautiful green parks; a sense of engagement with the great outdoors; and a lively nightlife – ranging from ritzy restaurants and creative bars to cozy neighborhood eateries. Denver (and Colorado) shares a passion for sustainability and a local-vore mindset that I have come to truly identify with.

I spent almost a week in Denver, riding along with Foster Ramsey of Vinture Distributing.  On my way into town, I was hesitant at the sight of condos everywhere and big skyscrapers – and everyone knows the horror stories of the Denver airport and… SNOW! But Foster put me at ease.  The North Carolina native was my fearless guide, taking me through downtown, the Highlands, Cherry Creek, and a few surrounding neighborhoods.

Our first stop was Mile High Wine & Spirits, where Steve carries our 2007 Cuvée A Amrita along with a great selection of other Oregon wines.  Everyone was excited to hear that our Amrita was one of the winners in the 2009 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition!  After that, we went by Divino Wine & Spirits, an ultra hip and beautifully decorated wine shop, owned and run by Dave and Dustin, where they picked up our 2007 Cuvée A Midnight Saignée Rosé of Pinot noir.  Hopefully they’ll include it in their “Pink Tasting,” which I’m sad I’ll miss. 

We had lunch at Venue, in the Highlands, where they’re featuring flights of Anne Amie wines.  The food was delicious, the weather was perfect, and the patio is the perfect place to sit and watch.  They also do a great Happy Hour, with half price bottles of wine!  I strongly recommend the mussels.

We also ate at the eco-groovy Duo Restaurant.  There is a small, well selected wine list and delicious small plates.  They focus a lot on using local producers and using sustainable products.  They even have a little asterisk next to wines on their list that were made using sustainable practices!

My favorite place was definitely Elway’s at the Ritz-Carlton, where they have our Pinot Gris.  Michael Casey and company have great wine knowledge, friendly staff, and a raw bar to die for!  Did I mention that our Pinot Gris was a finalist in the Oyster Wine Competition?  And they had it on their Elway’s Seven, which is a list of their favorite wines that they offer at discounted prices for a limited time.  Elway's at Cherry Creek also picked up our 2006 Winemaker's Selection Pinot Noir. 

Fruition was also excellent.  They had the most incredible Potato-wrapped Oysters Rockefeller!  It’s the only menu item that has been on there since they opened – they have a great seasonal menu!

My visit ended with Mondo Vino, where they offered flights of Anne Amie wines at one of their very popular Saturday tastings. 

I would like to send BIG thank yous to Foster Ramsey and Vinture Distributing for being so unbelievably awesome!  And a thank you to whoever read this really long blog.   : )

Cheers,

Katie

The Best Dirt I’ve Ever Tasted!

Yamhill-Carlton District AVA Open House; April 25, 2009

I’ve been thinking about dirt quite a bit lately. In the park near where I live, I recently saw a child pick up a handful of dirt and bring it towards his mouth, only to have his mother flail out her arms in protest,“ Tim, don’t eat that!” she followed in a softer, more composed tone, “it doesn’t taste good.” As they walked past me to leave the park I could hear his mother mutter to herself that, “this is just a phase. It’ll be over soon.”

On the 25^th of April, almost 500 people tasted the dirt that we’re so proud of here in Yamhill-Carlton. I don’t mean that our guests actually tasted the dirt, but instead, had the opportunity to study the terroir of our AVA by sampling wines from our district. The coarse-grained, ancient marine sediments native to the area are among the oldest soils in the Willamette Valley and produce wines of depth, nuance, and distinction that reflect the characteristics of these soils.

 

We opened up our cellar, and setup 25 wineries along with food from La Rambla, Nick’s Italian Café, Joel Palmer House, and Cuvée. A handful of Yamhill-Carlton AVA growers were also on hand, armed with soil samples and maps to explain what makes this area so interesting for Pinot Noir and winemaking. Participants had the chance to talk to winemaker’s and growers for an intensive, all-day crash course in Yamhill-Carlton District AVA wines.

 

It seems that every child goes through a stage like Tim. For some of us, however, it isn’t just a passing phase, but an interest that gets reawakened later in life. Thank you to each of the wineries that joined us, and to everyone who came out to taste our terroir. Here’s to tasting the earth in which we plant our vines, and to understanding what that means for the wines we drink.

Cheers!

Ksandek

A TREE GROWS IN ASTORIA

People often ask what inspired me to become a winemaker.  And, inevitably, the story, no matter how it starts, always comes back to this tree.  You see, every morning when I raised the blinds in my apartment in Astoria, Queens, this was my view of the world.  If the tree had no leaves, I knew the wait for the subway would be bracing. On a day like today, where young leaves are popping out on trees all over New York City, I’d probably open the window to let out winter’s stale air and breathe in Spring-exhaust fumes, car alarms and all.  If there was a full canopy of green, then I knew summer was upon New York, with all the languor and humidity that comes with warmer weather.  And, if the leaves on my tree were turning golden, it was my cue to head to Central Park to walk amongst the palette of Fall colors that are so fleeting in the City.  This tree was my one true connection to all things natural.  It was a barometer for the passing seasons, and likewise, my time in New York. 

It was from this vantage point that the seed for winemaking was planted.  It was in the kitchen of this apartment, whose very window faced this tree, that I started brewing beer.  I was in this kitchen that I fell in love with the science fermentation.  It was on the stove next to this window that many experimental batches of beer were brewed- some good, some great, and some….. well, some exploded!  And, in time, it was from a tiny table next to the window, with this tree as my only witness that I started scribbling a list.  On that paper I started to list the pros and cons of my life in New York.

I knew I loved dance.  I loved moving through space and the challenge of creating new dances.  I relished performing for audiences, feeling their energy from the dark void at the edge of a lit stage.  I dearly loved traveling and experiencing new places, even on the tight schedule and budget of a dancer. And, as I mentioned already, I was falling in love with fermentation. 

The other side of the list contained what I was missing in my life.  At the top of that list was a series of things related to nature- sunrises and sunsets, seasons, stars, and growing things.  There were many more items on the list I am sure, but I can’t recall them anymore.

From that list came the  first nebulous notion of making wine.  After a trip to California visiting wineries and looking into wine schools, I came back to Astoria and started the process of untangling myself from New York.  It was a summer day when I loaded all my belongings into my VW bus-all under the shade of the tree outside my window.  That was the last time I saw that tree until today, almost 10 years from the day I packed up and drove away to my new life making wine.

A decade later I am making wine in a place I truly love, working with wonderful, creative people who believe in the wines we are crafting.  I have witnessed some amazing sunrises and sunsets in that period of time.  I have traveled the globe learning about and making wine.  I am extremely happy with my decision to uproot myself from dance and transplant that artist into the arena of winemaking.  The things on the list I enjoyed about dance- being creative, making people happy, traveling and learning, and lastly, fermentation, have all become an essential part of me “the winemaker”.   As I sit in a Greek cafe’ in my old neighborhood in Astoria, drinking rich creamy coffee and eating sticky, crispy, cinnamon and pistachio-infused pastries, my mind drifts to the view from my new home- Anne Amie Vineyards.  I made the right decision ten years ago. Enjoy the view from outside my window now!

March Wine Club Selections- We like to Party!

I’d like to say I wasn’t worried when Tim said he knew how to shuck oysters, but I did have my doubts.  Nevertheless, we decided to go with it.  Fresh shucked oysters to pair with our 2006 Pinot blanc was a pairing too good to pass up.  And I have to give it to him, he was almost as good as the pairing itself!

 

For those of you who made it out to the winery for the pick up party, this will be a nice little walk down memory lane.  For those of you who could not attend…the food was terrible and you didn’t miss a thing…

 

(Meghan beams in awe of great the new 2007 Cuvée A Pinot noir tastes)

 

We paired the 2006 Pinot blanc with fresh shucked Fanny Bay oysters and a champagne vinegar mignonette. The new release 2007 Cuvée A Pinot noir is amazing, and it paired really well the white bean and smoked ham crostini. I’m really excited to have had the chance to share this wine with our guests. Just for good measure I also opened up some 2007 Chardonnay, a tasting room exclusive, and a few bottles of 2002 Rainbow Ridge Vineyard Pinot noir from the library. Once we gave it a little time in the decanter, it really showed its staying power. By the end of the afternoon people’s palates were ecstatic with the selections and I think it’s safe to say, everyone had a great time.

Thanks to Meghan, Alisha, Julie (even with an injured foot), Danielle, Tim, and Sarah for all your hard work to make this event so much fun for everyone who attended. More importantly, thank you to all of you who came out and let us show you how we like to party.

 

 

Cheers,

Ksandek

Another Free Tasting at Whole Foods Today!

 

The lovely Katie Dolph will be pouring our Cuvee A Muller Thurgau at Whole Foods in the Pearl from 4-7 today.  Whole Foods always pairs something great to taste with our wine and has the wine on super special through Sunday.  Stop in, taste and grab a few bottles  - perfect for a Friday night BBQ  - especially since this is the last sunny day we'll have for a while. 

Happy Tasting!

Cheers,

Kim 

Free tasting at Whole Foods in the Pearl today

I'll be out at the Whole Foods on Couch Street in the Pearl today from 3 to 6 to promote our Cuvee A Muller Thurgau.  This variety pairs great with seafood dishes, spicy cuisine like Indian or Thai but is also perfect for just sipping.  Stop by, try it and pick up a bottle to go with dinner tonight!

See you there,

Kim

I HEART OREGON

This past Saturday we hosted our I Heart Oregon dinner, along with Jason Barwikowski of Clyde Common, David Nemarnik of Alloro Vineyard, and Chris Berg of Roots Wine Company. The idea for the dinner came about because Oregon celebrated its 150^th year of statehood on Valentine’s Day and we felt it was appropriate to celebrate our love of this state we all call home. But for me, this event was really much more than just a winery dinner.

 

My first introduction to Clyde Common came a few years ago, when Jason Barwikowski was our featured chef for an early summer dinner we hosted shortly after I joined Anne Amie. I remember Jason’s kitchen crew being excited about one of the dishes they were plating; Oregon coast sardines, with cracked picholine olives, and fleur de sel. I was equally fascinated by his use of finishing salt as I was impressed by the camaraderie he seemed to inspire in the kitchen. A lot of caterers seem to just hammer out the service, and really appear to be “at work”, but here was a crew that was making beautiful food, and enjoying working with each other.

 

Clyde Common strikes me as a distinctly Oregonian restaurant. Jason’s dedication to local ingredients and flavors, combined with traditional culinary techniques, create an approachably adventurous experience. So it was a no-brainer to have Clyde Common prepare the food for our celebration of all things Oregon.

Working in wine country has also given me the chance to meet some very talented winemakers (one of whom I work for) and vineyard owners. There is a sense of camaraderie within the industry that is unique to Oregon. I first met Chris Berg at the Yamhill-Carlton AVA Open House we hosted last year. He’s got an easy to like, down to earth personality, and is passionate about making wines that reflect their Oregonian origins. David Nemarnik owns and operates Alloro Vineyard and also shares our passion for crafting artisan wines to enjoy with the incredible culinary bounty Oregon has to offer.

 

The fact that we’re in this industry alongside passionate winegrowers like Chris and David, and that creative and talented Chefs like Jason and the crew at Clyde Common can turn the incredible local bounty our state has to offer in a spectacular meal are just a few of the reasons why I love Oregon. Thank you to everyone who attended the dinner, and to my crew here at the winery for all your help and hard work, I’m glad I was able to share. Here’s to 150 years.

 

Cheers,

Ksandek Podbielski

Director of Hospitality

Anne Amie at World of Pinot Noir

If you are a Pinot noir fan then you should be headed for Shell Beach, California this weekend for the Ninth Annual World of Pinot Noir.  A virtual who's who of pinot producers, this event is filled with tastings, dinners and technical seminars not to mention it's at the beach!  Over 170 Pinot noir producers and importers from around the world come together for this great event.  

Our winemaker Thomas Houseman is on a plane as I write this.  He'll be at the Friday Focus Tasting pouring our 2006 and 2007 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir as well as a sneak peak of our new reserve labels - L'iris Pinot Noir and Prisme Pinot Noir Blanc - very exciting!  Stop by the Anne Amie table and say hello.

For details and tickets visit www.wopn.com or call 805-489-1758.

Go Oregon Pinot noir!

Cheers,

Kim

Andina y Amrita- Un poco de verano en invierno (Andina and Amrita- A little bit of summer in winter).

Portland’s winter can stretch on  like wet asphalt, with no discernable horizon in sight.  Like the Inuit, who have numerous words for snow, we in the Pacific Northwest have a vast lexicon for rain.  When I feel that underneath my layers of Gore-tex and fleece I am sprouting vestigial gills, I yearn for a place in Portland where the cement skies of winter do not loom overhead like a tenement ceiling.  I yearn for food that seems to be filled with light-  flavors that transport me south, across the equator to the Southern Hemisphere.  For there it is summer when the light is at its most anemic here.  And, like Portland in the summer, I imagine sidewalks lined with cafes.  Humanity milling about.  Guitar music drifting from an open door.  Laughter spilling onto the street. 

I grew up on Florida’s panhandle, just blocks from the ocean.  In our backyard, like most others in our neighborhood, we had citrus and bananas.  I spent the time I wasn’t required to be in a school room at the shoreline, fishing and mucking about in the water.  Light filled every crevice.  Heat radiated from every surface.  Sand could be too hot to cross to make it to the tepid water of the Gulf of Mexico. Getting to the water’s edge often required literally running a gauntlet of scalding beach.

There is a part of my cellular makeup that yearns for heat, for sun, and for the fresh, “alive” flavors of summer- of my youth!  The tang of a fresh fruit puree, the buttery richness of avocado, the crunch and pleasing texture of fresh vegetables are what I desire most in the doldrums of winter.  The place I go to rescue me from myself is Andina, in Portland’s Pearl District. 

That’s exactly where I headed recently to escape flurries of snow and the unseasonably cold winter we have had this year.  A brisk walk from my truck brought me to the entrance of Andina. I opened the door to a heady blend of cinnamon and cilantro, of laughter and chatter.  I slid into a booth, joining others for a meal.   Looking out the plate glass window I watched light spill on bundled people tracing the steps I had just made as I dashed by minutes before.  Inside the amber-hued restaurant I enjoyed the view of winter through the glass.

A round of “entradas” later, the table was overflowing with color.  Every dish was a distinct study in both texture and flavor.  The crunch of jicama, zing of lime, buttery yucca, briny ceviche , a sweet-tart sauce of tamarind. Each bite offered new tastes and textures and led to feeling of respite from the shades of grey outside. 

This matched with a superb wine list makes Andina one of my favorite restaurants in Portland, both summer and winter.  Wine director and sommelier Ken Collura has assembled a wonderful assortment of food-friendly wines from around the globe.  On my most recent visit I had to see how our 2007 Amrita paired with the food on the table.  Amrita’s bright citrus and lean minerality was enhanced by the food on the table and vice versa. For the price of round of entradas and a few glasses of wine everyone at the table was treated to a little bit of summer in the middle of winter.

Technorati Tags: Andina,Pearl District,Amrita,Anne Amie Vineyards,Ken Collura

Congratulations, Andy!

Congratulations to Assistant Winemaker, Andy Gribskov, and his wife, Jill, on their beautiful new baby girl! 

Welcome, Molly!

I LOVE BOTTLING!

It’s that time again!  Pallets of empty bottles are stacked and waiting to be filled.  Our wine is in tank and ready to go into the empty bottles. The boys from Bravo Bottling have rolled into town in their shiny trucks and we’ll be labeling our 2007 Cuvee A and 2007 Willamette Valley Pinot noir this week and all our 2008 white wines next week!  The webcam is up again and we’ve moved it closer to the action!  If you liked the episode of “I Love Lucy” where all sorts of mayhem broke loose, then you might HAVE to make Anne Amie your station for the next few weeks while we bottle and label.  Click on the photo of Lucy and Ethel to take you to the webcam.  Remember, our webcam only works with Internet Explorer and you must have your pop-up blocker turned off!  Aside from that all you have to do is open a bottle of Anne Amie, kick up your feet, and watch us do all the work! What could be easier?  See you on the bottling line…..

Technorati Tags: Anne Amie Vineyards,Bravo Bottling,mobile bottling,winery webcam

Happy Birthday Oregon!

This Saturday marks Oregon's 150th year of statehood and we're celebrating in more ways than one. 

The Willamette Valley Wineries Association has organized 150 Days of Wine in the Willamette Valley.  Starting Valentine's Day Weekend and extending through Labor Day Weekend you can visit wineries and tasting rooms for special birthday events and activities.  For more on the 150 Days of Wine and a calendar of events, visit http://www.willamettewines.com/oregon150/index.shtm.

At Anne Amie we'll be celebrating by Blogging the Love about our favorite places to eat and drink in Oregon.  Find out where the locals go when they want the very best our great state has to offer.

How do we love thee Oregon?  We'll be counting the ways...

Virginia is for Lovers

of wine

of history

of culture

of food...

Being from Virginia, I've heard this saying my entire life.  My recent visit here reaffirmed this old mantra.  I got to spend a day with Christine and Rob from our distributors The Country Vintner in the beautiful, historic town of Charlottesville. 

First stop is a Charlottesville institution - Tastings.  There I met Bill Curtis who is no stranger to Oregon wine & its cast of characters.  I'm pretty sure he knows more people in the valley than I do!  I admire his philosophy which is to buy on taste and not rely on scores or big money advertising.  He liked our Pinot gris & Winemaker's Pinot so cross your fingers C-ville!

Next stop was Siips Wine Bar where owner George Benford gets seriously creative with his shop.  The last wine night included a burlesque show and I am really bummed that I missed it.  Hmmm, where can we do this in Portland...

Rob and I stopped for an amazing lunch at l'etoile where shared a table with buyer Jonathan for a quick run through our wines.  There are currently no Oregon wines on his list but I'm pretty sure we've rectified that!  Our Amrita and Pinot Gris paired beautifully with Rob's crabcake while the Winemaker's Pinot Noir was a perfect match for my shrimp and mushroom risotto.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

A special shout out to Farrell, owner at the Ivy Inn for not only using all local products but supporting domestic wine only.  They have been pouring our Amrita and Winemaker's Pinot for a while now - thank you!

Pictured above is Christine with Clifton Inn Dining Room Manager Deniz Dikmen who just happened to be celebrating his 30th birthday.  The Clifton Inn is rich in Virginia history as the land owned by the Jefferson family was passed down to Thomas Jefferson's daughter and son-in-law where they built the house.  It is a gorgeous 100 acres and there is fine dining where you can of course enjoy a glass or two of Anne Amie Pinot Gris and Winemaker's Pinot. 

Oregon Pinot Camp Alum Robert Harllee owns a great little shop called Market Street Downtown (He has another Uptown Market Street Shop as well).  He's also been a big supporter of Anne Amie wines and he and his staff are lots of fun. 

Last stop of the day was the beautiful and historic private Farmington Country Club.  Built before 1780 this estate also has ties to Thomas Jefferson who designed part of it.  Dining Room Manager Daniel Kaufman gave our wines a big thumbs up and you'll soon see our Pinot Gris (to start) on their list and hopefully we'll get to see Daniel in June at OPC.

On a side note, I'd like to thank Ellen Hewit from Country Vintner who I've yet to meet.  Ellen has been promoting our wines all over southern VA and this is before she even knew that my best friend was her babysitter.  Small, small world.

Go to Charlottesville and visit these great folks and enjoy a glass of Anne Amie while you're at it!

Cheers VA,

Kim

Snowed In for the Holidays

Usually this time of year our tasting room is all abuzz with last minute holiday shoppers or folks home for the holidays out enjoying wine country.  This season, it's awfully quiet around here as we've been snowed in (or out) of the winery for the last week. 

Pictured above are before and after photos looking out from the patio.  We thought we had a lot of snow last week but this today we're covered in about 18 inches.

We will keep you posted on when the winery is open.  We hope we'll be able to share some holiday cheer with you this weekend.

Our online store is still open and UPS is managing to ship so visit us online for last minute shopping at www.anneamie.com.  Please note that we are not able to get wine out in time for Christmas but we're positive your family and friends will appreciate this gift whenever it arrives!

Here's to Safe & Happy Holidays!

Kim

Fun with broken pipes and valves!

 

The valley is experiencing abnormal weather conditions with temperatures in the 20's and snow!  After a day at home yesterday, we made the slow drive out to the winery - with few of us making it up the driveway.  When we got here we were greeted by frozen and broken pipes.  Below is a photo of Thomas and Andy being super heroes fixing the pipe.  Yes, that is freezing cold water shooting out at them.  I was just happy to be there to catch the action.  Thanks guys!

Please be advised that our tasting room will be closed the rest of the week due to weather conditions.  Stay tuned to our website for next week's schedule.