Although yesterday was World Chardonnay Day, I ended up celebrating with Riesling. Not to worry, plenty of Chardonnay is had around here as you know if you read last week’s newsletter. But why Riesling yesterday?
Last night was a celebration of Willamette Valley Riesling with several of the area’s long-time, renowned producers of the variety - of which there aren’t many. In fact, there’s only around 315 acres of Riesling planted throughout the Valley. And while that may seem like a lot, for comparison’s sake, there’s around 21,345 acres of Pinot Noir.
But beginning this year, there’s about to be a smidgen less Pinot and a bit more Riesling. You see the purpose of last night’s celebration was to both highlight the variety in the Valley, but also to head out into the vineyards to see how Alexana Vineyard & Winery is regrafting* its Block 10 Pinot vines back to Riesling. Now, I say back to Riesling, because these vines were originally planted to Riesling (on American rootstock 114**) in 2003. However, in 2019 the Riesling was cut back and the vines were grafted to Pinot Noir. Fast-forward a few years later - enter a new vineyard director, Alexana realizing that it was missing its estate Riesling in its line-up, as well as noting that white grapes tend to grow better on American rootstock 114 on hillsides than the Pinot Noir - and we’re back to Riesling!
When the vines were first grafted to Pinot Noir in 2019, the Riesling was cut back and the Pinot was grafted onto the vine. This time, however, Alexana is not cutting the Pinot back, but rather training the Riesling up from shoots coming from the trunk of the vine. Director of Viticulture Drew Herman doesn’t want to leave open wounds on the vine by cutting the Pinot down, as that can expose the plant to viruses and disease.
So this year, the Riesling shoots will be allowed to grow throughout the season rather than be cut back, and then they will be used as the fruiting canes next year. Alexana is looking forward to welcoming its estate Riesling back to the Dundee Hills property. Oh! And rumor has it, there’s a bit of Sauvignon Blanc joining the mix too. (Okay, it’s not a rumor - I heard that straight from Drew himself.) But in perhaps the best news, the vineyard has also moved towards sustainable and organic farming practices from the elimination of synthetic herbicides to the addition of sheep, pigs, raptor perches, bluebird boxes, and cover crops. Exciting things in the Revana Vineyard!
*Grafting is the process of connecting the tissues of two different plants to make one new plant. This technique has been important in modern viticulture since the phylloxera epidemic hit European vineyards in the late 19th century. Today vines are grafted to prevent phylloxera as well as for soil suitability, frost prevention, or to control vine vigour.
**American rootstock refers to grape vines native to North America on which European vitis vinifera (wine grape producing vines) are then grafted onto. North American vines provide the base (roots) and the European varieties provide the fruit. This practice has been done worldwide after the phylloxera epidemic. North American vine species are resistant to the vine destroying louse because they form a scar over the feeding area of the phylloxera louse and prevent the vine from dying.
In the Spotlight
Vineyard of the Week
Since we’re on the topic of Alexana Vineyard & Winery, let’s take a look at the 80-acre Revana Vineyard in the Dundee Hills of which 55-acres are planted to vine. Originally planted in 2003, the vineyard features ridges that run north and south, and valleys that sit on the east, west, and south sides of the property. The vines are primarily planted on slopes ranging from 320 to 650 feet with a mix of 18 different soil types including the AVA’s renowned red Jory soils as well as silt, stone, clay, and basalt. The vineyard is planted to 32 “micro-blocks” on which clone and rootstock selections were established in the soils for which they were best-suited. Today the vineyard is L.I.V.E. Certified and farmed sustainably.
And as for the other producers featured at last night’s Riesling celebration, we were treated to a variety of Rieslings from dry to sweet, still to sparkling, and from current vintages to library selections from Alexana, Brooks Wine, Elk Cove Vineyards, Ridgecrest Vineyards, and Trisaetum.
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