"The Pull: The Only Acceptable Way to Open a Bottle"

When you live on a vineyard and have opened more than your fair share of bottles of wine you find yourself wondering if a corkscrew is the only way to go. Thanks Del Rio Vineyards for letting us STEAL your facilities for three days and get to the bottom of it. - Clayton & Jason Wallace

A Winemakers Style

Today, I came across a great letter from our winemaker, Jean-Michel, describing his style of winemaking. Enjoy!


I believe that most of my wines represent my origins, my life experiences, my personality and my belief in winemaking. My family produces Muscadet in the Loire Valley, France. This vibrant wine is always on my mind when making whites. As a result, I like to feel some acidity on most of my blends. It’s helped the wine keep its freshness and lifts up the fruit as well as extends the mouth feel. My style of red wine comes from my experience in Bordeaux and Australia. I strive for fruity reds with a deep color as well as round and rich tannins. I barrel age red and white wines according to the vintage and its potential. In any case, I do not try to overpower the fruit of wines. To achieve the ageing that suit the wine, I select oak from France, Hungary and America. I also used lees ageing, Malolactic fermentation, and different techniques of maceration and yeast strains to create several nuances into the wines.


Ultimately, I want the taster to go back to my wines and find at each new sip another layer of complexity and aromas. A good wine in my opinion arouses curiosity by its originality, respectfulness of the fruit, balance, texture, and must express to its best the vineyard site and the work of the grower.


Hope it helps.


Sincerely
J-Michel

Remembering Jerry

Nearly 10 years ago, we opened our tasting room to the public. Soon after that day, a spry 70-year old man soon became our first regular. In those early days, we only had one person full-time during the week. Each time he came by, he would remind us that if we ever needed someone, to keep him in mind. Well, soon after that we took him up on his offer. That special person was Jerry Dynge. He started off by working every Saturday and Sunday. Not long after, we talked him into going from two days a week to five: Monday through Friday. During those early years here at Del Rio, Jerry did everything from grape samples to inventory and sales of wine to art festivals. He was our man. As we grew, we hired more and more ladies to help out. He loved them all very much. Jerry was always willing to do anything that needed to be done and helped us move forward. Working alongside Jerry was easy, he tended to the customer with great diligence and we were his back-up. The tasting room ladies enjoyed reminding Jerry frequently of their favorite pet peeve…daily customers would come in the tasting room, look around, and then ask for Jerry. When it was shared with the customer that Jerry had a day off, the look of disappointment in the customer’s eyes could not be overlooked. This was a true testament of his strong character as the most thoughtful and caring person. Jerry always went out of his way to make each person he met feel special. His love of art and nature was expressed through his work and his compassion for others was felt in the warm touch. He was a very special person to us all and will be greatly missed.

---  Jolee & Rob Wallace

A Prayer for the World

Let the rain come and wash away

the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds

held and nurtured over generations.

Let the rain wash away the memory

of the hurt, the neglect.

Then let the sun come out and

fill the sky with rainbows.

Let the warmth of the sun heal us

wherever we are broken.

Let it burn away the fog so that

we can see each other clearly.

So that we can see beyond labels,

beyond accents, gender or skin color.

Let the warmth and brightness

of the sun melt our selfishness.

So that we can share the joys and

feel the sorrows of our neighbors.

And let the light of the sun

be so strong that we will see all

people as our neighbors.

Let the earth, nourished by rain,

bring forth flowers

to surround us with beauty.

And let the mountains teach our hearts

to reach upward to heaven.
Amen.

Del Rio's Kitchen: Volume 2

Susie Moore had the winning recipe from our staff bake off for our December wine club party. Enjoy her wonderful recipe!

Not a Creature Was Stirring . . . .

Ingredients:

• Maraschino cherries with stems
• Chocolate chips (white, dark, or milk) depending on the color of mice you want or flavor you want.
• Sliced almonds (for ears)
• Frosting for eyes & nose (you can use store bought tubes)

Instructions:
Rinse cherries and dry very well – the chocolate won’t stick if the cherries are wet (roll them around on a towel) Melt chips in a double boiler over hot NOT boiling water. (It is important not to let any moisture invade the chocolate while melting or it will burn into a big glob.) Dip each cherry including part of the stem into melted chocolate and place on waxed or parchment paper. Using some of the melted choco., place 1 morsel on cherry for nose and nestle almonds behind nose for ears. Decorate with eyes and nose with a color of your choice. Chill until set and you are ready to eat.

Happy Birthday - Jean-Michel!

Today, we celebrate Del Rio winemaker, Jean-Michel’s birthday. This last birthday year has been filled with great new adventures for Jean-Michel and his wife Liza. Last fall they welcomed a new addition to their family with sweet baby Eloise. This year marks Jean-Michel’s third crush at Del Rio. He, like Eloise, has been a great addition to the Del Rio family. Jean-Michel came to Del Rio with a long history of wine making. Jean-Michel has been making wine since early childhood at his family's 50-acre vineyard and winery in France. He is well traveled and has produced wines from many grapes varietals and from various climates throughout the world. Before finding a home in Oregon, Jean-Michel traveled the world, working in Hungary, Australia, and South Africa. His French wine making style has blended well with Del Rio grapes, making each vintage unique and delicious.

Ice cream cones in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, we toast to another year of success and joy. Happy Birthday!

Back to blogging

My hiatus from blogging about the joyous happenings at Del Rio has finally ended, as I am happy to report I am back in the Rogue Valley and working full time at Del Rio. Expect lots of incredibly interesting posts as we navigate the grape growing, wine making, and wine selling process. I am very excited about all the adventures on the horizon. Being back in Oregon feels amazing and Del Rio has been bustling as the summer weather draws in many energetic tasters.

Here is the latest:

San Francisco International Wine Competition Results:
2007 Del Rio Cabernet Sauvignon - Double Gold Medal
2007 Del Rio Claret - Silver Medal
2007 Del Rio Syrah – Silver Medal
2008 Del Rio Pinot Gris – Silver Medal

Summer Concert Series – Up Next - Broadway Phil & The Shouters

Del Rio’s summer concerts have been a hit. They are a wonderful way to spend a Friday evening. The next concert on the calendar is Friday July 30^th at 6pm with the sounds of the local band Broadway Phil & The Shouters. The band has been rocking the Rogue Valley since 1994 and offers a range of music from West Coast blues, R & B, to roots rock. There is a cover charge of $7.50 for the general public and $5 for wine club members. Bring a blanket, a picnic dinner, and get comfortable on the tasting room grounds for the evening.

Check out their website for more information - http://theshouters.org/

In case you were curious about your DRV blogger . . . here is a little bit about me.

Born and raised in the Rogue Valley I was introduced to the Wallace family at a Patrick Elementary PTA meeting. From babysitter to tasting room employee and now blogger the time I have spent working for the Wallace family has been great and not to mention all the delicious wine! Two years and a Masters Degree in International studies later, I have returned home from Denver and am eager to be back working at Del Rio. Please feel free to email me with any suggestions or comments on our wine blog. lindsey@delriovineyards.com

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.