Last year, Jonathan and I didn’t have a chance to celebrate Open that Bottle Night. We were on a plane to France so I’m not going to complain. We got by with airline wine, but tasted some of the best wines of our lives just a few days later. Those liquid memories more than made up for the fact we couldn’t pop open a bottle on Open that Bottle Night.

This year, our wine is packed and we are “homeless” as we move from Illinois to Texas. Maybe this is a sign that I’m not meant to celebrate this unofficial wine holiday. Nevertheless, I was determined to pop a bottle Saturday night. Jonathan and I made a quick trip to Central Market and found a 2004 Château Gruaud Larose. Jonathan gave me a bottle of the 1982 vintage for my birthday last year so we had a little history with the wine. While this was still a young wine, it offered nice fruits and bold tannins. We didn’t have a ton of time to decant, but time will serve this wine well.

Château Gruaud Larose sits in the St. Julien appellation on approximately 150 hectares, with 82 hectares planted with vineyards. The terroir features deep Quaternary gravel, featuring vines averaging 45 years of age. Château Gruaud Larose plants 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. The estate’s wines feature these same percentages on their final blends with changes coming during exceptional vintages.

The resort offered a Mexican produced vino espumoso called Dubois. While it was not a high dollar sparkler, it did serve it’s purpose. It was a brut with just a touch of sweetness, but relatively dry. My guess would be under $20, in fact closer to $10 if you were to look for it in a store. It looked to be part of the Freixenet family. For me, it was the perfect accompaniment to the sun and sand.

The purpose of the symposium is to bring together wine bloggers, new media innovators and wine industry leaders to learn and discuss the intersection of wine and the world of new media, including blogging and social media. The 2010 conference has been expanded to include content on wine & food pairings. Last year, this event was at capacity with several bloggers left on a wait list.

To help offset the cost of traveling to and from Walla Walla and attending the Wine Bloggers Conference, a Wine Bloggers Conference Scholarshiphas been established. After we are settled in Austin, I hope to apply for some funds to attend. That is if the dates can be coordinated with our other summer plans. The Wine Bloggers Conference Scholarship is accepting donations to “help send a blogger to camp.” Visit their website for more information.

Attending the Wine Bloggers Conference is a great chance to meet some of my fellow bloggers and sample some of the fantastic wines of the Pacific Northwest. So keep your fingers crossed that everything works out!

Jonathan and I first sampled this wine at the Rhône wine dinner hosted by The Corkscrew back in October. At that time, we noticed earthiness, slight barnyard, crushed cherries and raspberries on the nose. The palate featured cherries, barnyard and a medium finish. We thought this was a nice wine for the price. For this event, all the wines had been decanted at least two hours in advance so we were curious to see how the wine showed when it was first opened.

In the glass, 2007 Cairanne Rouge Reserve des Seigneurs appeared dark purple and ruby colored. The nose was stronger than I remembered with way more barnyard and poopy smells. We also noticed hay, mushrooms and earth. On the palate, we picked up red fruits, and earth. The wine was quite striking and puckering when it initially hit your palate and needed to be decanted. So we did and let it sit for 45 minutes to an hour. After decanting, the 2007 Cairanne Rouge Reserve des Seigneurs really opened up showing more red fruit on the nose and “controlling” the barnyard aromas. For some the nose would be a total turnoff, but the palate was fantastic and after decanting the nose was more than just barnyard smells. The 2007 Cairanne Rouge Reserve des Seigneurs is a blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah.

Since 1692, ten generations of grape growers have worked in the vineyards at Domaine de l’Oratoire St. Martin. Frédéric and François Alary took over the farm in 1984 and work 25 hectares on the Saint Martin hillsides including the oratoire, built in the middle of the vineyard, which gave its name to the estate. The backbone of the estate are the high percentage of old vines some of which are over a 100 years old. The vineyards mostly contain Grenache (about 60%) and Mourvèdre (about 30%). As for white grapes, Marsanne is the large producer at 50% and Roussanne at 30%.

Our wine cooler looks a little shocking right now. We left a few bottles for the days we’ll be back before bidding adieu to Illinois. So for the next month, things may be a little crazy with relocating, traveling back and forth a few times and a trip out of the country. I’ll try my best, but forgive the sporadic postings. 

Burgundy classifies wine based on terroir, focusing on the origin of grapes rather than the producer. For example, in Bordeaux the classification is based on the producer and the individual châteaux. In Burgundy, a specific vineyard or region will bear the classification, regardless of the wine’s producer. In fact, the prominent wording on the wine label is often the vineyard or appellations of the wine’s origin and the producer’s name is much smaller.

The most basic level of classification is Burgundy red and white. These are regional wines, blends over various lots of wine grown over the entire region. Many of these wines should be consumed within a few years after bottling. A step up from regional wines are village wines. These are made from grapes grown in or around the village. Since these wines come from a more well-defined place these wines are of better quality and thus more expensive. The name of the village will appear on the label such as Beaune, Volnay, Gevrey-Chambertin or Pommard.

The next step up is Premier Cru wines. These wines are produced from very specific and well-respected plots within a village known as “climates.” These wines should be aged for 3-5 years, but some can be aged for much longer. On the label the name of the village will appear followed by the vineyard such as Volnay 1er Cru Le Caillerets or Beaune Clos de la Mousse. The highest designation is Grand Cru or Great Growth. Only 33 vineyards are designated as Grand Cru, and the wine makes up just 2% of the production from Burgundy. These wines are usually intended for cellaring. Only the name of the vineyard appears on the wine label such as La Tâche and Le Montrachet.

Now for a few “cheat sheet” facts. Distinguishing between vineyard and village names can be tricky and there is no clear cut answer. However, you can make a pretty good guess by knowing this: the vineyards are often (but not always) preceded by a definite article. For example, La Tâche, Le Montrachet and Le Chambertin are vineyards, whereas Beaune, Volnay and Pommard are villages. Another thing to keep in mind, many villages in Burgundy have hyphenated names to include the top vineyard, benefiting from the vineyard’s prestige A few examples include, Chambolle-Musigny and Aloxe-Corton. Both Chambolle and Aloxe were the original village names before adding the vineyard.

At times, producers decide to declassify their wine. For example, wine from a Grand Cru vineyard might be sold as a Premier Cru, but why would a producer follow this practice? This undoubtedly leads to a lower sales price and less profit so what’s in it for the producer? One reason a producer may decide to declassify a wine is because of vine age. Maintaining the quality and even increasing a wine’s prestige requires vines of a certain age so younger vines may be sold as a declassified wine.

Visit the The Wine Doctor for a complete list of Grand Crus and their location.

A few weeks ago, I received several bottles of wine from Willamette Valley Vineyards. I decided to sample two of the bottles of Pinot Noir at similar price point and compare them. I used the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir (selling for $25.00 from the winery) and the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2008 Whole Cluster Fermented Pinot Noir (selling for $19.00 from the winery).

First the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir, appeared almost silky when poured into the glass. It was light and transparent, showing a cherry red color. The nose on this wine was gorgeous, showing bright cherries, jam, toast and earth. Jonathan also noticed some vanilla. After getting a whiff of this wine, I couldn’t wait to taste it. The palate was full of raspberries, tart cherries, vanilla and spice. Jonathan also noticed cherry cola flavors. And wow, the finish was incredibly long. For me, it was the best feature of the wine! I haven’t had a wine in some time with such an impressive finish.

Next up, we tasted the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2008 Whole Cluster Fermented Pinot Noir. Again, the wine appeared light, transparent and cherry colored. There weren’t many differences in the appearance of the two wines. The nose featured bright strawberries, cola and other red fruits. The nose reminded me a lot of a Beaujolais Nouveau. On the palate, there was lots of juicy fruits, including strawberries and cherries. Overall, the wine was light and the finish was quick, reminding me again of a Beaujolais Nouveau. Initially, I wasn’t much of a fan of this wine after tasting the previous Pinot Noir. However, the longer this wine was open the spice and body really came out, and I found it more enjoyable.

Overall, I prefer the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir much more than the 2008 Whole Cluster Fermented Pinot Noir. And for only $6 more, it’s well worth the investment. Now, keep in mind these wines are from different vintages and the fermentation process did vary.

Willamette Valley Vineyards is the dream of Jim Bernau. In 1983, he purchased the estate, cleared the land and began planting grapevines. Bernau hand watered the baby grapevines with garden hoses because there was no irrigation system. He honed his winemaking skills with classes at UC Davis and seminars around the world and soon his dream was a reality. Willamette Valley Vineyards manages 300 acres of vines, all certified sustainable, LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology) and Salmon Safe.

*These wines were received as samples.