Nate on this wine: “This is our first wine from a site at 1400 feet on the west side of Underwood Mountain. The site was organically farmed prior to its purchase a few years ago and the farming is now regenerative with animal integration, minimal mowing, and a wide variety of plant life in different states of growth beneath the vines. It feels absolutely lovely to be in and close to the feeling we get when we’re working in our own vines.
“Underwood Mountain is an extinct shield volcano with South-facing slopes looking straight down on the Columbia. It’s “Big River” grape growing and as close to the feeling that one gets from being on the Rhine or the Mosel in North America. It’s also a very cold place to grow grapes (Albarino ripens in November here!) and given the proximity to Mt. Adams and Hood it feels very Alpine. At their best wines from here combine the attributes of wines from the Mosel with Alpine ones encountered in places like the Eisack Valley or Valle d’Aosta. To further complicate the puzzle of Germanic wine references, this is our attempt at a Gemischter Satz-esque wine; the blends of many varieties grown within the city limits of Vienna and served in traditional wine bars there.”
Grapes: Gruner Veltliner, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc
Place: site at 1400 feet ALS on the west side of Underwood Mountain, an extinct volcano. The coldest part of the gorge with late harvests.
Making of: the grapes were picked together manually, spontaneously fermented on the skins whole cluster for ~2 weeks, pressed by foot in a wooden press back into a wooden tank to complete their fermentation “en cuve”, before barreling back down into smaller old casks to age. Bottled early, without sulfur, to capture as much energy and life as possible. Unfined, unfiltered.
Personality: “This wine captures all the referenced worlds. It glows and just alludes to orange. It tastes of melon, mirabelle, Sichuan pepper and green high mountain oolong. The presentation of these is extremely delicate, understated, precise and tea-like. Culture: A picnic with the cows in an alpine meadow.”
“Underwood Mountain is an extinct shield volcano with South-facing slopes looking straight down on the Columbia. It’s “Big River” grape growing and as close to the feeling that one gets from being on the Rhine or the Mosel in North America. It’s also a very cold place to grow grapes (Albarino ripens in November here!) and given the proximity to Mt. Adams and Hood it feels very Alpine. At their best wines from here combine the attributes of wines from the Mosel with Alpine ones encountered in places like the Eisack Valley or Valle d’Aosta. To further complicate the puzzle of Germanic wine references, this is our attempt at a Gemischter Satz-esque wine; the blends of many varieties grown within the city limits of Vienna and served in traditional wine bars there.”
Grapes: Gruner Veltliner, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc
Place: site at 1400 feet ALS on the west side of Underwood Mountain, an extinct volcano. The coldest part of the gorge with late harvests.
Making of: the grapes were picked together manually, spontaneously fermented on the skins whole cluster for ~2 weeks, pressed by foot in a wooden press back into a wooden tank to complete their fermentation “en cuve”, before barreling back down into smaller old casks to age. Bottled early, without sulfur, to capture as much energy and life as possible. Unfined, unfiltered.
Personality: “This wine captures all the referenced worlds. It glows and just alludes to orange. It tastes of melon, mirabelle, Sichuan pepper and green high mountain oolong. The presentation of these is extremely delicate, understated, precise and tea-like. Culture: A picnic with the cows in an alpine meadow.”
