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Amalie Robert 2009 Spring Review Published May 17, 2009
Dallas, Oregon 97338
Phone/FAX 503.831.4703
Web site Address
Hello and Welcome! Amalie Robert Estate Declares Pinot Noir Bud Break on Earth Day, April 22, 2009!
3 days before... Bud Break, April 22, 2009 ...2 weeks later... ...and 4 weeks later The vines have awoken after a long winters nap, and they are in haste. In a mere 150 days our 42,207 vines will have created leaves and shoots, flowered and ripened their fruit, and then returned to dormancy. What a schedule to keep!
Not to worry, we are up to the challenge. After 10 years of managing our own vineyard, we have a pretty fair idea of what the vines have in store for us. Each vine is a little winemaker with special needs. Each vine is looking for just a few seconds of your time to straighten up some shoots. Then it is a few more seconds to remove some leaves. Then back again in a few short days to remove excess fruit. The hours are long and there is always more to do; they are relentless. When it is time for harvest, you look out into the field and see that each vine carries just enough grapes to make one bottle of wine. Some call it “Living the Dream.” But we know who we are. We are winegrowers.
From the Tractor Seat: Vineyard update Vineyard flowers The Spring season begins with blooming wild flowers and a few bunches of daffodils that are the curiosity of block 23. Each plant that flowers in and around the vineyard has its own timetable. These flowers give us an indication of how spring is coming along, despite what the calendar might say.
He heard a faint but distinct gurgling sound and stopped in his tracks. He looked around, but was alone in the vineyard. As he began to focus on the sound, he moved closer to block 5. Finally, he put his ear up to the steel “U” shaped end post and the mystery was revealed. Today, we use an old 4’ foot piece of bamboo to test the depth of the water. As Spring gives way to summer, the water stops running. The soils dry and that is one signal to the Pinot Noir vines that it is time to start ripening their seeds. “Does anyone really know what time it is?” – Chicago Most of us however, rely on a calendar to help mark the significant events in our lives. During the growing season, we prefer to think in terms of a Julian calendar (introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC), where each day is sequentially numbered. Before then, the Roman calendar was used. However, the Roman calendar reminds Ernie of his CPA days in trying to understand the tax code. Alas, there was reform and it happened in 46 BC by making that year 445 days long. Follow this link to learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_calendar The Julian calendar holds special interest in winegrowing. It is a way to track the progression of the season, when marked with the happenings in the field. For example, we see that over the last 10 years, our Rosemary bushes have flowered somewhere between the 30-60th day of the year. Earlier flowering reflects a warmer spring. Perhaps this model has a role to play in the climate change debate. As an aside, we are about 2.5 million days into the Julian calendar. Here is a very good link to understanding the Julian calendar: http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/JulianDate.php. You can convert your birthday to the Julian system at this site. The result makes a nice response to the ubiquitous question: “When were you born?”
Vineyard floor management and why
Think of how snowshoes support your weight by distributing it over a larger area than your boots. You look back to see your tracks, and notice the snow has not all “compacted” in your foot prints. The benefit to the vines is in the soil’s ability to support an ecosystem that will help nurture the vines. Ernie’s key role each Spring is to prepare the vineyard floor for the coming season. This includes chopping up last years canes and incorporating them with last winter’s cover crop. This “green and brown” mixture is then tilled into the soil to compost with a little rain.
Then a fresh summer cover crop is drilled into the soil that will provide habitat for beneficial insects. Just before harvest, this summer cover crop is ready to provide nutrients for the vines when tilled in and a new winter cover crop is drilled in to hold the soil from the winter rains. Please see this FAQ for the complete story: Tell me about Cover Crops
Cellar Operations Wines in Barrel Our 2008 wines finished their primary, or yeast based, fermentations and went to barrel in late November and early December. The cellar temperature promptly dropped to below 50 degrees, and the wines entered a deep slumber. As spring slowly loosens winters grip, we see the temperature in our below ground cellar start to slowly rise. This temperature increase encourages our secondary, bacteria based, fermentation or malo-lactic conversion.
Tartaric acid is with us throughout the winemaking process, and is the primary acid that is detected when enjoying most wines. Malic acid takes a different path via bacteria, and is converted to lactic acid which is a much softer acid. Consider that Malic acid is what you would recognize if you were eating a Granny Smith apple - pretty tart and right up front. Lactic acid, on the other hand, is the acid we find in milk - much more subtle and may we say “suave.” The bacteria responsible for this conversion are subject to many factors, but temperature is the most significant in our cellar. Below 50 degrees F, the bacteria are inactive. So as the cellar begins to warm in the Spring, we see the second fermentation complete. Except in our Stainless Steel fermented Chardonnay, where we want to keep the bright malic acid as a balance to the rich fruit. Bottling: Last Call! This is also the time of year we finish our bottling of the 2007 Pinot Noirs. Our winemaking philosophy drives the schedule and here is why. Our vintage planning begins with the vines. We know that our fermentations will be all natural yeast from the vineyard (as the winery is new and has not been inoculated with commercial yeast.) Also, we will be using somewhere around 20% whole clusters (including the stems) directly from the field. This style of winemaking allows the vineyard site to be showcased, not masked behind a commercial yeast strain. The inclusion of stems in the fermenter also increases tannins in the young wine. Typically, we like to age our Pinot Noirs in barrel for at least 12 months to allow these stem tannins to integrate with the wines. Heavier tannins will bind together and fall out of the wine “to the bottom of the barrel.” We are left with the fine grained tannins that provide a more pleasing mouth feel.
Logistically, that means we start
bottling in February and continue through May. Our first 2007 Pinot Noirs
will be released over Thanksgiving weekend. This will give them a few months
to settle down from the bottling process, known as bottle shock. It is our
intention that when we release a wine it should be enjoyable, but with 5-7
years or more, of aging potential. Feature Story: His and Hers Tenth Anniversary Reserves His and Hers 10th Anniversary Reserves It was the turn of the century in April of 1999, when Dena and Ernie discovered their Pinot Noir vineyard hiding under an old cherry orchard in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Now 10 years later, we present the reserve Pinot Noirs from Amalie Robert Estate – 2006 Amalie’s Cuvée and Estate.
2006 Amalie's Cuvée Tasting Notes 2006 Estate Tasting Notes This is the first year we have had enough of the Estate Pinot Noir to sell outside of the winery. By enough, we mean more than a single barrel. Each wine is a blend of about 10 barrels, approximately 250 cases. Logistics often prevent limited case production wines from being bottled on there own. This is yet another advantage of owning your own bottling equipment - the ability to estate bottle small case production lots. And what a vintage to debut! The 2006 wines are still cellared at the winery and have fully developed aromatics. It is Dena’s namesake Pinot Noir “Amalie’s Cuvée” that we begin with. Amalie’s Cuvée is a Pommard and Wadenswil clone blend of Pinot Noir. These are the two clones that established Oregon Pinot Noir in the early 1980s. However, it is Dena that gives the final nod on the blend. “It has to show pretty fruit and balance. I want to see the elegant side of Pinot Noir in my blend,” says Dena. It’s also personal, as Amalie is Dena’s middle name. Once Dena is satisfied, Ernie goes back to work in the cellar of 100% Amalie Robert Estate grown Pinot Noir to make his blend – “Estate.” This wine is often described as Amalie’s big brother. It has more weight in the mid palate and more structure in the finish. However, the blend has to have Dena’s approval. When asked about the blending process, Ernie is quick to point out “She has veto power.” Both wines were fermented with indigenous yeasts and some whole clusters to add complexity and layers of flavors. The barrel aging regime was 15 months in French oak to increase concentration and allow the tannins to integrate. The bottled wine is then cellared in the winery’s below ground aging cellar until it is ready for release.
New Developments Memorial Day Weekend Open House Please join us for our Memorial Day Weekend Open House! Amalie Robert Estate will be open Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, May 23 - 25, from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm. Follow this link to learn more and to get driving directions: Memorial Day Weekend Open House Vineyard and Winery Tours Each Month Join us each month during the growing season for a vineyard tour and wine tasting. Ernie will guide a brief vineyard tour describing the development of the vines and his approach to winegrowing. Dena will then host you in the winery, where you can taste the wines and map them back to the vineyard. Amalie Robert Estate Calendar of Events Dena has started a small following on Twitter. You can check out her “Tweets” here: www.twitter.com (TwitterID is AmalieRobert) Oregon Wine Awards As they say, there is no such thing as bad press. Amalie Robert brought home the Gold, two in fact (2006 Amalie's Cuvée and 2006 Dijon Clones Pinot Noirs), along with a Bronze (2006 Estate Pinot Noir). Follow this link to learn more: www.oregonwineawards.com Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar The current issue (May/June 2009) of Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar includes the annual Focus on Oregon Pinot Noir written by Josh Raynolds. Ten Pinot noirs received 93 points, the highest given in the review, including our Memorial Day release, the 2006 "The Reserve" Pinot Noir. Even the Pinot Meunier is in on the gig. 2006 The Reserve Pinot Noir: 93 points - top honors
2006 Amalie's Cuvée Pinot Noir: 92 points
2006 Estate Pinot Noir: 92 points
2006 Pinot Meunier: 90 points
Please follow this link to order Amalie Robert wines: Order Wines What’s in It For Me? (WIFM) In today’s economic climate, all of us are looking for value. We hope that in reading our stories, you gain some knowledge, and an occasional chuckle, for what winegrowing is all about. On the financial front, we also encourage you to take a look at our A-List. Our goal in creating the A-list is to provide you the best value when securing Amalie Robert Estate wines. Here is a brief rundown of the A-list: Each shipment is 2 bottles. We hold the wines until they are ready to be enjoyed, and the A-List receives them before anyone. No contract commitments or minimums. Stay with us as long as you like and you are free to go at any time. Initial shipments are offered at a 10% discount. As our closest customers, you get the deal, right up front. Re-orders receive up to 20% discount, including older library vintages. We pay ground shipping on purchases of 12 or more bottles. Tasting at the Winery for you and up to 3 guests is complimentary. Join us for Memorial Day, a walk in the vineyard with Ernie or reserve a tasting appointment with Dena.
The A-list is designed for
what we as consumers would have liked to see before entering the wine
industry. We hope you find the features and benefits compelling enough to
join us.
Kindest Regards, Dena & Ernie
Previous Newsletters
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We
can also check the dipstick. Much like finding a needle in a haystack, Ernie
found an underground spring - with a steel endpost. Out of the
roughly 900
posts he has pounded, one of them intersected with a seasonal underground
waterway. It wasn’t
until the following winter when Ernie walked by the post that he knew
something was up. 
Of
course the vines don’t track the days, they track the climate
conditions and respond accordingly. We notice that bud break
for our Pinot
Noir corresponds to the flowering of the purple lilac – and this is the case
around the world. The lilac is called an indicator plant. It will indicate
when Pinot Noir will break bud in that region. This is something Dick Erath
knew when he “risked” planting Pinot Noir in Oregon all those years ago. So
when you see the lilacs starting to bloom, you know the Oregon vineyards are
waking up.
The next big
vineyard event is flowering which
happens around day 166, plus or minus 30 days. Another
key relationship is the time between flowering and harvest. Regardless of
the year, this is very close to 105 days for Pinot Noir in our vineyard.
Flowering also loosely corresponds with Dena’s birthday. Imagine 42,000
vines producing about 40 “inflorescence” with about 100 flowers each. At
168,000,000 flowers in bloom, that is one big birthday bouquet! Follow this
link to the Amalie Robert Estate Julian Calendar for 2009:
Ernie’s
view this time of year is mostly from the seat of his crawler. This tractor
has steel tracks that distribute the tractors weight over a much larger area
than a “wheel” tractor.
The result is we do not “compact” the wet soil by squeezing out all of the
air pockets and tightly packing the clay particles together.
All wine grapes have several acids,
but there are two acids we are primarily concerned with: Tartaric acid and Malic acid. As the grapes ripen on the vine, the acid levels begin to drop.
When the vine thinks the seeds have matured, the sugars accumulate and the
acids drop off considerably, thus making the fruit more palatable to birds
and other local fauna. Trust us on this one, as we have seen grapes
literally fly off the vine - grapes take flight!
