As you may know, I am currently in Portland, Oregon at the Wine Bloggers Conference, so far I have met a lot of people and drank a lot of wine. A lot of wine. The other day I started drinking at 10 a.m. and I was behind.  I have not, curiously, had much time to write. Yesterday, there was a ‘Live Wine Blogging’ session, which I mentioned that I really had no idea what to expect.

There were 40 some odd wineries that were each pouring one wine (either white or rosé–the reds are today).  We sat at the table and the wineries would come to us, one at a time, giving us their five minute schpeel for five minutes.  At the end of the five minutes, the wineries would rotate while we stayed at our table.  We tasted 10 wines this way in just under an hour.  There were 8 people at my table, but I was the only one with a laptop, and I sat there the whole time typing furiously (which for me is seven words a minute). All the others were on their smart phones, tweeting, I presume.  I rarely tweet.  I guess I am not that cool.  Here were the wines we had:

2010 Frascati Fontana Candida: Predominantly from the Malvasia grape, this is called the ‘wine of Rome’ since the capital city is a scant 20k away. The wine was presented by two importers and they claimed that it is the perfect pairing for artichokes (is that your main selling point?). Tons of aciditly with a chalkiness to it. The bottle was supposedly designed by Bernini, the famed sculptor, who thought that this wine would flow from the fountains of Rome. Not bad, but you know how I feel about Italian wines. I will try and remember this the next time I have artichokes–sometime in 2017.  86 points.

2010 Longhand Chardonnay Sonoma Coast: This wine was poured by Wilfred Wong, one of my heroes in wine. He is the Cellar Master for Beverages & More (BevMo), a chain of large stores in CA with a really great selection (unlike anything, say, in PA). Back when I lived out in Northern California, I would attend the many tastings he conducted at the BevMo right down the street from me.  Certainly California style chard with some subtle oak and good acidity. Wilfred says the wine maker feels that balance is over rated–and great flavor is much more important. Not sure I agree that one is above the other. 87 points.

This is Wilfred. One of the nicest guy I have ever met in wine.

2008 August Cellars Riesling: Nice flinty nose with a bit of fruit and petrol. Really fruity (apricots) on the palate and 2.5% residual sugar (RS) which provided a hint of sweetness.  More in the German style than Alsatian and very reasonably priced at $14. Tom, the wine maker says he wants “this to be your Tuesday night wine, not your 10th anniversary wine.” Good finish. Very good. 88 points. Tom: “If it’s gonna cost $50 you should be wearing it or putting it on your wall”.

2010 Rodney Strong Chalk Hill (Sonoma County) Chardonnay: $20. The winery rep says it is available everywhere, even in PA (not sure if that is a positive thing).  A CA chard nose, with a bit of oak (30% new French), but muted fruit. The wine goes through100% malolactic fermentation, giving some buttery characteristics.  Decent finish, but the oak might overpower the fruit a bit too much. 87 points.

2009 Amiity Vineyards Dry Riesling: Poured by the national sales manager for the winery. The winery is located in the Eola Hills, which is at the southern end of the Wilammette Valley. The vines were planted in 1971 (first vines in OR in 1966). 100% dry farmed and 100% sustainable viticulture. Tropical nose, seems to be a cross between German and Alsace. On the palate, extremely dry (0.18% RS), a little bit high in acidity, but reminds me of Alsace, which is a good thing. Very Good. 89 points.

2009 Boorks Winery Ara Riesling: $25 retail. The owners wanted to reintroduce Riesling as a variety in Oregon since it is one of the historic varieties.  The vines are biodynamically farmed. Poured by the sister of the original winemaker, who died unexpectedly at the age of 38 right before harvest in 2004. His son, now 16 is the sole owner of the winery. More of a a German Kabinett than Alsatian style with petrol really coming through on the nose. Very nice acidity and hints of tropical fruit. Very Good. 88 points.

2010 Francis Ford Copola Votre Santé Chardonnay California: $12 retail.  50% of the wine spends 6 months in new French Oak the rest is in stainless steel. The name comes from his grandmother who was Tunisian and spoke French (that’s a plus) and would say “Votre Santé” (‘to your health’) as a toast when drinking wine. A muted nose which was likely because it was a bit cold.  On the palate, I was quite surprised, I was ready to hate it, but for the price, this kinda rocks. Very Good. 89 points.

2011 Alexana Pinot Gris Dundee Hills: 12.1% ABV $26. 545 cases. Lynn Penner-Ash is the winemaker (and I consider her a complete rockstar). 6,500 cases total production from all wines, so this is a tiny winery. 75% Stainless, 12.5% Neutral French, 12.5% New French Oak. On the nose a bit muted, on the palate, wow. Best of the event so far. Excellent. 90 points.

2009 Johan Vineyards Chardonnay Wilammette Valley: $33. A Norwegian immigrant started the winery, and the vines are all biodynammically grown. The wines go through a full malolactic fermentation with 50% new French oak. Big oak nose with some vanilla. Not really finding the fruit on the palate, but a nice finish. At $33 would be a pass. Very Good. 87 points.

2011 Benton Lane Pinot Gris: $17 retail. Winery known for their pinot noir. Owned by the Girard family from Napa (since sold). Nice nose of tropical fruit. Much fruitier than the Alsatian style. Nice acidity on the palate, but not a lot of fruit here. In between a basic Alsatian pinot gris, but with more acidity, similar to the pinot grigio (not a plus). Very Good. 87 points.

It was an interesting, even fun event but I had a couple problems with it.  First, they called it ‘live blogging’ but not many people were actually blogging.  A lot of people were tweeting, but that is not blogging (I am a stickler for the ‘rules’).  Second, if they want me to ‘live’ blog (I guess I have been blogging ‘dead’ all this rime?) I need some time, dammit!  All my linguistic brilliance takes time–if you have ever spent face to face time with me, you likely think I am a stammering moron.  It takes me some time to sound this good.

P.S. Later in the evening, I actually tweeted. Twice.  See, I can grow.  I am so cool.