Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/807384
april 2017 / the tasting panel / 99 in glistening trout roe. I jumped in, feeling confident of my palate. In truth, teasing out the sturdy yet classic Alsatian Gewurztraminer from Domaine Ostertag proved a harder task than I had imagined. Side by side, Gewurztraminer from the Umpqua Valley offered uniform cadence and pitch with the 2011, infused with an expressive mélange of stone fruit, ripe pear, orange oil and cardamom braced by a nimble, mineral-edged spine. A second wine in the lineup, Brandborg's 2009, displayed a decidedly tropical edge: grilled pineapple, lychee and lemon drop leading into a riper and fleshier frame that finished with a tart flourish of candied grapefruit. The 2011 and 2014 were also poured; all three were sourced from the Bradley and Anindor Vineyards in the Elkton Oregon AVA. What was most surprising is that the 2013 Domaine Ostertag had noticeably softer acidity than any of the wines from Brandborg. The reason for this, as Terry Brandborg would later explain, is that the Elkton sub-AVA, a sparsely populated region better known for its timber industry, "has the only true coastal climate within the Umpqua Valley." He continued, "Riesling and Gewurztraminer have been thriving here since 1972. Our climate [in the Elkton Oregon AVA] is colder, and more moderate than the rest of the Valley, due to a gentle grade extending out to the ocean, which facilitates a strong mari- time push." Brandborg's estate vineyard is perched at 1,000 feet in elevation, just 25 miles from the sea. The geology of the Coast Range is unique, too, consist- ing of flanks of sliced off seafloor neatly folded up like an accordion. We move on to the next flight from Brandborg, a trio of elegant estate Pinot Noirs—2008, 2012 and 2014—pitted against a quintessentially Burgundian Gevrey-Chambertin from Louis Boillot. Brandborg's Pinot vines are grown in predominantly ancient marine sedimentary soil, overlaying a base of limestone, turned rusty red with time and decomposition. As we work through the flight, we're treated to one of Chef Rucker's signature dishes—an impossibly tender creamy pigeon confit with mushrooms and toasted pine nut vinaigrette over spaghettini. I take a break from contemplating the wines to ask fellow tasters for their impressions. "Willamette Valley Pinot Noir has more acidity; that's a broad generalization, but Pinot from the Umpqua Valley shows great depth of character and fruit," confides Yvonne Smith, Wine Buyer at Fred Meyer, a Northwest chain that sells the largest volume of wine in Oregon. We transition from Pinot Noir to Syrah while Stephen Reustle explains the attributes of his estate vineyards and his philosophy as a winegrower. His Prayer Rock and Romancing Rock Vineyards lie in the heart of Umpqua Talented tasters sip and swirl their way through a lineup of Abacela Albariño. Left to right: Philip Patti, Wine Director/ Sommelier, Marché Restaurant; Lauren Smith, owner, Corkscrew Wine Bar; Haley Welch, Wine Program Manager, Corkscrew Wine Bar; and Gabriela Ramos, owner, Taylor Railworks. Creamy pigeon spaghettini with mushrooms and toasted pine nuts alongside a flight of Brandborg Pinot Noir.