But I digress, so back to the wine. This week, I've been enjoying a desert wine that we picked up on our Oregon trip as an after dinner aperitif, Wine Country Farms 2001 Late Harvest Műller-Thurgau. I really don't remember why we stopped at Wine Country Farms. I vaguely remember reading a review in Wine Spectator magazine, but I could be wrong. Perhaps we just read about it in the Yamhill County wine map brochure and were intrigued by the boast of "Voted Best Inn in Oregon's Wine Country", or it may have just been on the way to another winery and we pulled in. At the time, it was more of a B&B overlooking a vineyard that just happened to have a winery tasting room. The views across the vineyard and the valley were tremendous. This particular wine was produced and bottled for WCF by Eola Hills Wine Cellars in Rickreall, OR (near Salem), but WCF seems to have hired their own winemaker in 2006, so look for interesting things to come.
Wine Country Farms 2001 Late Harvest Műller-Thurgau
Country of origin: USA
Appellation: Williamette Valley, Oregon
Sub-appellation: Yamhill County
Cost: unsure, but the 2002 presently sells for $14 at the winery
Stats: 8% ABV, very sweet
Appearance: Dark golden yellow
Aroma: Apricots, strawberries, honey, and leechee fruit (I think). Smells almost like a mead
Taste: Apricots and raisins with a honey-sweet finish. Possibly a bit oxidized with the raisin taste, but still a good pre-bedtime finish.
Műller-Thurgau was a grape we first encountered on this trip to Oregon and have not run across since. This is a varietal created less than 125 years ago as a cross between reisling and Madeleine Royale and has been widely planted in Germany and makes up a large part of inexpensive sweet German wines like Piesporter. It was also heavily planted in the Oregon area, probably because it is an early-ripening grape suited for a slightly colder climate. M-T is known for producing fruity, but low acid wines, and most that we tasted on this trip were nice easy-drinking dry or off-dry sippers that would work well on the patio during the summer. Unfortunately, this grape has fallen out of favor because althought the vines are extremely productive, they produce mostly less interesting, flabby wines. That all being said, I wonder how the varietal would do being grown in the East or other more cold-climate states?
Salute,
a Wine Student
