Sokol Blosser Wine Blog

On a recent sunny Sunday, I came out to the winery not to work, but to taste wine with a couple relatives and a guest from New Jersey. After tasting and enjoying the wines, our favorite being the '02 Estate Pinot Noir, we bought a bottle and went to the deck to munch on cheeses, breads, and fresh raspberries dipped in chocolate, that we had brought along. After filling up on good wine and good food, we wandered around taking photos of the flowers and vineyards. There's always something new blooming among the wildflowers. It was a good way to spend an afternoon.

Posted by Paula Pallett, Accountant at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Answer: 5 + one dog to supervise

Oregon Pinot Camp begins tomorrow, and we're looking forward to having 250 "campers" at Sokol Blosser on Sunday and Monday for vineyard seminars about sustainable viticulture (the seminars are affectionately called "Bugs, Weeds and Pinot Noir"). To prepare for whatever Mother Nature gives us, we put up our 20x20 tent.

Granted it's Friday afternoon, quite sunny and my brother, Alex, had just eaten several large handfuls of gummy bears, but is this really the best way to pound the tent poles into the ground? Regardless, it's quite clear that our winemaker, Russ, HAS REALLY GOOD BALANCE (maybe that's why our Pinots are so balanced??)!

In the pictures, from the top:
1) Alex & Andre
2) Alex, Lee Medina (regional sales) and Scott Nagle (national sales)
3) Russ

The only one smart enough to stay away from the camera was Mario, our cellar worker extraordinaire. And me, of course, since I was snickering and taking pictures to put on the website.

P.S. Wondering what Oregon Pinot Camp is? It's an invitation-only event open to members of the wine trade - restauranteurs, wine buyers and some distributors. Fifty Oregon Pinot producers fund this great opportunity for the trade to learn more about Oregon Pinot.

Posted by Alison Sokol Blosser at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Great news!! The NY and CT legislatures have both passed bills to allow us to ship wine directly to consumers in both of those states. The bills are currently awaiting signatures from the Governors of those fine states and we will let you know just as soon as we're able to ship there. Both states will require us to get a license and collect sales tax, so it may take 1-3 months before we can actually start shipping into NY and CT.

The news is not quite so cheery from MI. There are several bills in the legislature there that would prevent both in-state and out-of-state wineries from shipping directly to consumers. If you live in MI, please write your local Representative or Senator urging them to vote no on those bills!

Posted by Alison Sokol Blosser at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've done many winemaker and vintner dinners at great restaurants around the country. But few compare to last night's feast at Carlyle in NW Portland. Imagine sitting at an enormous custom-made table with 4-foot high floral arranges and 6 wine glasses per seat (and about 4 forks) in the middle of a vaulted ceiling commercial kitchen with a gentle breeze flowing in through an open door. That was last night and these pictures hardly do the evening justice.

The food was exquisite. New Executive Chef Daniel Mondok outdid himself by preparing approximately 7 courses for us. Here's a quick look at what we ate and drank:

- Amuse Bouche - tuna tartare
- Line caught young bay sturgeon vallee' d'auge with 2004 Rosé of Pinot Noir (pictured at right)
- Butter-poached greener pastures quail with 2003 Dundee Hills Pinot Gris
- Liberty Farms duck pot-au-feu en croute with 2002 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir
- Seared Painted Hills petit filet mignon with 2002 Old Vineyard and 2002 Watershed Block Pinot Noirs
- Lemon raspberry vol-au-vent with 2002 White Riesling Dessert Wine
- Assorted cookies

Although we sat in the kitchen last night, I look forward to returning to Carlyle to sit at the bar or dine in the restaurant.

Posted by Alison Sokol Blosser at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How cool is this? Yummy Diego publishes weekly reviews of the top restaurants in the San Diego metro area and the most recent review was of a place called Fresh in La Jolla. The "Best of the Barrel" award went to our Evolution wine, which Fresh serves.

La Jolla restaurateur Sami Ladeki opened in Fresh in 2002. The menu is focused on fresh seafood from around the globe. The menu and the hip decor are a great complement to Evolution.

Click here to read the full review.

Click here to visit Fresh's website.

Posted by Alison Sokol Blosser at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)