Mother's Day Gift Idea - Rose Jolee

A perfect gift for Mom . . . This semi-sparkling Muscat is delightfully pink, with a fragrance of honeysuckle and roses. A delicately sweet wine and the perfect partner for summertime fun! Aromas leap out of the glass in an explosion of peach and tangerine. The flavors of citrus balance well with the aromas and, a slight spritz completes this fun wine. (90% Early Muscat & 10% Merlot) $15/bottle * Wine Club members receive 20% off. Purchase Online.

Listed as #5 of the "Top 10 Best Mother's Day Wine" on the Roadtrips for Wine website!

And how about some Berry Trifle to pair with the sparkle and sweet of the Rose Jolee!

Summer Berry Trifle

INGREDIENTS:

1 package (3.4-ounce) instant vanilla pudding

4 cups fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries), washed and hulled,

plus extra for garnish

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

24 to 36 ladyfingers

DIRECTIONS:

1. To make the fillings, prepare the pudding according to the package directions and chill it.

2. Slice the strawberries, if you're using them, then toss all of the berries with the lemon juice and the 1/4 cup of sugar. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the berries to release their juices.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, whip the cream, vanilla extract, and remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar until soft peaks form. Set aside.

4. To make the layers, set a layer of ladyfingers (around 7 or 8) on the bottom of a large, clear serving bowl (ours was 4 quarts). Top with the berries with half of the pudding.

5. Add another layer of ladyfingers, another third of the berries and juice, and the rest of the pudding. Add a final layer of ladyfingers and berries. Top with the whipped cream and a berry garnish.

6. Refrigerate until you're ready to serve. Serves 8 to 10.

Roam the Rogue

We are excited to announce our participation in the "1st Annual Spring Passport Tour," Roam the Rogue. On Saturday, May 29th from 11:00am to 5:00pm take a tour of the Upper Rogue Valley Vintners. Join us as each of the Upper Rogue Valley winemakers introduce their newest wines and share their inspiration while paring delicious appetizers with some of the best wines from each of the participating wineries.

The following wineries are participating:
Agate Ridge Vineyard
Cliff Creek Cellars
Crater Lake Cellars
Daisy Creek Vineyard
Del Rio Vineyards
Folin Cellars
Madrone Mountain Vineyard
RoxyAnn Winery

Tickets are only $20 per person and include a commemorative Reidel glass; plus delicious appetizers and wine tasting at all 8 participating wineries. Tickets are only available for purchase online. Click here to purchase tickets. Visit the Roam the Rogue website for more information including a tour map. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, taste@delriovineyards.com

Hope to see you this spring!

Happy Earth Day!

Agriculture is a great producer of oxygen for the world and is only second to the rain forest. From the grapevines to the office, the team at Del Rio is working with an environmental conscience. In the vineyard we recycle the residue (seeds, skins, stems, leaves, etc) from the press. The loads discarded from the press are taken to Hilton Fuel to be use in their compost piles. We have a no black smoke policy. We also recycle all elements of our wine bottles. The corks are used for key chains, while the bottles are turned into candles, melted down to cheese trivets, or recycled by novice winemakers. The tasting room sells a variety of these recycled products. We also provide reusable bags for our customers. The office uses electronic bill pay and we recycle all paper and cardboard.

As a reminder to think “green” we will be providing all wine sales today with our reusable bottle bags. We are also working on a “drink green” t-shirt. Check out the image below and stay tuned for updates on when it will be available in the tasting room.


We all can take small steps toward making a greener planet.

Consider what you can do today:

• Pledge to use less water and take shorter showers
• Plant a tree
• Recycle all plastics and papers
• Pay bills online

91 Point Syrah

2007 Del Rio Syrah

Wine Spectator Rates - 91 Points!

Tasting Notes

100% Syrah
The nose of the Syrah is a mixture of black current, bay leaf and thyme. Aged

50% in new oak, the smokey mouth gives way to an intense spicy black pepper finish.

Vintage Notes - 2007
Benefitting from a late harvest the grapes experienced much cooler temperatures, lower alcohol levels, structured acidity and ideal flavor development. 2007 was indeed an excellent vintage.

Food Pairing
Pair with beef, lamb, and game or blackened meaty fish such as salmon and tuna. We also recommend a variety of cheeses, such as cheddar, goat, aged gouda, gruyere, and camembert. Enjoy it now or cellar for up to five years.

$35.00/bottle
$336.00/case

* Rio Club Members Save 20% off the bottle

Buy Now!

Another busy day at Del Rio…

The task at hand today is to move the pallets of 2009 Rose Jolee (By the way, did I mention that it is delicious?) we have just finished bottling, out of the winery so the gals can hold their singles mixer class on Sunday. Martin is running pallets back and forth to the warehouse while Rob is re-organizing, making room. Meanwhile, I get to do the menial task of record keeping while still keeping a smile on my face. Cheers!

~ Jean-Michel

Del Rio Pinot Noir making headlines

Check out Matt Kramer's article on Oregon Pinot Noirs, highlighting Del Rio's 2008 Pinot!

Vintage makes a difference in these two Oregon pinot noirs
By Matt Kramer, March 27th, 2010

Few subjects are more aggravated than the matter of vintage. The word itself is simply a synonym for a single growing season: A vintage is the year the grapes were harvested.

The phrase "a vintage year" has the connotation of something exceptional and fine. This is because vintage-dating a wine is actually a recent practice. Well into the 20th century, most wines from most places were either sold in bulk from barrel or bottled with no more information than a brand name invented by a bulk bottler. For a wine to display a vintage date was exceptional, in every sense. Today, of course, the great majority of fine wines sport a vintage date.

But not all do. For example, most French Champagnes are sold as nonvintage bottlings. Wines such as Spanish sherry never have a vintage date, as the complex blending process of that wine precludes a single-vintage version. So why are vintages so vexing?

Partly because generations of wine lovers were told that some vintages are better than others -- which is to say the growing season was better. Here in Oregon, just ask any grower or wine buff about the growing season difference between the 2007 (rainy during picking) and 2008 (cool spring but glorious fall) vintages. Does the difference reveal itself in the wines? It sure does.

Del Rio Vineyards "Rogue Valley" Pinot Noir 2008: One of the complaints -- justified -- of southern Oregon winegrowers is that vintage information about Oregon wines is skewed to the Willamette Valley. As anyone who's traveled the length of Oregon knows, the climate (and terrain) of southern Oregon is considerably different from that of the 100-mile stretch of the cool, moist Willamette Valley.

The 2008 vintage, however, was an equal-opportunity growing season for north and south. Both zones suffered a cool spring that affected flowering. That, in turn, reduced the crop size by as much as one-third and also set back the likely harvest date. (Grapes need 100 days to ripen once the tiny berry is formed.) Both zones saw a triumphant harvest thanks to glorious late fall weather with warm days, cool nights and little rain.

In short, 2008 is a handy, one-size-fits-all vintage: It turned out great everywhere -- not least, in the bottle. Evidence of the exceptional quality of the 2008 vintage is found in the 2008 Del Rio Vineyards pinot noir from the Rogue Valley. Southern Oregon has a spotty track record with pinot noir, in part perhaps because it's warmer than the Willamette Valley.

Pinot noir likes what growers call a long "hang time" where the grape acquires more flavor components in the fall while barely increasing in sugar content, thanks to cool weather. Southern Oregon's sunny, warm weather reduces the opportunity for such long hang time for the ultra-sensitive pinot noir grape. However, in 2008, the fall weather obliged and pinot noir performed, at least as evidenced by this lovely example from Del Rio Vineyards in Gold Hill. Del Rio Vineyards is one of Southern Oregon's largest vineyards, with 180 acres planted with 15 varieties. Many of these grapes are sold to other Oregon wineries.

Del Rio Vineyards "Rogue Valley" Pinot Noir 2008 is a superb pinot noir brimming with the signature berry and wild cherry flavors of the variety along with a distinctive, attractive earthy note. This is a wine, by the way, that really comes alive when served in a large wine glass, as there's a lot on offer, as it were. The winemaking is deft, with the barest touch of oak and a delicacy rare in southern Oregon pinot noirs, as well as an alcohol level of just 12.8 percent. This is worth seeking out. $26.95. (Distributor is Young's Columbia.)

Barbera d'Alba Superiore 2007, Monchiero: It's no secret that vintages matter in Europe's many wine-growing districts, especially in the cool reaches of Germany, France and northern Italy. In these locales, it's the classic vintage story: When they're good, they're really, really good.

That, in a delectable nutshell, is all you need to know about this exceptional, traditionally made (read: no oak) 2007 Barbera d'Alba from the small family producer Monchiero. Lush, dense, utterly ripe -- 2007 was a warm vintage -- yet buoyed by barbera's intrinsically high acidity, this is a benchmark barbera. Oh, and there's one other tasty thing: the price. Barbera d'Alba Superiore 2007 from Monchiero sells for $12.95 a bottle. I cannot recall recommending a barbera this good, at that low a price, in at least a decade. Get it while you can. (Distributor is Casa Bruno.)

Del Rio Welcomes Craig Havlinek!

We are excited to announce a new addition to the Del Rio family, Craig Havlinek, our Northwest Regional Sales Manager. Del Rio is thrilled to be expanding and we are very excited to have Craig represent the brand. To share a bit about himself, here is a quick bio written by Craig.

Craig's Bio

I was born and raised in Salem, Oregon. While growing up, a few of my interests in school were, playing football, and traveling to France as an exchange student. A highlight in my previous distributing career was taking fifth place in two National Wine Display contests.

Currently, I live in Sherwood, Oregon with my wife of three years. I enjoy spending time with family, traveling, camping, skiing, billiards, barbecuing, thrill seeking and wine education.

I recently joined the Del Rio team in 2010 as a Northwest Regional Manager. I first became interested in Del Rio Vineyards because of my enthusiasm for the structure and consistency of the wines. I enjoy well made wines red, white or Rose Jolee! If there is one thing everyone should know about Del Rio Vineyards it’s that, it is a great family owned winery created from the roots up. I am excited to represent great wines with a notable history.

Del Rio in New York

Today we received a wonderful email from customer Traci Buck. She shared her finding of Del Rio wine in New York City.

Here is what she sent:
I am a Rogue Valley resident and a local photographer. Recently, my husband and I were in New York and dined at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill in Manhatten. We were excited to see Del Rio on the wine menu. Not only did we order and enjoy it, I had fun taking a few photos of our bottle with a Mesa menu and some of their fabulous food.

Thought I'd send a few ....

Thank you ...
Traci Buck

Thank you so much for sharing Traci!

Spring Cleaning

Every 2nd Saturday the members of the Upper Rogue Wine Tour pull their resources and create fun wine events. This upcoming weekend, April 10th and 11th from 11am to 5pm, the four URWT wineries will open up their tasting rooms for an amazing case sale. In addition to the sale, wine tasting will be free.

Agate Ridge Vineyard

25 - 40% Case Discount

Mix & Match

Crater Lake Cellars

30% Case (12 bottles) Discount
20% 6 pack Discount
Mix & Match

Del Rio Vineyards

25% Case Discount

30% Case Discount - Wine Club

Folin Cellars

15% Case Discount
20% Case Discount - Wine Club

Easter Hunt Extravaganza!

To celebrate the upcoming holiday we decided to have a little fun. We welcome you to join us in our Easter Egg hunt. An egg is hidden both in the Del Rio Tasting room and also on our website. The experience of the hunt is fun, but what is inside the egg is even better. Only one egg per person and you must be 21 years or older to use the winnings. You have only 48 hours to complete the mission of finding the egg. All eggs will disappear Sunday morning.

Click here to search our website!

Good Luck!

~ The Del Rio Team