Vermentino

Wrapping up the last week of my Oregon grapes project, I’m kind of scrambling to try to include as many as possible! So this is a duplicate winery, but I really dug the Zinfandel I wrote about from Troon, so I returned once again. And selfishly, I can walk to this place and its a pretty chill little tasting room. So meet the Troon “Foundation ’72” Vermentino, 2013 Oregon, Applegate Valley! It was the first Vermentino in Oregon:

Vermentino is kind of a super star in California right now; winemakers are experimenting with different styles with great success (Matthiasson, Rhyme). These grapes come from Southern Oregon, so its not a far stretch that they can live happily in the slightly warmer Rogue Valley. These grapes were grafted in 2006 onto vines that were first planted in 1972.

This is a lean style of Vermentino, and very quaffable. Vermentino is native to Southern Italy and is a pretty accommodating grape- it likes a warm climate and ocean breezes, but in this case its maintained a sense of self despite being in Oregon. It is also a grape that can be treated in many different manners and still be delicious- the Troon is fermented in stainless steel, but it can be made in a slightly richer style as well.

Vermentino can offer a wide range of fun aromas and tastes- from apple and fresh flowers to ripe citrus, melon and tropical fruit. It almost always has a nice degree of minerality and acid that keeps it from feeling weighty. Mr. Troon here is tart and almost spritzy, with lemon zest, grapefruit, a little bit of a flinty edge and a mouthwatering dry finish. It pulls off a fresh, mediterranean feel. This wine got 87 points from Wine Enthusiast- I consider that pretty respectable for a modest-priced wine. Sometimes if you don’t see the “9” in front of a score its easy to disregard it. Just remember, there’s a lotta numbers less than 87. Like 60 or 73. Which are not so great. Has a wine ever scored, like 40 points? Someone answer this for me. I’m curious.

I can see this wine being a really fun glass pour in a restaurant. I always like surprising glass pours. Apparently Troon will be doing a few different bottlings/styles of Vermentino for the 2014 vintage, which I believe will be released in February. I’ll be looking forward to trying them fo’ sho! So, will Vermentino blow up in Oregon and become a “thing”? Not really sure I can confidently answer that, but I sure don’t mind this one.

I tasted this wine at the Troon Vineyards Tasting Room in Carlton. The bottle is available for purchase for $18.

Cheers!

Time for some Sunday Funday reading! And drinking. And maybe a pun here and there about G-spots. Are you feeling okay about all this? Good. Let’s go!

The Dirty Pure Project “The G Spot” White, 2012 Lodi

Meet The Dirty Pure Project! They make some cool wines, to which I have only recently been introduced. It seems like the oldest trick in the book, to make a wine and give it a vaguely sexual name so that people will buy it. But get this! This wine is really tasty. A blend of mostly Vermentino and a touch of Roussanne from the Lodi region of California. I ought to preface this by saying Lodi has not *traditionally* been my all-time fave place for white wine. The area has boatloads of sunshine that are mediated by cooling effects from the SF Bay and the Pacific, and make it well-suited for mostly red varietals. However, this wine boasts such a pleasant burst of acidity that it’s easy to see that this “cool breeze” that supposedly comes from a gap in the Coastal range is not just a myth.

Moving on! Have you had Vermentino before? If so, perhaps not from California. A mostly Mediterranean grape, there are some truly tasty renditions in Italy and Southern France. Some crazy wahoos in other parts of California (ahem, Matthiasson) are also playing around with the grape, among other Italian varietals. But this one is sort of in a world of it’s own.

So this little guy, as I mentioned, sports some lovely acidic balance. The slightly punchy kind that you’ll sometimes find in a California Chard. It’s somewhat sneaky, as it’s hidden in a nice richly textured package such as this. But fear not, unlike actual G-Spots, this little bright pop of acid is quite easy to find! *ding ding ding! one point for me* But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, let’s go back to the initial aromas, which are pretty enticing: tangerines, ripe pears, honeydew melon, fresh flowers and wafts of perfume. The finish is a little pop of orange peel and spice. There’s also some earthiness that is hard to pinpoint, but definitely present. Peetmoss? Dunno.

It paired pretty nicely with THIS:

SEASON. TWO. BINGE.

I may not be willing to admit exactly how many episodes of Orange is the New Black I watched today… but, I mean, it did RAIN, so it’s not THAT sinful. Also I did take a break and go to the gym. So there. Are we not entitled to a good old-fashioned binge watch now and then? I think so.

So this is a short n’ sweet Sunday Funday post, so I’m gonna leave it there, and just recommend you stop in and sample this one. It’s fun and different. It’s by-the-glass at Cellar and also will be present at this Saturday (June 14th’s) wine sale from 12-2. Retail cost? $16!

Plus, it’s also time for Game of Thrones. Priorities, people.

I’ve never played around with polls, so here’s one! I think it’s kinda fun… Please play!

the wine snob.

Thirty Oregon Wines in Thirty Days, day 25: Vermentino in Oregon?!

Sunday Funday: “The G Spot” White Blend