Pinot Briefs —Newsletter 11.39

Lede Family Wines Buys Carneros Vineyard Lede Family Wines, which owns the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producer, FEL, has purchased an 120-acre site with 86 planted acres off Highway 12 near the Napa-Sonoma county line in Carneros. Lede Family Wines’ founder Cliff Lede plans to redevelop the vineyard by 2020. He feels it is essential to control the winery’s grape supply by owning estate vineyards. Lede Family Vineyards has owned Savoy Vineyard since 2011.

Oregon Wine Trail 60 Oregon wineries from the Willamette Valley, Southern Oregon and Columbia Gorge AVAs will pour in New York City on May 6, 2019, at The Altman Building. Visit www.oregonwine.org/ trail/nyc/ for details and early bird tickets.

Wander + Ivy Single-Serving Wine This label, launched in Colorado, currently offers four wines: Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and a red blend in 6.3 ounce bottles - a little more than a standard glass of wine. the bottle is priced at about $6.99. The brand uses grapes from the Willamette Valley for the Pinot Noir.

Pioneering Woman Winemaker Mary Ann Graff Passed Away Graf was hired as the winemaker for Simi Winery in Healdsburg in 1973. She launched and ran the laboratory known as Vinquiry that provided testing services to wineries. She was the first woman to graduate from UC Davis with a degree in Fermentation Sciences.

Update on Smoke Taint Research winebusiness.com quoted Thomas Collins, assistant professor at Washington State University Wine Science Center, speaking at the recent Sonoma County Grape Day, as saying that smoke exposure can cause smoke taint both pre- and post-veraison. Previously, it was believed that wine grapes were most susceptible to smoke after veraison. Smoke composition will vary depending on the plants that are being burned and this will in-turn affect wine aromas differently.

Airline Routes Added to Santa Rosa American Airlines has announced expanded service to Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport beginning June 2019 and Los Angeles International Airport starting May 2019. Alaska Airlines already flies to Santa Rosa from Seattle, Portland, Los Angles, Orange County and San Diego. Sun Country Airlines serves Santa Rosa from Las Vegas and Minneapolis and United Airlines services Santa Rosa from Denver and San Francisco.

New International Directory of Wineries “Places” is a new international directory of wineries launched by My Wine Society (exclusively in-app). Places can be used to discover new wineries, plan a visit, check operating hours, view photos, contact a winery or schedule a tasting. There are hundreds of wineries on the platform already and there are projected to be 160,000 uses globally in 2019 and 500,000 users by 2020. Wineries pay $19.95 a month plus to become verified on Places. Places will be launched February 2019. For more information, visit www.mywinesociety.com/places/.

The Vinum Project Launches Vinum Collection founder Vanessa Price and Photographer Michelle McSwain have launched the Vinum Project Print Collection aimed at both wine and art lovers. The collection’s imagery is a humorous and vibrant take on the fusion of today’s wine lifestyle and contemporary art. These fine art pieces range from $400-$3,000 and prints range from $65-$125, For information and to view images, visit the online store at www.vinumco.com/store.

Oregon Solidarity Project Four Oregon wineries are collaborating to create three wines from 2,000 tons of Rogue Valley grapes rejected by California vintner Joseph J. Wagner who claimed the grapes were tainted from wildfires. Testing has not shown any adverse effect on the wine grapes. The four wineries are King Estate, Silvan Ridge, Willamette Valley Vineyards and Eyrie Vineyards. A Pinot Noir Rosé will be released March 1, a Chardonnay May 1 and a Pinot Noir August 1. The wines will be distributed in Oregon and Washington.

McMinnville Wine & Food Classic - SIP! This 3-day annual event, to be held March 8-10, 2019, is dedicated to fundraising for children’s education at St. James School in McMinnville. This year features an enhanced panel of Wine Competition judges, more high profile wineries and new awards categories. About 160 Oregonian food, wine and art vendors will participate including 75 wineries such as Archery Summit, Beaux Frères, Torii Mor, Lenné Estate, Yamhill Valley Vineyards and Youngberg Hill. Taking top honors in the formal Wine Competition was Cardwell Hill Cellars, which claimed Best of Show, Best Red, Best Pinot Noir and Double Gold for their 2014 Estate Dijon Blocks Pinot Noir. This 26th-anniversary event is hosted in the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. For more information, places to stay and tickets, visit www.macclassic.org.

Price Variation in Pinot Noir Linfield College students presented a Willamette Valley Pinot pricing study in the Oregon Wine Press: www.owp.com. The investigators attempted to determine what attributes explain variations in the price of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. They compiled information from 63 Willamette Valley wineries as well as information on wine review and wholesale websites. They tested eight attributes against the wine prices. They found that the inclusion of a LIVE certification increased wine prices by 27.8 percent, each additional percent increase in the ABV increased wine prices by 15 percent, and ratings associated with the bottle of wine predicted that with each additional score point in rating, the price increased by 12.8 percent.

Off-Premises Sales by Varietal

Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival The 22nd Annual Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival, sponsored by the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association, will be held May 17-19. Technical Conference with Lunch and Casual Evening BBQ on Friday, May 17, Grand Tasting and Winemaker Dinners and Concert on Saturday, May 18, and Winery Open Houses in Anderson Valley on Sunday, May 19. Unique on-site accommodations available at Camp Navarro. For more information and tickets, visit www.avwines.com.

Drizly Delivers Wine The wine deliver app Drizly has a new partnership with BevMo! in California offering one-hour delivery service of booze and wine from 45 stores located throughout the state. Visit www.drizly.com