The influence of cattle & weather on Oregon wine

Locals say that if you don't like the weather now in Oregon wine country, wait a minute or two. This time lapse shows 30 minutes of Oregon Spring-time weather in Briggs Hill Valley seen from Sweet Cheeks Winery vineyard just south of Eugene in the Willamette Valley.

Besides the clouds and sun breaks, watch the ant-sized cattle on the center left side of the big barn. (Cattle are part of the Oregon terroir, providing valuable aromas to make a more complex wine.)

After more than 100 Years, the French Return to Grow Wine in Cizhong, China

We drove our four-wheel drive Toyota over the LanCang (also called Lantsang, Lansang and Mekong) River, to our destination, Cizhong village in Yunnan Province, China.

Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in front of historic Catholic Church, first built in 1867 and rebuilt in 1909, in Cizhong village on LanCang River, Yunnan Province, China.

French missionaries planted wine grapes—including rare Honey Rose or Rose Honey vines—in remote Cizhong village in Yunnan Province more than 100 years ago. They wanted to convert the locals but also indulge in passions brought from home.

When the French left, interest in making wine faded, especially during the Cultural Revolution. 

Then Chinese liquor maker VATS Group winery ShangriLa, came to the area to encourage locals to grow wine grapes again. Over the years, ShangriLa vineyard manager taught the locals how to grow the best grapes for wine. That changed the whole economy of the region, from subsistence farming to producing a cash crop. People in the region, like those in Cizhong, had money to spend.

Then the French returned. Late February of 2012, French winemaker Moet Hennessy joint ventured with ShangriLa Winery to plant additional vineyards and utilize those already ShangriLa had established with the local farmers.

Looking forward, Moet Hennessy Chief Executive Christophe Navarre said just after the joint venture announcement: "China will be our number one market this year. I'm very confident in the continued growth of the luxury market."

Looks as if it has been a global wine market for some time.

Local teacher Zhang does his morning Tibetan cedar baugh offering from his home's deck, with a view of 100-year-old historic Catholic church, first built in 1867 and rebuilt in 1909, in Cizhong village on LanCang (also called Lantsang, Lansang and Mekong) River, Yunnan Province. Here the French monks planted wine grape vines. The decendents of those vines are still producing in the church garden.

Wife prepares breakfast in kitchen of Teacher Zhang's Tibetan-style guesthouse in Cizhong village on LanCang (also called Lantsang, Lansang and Mekong) River, Yunnan Province, China.

Morning light streaks in through window as teacher Zhang's wife prepares breakfast in kitchen of Tibetan-style hours and guesthouse in Cizhong village.

Photo of Kawa Garbo or Khawa Karpo in kitchen of Teacher Zhang's house  and guesthouse in Cizhong village on LanCang (also called Lantsang, Lansang and Mekong) River, Yunnan Province. The mountain is one of the most sacred mountains for Tibetan Buddhism, as the spiritual home of a warrior god of the same name and the highest mountain in Yunnan province.

Honey Rose grape vines in original vineyard planted by French priests at the historic Catholic Church in Cizhong village on LanCang River, Yunnan Province, China.

Tools needed to make great Oregon Pinot Noir

At IPNC (International Pinot Noir Celebration), I learned what it takes to make great Oregon Pinot Noir. 

Is it really that simple?

Monks divide Burgundy at Oregon's International Pinot Noir Celebration

If you you had a magnifying glass for the fine print identifying the wines in the photograph, you would read that all the wines we sampled at the "Study Abroad in Burgundy" session at Oregon's International Pinot Noir Celebration in McMinnville are either Premier or Grand Cru wines. That means they represent the best Burgundy has to offer. It was a shame to spit, but it was 9:00 a.m..

At my very first session at the International Pinot Noir Celebration, I learned it was the monks who divided Burgundy into wine growing regions hundreds of years ago. The IPNC session was "Study Abroad in Burgundy".

Those Cistercian Monks first appeared on the European scene nearly a 1000 years ago.  They built their first abbey at Cîteaux (Latin Cistercium, hence "Cistercian") near Nuits-Saint-Georges.  It just happeed that several of the wines we tasted in the IPNC Burgundy session had roots in the region. It felt like I was tasting history.

As they grew grapes and made wine, those monks kept great records, according to moderator Allen Meadows, who spends 4 months a year in Burgundy when he visits more than 300 domaines and publishes Burghound.com—an e-newsletter specializing in Burgundy. Those monks started to notice that the wine from one parcel tasted different from the next, sometimes from adjacent plots. 

Fortunately, they planted lots of Pinot noir, the most terroir transparent of grapes, says Meadows. He claims the monks were tasting differences in terroir, in geography, in soil, in temperature.


The monks attributed the taste differences to God. For those pious monks, Pinot noir was only the messenger, not the message.


Regardless, those monks prospected for terroir. They planted vines everywhere but only kept those that were the most interesting. And they took meticulous notes, keeping volumes of hand-written records. So now Burgundy has hundreds of years of history of knowing what will grow best where.

Thus today, Burgundy is divided into many different appellations, sometimes covering only a single vineyard. In fact, Meadows said there were some 1600 different "climats"—a term unique to Burgundy which designates each plot or group of plots of vines which have been known under the same name for several centuries.


In the end, Meadows and the 5 Burgundian panelist—Bertrand Ambroise from Maison Ambroise, Cyril Audoin of Domaine Charles Audoin, Philippe and Vincent Lécheneaut of Domaine Lécheneaut and Jacques Lardière of Maison Louis Jadot—seemed to agree with the historic monks: Pinot noir was the messenger of Burgundy terroir.

Thank you monks. Thank you God.

Thank you Anne Amie Winery, one sunny IPNC host

This weekend at the International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) conference at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, highlight sessions were held at Willamette Valley wineries which were undisclosed to us mere attendees until we boarded the bus to the destination. I lucked out. Our bus—tour guided by Texan-turned-Oregon-winemaker Rollin Soles—ended at Anne Amie Winery. What an Oregon treat.

With glass in hand, vineyard manager Jason Tosch gave us a tour of the estate vineyard while we sampled the results.

Some found the production equipment especially relaxing.

Then a honest peek at what it takes to make great wine.

Can life get any better than lunch with a panoramic view of the Willamette Valley?

Thank you to all the wonderful people at Anne Amie Winery for providing such a memorable Oregon experience.

Surprise backpacking weather in Washington Cascades

This is a short sequence of the variable weather my son Ryan and I experienced during our 4-day backpacking trip to Silver Lake in Henry Jackson Wilderness. This is mid July, and we were totally surrounded by snow, except for this tiny island of clearing where we set our tent.

Our original destination, Ice Lake in Glacier Peak Wilderness, was totally snowed out. Then we aimed for Silica Lake high in Glacier Peak and found the 7-mile road to the starting point was totally washed out. We were too lazy to do the 14 extra miles on a dangerous road where we would have to forge two major rivers where the bridges were washed out.

Silver Lake turned out to be great. We will return some day.

Life as a wine-loving backpacker

Here we are preparing for a serious backpack trip in the morning with my youngest son Ryan.

This is what it is like inside the tent on a very wet foggy morning at Silver Lake in Henry M. Jackson Wilderness in Washington's Cascades. Yes, we did have a bottle of 14 Hands (Check out my photos on their site)  Chardonnay the night before.