At last! With the opening of The Allison Inn & Spa in the hills above Newberg, the Willamette Valley now has true world-class destination lodging. I can’t offer enough superlatives to do it justice – it is simply fantastic in every way. Design, luxury, quality, eco-consciousness, in every detail it is unsurpassed. I lived in the Napa Valley, and as wonderful as the Auberge du Soleil and Meadowood are – The Allison truly trumps them both.

World-class wineries vineyards and wines have been part of the landscape here for some time, but save for a handful of great B&B rooms, we’ve basically been limited to motels for the lodging part of the equation. The Allison is an absolute game-changer. I don’t know how many hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on this astounding project, but I am seems it is an instant hit – prior to their official opening they’ve already been packed. The upscale wine fan-tourist-luxury traveler now has a spectacular destination in Oregon wine country – and I am thrilled, to say the least.

On top of exquisite guest rooms and a 20,000 Sq. Ft. spa that blows away any I’ve ever seen, the food & wine program is outstanding. Chef Nathan Lockwood and restaurant manager Tom Bean are at the helm of the restaurant Jory – where my first two dining experiences have been nothing short of excellent. The wine list is thick and studded with not only a deep selection of the best of Oregon, but a plethora of great Burgundies and other Old & New World gems, and the mark-ups are among the lowest I’ve seen. Jory joins the excellent Farm to Fork in Dundee and Thistle in McMinnville as great new additions to the already vibrant Willamette Valley dining scene. Our blessings are multiplying!

In a short, a huge Welcome to The Allison – I look forward to wine-ing, dining, and spa-ing with you often!

The sprays used in Biodynamic viticulture are made by hand – or should I say stirred by hand (at least around here, anyway. Some folks use a mechanized stirr-er, but we’ve chosen to go the old-fashioned route.) The Oregonian’s wine writer - Katherine Cole - is in the process of researching and writing a book on Biodynamic grapegrowing and winemaking in Oregon, and we invited her along to help with a BD spray at Maresh vineyard yesterday morning in the Dundee Hills. Here’s the guest blog from Scott Paul winemaker Kelley Fox -

“The Oregonian’s wine columnist Katherine Cole met harvest intern, Jeff Hagen, and I on a beautiful late summer morning at Maresh Vineyard to help us prepare a biodynamic spray for our blocks. She generously volunteered to stir our prep for an entire hour. This is not an easy task. We sat on the ground at the very top of the vineyard and decided to face west overlooking the vineyard slopes in the near distance with the fading moon low in the sky.

Katherine stirred the entire hour, nonstop, making vortices in one direction, and then in reverse. She used my favourite, forked stirring stick, now smooth from repeated use, that I had found on the Maresh farm a couple of years ago. The hour passed quickly as we lit from subject to subject: biodynamic farming, the Oregon wine industry, Pinot noir typicity, and of course, human nature. 

Katherine Cole, stirring stick in hand...

Katherine was delightful company. It was very cool to then spray our vines with her good intentions. All around, we had a great time. I wish Katherine the best in writing her upcoming book about the people involved in biodynamic farming and winemaking in Oregon.”

If you join me in thinking that Joni Mitchell is one of the two greatest songwriters in history (alongside Dylan, I would have to say) – then I highly recommend a wonderful new book – “Will You Take Me As I Am – Joni Mitchell’s Blue Period” by Michelle Mercer. It’s well-written, full of intense one-on-one conversations with Joni herself, and I found it inspirational, illuminating and insightful all at once. I found it thought provoking, and it led me down a lot of interesting corridors, without getting too geeky or academic. The book covers Joni’s brilliant work from 1971′s Blue through 1976′s Hejira – and probes deeply at the art of it – autobiographical songwriting at it’s highest form. Joni’s music was and is a gigantic inspiration to me – I’ve often said that it changed my life and helped in many ways shape who I’ve become, or at least what I understand about myself, among other things. I’m only one of apparently several million who feel that way. Here then is a really good look at why that may be – not to mention the revelation that “The Last Time I Saw Richard” is NOT about her first husband, as we’ve always thought and had been led to believe…

“Will You Take Me As I Am” is also the question that nature asks us every year as we prepare for harvest in the vineyards. Wanting conditions to be ideal is only natural – but the fact is they truly never are. Like our lovers, friends, and family members – they are what they are – each vintage brings its own unique character to the party regardless of what we’d like it to be. As vintners, I see our job as one of accepting what we’re given, and finding the truth and beauty within each harvest’s distinct personality. That said, some are certainly easier to like than others, to be sure.

Speaking of which, the optimism continues in Burgundy – where a number of our growers will be starting in the next 2-3 days. I received a great note from Romain Taupenot at Taupenot-Merme in Morey-St. Denis this morning – translated here:

“We start on Friday – we should be harvesting under sunny skies, with beautiful grapes that are superbly balanced – ripe tannins, aromas of fruits and flowers that are fully developed and complex. The skins have thickened, the seeds are ripe and are not giving off astringent tannins, the pulp detaches easily from the skins – in short, the prospect gives me great joy…”

All of the vintages ending in “9″ have been excellent in Burgundy – so perhaps the trend will continue. More as it happens… In the meantime, a parting look at my beloved Metolius river, where the holiday weekend was spent in peace and relaxation, with my nose buried deep in the Joni Mitchell book…

Just watching the river flow...

Fall 2009 — “Better Late Than Never…”

Well, harvest certainly won’t be as late as last year, but as I write in mid-September we seem to be at least another 10-15 days away – definitely pushing us into a later-than-average start. It has been an odd growing season – a late, cool start to spring, a few early hot days (followed by a quick frost that wiped out portions of Ribbon Ridge), three distinct major heat spikes over the summer (each followed by uncharacteristically cool periods), a couple of August rain episodes, and then some more yin-yang in September – going back and forth from hot and dry to cool and wet. All that said, it looks like we have the potential for another good one, but until the grapes are in the fermenters, we really have no idea… Follow all the harvest updates – Burgundy and Oregon – here on the Blog…

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2007 Cuvée Martha Pirrie Pinot Noir – The end of the line!

“Last of the Cuvée Martha Pirrie” Saturday, October 3rd, 12-5
To order online, click here…

Not only are we nearing the end of our supply of the 2007 Cuvée Martha Pirrie, it is also the end of Cuvée Martha Pirrie, period (at least for the foreseeable future). 2007 was the last vintage we produced this wine. Throughout the years it has mostly been from younger vines and from purchased fruit, from vineyards that we no longer work with. (Going forward we will only be working with fruit that we farm ourselves, from our estate and leased sites in the Dundee Hills and Chehalem Mountain.) At $25/bottle (and a 10% case discount) – it’s one of the best values around in delicious Oregon Pinot from top pedigreed vineyards. Only 75 cases available.

Join us in our tasting room for the “Last of the Cuvée Martha Pirrie” event on Saturday, October 3rd and we’ll taste the first and the last vintages (2000 and 2007) – we’re sorry to see her go, but happy that she’ll be going to good homes! Our daughter Pirrie will happily sign your bottles too!

The 2007 version of our value-priced Cuvée Martha Pirrie is an excellent example of everything we hope for in this bottling – pretty red fruits layered over a lithe and supple frame, nicely balanced acidity, and a silky, yummy finish. It has put on some weight and added complex spice notes over the last year in the bottle, and is drinking beautifully right now.

Burgundy Harvest 2009, and Incoming 2007′s

Reports from our growers throughout Burgundy have been reverberating with excitement – most started picking around the 10th of September, and at this point they feel they have the potential for a spectacular vintage. The grapes were ripe, healthy, clean, and delicious. I can’t wait to get over and taste in November and get a first look at what the vintage has to hold. In the meantime, here come the yummy 2007s!

New releases from J-J Confuron, Lucien Le Moine, Taupenot-Merme, Jean-Marc Millot, Benjamin Leroux, Anne & Hervé Sigaut, Huber-Verdereau and Violot-Guillemard are on the way – watch your email for all the updates, and our annual special pre-arrival offering of the micro-quantities of the Lucien Le Moine wines (which are once again drop-dead gorgeous!)

The Burgundy Express Club

If you’re interested in learning more about the complex and fascinating wines of Burgundy – the Scott Paul Burgundy Express Club is the way to go. It’s a unique wine club, in that it’s really all about education. You get two 4 to 6-bottle shipments per year of wines from our Burgundy portfolio, hand-selected by me specifically for the club, and you get them at 20% off.

Each of these shipments comes with a packet of detailed maps, tasting notes, photos, and historical information – making these shipments a virtual “wine seminar in a box”.

The next shipment will go out in mid-October, and it’s a fascinating study of the wines of Chambolle-Musigny, the village that produces Burgundy’s most elegant, refined, lacy and delicate reds. The wines in each shipment are sold at 20% off the retail price – and while you are an active member of the club you also receive 20% off all of your Burgundy purchases from us. To join the club, just contact Kelly Karr – kellykarr@scottpaul.com or call (503) 852-7300. We currently have openings for 25 members. Club memberships also make a great gift (hint, hint)…

2008 Audrey Futures!

Every year since the first vintage of Audrey in 2003 – this wine has developed a cult-like following of its own. Audrey is our selection of the best few barrels of the vintage, and since 2005 has always come from our old-vine blocks of Maresh Vineyard in the Dundee Hills, originally planted in 1970 (making it Oregon’s 5th oldest vineyard).

The 2008 Audrey is a study in elegance, balance, and texture. Winemaker Kelley Fox and I had little to do but watch this wine “make itself” – the grapes were perhaps the finest we’ve ever worked with, and our job was simply to stay out of the way and let this wine display all that mother nature brought to the table. Only 200 cases were produced, and you can taste the wine for yourself here at the winery every weekend in November – we’ll be taking futures orders starting on November 7th, and will continue until the end of the month. Futures are sold in 6-bottle quantities only (maximum 24 bottles per person), and are offered this year at the Futures price of $44 per bottle. If any wine remains after the futures offering, the release price will be $65.

Holiday Bubbles

Our wines from Champagne Marc Chauvet have been selling like proverbial hotcakes. We’re excited to have more coming in for the holiday season, with more of the delicious NV Brut Réserve, and their top-of-the-line Special Club 1999 (which spent nine years on the lees in bottle prior to disgorgement – an awesome bottle for your celebrations at $55.)

And of course the greatest value sparkler of all is Domaine Huber-Verdereau’s Crémant de Bourgogne – 100% Pinot Noir from just below Volnay, and it totally rocks at $22.

UPCOMING EVENTS…

Farewell to Cuvée Martha Pirrie – Saturday October 3rd
As noted above – this is the end of the line for our young-vine, yummy, value-priced Pinot. We’ll have a bunch of special goodies on the tasting flight along with the first and last vintages (2000 and 2007)– plan to join us in the tasting room from 12-5, and take home some wine to stash for your upcoming parties.

Volnay Tasting and Wine Club Pickup day– Saturday October 17th 12-5.
Our Pommard tasting last weekend was a big hit, and now we’re moving next door to the village of Volnay. Home to the most floral, feminine and graceful reds of the Côte de Beaune, the tiny village of Volnay (Pop. 250) is the base for an exciting new generation of vignerons. We’ll feature both village and 1er Cru wines from Huber-Verdereau, Pascal Bouley, and Violot-Guillemard – all of which will be offered at 25% off. Watch your email for all the details…

La Paulée de Carlton – Saturday November 7th (Let’s Party!)
Our 4th annual “La Paulée de Carlton” is set for Saturday, November 7th, and we are ready to eat and drink exceedingly well – with the hopes that you can join us!

Be here for a special Multi-Winery event in our tasting room all day from 12-5. First up, it’ll be your first chance to taste and buy futures of our pride and joy and most sought-after wine – the 2008 Audrey Pinot Noir. Only 200 cases of this beauty were produced, and like its predecessors it is simply stunning (in our humble opinion!) The complete Scott Paul line-up will be available for tasting as well.

In addition, we’ve invited a few other friends & neighbor winemakers to join us. Scott Paul’s own Kelley Fox, who started her own brand two years ago, will be pouring her first releases, along with our friends from Belle Pente– making it a very festive day, with all sorts of great wines open for tasting from all the producers. (And of course a nice Burgundy or two will be in the mix!)

Then that evening it’s our annual La Paulée dinner. Since it’s inception in 2006 we’ve held it in our cellars, but this year we’ve decided to try something different. With world-class The Allison Resort & Spa now open in Newberg, we’ve got the perfect venue for a luxurious evening of dining and pinot-swapping of the highest order. In the tradition of Burgundy’s famous “La Paulée de Meursault”, all guests are invited to bring some older wines from their cellars to share around the room. The past few years have seen a veritable ocean of great old Burgs and Pinots making the rounds – it has become one of the great nights of the year for us, and I look forward to it immensely! A special menu will prepared for us by chef Nathan Lockwood and his team at the Allison’s Jory restaurant – the hottest new dining destination in wine country. Seats for the dinner are $125 each, and space is limited. To reserve your spot contact kellykarr@scottpaul.com or call (503) 852-7300 asap.

Salud – November 13th & 14th
Salud is the Oregon Pinot Noir auction – 42 of the valley’s top producers make a single barrel of their best wine specifically for Salud – and the wines are sold at auction in case lots over the course of two back-to-back events every November. All proceeds go directly to funding health care for Oregon’s vineyard workers – the program is currently serving over 8,000 workers, in fact. We are proud and honored to part of Salud again this year, and urge you to join us for these great events (and to bid high for our wine in the auction!) Tickets and details at http://www.saludauction.org

Champagne & Chambolle – November 21st & 22nd
The weekend before Thanksgiving has become a wine-tasting tradition in its own right here in the Willamette Valley – especially for those who want to get out ahead of the holiday crowds. This event was so well received last year, we’ve decided to make it an annual affair. It’ll be festive all weekend with Champagne from Marc Chauvet, and a selection of Burgs from my favorite village of Chambolle-Musigny – including bottlings from J-J Confuron, Hervé Sigaut, and Taupenot-Merme. And our own Scott Paul goodies will be here too, of course. We’ll be open 12-5 Saturday and 1-5 Sunday. Tasting fee is $20 for this event, refundable with any 3-bottle purchase.

Thanksgiving Weekend Open House – November 27th, 28th & 29th
The granddaddy of them all! Come on out for our joyous annual celebration in wine country. We’ll be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11-5 with a great line-up of Scott Paul Pinot and Burgs to taste, including your chance to taste and buy 2008 Audrey Futures.

Your $10 admission fee is refundable with a purchase of 3 bottles or more, and includes a selection of yummy cheeses, patés and charcuterie.

Burgundy Seminars

We’re excited to continue our series of Burgundy seminars next year, with classes for both beginning and advanced Burg-lovers. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about one of the world’s finest (yet most confusing) wine regions – these seminars are for you. Classes take place every month January through June – call Kelly Karr at (503) 319-5827 to book your seats and for more information. The 2010 Schedule will be available in December.

As always, thanks for joining us on our amazing journey!

Martha, Scott, Kelley & Kelly – the Scott Paul team

Excitement is building on the Côte d’Or, with about 10 days to go the fruit is looking great, and ripening conditions have been simply superb. If, and it’s a huge IF, of course – the weather holds for the next 10 days-2 weeks, we could have a vintage of dreams in Burgundy this year.

Just got these shots in from Mounir Soauma at Lucien Le Moine – who is very excited at what he saw in the vineyards yesterday. First, Chambolle-Musigny les Amoureuses:

Then – Clos de Bèze:

And Bonnes Mares:

Wow – it really doesn’t get any better. Tiny, healthy, clean clusters, ripening under warm days and cool nights. Keep your fingers crossed – anything could happen, but the potential is really really nice right now! More as it happens…

Wow, our little strawberry plants just keep giving.  I’ve just turned this bowl of berries into a small jar of skillet preserves.  I used the same simple recipe that I blogged about earlier.  And as promised, I’m reporting on the slow-roasted tomatoes that I wanted to try from The Oregonian.  Mmmmmm…..anticipation and expectation are mounting!  I worked on the computer while the tomatoes roasted and became more and more aromatic.  I had a very vague idea of tossing some of the roasted tomatoes with shrimp and leftover pasta.  I sautéed the shrimp in the residual oil from the tomato roasting.  Ooops, not enough leftover orzo nor spaghetti.  Needing something to stretch the dish, I opened a can of garbanzo beans.  Now it’s shrimp and garbanzos sautéed in aromatic oil with roasted tomatoes and orzo and a sprinkling of cotija cheese.  I hope it’s as good as it seems it will be.  Then again, how bad could it be?  In the meantime, as I wait for the family to assemble, I’m relaxing with a wonderful 2007 Frederic Gueguen Chablis Les Grandes Vignes ($28), and popping homegrown sungold tomatoes with little bits of the cotija.  Wonderful!

Tomorrow morning we head off for our annual Labor Day Weekend trip to the Metolius River in central Oregon. It’s perhaps my favorite place to re-charge the batteries and get ready for the intensity of crush, then the Paulée dinner, then Salud, and then my annual fall pilgrimage to Burgundy. Last chance to chill, as it were, the proverbial calm before the storm. And what a calm it is…

The Metolius flowing through the "town" of Camp Sherman

Meanwhile, the weather here in the north valley seems to be holding up nicely as the grapes continue on their journey to ripeness. What exactly constitutes “ripeness” is a matter of great debate among winemakers everywhere, of course. To me, it means grapes that are nicely in balance with fruit, acidity, and tannin – and potential alcohol that ideally is around 13-13.5% if mother nature allows. At any rate, I still think we’re looking at maybe the 1st week of October or so. The Biodynamic calendar shows a great picking day for October 6th – maybe we’ll get lucky and the ripeness and the calendar will line up in our favor…

Across the pond, our Burgundian growers are telling me that they’ll be starting mostly between the 10th and 15th of September – they’ve had an excellent growing season overall (never without some problems in Burgundy, it seems) – but they’re on track for a potentially excellent one if two more weeks of good weather ensue. I’ll keep you up to date as it all develops…

On the footy front, I was a bit crushed to see Arsenal lose to United on the weekend, as they outplayed and outperformed the Manchester side for the vast majority of the game, only to lose on a dubious penalty and a horribly unfortunate own-goal. Oh well, the season is very very young. Nice to see Inter slaughter Milan last weekend, and my boys in Barcelona and Lyon are also off to excellent starts. Many many months of excellent matches to come betwen now and May – which makes me a happy man…

On the local front, another great dinner at Farm To Fork in Dundee last night – Chef Paul Bachand is doing a delicous job, with a menu that makes me want to order everything on it. The new luxury destination-resort – The Allison – in Newberg, is now open, and early word is that their new restaurant “Jory” (named after the soil type in some of our vineyards here) is very promising indeed. (In fact Paul Bachand told me he ate there the other night and loved it.) I look forward to trying it out soon…

Have a great Labor Day weekend – we’re open in the tasting room Fri-Sun from 1-5, with lots of great Burgs and Pinots open for tasting – come on by if you’re headed this way!