Amalie Robert Estate Climate Update: July 2021

Hello and Welcome, 

 
This is the Amalie Robert Estate Climate Update: July 2021. 
 

As most of you know, the west coast is experiencing a record drought, the forests are on fire and our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is turning color two weeks early. And that was only July! We just can’t wait to experience August and September. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. 

Pommard Clone Pinot Noir sporting a NEW look!

In our 60 acres of Willamette Valley wine country, July was mostly a pleasant month with “abnormalities” here and there – that’s why it is called farming. We were able to keep pace with the explosive vine growth and rescue one of Ernie’s Italian Stallions from block 29. Most of the heavy lifting is complete, and we now await The Great Cluster Pluck to visit itself upon us.

 

Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means. ®
 

A FLOG communication (Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram @AmalieRobert Estate. We are posting on Facebook and LinkedIn. Check us out if you can. We can use all the likes we can get… Want to learn more about Amalie Robert? Take the Tour!

Will you be in our area enjoying the Dog Days of Summer? Amalie Robert Estate is open by appointment for vineyard tours and tastings. And dogs are always welcome visitors! Select your preferred day and time with the Big Red Button.

 

Have you ever wondered how some places got their names? Consider Greenland and Iceland, they are complete misnomers. While the O.K. Corral sounds just fine, it was located in Tombstone Arizona. This is actually not too far from Deadwood where Ernie gets his old barrels. He checks for lead slugs before filling them. And then their is Broken Spoke, located just downstream from Poison Well.

Or Italian tractors with names like LanDIni which sounds a lot like LamBORgini, but alas it is not the same. Ernie decided early on that his life would be simpler if all of his machines were of the same manufacturer. This makes sense if you think about maintenance and the ability to swap parts across platforms if needed. But choose wisely as the problems of one are likely to crop up on the other two. At least it won’t be a surprise – the second time.

 

 

Has this ever happened to you? You are driving down the road, staying in your lane and digging on the radio. Then you hear that highway start to whine and you know that left rear tire is about to go. So you just limp on down the shoulder on the rim until you get to the Dew Drop Inn.

 

Has this ever happened to you - twice?

Well, if you are hedging along in block 29, and all 5 spokes of your LanDIni wheel snap off the hub, your choices are significantly more limited. And it’s not a whine that you hear, it is a thump-thump-thump that you feel as the right front hub is now bouncing off the wheel, sans spokes.

Well, first things first and power everything down including the flail mower and 10 hedger blades spinning at a bazillion rpm. The tractor fits between the rows just fine – most of the time, but there is little room for the suicide doors to open and let the operator exit the cab. After some effort, Ernie managed to get out and around to the hedger side of the machine. And just as sure as shishito peppers, all five spokes were broken off the hub. The wheel studs were still torqued into place – learned that lesson last time, and each one was holding a piece of the corresponding broken spoke. Isn't that something...

 

The Italian Stallion with hedger, disabled in block 29.

It took Ernie a few minutes to fully appreciate the gravity of the situation. As in how to get the tractor out of the middle of the vineyard on just three wheels. And the fact that the hedger was hanging off the same side of the tractor as the broken spokes, significantly altering the center of gravity of the entire machine. And the overall lay of the land which was sloping toward the hedger, further adding load to the dysfunctional right front hub. And not to mention the tractor was oriented downhill, adding even more load to the front axle of the disabled machine.

Once most of these thoughts coalesced in his mind, he turned to the nearest vine and articulately explained the situation in excruciating detail – using no uncertain terms. Expletives were not deleted. Their indeed may well be a tapestry of obscenity still hanging over Ralphie’s house, but we can assure you that vine will never be the same. Then a quick look at the time revealed it to be EXACTLY beer-thirty. It was a brisk walk back to the house.

 

After lying awake all night, Ernie devised a plan that may lift the right side of the tractor to allow the wheel and broken spokes to be safely removed. Alternatively, the tractor might just take a shine to the next row and tip over. Too soon to tell.

 

Dena accompanied Ernie along with a passel full of jacks, boards, blocks, sockets, wrenches and whatever else he could conjure up to block 29. The good news is that the machine was still there. And that was also the bad news. It was not a dream.

 
LanDIni hub, sans wheel.

Having had to perform a similar rescue on the other wheel driven LanDIni tractor a few years back, Ernie had some experience to guide him. As longtime readers of the FLOG know, experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.

 

First off a section of 2x8 board was placed under the axle, then the 2 ton floor jack went on top of that, just in case the jack sank into the soil. A fixed height jack stand went under the axle just in case the whole damn thing went south. Then slowly and very gingerly, Ernie began to work the jack.

 

Some encouragement was taken from the fact that the axle started to raise, and just on one side – the intended side. Soon Ernie was able to remove the wheel studs, broken spoke bits and then the broken wheel. Dena was there to collect and catalog all of the bits and pieces. She also had 9-1-1 on speed dial.

 

Riding with the King. Ray King that is, of King’s Industries. Ray is a genius in his chosen profession. Ernie knows this because he was able to fix the last TWO LanDIni wheel failures. Experience isn’t such a bad thing after all. Sure enough, Ray applied his talents and in less than 24 hours, Ernie had a viable wheel.

 

The Ray King Special - Better than new!

R&R stands for remove and replace. So, it was back up to block 29 with a repaired wheel and all the bits and pieces from the day before. First raise up the axle and then slowly position the wheel. Dena expertly applied WD-40 to the wheel studs, (new) lock washers and nuts. Ernie lined everything up and inserted the studs through the wheel spoke into the hub and threaded the nuts onto the backside. Hey, this could work!

And then we arrived at the moment of truth. Would the repaired wheel hold? What if it didn’t? Only one way to find out. Ernie fired up the machine (it started on the first try), activated the hedger and SLOWLY drove down the row. Dena was a few rows over and ahead observing.

 

Everything held. Ernie went down to the shop to put the final torque on the wheel studs, then it was back to work. There are four front LanDIni wheels that seem to lack structural integrity. Ray King has fixed 3 of them. Just one left. That’s Italian roulette, in the farming idiom.

 
 
Veraison Comes Early to the Willamette Valley.
 

Based on the growing season to date, it was not unexpected to see our first blazing Willamette Valley Pinot Noir berry on July 28^th. The average date for this sort of behavior is August 15^th, but we haven’t seen anything like that since vintages 2010 and 2011. While everyone knows it was hot in June and now again in July, the underreported story is the nighttime temperatures.

 

The vines get most of their work done during the daylight hours absorbing Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) and turning that (along with carbon dioxide) into energy (glucose) which is stored in the leaves. The leaves release oxygen as a byproduct – and what a very important byproduct that is. This cycle is more commonly known as photosynthesis. But this is only half of the story.

 

One of these things is not like the others!

Energy stored in the leaves is like money in the bank. It is nice to have but the vine needs to spend that energy on the rest of the plant. And most of that work happens at night when the sun is down. The vascular tissue translocates the energy from the storage cells in the leaves to the rest of the vine and wine berries. But it only can do this with temperatures above 50 degree’s, more or less.

 

If it is too cold, the leaves cannot fully discharge their storage cells overnight. That means the next morning the vine has a reduced photosynthesis potential because some of their storage cells are still full from the previous day. Reducing the photosynthesis potential for the next day slows the ripening curve allowing for aroma and flavor development before building excess sugar concentrations. Let’s have a look at the June and July nighttime temperatures.

 

June 2021 temperature graph Willamette Valley, Dallas, Oregon.
 

The solid blue line at the bottom represents the daily historical average nighttime temperature for the month of June. As we can see toward the end of the month the ACTUAL LOW temperatures were nearly equal to the historical AVERAGE HIGH temperatures. This means the vines were getting all of their energy out of the leaves for the next morning. And yes the scale is correct. Our high temperature in June was 118 degrees.

 

July 2021 temperature graph Willamette Valley, Dallas, Oregon.
 

July continued the above historical average nighttime temperatures early on and then again at the end of the month. A bit of relief mid-month, but still, the nighttime temperatures are significantly above the historical average. High temperatures during the day and night means the vine is running WFO (as in “to run at full throttle with uncaring abandon”) and advancing the ripening curve. The best we can hope for is cool August nights. Yeah, Fuggitaboutit already.

 

And guess what helps foster increased nighttime temperatures. It’s our newfound companion “particulate matter” in the atmosphere. Like maybe smoke from a distant fire, or not so distant fire. From here, it’s looking like another early cluster pluck. But wait! There is more.

 

A plume of smoke from the not distant enough Bruler fire.

Available Soil Moisture, get it while you can.
 

“And its dry as a popcorn fart,” said Pierre. No rain since the beginning of June and none in sight until maybe mid to late September. We are not the dust bowl, but it is considered a drought. We are not saying that it can’t rain, just that it won’t rain. So now two factors move to the forefront of the chess board - canopy management and rootstock choice. Unwelcome hot August winds from the east that desiccate the wine berries are just a given for this kind of vintage.

 

After dealing with the excessive heat of the past few vintages, Ernie adopted the shorter canopy principle. The idea is that alcohol is grown at the top of the canopy. The more leaves up there, the higher sugar concentration in the wine berry, and that means more alcohol potential in the wine. So, off with their heads! We used to grow a 7.5 foot canopy, but now we just go to 6.5 feet.

 

Rootstocks are the part of the grafted vine that grow underground and supply all of the available soil moisture to the other half of the vine that grows the wine berries. And rootstocks are like dogs. There are all kinds of different dogs for all kinds of different people. Somme rootstocks have roots that do not grow very deep, it’s just how the way they are. Kinda like the legs on a basset hound – that’s all the more they got.

 

Rootstock rooting depth comparison.

Rootstocks are usually sorted out by how deep their roots grow. Deeper roots mean more access to water late in the season when rain is not forth coming. Vine A has a very shallow rooting habit, while vine C is considered to be very deep rooting. Many vineyards are planted on shallow rooting rootstocks to advance the ripening window. These decisions were made decades ago when the the growing conditions were significantly different than what we are experiencing today.

And in vintage 2021 if this is you, then you are screwed. Unless you have irrigation. But even then, as soon as you turn off the water, better be ready to harvest. Fortunately, Ernie discarded conventional wisdom and most of the vines at Amalie Robert Estate are grafted onto deep rooting rootstocks like 5C. But this year in some of our shallow soils, even 5C is feeling the burn.

 

As we close in on a harvest window, the vine itself becomes our worst enemy. The vine has seen this movie before, genetically speaking. It knows the wine berries are an annual crop, but the vine must endure year to year. And it knows that if the roots fail to bring up moisture to the leaves, it can always raid the water from inside the wine berry through the vascular tissue.

 

This is called desiccation. It can happen from the unfriendly hot east winds in August. And it can happen from the vine’s own survival mode. Either way, water leaves the wine berry and that increases the concentration of sugar. The higher the sugar concentration, the higher the alcohol potential, or leave the wine sweet. Aroma and flavor continue to wait out the clock, but the high sugar concentrations force a premature cluster pluck.

 
 
What Does This Mean and Why Should I Care?
 

The nighttime temperatures are propelling the vines to advance ripening and bring the harvest window forward. It is as if they are experiencing a warmer growing region. Can you say Paso Robles? These are not classic Willamette Valley Pinot Noir growing conditions.

 

The growing conditions we are experiencing are changing the ripening curve. Specifically, this means wine berries accumulating sugars in a shorter time period. Vines accumulate sugar in the wine berries as a function of heat, or degree days. The hotter it is, especially at night, the less time they need.

 

Remember, they are on a path to ripen seeds and develop a nice purple sugar packet around them that a bird or raccoon can see and then eat. The seeds are then deposited far and away, and the vine has accomplished its primary mission – to become fruitful and reproduce.

 

Aroma and flavor are more dependent on time on the vine. A longer, cooler growing season typically yields lower alcohol potential and more elegant aromas and flavors. That is why Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is its own thing. It has its unique terroir driven signature.

 

The wine will be good. The wine will reflect the vintage and its growing conditions. And that pretty much describes our first trademarked piece of intellectual property. “Wines true to the soil, wines true to the vintage.”®

 
 
The Numbers.
 

The month of July recorded a blistering 618 Degree Days. The high temperature for the month was 103.5 degrees recorded on July 30^th at 5:12 pm and the low temperature was 47.3 degrees recorded July 15^th at 5:30 am. The 20 year average July Degree Day accumulation for the vineyard at Amalie Robert Estate is 539 Degree Days. A trace of rain fell on July 31^st - blink and you would have missed it.

 

 

Total growing season Degree Days through July now stand at 1,658. This is the hottest growing season we have ever experienced. The first runner up is vintage 2015 with 1,431 Degree Days followed by 2018 at 1,395 Degree Days. The 20 year average growing season Degree Days accumulation through July for the vineyard at Amalie Robert Estate is 1,144 Degree Days.

 

 

Please note, the TOTAL Degree Day accumulation for vintage 2010 was only 1,722 Degree Days. Alternatively, vintage 2003 added approximately 1,300 Degree Days during the months of August and September for a vintage total of 2,699 Degree Days.

We are reminded of the unique perspective George Carlin presented when describing baseball and football.  “Baseball has no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings. Football is rigidly timed, and it will end even if we've got to go to sudden death.” – George Carlin

 

In our winegrowing idiom, baseball represents the growing season and heat accumulation – we don’t know when it’s gonna end. Football is all about harvest. Once those wine berries are cut from the mother vine, that’s the end of the growing season game.

 
Kindest Regards,

Dena & Ernie

Amalie Robert Estate Vintage 2021: Preview Part II - You Don't Have to be Crazy to Grow Pinot Noir, But It Helps!

Hello and Welcome, 

  

Spring bulbs and their moment in the sun.

Are we there yet? Almost. It won’t be long now. The first day of spring is March 20^th. Mother Nature gave us a shot across the bow with a wonderful spring collage of blooming bulbs. What she meant was “Finish your pruning. Right Faming Now!” She has a schedule to keep. You don’t have to be crazy to grow Pinot Noir, but it helps. Just ask the cherry trees. They know we are about there.

 

Here is a shout out for Susan R Lin. Susan is a long time FLOG reader and has recently been named Master of Wine by the Institute of Masters of Wine. She is now one of 56 Masters of Wine in the US, and one of 418 worldwide. And you are going to LOVE her research paper (the third and final stage of the exam), where she explored classical music and champagne perception. We imagine these to be rosé champagnes, or perhaps wines with a strong Pinot Meunier component. Congratulations Susan!

 

Tied down and ready to grow!

A FLOG communication (Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram @AmalieRobert Estate. We are ramping up on FaceBook! (If you don’t like us, we don’t wanna know…)

 

But is has been cold at night. Remarkably cold after our Ice Storm episode. But we do have the trellis repaired and the new vines are in the ground. Most of the downed trees and branches have been cleaned up, but not all of them. There are a few limbs “in waiting” so we are careful to look up as we walk under them. Farming, it’s what we do when we are not growing wine.

 

 

Click on the image to see Ernie on the crawler.

The chisel plow on tracks. Ernie was out on his crawler this week with the chisel plow opening up the vineyard floor for its much-anticipated spring cover crop of buckwheat and vetch. It is his open-air machine that he uses in the spring. He calls it his roadster for the vineyard. There is nothing quite like the smell of freshly turned soil in the morning.

 

Freshly tilled soil in the morning.

The benefit of a machine on tracks is that it spreads the tractor weight out over a larger surface area than 4 tires. The result is less pressure on the soil to avoid compaction. Compaction happens when a downward force compresses and collapses the soil’s air channels thus ruining the soil structure. Vine roots, worms and a whole host of other soil organisms and microorganisms depend on some air in the soil. Compaction is bad, very very bad!

 

Soil aerated by Ernie with the chisel plow.

A properly aerated soil is similar to a meringue. A compacted soil is more like a nougat. Compacted soils hold very little water as we move into the dry summer months. Vines growing in compacted soils will just look at you in disgust as early September rolls around. They will have desiccating wine berries because there is no soil moisture. They know what you did in the spring before they woke up. They are not happy, and when they are not happy, you will not be happy.

 

Freshy chisel plowed rows under the watchful gaze of Mt Jefferson. Smells nice!

 

Busting up any compaction.

Now, consider the chisel plow. This thankless implement opens the soil to improve life for the subterranean soil organisms and microorganisms. It busts up any compaction from the prior year and creates new chambers to hold air and soil moisture. It is also one helluva root pruning device. The benefit to that is no shallow roots. We want deep, deep roots to colonize the soil and extract as much magic as possible for our Estate grown wines.

 

And that is the focus of this FLOG, growing wine. In the Adult Recreational Beverage world, wine is unique in that it is the WINEGROWER that determines the alcohol content. Beer and distilled spirits each in their own way are free to determine the alcohol content of the finished product. Beers can run the gamut from low alcohol summer beers to full-on Doppel Bocks that make it really difficult to stand up and focus after a pint. Whiskey, Bourbon, and Scotch can be 90 proof or cask strength. Ever Clear is made from grain and is bottled at 60%, 75.5%, 94.5% and 95% alcohol by volume - that’s 190 proof! (Don’t ask how Ernie knows this.) The barley, wheat or rye grain were all grown the same.

 

Not so with wine. The Holy Grail of winegrowing is to harvest wine berries at the peak of flavor for the intended wine style with the appropriate level of alcohol potential, aka our old friends Fructose and Glucose. The ideal scenario is that aroma, flavor, texture and tannin are all maturing in step with sugar accumulation. Sugar accumulation is a function of heat during the growing season. Apparently, Mother Nature has not been kept in the loop these last few years…

 

Welcome to Murphy’s world. We stopped counting when we got to a million things that can go wrong in any given vintage. The vagaries of agriculture, and farm equipment in particular, are well documented throughout human history. Fire, smoke, plague and pestilence are all familiar bedfellows to agriculture. And as if right on cue, Brood X cicada nymphs (The Great Eastern Brood) is making its way to the surface right now, en masse. It’s just once every 17 years, but when it happens it covers 15 states!

 

Sunday, March 14^th was national Pi (3.14) day. Wednesday, March 17^th is St. Patrick’s Day. We would like to point out that Shepard’s Pie is no more of a pie than a cow pie is a pie. Go for the real thing. A nice cherry or peach pie. You will be glad you did!

 

Click on the image to learn about M.C. Escher 

Right, back on point. We know that for Pinot Noir we need 105 days from flowering to fully developed aroma, flavor, texture and tannin. At least we used to know that. And we used to grow a full canopy to achieve compete ripeness in each and every vintage. The world has changed, and we have changed with it.

 

It’s all because of Viognier. That wine berry has a proclivity to produce sugar way in advance of developing aroma and flavor. Aroma and flavor is the whole point of growing Viognier. While we just grow 3 rows of Viognier, this issue has gnawed on Ernie for quite some time.

 

Assuming you are doing the right things with the vineyard floor, such as improving soil structure with cover crops, avoiding compaction and keeping the grass cut short to preserve soil moisture, there are only two places to make adjustments. The canopy and the crop load.

 

Let’s focus on the canopy. The two areas in play are the fruit zone and the top of the canopy. The fruit zone is really important as that is where all the aroma, flavor, texture and tannin are shaped during the growing season. Depending on the variety and the use of whole clusters, we are taking or leaving leaves in the fruit zone to achieve our desired results in the bottle.

 

Dijon Clone Chardonnay ripening in the sun.

Chardonnay and Syrah for example have most of their leaves removed in the fruit zone. This allows for a full expression of those two wines. Pinot Meunier and Noir suffer from overexposure and they can lose their sublime, elegant character so we remove very few leaves.

 

Fermenting with whole clusters also adds texture and tannin structure. Shaded Pinot Noir fermented with whole clusters gives us the sexy midpalate we desire with elegant stem tannins that will soften during bottle maturation. Syrah is our firebrand that sees full-on sun exposure and a significant portion of whole clusters during fermentation. This creates a 25+ year wine, if done properly.

 

Removal of leaves in the fruit zone lowers the alcohol potential. Conversely, if very few leaves are taken due to stylistic choice, alcohol potential is higher. That takes us to the top of the canopy to dial in our alcohol potential.

 

Our vineyard construct is 7.5 feet for Ernie and his now vintage tractors to drive, and 4 feet between each vine. A perfect sunlight capturing ratio is 1:1 for row width to row height. So, mathematically a 7.5 foot row spacing means a 7.5 foot tall canopy will maximize sun exposure. But does that make the best wine? In a cold vintage such as 2011, yes, it is very helpful. But those days are long gone.

 

1967 Dodge Charger. 

A hemispherical combustion chamber typically has a better volumetric efficiency than a more common wedge combustion chamber. But all that extra horsepower is not really very helpful if it is converted into tire smoke. We need to match horsepower potential to our available traction.

 

So, there is the fly in the ointment, as they say. What we have learned is that our leaf removal program in the fruit zone is sacrosanct to our interpretation of the world’s greatest wines. If you mess with too much or too little sun exposure on the wine berries, the wine will not be what you want it to be.

 

Our key to moderating alcohol potential lies at the top of the canopy, assuming all other viticultural inputs including soil moisture preservation (and rootstock choice) are done correctly. Ernie’s hedger is fully adjustable and can cut a canopy to over 7.5 feet tall or as low as 6 feet. He can’t cut any lower than that, because that is how tall the posts are. Most of them anyway, he has been “involuntarily adjusting” the height on a few of them.

 

Of course, the first vineyard hedge happens mid-season so we don’t really know where we are going to end up. This is what it looks like for now, and that is where we are headed. Vintage 2021 will most certainly be the vintage of the year. Oh, look at the time, its 4:26…

 

Kindest Regards,

Dena & Ernie

Amalie Robert Estate Culinary Inclinations Series Part V: Fruits of the Sea and a Bottle of BFC

Hello and Welcome, 

  

It is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and the rainy season in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. What a perfect time to imagine a sunny (and dry) adventure at the other end of the world. Freshly caught and expertly prepared wild seafood and a bottle of Chardonnay will set you right. Please join us for our Culinary Inclinations Series Part V: Fruits of the Sea with a Bottle of BFC.

 

A FLOG communication (Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram @AmalieRobert Estate.

 

“Hanging out” at the Boat Shed Café, South Island, NZ

 

Do you kinda wish you were someplace other than here? Jimmy Buffet sang about it on his White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean album. Seems apropos. You don’t have to stay home, but you can’t come here. While that may be so 2020, it still happens to be true if you want to travel and dine at the White House. That’s the one in New Zealand, on the north end of the North Island.

 

And if you do get to New Zealand, check out the Boat Shed Café at the north end of the South Island. They are quite literally “hanging out” over the bay. You can stay just down the road with the Honest Lawyer, ask for the bus driver’s suite. It is just about as cozy as 35 square feet can be! Been there, had that done to us. And while it was FANTASTIC, you have to leave the room if you want to change your mind. Yeah, it’s that small. The room, not your mind.

 

 

Dining at Home with Thoughts from Afar.

 

But no matter, you are there trying to make the best of it. We are here, trying to make it better. Freshly caught and Southern Hemisphere inspired seafood is our culinary inclination for today. Or “fruits de mer” (fruits of the sea) for those of you coping with current events in a French idiom.

 

 

Chardonnay is the world’s most abundantly planted wine grape variety. And for good reason. It can be one of the most enjoyable wines on the planet. Either by itself as we denude ourselves from the responsibilities of the world at large or indulge in a fabulous meal to celebrate simply being alive here in this place, at this time. And it just so happens that Chardonnay rhymes with Tuesday, and Wednesday and… No wonder it is so popular, it is a wine for all week. Truly a Festivus miracle!

 

The term Barrel FERMENTED Chardonnay (BFC) is somewhat cumbersome, so we use a TLA. Our BFC is called the Heirloom Cameo. One of the other alternatives is SFC, which you may have guessed is Stainless Steel Fermented Chardonnay. We do that too, and that wine is our Dijon Clones Chardonnay. (TLA is an acronym for Three Letter Acronym.) Our BFC is akin to White Burgundy, where the SFC is stylistically closer to Chablis.

 

Before we get too much farther down the rabbit hole, you may find yourself looking for a little inspiration. So chill, and maintain your BFC at an approximate temperature of 55 degrees, or SFC at about 45 degrees. When you feel the moment is right, pull the cork and enjoy the pleasures of BF or SF Chardonnay.

 

Barrel v Stainless Steel fermentation – what’s the difference and why should I care? Stylistically the SFC is clean, crisp and laser focused with palate cleansing acidity. A great wine to have at the raw bar with oysters, chilled shrimp or Uni, although this last one may be an acquired taste.

 

The BFC is like the old “E” ticket at Disney World, it can take you anywhere you want to go. Barrel fermentation adds scintillating aroma, breadth and depth to the palate and maintains the core of fruit, while tempering and lengthening the finish. Over the course of a meal, the BFC changes and develops more complexity. Due to this evolution, you never finish a meal with the same wine you start with. And that is a journey well worth savoring.

 

 

If you’ve got a minute, with nothin’ to lose, let us take you on a BFC Cruise. It’s a Deep Dive into cool climate Oregon Chardonnay. Or skip down and look for the pirate. We’ll catch up with you there.

 

 

We grow our Chardonnay in block 24, which is actually 5 rows of Dijon Clone Chardonnay 76 and 6 rows of Dijon Clone Chardonnay 95. All vines are grafted onto 5C rootstock and our soil is Bellpine series marine sediments. That becomes important at the end of the growing season when those deep roots are still pulling up water to keep our wine berries from desiccating. Nearing harvest, shallow rooted vines have a tendency to starve the vine for water and that results in the vine taking water from the wine berries. The sugar is still there, but there is less water resulting in a higher concentration of sugar and that converts to higher alcohol levels in the finished wines. That is not the desired result in either a SFC or BFC. If this triggers any wine growing related questions, you can click here to “Ask a Farmer”.

 

 

 

All of our Chardonnay wine berries are cluster plucked during the same harvest window and are field sorted. Then Ernie hauls only the best clusters up to the winery to get weighed. From there they are sorted and loaded into the press. There is NO CRUSHING. Our Chardonnay is whole cluster pressed. This processing method leads to less potassium in the juice resulting in a firmer, natural acidity in the finished wine. While it is true, crushing before pressing and using rice hulls in the press will give higher yields of juice, we feel it is lower quality juice.

 

Now this is the important part, pre-fermentation oxidation. Once all of the juice is pressed into a single tank, it settles for a couple of days. The juice is a very dark brown due to the bruising effect of the press and oxidation. Think of a piece of fruit that has been dropped, it turns brown in that spot AFTER you get it home. Especially pears and bananas as they look like they got caught in a street fight. A press is really a great big bruiser that also happens to extract the juice.

 

The idea is that you want all of this browning and oxidation to occur BEFORE the fermentation begins. The alternative is to have this process happen after fermentation - in the bottle. The French producers of White Burgundy have tried the other way and discovered Premature Oxidation. Premature Oxidation occurs when the juice was not permitted to complete oxidation before fermentation. This resulted in off color and aroma in the bottle, hence the term PREMOX.

 

Right. Now it is time to run the hose through the holes in the fermentation floor and gravity fill our 500 liter puncheon for the BFC and a couple of 1,000 liter stainless steel tanks for the SFC. Fermentation begins forthwith with the help of a fish tank heater to keep the yeast active until all of the glucose and fructose is converted to ethanol – no residual sugar. Then we add a little specialized bacteria to convert the malic acid to lactic acid. Once this malo-lactic (ML) conversion is complete (about 6 weeks or so) the wines take two completely different paths to bottling.

 

The SFC is separated from the yeast lees and moved up to the unheated fermentation area to begin cold stabilization. There is no further yeast lees contact. During the winter months, temperatures drop into the mid 20’s to lower 30’s and the wine goes through cold stabilization. The effect on the wine is to form little potassium crystals, known as wine diamonds. You may have seen these crystals in a bottle of white wine after it has been refrigerated. It happens, but we like it to happen before we bottle the wine. Next is a pass through a polish filter of 0.5 microns, then Ernie is filling bottles and Dena is stuffing in corks.

 

BFC 500 liter puncheon.

 

The BFC is in so such hurry. It is resting comfortably on its lees below ground along with about 400 barrels of Pinot Noir, Syrah and a few neutral barrels holding Pinot Meunier. But the BFC reigns supreme with the biggest barrel at 500 liters. Everything else is just 225 liters. The barrel maturation period lasts about a year, then it follows the same path to bottling as the SFC. As far as the bottling process goes, we begin with the current vintage SFC and follow with the prior vintage BFC.

 

Congratulations, you made it! Take a breath, or a sip as the case may be. We now return you to our Culinary Inclinations Series Part V: Fruits of the Sea with a Bottle of BFC.

 

 

Secrets of culinary inclinations were often spread by troubadours, roving medicine shows selling (snake oil) elixirs and other travelers. For people who inhabited far away islands, pirates were often a source of culinary information, along with the usual pillage and plunder. Maybe even pandemics. While COVID19 is not the world’s first pandemic, our global response to it is unique to our time. As we used to say, the questions don’t change but the answers do.

 

One thing that may surprise you is that the New Zealand Rock Lobsters (called crayfish by the Kiwis) have no claws. This is good and bad. Good in that after you handle a few live specimens, you will still be able to count to ten using only your fingers. Bad in that you are missing out on that excellent lobster claw meat. And good in that you will be able to prepare the rest of the meal employing fully functioning opposable thumbs.

 

Thanks to the pandemic, or tariffs and trade wars, or whatever, the Australians seem to be awash in these crustaceans. They lost access to an exceptionally large market and the locals are trying to pick up the slack.

 

Supply and demand, not just a good idea, but in fact an unwritten law, is taking its toll. Let’s try and help them if we can. Here’s how.

 

The first thing you will need to do is co-locate with your whole crayfish. We suggest a local purveyor, or you can harness the power of the internet to find suitable specimens that can be shipped directly to your door. And since it happens to be cold in most of the Northern Hemisphere, this should not pose a spoilage problem.

 

We are going to end up under the broiler, or out on the grill after someone scrapes off the snow, but first we are going to make a stop in a steaming pot of water. The secret to an irresistible cray tail is to give it a little time in steaming hot water. This method allows for the meat to cook through, thus preventing a disruption of your evening plan with trip to the emergency room.

Once thawed, anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes in about 2 inches of steaming hot water is just about right, depending on size. This leaves the meat slightly translucent, an ideal condition to finish under the broiler, unless you can actually get the grill to light. “When was the last time the propane tank was filled? Did you check the regulator? Maybe it is frozen.”

 

This next step is where we separate the gut line from the prized tail. Cut your cray lengthwise through the tail and remove the gut line. The meat should still be just a little underdone. The wine, chilling nicely at 55 degrees, most likely needs to be refreshed as you toast to your achievement. “It sure looks cold out there. Any luck with the grill, honey or should I just use the broiler?”

 

You may be in a holding pattern as the grill is yet to be confirmed. Use these few minutes to whip up a homemade aioli. Add a little Dijon mustard, white balsamic vinegar, raw egg yolk and roasted garlic to the blender. Have your best quality olive oil at the ready as you activate the blender. Slowly pour in the olive oil to ensure it is being incorporated and stop when you achieve the desired consistency. While the chances of getting the proportions and timing exactly right on the first attempt are not zero, they are very close to it. We suggest making a few trial attempts, with a sip of SFC inspiration, before the main event.

 

It’s time to make the call. This is your “grumpy lobster boat captain” Bill Belichick moment. While you have great confidence in the offense, 4^th and 20 from your own 15 yard line is not the time to go for it. You start the broiler and lure your grill mate back into the warm house. A little BFC will go a long way to provide soothing comfort. “No one will even notice. Your left eyebrow will grow back in no time.” You may need to find that reserve bottle, already at chill, in case you have to share.

 

Other culinary inclinations that do not lend themselves to the outdoor grilling experience (and the ensuing machinations) include pan seared scallops over black truffle risotto. There are only about 15 million Gordon Ramsey videos that demonstrate how to properly sear a scallop. Fried or baked sea salt and black pepper calamari with roasted red pepper aioli is another excellent pairing with your SFC.

 

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you can occasionally find white Chinook salmon. These are real Chinook salmon, but they do not process the color pigments from the crustaceans in their natural diet. This affects about 1 in 20 fish. The result is that their meat is milk white, but oh so delicious. Another Pacific Northwest favorite is steelhead. These are ocean going trout that swim back into fresh water to spawn. Norway and Scotland raise these fish for export and fresh fillets may be available in your local market. After planning the revolution, you may find frogs legs, Burgundy snails or a bucket of steamed mussels with crusty French bread to be in order. The use of excess butter and garlic is the key.

 

And let’s not forget the tastiest crustacean of all, the king crab. A product of cold Alaska waters these crabs make the meals of marriage proposals. To be offered sparingly and with a dedicated purpose in mind. Dungeness and other crabs are available seasonally in local markets. Crab cakes are another way to add your signature preparation to this delicious meat. Soft shell crabs are a once-a-year thing, so you will need to plan ahead. They do.

 

While a bit of a master class in execution, skewered prawns interleaved with prosciutto finished under the broiler are a tried-and-true way to get that new living room set, or big screen TV you have been eyeing all year. However, skewered prawns can be finished on the grill, so a little pre-planning is in order. An empty propane tank is probably the most effective deterrent to the entire grill saga. Strategy suggests letting the first glass of SFC work its magic before pointing out the empty propane tank situation.

 

Now the aioli is perfect and the table is set with the appropriate tools, accoutrements and BF or SF Chardonnay. The broiler is glowing red and ready to receive your bisected cray’s.

 

A little olive oil and a dusting of smoked paprika on the translucent meat is all you need to create the perfect presentation. A quick sip and in they go. This may not take much time, so be near the broiler with hot pads at the ready.

 

The sweet succulent meat separates easily from the shell, the wine gravity flows from bottle to glass, and you have just received notification that the grill sold on eBay. Well done. “Look outside honey. It is starting to snow, again…”

 

Chardonnay is there for you. Add a harvest bounty from the sea and let your culinary genius run wild.

Kindest Regards,

Dena & Ernie

Amalie Robert Update: 2019 Pinot Meunier Release!

Hello and Welcome, 

 
This is an Amalie Robert Estate Trade Update: 2019 Pinot Meunier Release! A FLOG communication (Farming bLOG) from Dena & Ernie @AmalieRobert Estate. Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. 
 

We like to release Pinot Meunier just before the holidays. There is not a more festive, entertaining and food friendly wine than Pinot Meunier. It goes with EVERYTHING! Have a glass and a little pâté waiting for Santa this year, and just see what you find under the tree Christmas morning! We are sure you will not be disappointed, and you may even make up some points from last year’s gag of beer and doughnuts. Even though the maple bars were a nice touch… They really didn't agree with the dog.

Tasting Notes: Jolly Rancher cherry red. Translucent transcends to scents of Christmas past, dark chocolate covered cherries, freshly grated cinnamon stick and a waft of allspice from a still cooling pumpkin pie. Elegant and lithe, playful on the palate with intention and discipline providing virtuous restraint. That’s as far as I go. And just as pretty as the day is long. Unfined, Unfiltered and Unrepentant.
 
Culinary Inclinations: Roasted steelhead steaks seasoned with savory, thyme, white pepper, smoked paprika and a dusting of ground ginger alongside steamed artichoke hearts with fresh dill aioli and herbed red potatoes sautéed in duck fat. And then, a little chèvre with raspberry preserves.


 
But this year is a bittersweet release. The 2019 vintage saw a light fruit set which directly impacts wine production. We typically ferment and bottle about 100 cases of Pinot Meunier each vintage. In 2019, we produced just under 70 cases. But wait, it gets worse. There will be no 2020 vintage Pinot Meunier. Or any other 2020 vintage wines from Amalie Robert.
 
Just last week we got word from Gordon Burns, Technical Director at ETS Laboratories. While it was nice of him to write, he was not bearing good news. Our smoke taint theories have just been confirmed. Kind of like the last election, most folks have a pretty good idea how things are going to end up, it just has yet to be confirmed.
 
Many October winery visitors took advantage of tasting our fermenting 2020 vintage Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Meunier. That is all we harvested as we knew vintage 2020 was a forgone conclusion. Some tasters said yes, I get a little hit of smoke, others did not and some were not sure. What was consistent across all tasters was that something was askew. (Google “askew” and see what that page looks like. That’s the hi-tech guys and gals, having you on.)
 


And Gordon was kind enough to put together this handy dandy interpretative chart. Free Guaiacol is the compound he tests for and we’ve got it. The first graphic is for wine berries. The second graphic is for fermented wine. As you can clearly see that the graphic stops at 6. Our result came back at 8. We smoked that test! While we are not speaking for anyone else in the Willamette, Ernie can frequently be heard saying Damnit!
 
So, what does that mean for you? If you are currently working with, or leaning toward adding, the Pinot Meunier, you may want to consider stocking up. It is going to be a long, dry spell before we see any 2021 Amalie Robert Pinot Meunier.
   

Kindest Regards,
 
Dena & Ernie

Amalie Robert Estate: A-List Release - 2019 Dijon Clones Chardonnay!

Hello and Welcome, 

  

Big News! We just received word from Punxsutawney Phil. That big fur bearin’ rodent says that they will have 6 more weeks of lockdown! A FLOG communication from Dena and Ernie @AmalieRobert Estate. 

  

While masks are all that have been called for in Oregon, other jurisdictions of the US are taking a more authoritarian or “Full Body” approach to your Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) i.e. the “FBC-PPE.” You are free to choose your own PPE. In farming we say, “If it looks stupid but it works, it is not stupid.” Certainly, we are not here to judge.

Meanwhile spring has sprung, and we have a new A-List release, the 2019 Dijon Clones Chardonnay! The winery will be open for wine pickups and perhaps a bit of tasting from 10 am through 3 pm on Saturday and Sunday, May 2nd and 3rd.

Look for an E-vite from Dena to schedule your pickup time. You can also request any last-minute wine needs to replenish the Oregon section of your Adult Recreational Beverage cellar and read the latest updates on any socially unacceptable behavior. We look forward to seeing you and your choice of PPE.

If you need ground transportation (UPS or FedEx) to co-locate with your wine, we can make that happen. The outer box will be inconspicuous brown cardboard. Each bottle in your order will come individually wrapped in its own PPE. We recommend setting the bottles upright and at the correct temperature for a minimum of 24 hours before opening them. Visit Amalie Robert Direct to place your order, discretely.

Let’s get right into it. We are very proud to introduce to you our estate grown 2019 Dijon Clones Chardonnay! Kinda rocks your world, we know. Here is what didn’t change. Ernie still grows this wine in block 24. The block still has 1,089 vines of Dijon Clones Chardonnay, with the field blend favoring clone 76 over 95. The rootstock is still that mother of all rootstocks, 5C. And yes, we still produce the BFC Heirloom Cameo. Starting to feel the hairs on the back of your neck relax, maybe just a bit?

Besides, how can you have Champagne Deconstructed without Chardonnay? If you have time for a little home schooling, pick up a six pack of Champagne Deconstructed. Your order will contain 2 bottles each of 2019 Dijon Clones Chardonnay, 2018 Pinot Meunier and 2012 iPinot Pinot Noir, complete with examination sheets. Don't delay, order yours today and shipping will be included through Mother's Day!

So, what’s new about the 2019 Dijon Clones Chardonnay? We have retired the Her Silhouette fanciful name in favor of a more informative name. The Dijon Clones of Chardonnay are the new vines on the block. The vines were brought into Oregon direct from Burgundy just about the time we were establishing the vineyard at Amalie Robert Estate. And they make a damn fine wine. It also

eliminates any confusion that we are growing that much maligned 108 clone out of California (where you can see some of the most unusual self-quarantine PPE - ever.)

The primary fermentation of sugar to alcohol is still done without oak influence. Stylistically, the Her Silhouette was colloquially known as “No Oak, No Malo”. We have moved on. And you can too! All it takes is a little bacterium and all of that malic acid becomes lactic acid. If that sounds yummy, it’s because it is. Lactic acid is the acid in goat's milk, and you get yummy goat cheese from goat's milk. Malic acid is from your granny’s “screamin’ greenies” green apples that she grew out on Boone’s Farm road. Remember her? That was before cellphones, and cellphone cameras, fortunately.

The Malo to Lactic (ML) conversion happens virtually all the time in red wines. In white wines winemakers typically have a choice to encourage or discourage this conversion. Mistakes (known as uncontrolled experiments or, sometimes, successful failures) happen all the time in winemaking. In some circumstances, you will have the ML conversion whether you want it or not. The opposite is also true. You can wish in one hand and wait in the other, but it’s just not going to happen. Maybe next year, but that’s a long time to wait.

We made the stylistic (and intentional) choice to change our ML program in 2019. Over the last 20 years or so, we have noticed our site affords a bit of a Sancerre expression in our Chardonnay that provides some intrigue. Ernie wanted to try and expand on that, while better integrating and softening the screamin' greenie experience. That, and Dena said we are not planting any Sauvignon Blanc.

So as part of our unquenchable thirst for knowledge and unabated appetite for risk, Ernie said, “What the Hell, let’s give it a try!” And that is how we arrived at the 2019 Dijon Clones Chardonnay - "No Oak, Full Malo".

Tasting Notes: Cold Fusion Yellow releases Meyer lemon zest, star fruit and guava aromas delineating an unadulterated and pure expression of Dijon Clones Chardonnay. Integrated, viscous and expansive, the mid-palate is wholly enveloped with a lingering silken texture before the smooth and palate cleansing delivery of tempered acidity.

Culinary Inclination: Poached black cod or shark (if you are a little slow working the reel), in parchment with julienned green onions, fresh sliced ginger root, enoki mushrooms and artichoke heart. Add a thin slice of Habanero pepper if you want to add some color to your dining companion’s complexion.

Vintage Notes: It all comes down to September. It used to be October, but things have changed and as farmers we are along for the ride. Vintage 2019 was a moderate growing season with adequate amounts of sun, wind, rain and wind all properly folded into the mix. Until September. That’s when we recorded a record amount of rainfall from the beginning to the end of the month. Of course, it was just lovely from there on out and that is when we were out Cluster Plucking. Read all about The Great Cluster Pluck on the FLOG!

http://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2019/11/amalie-robert-estate-vintage-update.html

Fill out the RSVP on your E-vite for a time to come by and have a taste. Or maybe just gaze longingly at the label until you can get one home, squeeze out the cork and have a swig! Note: we do have a few Home Tasting Kits still available (including PPE stemware) if you are uncomfortable drinking straight out of the bottle. As with all PPE, get it while you can. And there is still a free cork in every bottle!

Kindest Regards,

Dena & Ernie