Pinot Noir & Stuffed Portobellos

A perfect pair: Pinot Noir & Four Cheese-Stuffed Portobellos

Enjoy with Del Rio's 2009 Pinot Noir - Click here to purchase.

INGREDIENTS
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon chopped basil
4 garlic cloves, minced1 cup panko
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
Ten 3- to 4-inch-wide portobello mushroom caps, black gills removed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 ounces of shredded Gruyère
3 ounces of shredded Muenster
3 ounces of shredded mozzarella
3 ounces of shredded Manchego

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Brush the mushroom caps on both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a large rimmed baking sheet, gill side down, and bake until tender, about 20 minutes, then turn gill side up.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cheeses with the lemon zest, basil, three-fourths of the minced garlic and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Season the chees

e filling with salt and pepper. Mound the stuffing onto the mushroom caps. Bake the stuffed mushrooms until the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.
3. Preheat the broiler. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the panko and parsley with the remaining minced garlic and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle the panko mixture over the mushrooms and broil 4 inches from the heat until browned, about 2 minutes. Serve right away.
MAKE AHEAD The stuffed mushrooms can be refrigerated overnight before baking.

Cranberry, Fig, and Pinot Noir Chutney

1 1/2 cups Pinot Noir
12 dried figs, diced
3/4 cup sugar
3 strips orange zest
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring the wine to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the figs, and let soak until soft, about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the wine and figs separately.

2. Combine the sugar, 1 1/2 cups water, the reserved wine, orange zest, and ginger in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the sugar has completely melted, a minute or two. Add half of the cranberries and cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries have popped and are very soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining cranberries and the soaked figs and cook for 5 minutes longer. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

3. Discard the orange zest and scrape the chutney into a serving bowl. Serve at room temperature or chilled. The chutney can be prepared 24 hours in advance and stored covered in the refrigerator. Bobby Flay's Bar Americain Cookbook 2011

Free Shipping - Online Orders!

Enjoy free ground shipping for November

Just in time for the holidays and the gift giving season, Del Rio is offering free ground shipping for all online orders the month of November. 

Have your favorite bottle delivered for free this month or ship a gift bottle for free. Don't forget Wine Club members enjoy 20% off your wine purchase.

Start your holiday shopping today! Click here to enter our online store. 

** Excludes HI & AK**

2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

The results are in and we are excited to announce the following Del Rio wines and their accolades:

2009 Viognier - Best of Class!!!!
The nose displays aromas of peach, grapefruit and fresh mint flavors. On the palate the smooth texture is held up by the acidity with a slight lemon characteristic. The barrel ageing gives a light nuance of oak flavors and complexity to the wine. - - $20

2009 Pinot Gris - Silver

The light gold color of the Pinot Gris brings in the true varietal flavors of apple, pear with a touch of almond and vanilla. The creamy and buttery mouth follows and lengthens because of the acidity which will allow this wine to age well. - - $16

2008 Syrah - Silver

The intense and deep violet color of the 2008 Syrah is followed by a fusion of bay leaf, thyme and berry flavors. The mouth shows spicy black pepper aromas, vanilla and oak taste from the barrel ageing. - - $35

2008 Petite Syrah - Silver

Del Rio Vineyards' Petite Syrah displays a deep red color followed by rich flavors of black currant, spices and finishes with intense tannins. The partial oak aging in French and American oak barrels adds further nuances to the wine. -- $48

2009 Pinot Noir - Bronze
Our 2009 Pinot Noir has a bright ruby color and displays aromas of cherry, rosemary, and vanilla. The nose leads to delicate violet flavors, accompanied by a structured mouth feel that will ensure long aging. - - $28

2008 Claret - Bronze
The 2008 Claret shows the qualities that have made this blend a favorite. The nose shows intense fruity notes of black currant and cherry. It is then followed by woody flavors of cedar and coffee. The 18 month barrel aging, contributes to a well balanced mouth feel with silky young tannins. - - $35

The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition is the an American wine competition and this year it drew in a record number of entries, 5,050 wine from 23 states. Southern Oregon wines did quite well at this years event. Here is a link to the full list of results: http://www.winejudging.com/medal_winners.htm

A Del Rio Thanksgiving Meal

Wine and food have always been meant for each other. This week offers a significant opportunity and challenge to making the combination shine. Thanksgiving is a meal filled with a delicious variety of flavors often making the pairing of wine a slight challenge. Here are our recommendations for pairings for traditional Thanksgiving dishes.

White Wine
2009 Del Rio Pinot Gris
The light gold color of the Pinot Gris brings in the true varietal flavors of apple, pear with a touch of almond and vanilla.
The Pinot Gris would be a great wine to serve and start off your dinner. It pairs wonderfully with fresh veggies and green salad.

2008 Del Rio Chardonnay
This wine has a very nice weight to accompany its exciting crispiness.
Our Chardonnay would balance nicely with a crab cake appetizer or a base for your turkey. The wine would also compliment the creamy traditional green bean casserole.

2009 Del Rio Viognier
The nose displays aromas of peach, grapefruit and fresh mint flavors. On the palate the smooth texture is held up by the acidity with a slight lemon characteristic.
As many will tell you pair a white wine with a light meat and our Viognier is a perfect match for your turkey. It too will marry well with a green salad.

Red Wine
2009 Del Rio Pinot Noir
Our 2009 Pinot Noir has a bright ruby color and displays aromas of cherry, rosemary, and vanilla.
This delicate red is a traditional favorite to pair with a turkey dinner. Our 2009 Pinot is a great staple to have on every Thanksgiving table.

Dessert
2009 Del Rio Rose Jolee
Fragrance of honeysuckle and roses, this delicately sweet wine is 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.
This wine is the perfect refreshment to the end of your meal. It can stand alone as dessert or be paired with your jello salad or sweet potatoes.

Cheers to a delicious meal surrounded by those you love. We hope you all will have warm and full bellies this Thanksgiving!

Visit our online store to purchase your holiday wine today. Enter coupon code: NovShip for free ground shipping. Excludes HI & AK.

Blind Pinot Tasting – Picks Del Rio!

The Pinot American Brasserie, a soon to be opened (August 2nd) restaurant in Portland, has focused their wine list to highlight the best Pinot Noirs Oregon has to offer. In order to build their premier wine list the Brasserie teamed up with the Oregon Wine Brotherhood for a two-day blind tasting of 246 Oregon Pinot Noirs.

“We sent out a ‘Call for Pinot’ to all Oregon wineries in May, and were thrilled with the enthusiastic response,” says Bill King, Executive Chef/Partner of Pinot American Brasserie and longtime Brotherhood member. “The restaurant is honored to tap into the Brotherhood’s expertise, and bring some added excitement to our extensive Pinot Noir selection.”

Source: http://www.pdxfoodpress.com/

The partnership turned out a 36 Pinot wine list and we are so very excited to announce our 2008 Del Rio Pinot Noir made the cut! We also are thrilled that the 2008 Chardonnay will be poured by the glass.

For more information on the new Pinot American Brasserie visit their website at http://www.pinotpdx.com/index.php

Here is a bit more on our 2008 Pinot Noir:
The vines that produced this high quality product are
grown in Block 7 of the vineyard. This is a wonderful site for Pinot Noir, consisting of predominately cobblestone soil allowing for excellent drainage. The 2008 harvest yielded 2.5 tons. This 100% Pinot Noir was aged for 12 months in 17% new French oak, 11% stainless steel, and 72% neutral oak. Fermented for 15 days on skins with 5 days of cold soak and malolactic fermentation occurred naturally in the barrel.

Tasting Notes:
This wine shows classic attributes of Pinot Noir from Burgundy with deep color, cherry, prune, blackberry, and vanilla aromas. The nose gives way to supple texture with violet flavors, impressive ripe tannins and a long finish.

To enjoy your own bottle of 2008 Del Rio Pinot Noir visit our online store today!

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.)

2008 Pinot Noir

2008 Del Rio Pinot Noir
*Will be included in the March 2010 Wine Club Release!

Price: $28.00/bottle & $22.40/bottle - Wine Club

Tasting Notes:
This 100 % Pinot Noir shows classic attributes of Pinot Noir from Burgundy with a deep color, cherry, prune, blackberry, and vanilla aromas. The nose gives way to a supple texture with violet flavors, impressive ripe tannins and a long finish. Enjoy it now or cellar for up to three years.

Food Pairing:
The wine will harmoniously accompany your meat and game dishes such as salmon, lamb chops, roast duck and wild mushrooms. Check out the Morel Mushroom recipe on the Recipe Exchange page.

March Wine Club Releases

Attention Rio Club Members . . . check what is coming to you in March.
March 1st, 2010 marks the special day for the shipping of wine club orders. If you pick up your wine it will also be ready on the 1st. So, what I am I getting in this order you ask?

Rio Club Members
You can expect a red and a white. This time around you will receive the highly anticipated 2008 Pinot Noir and the San Francisco Chronicle Gold Medal winning 2008 Viognier.

Red's Only Members
You will also receive the new 2008 Pinot Noir and accompanying it will be the sold out 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon.

In addition to wine, we have included a packet of seeds to make your spring bloom brighter!

In celebrating the wine club release we would like to invite you all to our March Open House, March 6th and 7th. For more information on upcoming events and happenings at Del Rio check out the calendar of events page on our website.

For more information or questions about the wine club please contact Jennifer at the tasting room, taste@delriovineyards.com.

Stay tuned for wine release notes!