100% Oregon Pinot Noir, Sparkling Wine
Knudsen Vineyards
Willamette Valley AVA, Willamette Valley, Oregon

The 2007 Black Brut is a powerful blast of rich berry flavors lightly floating on a delicate cloud of bubbles. Currants and blackberry dance a lively waltz with notes of vanilla and rose petal on the palate as the finish goes on and on. The generous fruity body of this bubbly makes this a joy on its own, but its crisp acidity and supple texture beg to be enjoyed with a full-flavored meal.

Here’s a link to a PDF version in case the Houston Chronicle link isn’t active.

Of the Pinots tasted, this was a clear favorite. Creamy, concentrated fruit flavors power the Pinot from aromas of forest floor into a mid-palate that’s reminiscent of plum pudding, and black-cherry notes too. Yet the finish of refined tannins is bright and intense.

Thanks for the honor, SlashFood! Thanks Kristine Hansen!

Tasting Notes
You are all going to like this Pinot Noir. Besides the raspberry and cherry fruit aromas, this is the first Willamette Pinot I’ve ever gotten bright boysenberry fruit aromas from! Deep underlying scents of fresh tilled earth and Eastern spice rack further add to the complexity and wonderful smell of this classic Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. The mouth-feel and flavor exceed what one expects from the already enticing smell. This wine has lovely balance for those red fruits wrapped up into a velvet-textured tannin shell. The center of the palate is cherry creme with bright minerality. Enjoy a long lasting finish accented by red cherry and a hint of dark chocolate.

Proceeds benefit Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Diseases.

Enjoy heart-healthy gourmet dishes prepared by Bar Symon Executive Chef Matt Harlan, as well as a silent auction and raffle. Food will be paired with red wine samplings from award-winning Argyle Winery in Oregon and presented by owner/winemaker Rollin Soles.

Admission is $25 per person, which includes all wines sampled and gourmet menu pairings. No reservations required.

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2007 Reserve Pinot Noir Tasting Notes

1999 Extended Tirage Brut Wine Score & Review
2006 Argyle Brut Wine Score & Review
2007 Nuthouse Chardonnay Wine Score & Review
2006 Nuthouse Pinot Noir Wine Score & Review
2006 Spirithouse Chardonnay Wine Score & Review
2007 Argyle Brut Rosé Wine Score & Review
2007 Reserve Pinot Noir Wine Score & Review
2007 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Wine Score & Review

We’ll have more posted soon. Cheers!

This is the third year in a row that the Extended Tirage Brut has topped the charts for highest rated sparkling wine ever produced in the United States!

Wine Spectator says:
“Elegant, with very fine bubbles and complex spice, coffee, pear and toast aromas and flavors that are poised against lacy acidity and refined structure, letting the flavors sail on and on with finesse. Drink now.” – Harvey Steiman

1999 Extended Tirage Brut Tasting Notes
Welcome back to the New Millennium! Here’s your chance to get it right (or better) a second time! I bet we all remember what we were up to in 1999. This is a late harvested beauty of a sparkling wine. The aromas are complex, yet fresh and leap out of the flute. Look for fresh and baked pear, juicy red apple, and hints of bright citrus fruit like Meyer lemon and grapefruit. Ten years of aging has imparted aromas of freshly roasted hazelnut, citrus peel, lovely vanilla blossom and honey spice. Rounding out these scents are touches of yeasty goodness from Pain de campagne and fresh-baked biscuit. The flavor is especially rich and creamy with lemon/grapefruit citrus, Anjou pear and Cameo apple fruit. Melon and vanilla spice lay upon a stony mineral structure. The finish is fresh baguette and caramelized sugar creaminess that is long, vibrant, and shows the added persistence that late harvested (October/November) Chardonnay and Pinot Noir can bring.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Start by sauteing the red onion with a small amount of olive oil. Occasionally add 1/4 cup Argyle Brut to the sauteing onions for super flavor boost. The Brut will steam off, leaving the onions with a unique sweetness. Add a little olive oil if necessary to keep onions moist. Just as the onions begin to caramelize, slice garlic cloves paper thin add half the sliced garlic. When the onion/garlic mix has caramelized (careful not to burn the garlic), set aside.

Sautee chicken and/or pork sausage in any leftover oniony oil. Season with fresh ground pepper and salt if desired. Set aside.

Place the ready pizza crust on a large cookie sheet. Thinly spread olive oil all over top of pizza crust. Follow with thin coating of pesto. Optional: spread marinara sauce over pizza crust. Spread caramelized onions evenly over entire pizza crust. Spread sauteed sausage and the remaining sliced garlic over the pizza. Cover evenly with grated pecorino (don’t be
shy, add as much as you want), then follow with sliced or grated mozzarella.

Slice tomatoes to desired thickness and place evenly across crust. Repeat with fresh basil.

Bake pizza in oven for roughly 20 minutes – until the cheeses begin to melt and possibly brown (if you like that). The longer the pizza remains in the oven, the crispier the crust will be.

Remove pizza from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before slicing & serving.

Pour a flute of Argyle Brut and enjoy!

Here you can see the wine press literally being stuffed full with several tons of Chardonnay grapes.

Once pressed, the juice will be fermented and eventually used in our sparking wines like the Argyle Brut and blended with Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier for sparkling wines like our Brut Rosé.

Portland, Ore. (September 14, 2009) Thanksgiving elicits thankful thoughts, good cheer, visits from distant relatives, and in Oregon, the acclaimed Wine Country Thanksgiving in the Willamette Valley. The 27th Anniversary of Wine Country Thanksgiving kicks off November 27th, 28th and 29th from 11am to 5pm for most wineries.

This annual event held the weekend after Thanksgiving brings families together to experience Oregon wine country and to taste Oregon’s acclaimed wine; from Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris to its lesser known varietals like Pinot Blanc, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer. Visitors to this event will be able to see first-hand many of the Willamette Valley’s small, family-owned wineries. Some are only open to the public during Thanksgiving and Memorial Day weekends. Larger estate wineries are also popular choices for guests as they offer various amenities and activities for groups. These special weekends allow guests to meet the winemaker, sample new and special releases, and enjoy the festivities of the individual wineries.

“Visiting the wineries of the Willamette Valley during Thanksgiving is a great way for new wine drinkers to explore the area and learn about wine,” said Willamette Valley Wineries Association Executive Director, Sue Horstmann. “Visitors can taste a wide variety of wines and not feel obligated to buy something. It’s an opportunity to learn about one of Oregon’s most prized bounties in an intimate, approachable setting.”

Willamette Valley wineries can be discovered just south of Portland to as far south as Eugene. “Many people overlook the vast borders and opportunities of the Willamette Valley, continued Horstmann. “Visitors can use the Wheatland Ferry located just north of the Yamhill–Polk county border shuttling passengers across the Willamette River into the Eola Hills region. They can follow Highway 26 discovering some of Forest Grove’s treasures or meander down Highway 47 through Carlton and head west to Highway 18 en route to the coast. There are many gateways to wine country.”

For a complete listing of wineries open during Thanksgiving weekend, along with details about special events and individual tasting fees, visit www.willamettewines.com to request a touring map and guide.

About Willamette Valley Wineries Association
The WVWA is a non-profit industry association dedicated to achieving recognition for Oregon’s acclaimed Willamette Valley as a premier Pinot Noir producing region. Currently, the WVWA has 181 members representing wineries and tasting rooms throughout the Willamette Valley region – from Portland to Eugene. Memorial Weekend in Wine Country and Wine Country Thanksgiving are the two oldest wine touring events in Oregon. The WVWA also publishes an annual guide to wineries with a touring map. For more information or to request a wine touring map, please visit www.willamettewines.com or call 503-646-2985.

(Note from your humble photographer – the pork tenderloin with polenta was amazing, paired brilliantly with Nuthouse Chardonnay.)
 

Both the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes are very, very close to being harvested. After a huge thinning in early August, the remaining grapes have matured quite well, and are surprisingly delicious.

Here you can see clusters of Pinot Noir grapes:

These are Chardonnay grapes:

Stay tuned for more vineyard updates and harvest photos (and video!).
 

Goat Cheese Tart (from Barefoot Contessa):
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the board
• Kosher salt
• 13 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, divided
• 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
• 3/4 cup chopped shallots (3 to 4 shallots)
• 10 1/2 ounces garlic-and-herb soft goat cheese (recommended: Montrachet}
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 1/4 cup chopped basil leaves
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Preheat the oven to 350° F
• For the crust, put the flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Cut 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) of the butter into large dice, add to the bowl, and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, add the ice water all at once and process until the dough becomes crumbly. Don’t over-process. Dump the dough out on a floured board, gather it loosely into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough on a well-floured board and fit it into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable sides, rolling the pin over the top to cut off the excess dough. Butter 1 side of a square of aluminum foil and fit it, butter side down, into the tart pan. Fill the foil with rice or beans. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and foil from the tart shell, prick the bottom all over with a fork, and bake for another 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of butter in a small pan and saute the shallots over low heat for 5 minutes, or until tender. Place the goat cheese in the bowl of the food processor and process until crumbly. Add the cream, eggs, basil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the pepper and process until blended.
• Scatter the cooked shallots over the bottom of the tart shell. Pour the goat cheese mixture over the shallots to fill the shell (if the shell has shrunk, there may be leftover filling). Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tart is firm when shaken and the top is lightly browned. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and serve hot or at room temperature.
• ©2004, Barefoot in Paris

Chicken Tortilla Soup:
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium white onions, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
• 4 ripe large tomatoes, chopped
• 2 quarts chicken stock (approximate, more is ok), (options below)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Canola oil, for deep frying tortillas
• Corn tortillas, cut into strips (what ever width you prefer)
• 1 cooked chicken picked clean from the bones and shredded (options below)
• 2 avocados, pitted, peeled and sliced. Sprinkle with lime so they don’t brown.
• Cheese of your choosing (optional)
• Fresh cilantro chopped for garnish (optional)
• Lime cut into wedges just before serving
• Place a stockpot over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
  Add the onions, jalapenos, and garlic and cook 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and
  cook for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked down and pulpy.
  Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add
  the chicken just before serving to warm it up.

• While the soup is simmering, heat 1-inch of canola oil in a skillet over medium-
  high heat. When the oil is near the smoking point, add the tortilla strips in
  batches, and fry until they are crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined platter and
  sprinkle with salt while they are still hot.

• Ladle the hot soup into bowls and top with avocado, a squeeze of lime, and
  tortilla strips (and cheese if you choose). Garnish with cilantro if you wish.

• Chicken Stock option 1:
•   1 whole chicken (free range chicken is best but optional) don’t forget to remove the giblets
•   2 carrots cut in large chunks
•   3 celery stalks, cut in large chunks
•   2 large whit onions quartered
•   1 head of garlic, halved
•   1 turnip halved
•   1 small bunch of fresh thyme sprigs
•   2 bay leaves
•   1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• Place the chicken and vegetables in a large stockpot over medium heat. Pour in
  only enough cold water to cover (about 3 quarts); too much will make the broth
  taste weak. Toss in the thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, and allow it to slowly
  come to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 1 to 1 ½
  hours, partially covered, until the chicken is done. As it cooks, skim any
  impurities that rise to the surface; add a little more water if necessary to keep the
  chicken covered while simmering. Remove the chicken to a cutting board.
  When it’s cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones and hand-shred the
  meat into a storage container. Carefully strain the stock through a fine sieve into
  another pot to remove the vegetable solids. I recommend that you make the
  stock the night before you are going to use it. Place the pot of stock in the sink
  or a larger vessel and surround it with ice to cool it down. Place it in the
  refrigerator over night. The next day the fat will be sitting on top and can easily
  be removed. Refrigerate the chicken as well. The stock will last up to a week in
  the refrigerator.
• Chicken Stock option 2:
• Buy a whole rotisserie roasted chicken from the grocery store. Hand pick the
  chicken when it is cool enough just as described above. Store it in the
  refrigerator until ready to use.

• Buy boxed chicken stock from the store. This method is nearly as good as the
  home made stock and works great in a pinch but if you are trying to impress
  someone use option 1.

Black Berry crisp:
• 2 cups Flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 4 cups black berries
• Melt butter in 9 x 13 pan in preheated oven. Mix first 3 ingredients together (will be lumpy) and pour over the melted butter. Pour fruit over the top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
• Enjoy with a nice glass of Black Brut!

Strawberry Brut:
• 1 can frozen strawberry daquiri mix
• 1-2 (10oz.) cans of 7up, depending on taste
• 1 sliced lime
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• Argyle Black Brut
• To prepare,slightly thaw frozen mix,add the 7up and stir. Add lime slices. Put three to four small(frozen) berries in glass, pour in approx. 2 oz. juice mix then add enough Black Brut to top off the glass. Cheers!

Black Brut Float:
• Put a couple of scoops of Raspberry Sorbet in a glass.
• Pour Black Brut over the Sorbet & slush it up a bit (it tastes best when the Sorbet is slushy).
• Add a few fresh raspberries and a small wedge of pineapple.
• Top with fresh mint leaves.
• Pop in a straw, sip & enjoy!

From this point forward, grapes will continue to mature. We’ll thin the vines and then harvest grapes in the next 4-6 weeks.