Sokol Blosser Wine Blog

Check out this article on micro-oxygenation and new wine technology. I have such a reaction against this. It 's the processed cheese of the wine industry. The makers of Velveeta thought they were improving cheese and making it more reliable. In a time when there is a movement towards Farmers' Markets--natural, organic, sustainable, fresh and get to know where your food comes from--this seems to be the reverse trend. It is driven by bottom line thinking. I could go on, but I think I'll stop here.

Posted by Susan Sokol Blosser at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My mom and I were invited to Chicago to participate in a panel discussion about family business, succession planning, and passing values and traditions between generations. It was part of the Loyola Family Business Program, which we learned is one of largest and most prestigious family business centers in the world. We have to admit though, we're still a bit partial to Oregon State's Family Business Program. Gotta support the locals!

Chicago is an amazing food and wine town, and we got the opportunity to visit some wonderful places. The first night we ate at a hip Asian-inspired restaurant called Japonais, feasting on some melt-in-your mouth sashimi. I had the most amazing appetizer as well - they brought out a hot rock (the waiter claimed it was 350 degrees!) and steak sashimi-style. Using chop sticks, I seared each side of the steak on the hot rock for about 5 seconds and then plopped it in my mouth. Wow - it was amazing! I have never seen that before and it was a real treat.

The next day we had a beautiful 3-course lunch at Allen's. Prosciutto wrapped shrimp with Evolution for appetizers, wild mushroom ragout and seared ahi tuna paired with Meditrina, followed by seared duck breast with Estate and Dundee Hills Pinot Noir, and the finale was crème Brule with Dessert wine. We rolled out of there with full and happy bellies!

That night, we dined at another hip restaurant that had an amazing vibe and incredible decor, Carnivale. We shared some sashimi starters - complete with 3 different kinds of sea salt - and then mom had a delicious quinoa with roasted vegetable entree while I enjoyed my Australian barramundi. That was my first time trying barramundi and it did not disappoint.

On our final day, we had a relaxing lunch at Park Grill with the wine & food editor of Time Out Chicago. At night, we had a quiet dinner at Le Colonial. Since we had been drinking a lot of our own wines with every meal, we were delighted to see a dry Muscat made by Heidi Schrock, my mom's Austrian pen-pal. It paired perfectly with our salad rolls and spicy noodle dishes.

Posted by Alison Sokol Blosser at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Recently, several of Sokol Blosser wines were submitted to WinPac 17, a wine competition based out of Hong Kong. At the black tie Vintner's Dinner on February 2nd, the awards were announced! Here's how Sokol Blosser fared against other wines from around the world:

Evolution, 10th Edition - Silver Medal
Meditrina, III - Bronze Medal
2004 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir - Bronze Medal

We are very proud of our wines and our new awards! Thanks to Golden Gate Wine Co for their generous support of Sokol Blosser wines and the Sokol Blosser family. Cheers!

Posted by Kitri Culbertson, Marketing Coordinator at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February is the month of romance, and what better way to celebrate than to bring home a bottle of our Meditrina, III? This smooth blend of Pinot Noir, Syrah and Zinfandel is a delicious and food friendly wine - perfect for sharing with your sweetheart this February.

Join us this month at locations around Oregon to sample Meditrina, III:

February 10th - Made In Oregon - Galleria Store, 12-3pm (Sat)
February 11th - Made In Oregon - Washington Square Mall, Tigard, 2-5pm (Sun)
February 13th - Harvest Fresh Grocery Store - McMinnville, 3-6pm (Tue)
February 14th - Salty's on the Columbia, Portland, 5-8pm (Wed)
February 23rd - Hayden's Lake Front Grill, Tualatin, 5:30 - 8:00pm (Fri)

If you can't make it to any of these tastings, you can always head to our Tasting Room in Dundee, Oregon any day from 11am-5pm or shop our Online Store. Happy Valentine's Day!

Posted by Kitri Culbertson, Marketing Coordinator at 02:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Living in Canada? Looking for Susan Sokol Blosser's new book? Now this local best seller, At Home in the Vineyard: Cultivating a Winery, an Industry, and a Life, is available at select bookstores in Canada:

Vancouver, BC
Barbara Jo's Books for Cooks
1740 West 2nd
Vancouver, BC V6J 1H6
tel: 604-688-6755
email: bookcook@intergate.ca

Toronto, ON
The Cook Book Store
850 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON M4W 2H1
tel: 416-920-2665
email: cooking@ican.net

If you're looking for a good read, but can't find At Home in the Vineyard in your local bookstore, visit our Online Store to purchase your own autographed copy!

Posted by Kitri Culbertson, Marketing Coordinator at 02:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's only February 1st and we still have a whole day until we find out if Spring is here or if we have six weeks to wait, but Russ, Doug and Mario down in the Winery wait for no man - er, groundhog. Bright and early this morning our Cellar Crew was hard at work bottling our 2006 Rosé of Pinot Noir, and getting ready to bottle Evolution, 11th Edition tomorrow. Bottling will continue throughout the rest of this month, and possibly into the next.

Our Vineyard Crew has also been battling the cold weather to get our 75 acres of organically grown vines pruned and ready for budbreak in April or May. They've also been trellising our baby Pinot Gris vines. No rest for the weary!

Evolution, 11th Edition will be released on March 1, 2007 and our 2006 Rosé of Pinot Noir will be released on March 15, 2007 (just in time for the 2nd Annual Dundee Hills Passport Tour).

Posted by Kitri Culbertson, Marketing Coordinator at 09:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)