Dust off the suitcase, Madrid here I come!

Madrid, Iowa that is. Bet you were thinking Madrid, Spain right? Gottcha! My journey begins next Wednesday when I fly from Portland to Des Moines, Iowa. Thursday night I am a guest speaker at the Mid-American Wine Competition's 3rd Annual Sample the Best of the Midwest Wine Tasting benefit. Then the fun begins as over the next three days (Friday to Sunday) I get back in the cellar and apply everything that I have learned this semester from my Intro to Wine Science class at DMACC. It is off to Madrid (pronounced Mad-rid, not Mah-drid) to work in the cellar at Snus Hill Winery. Check out their website: http://www.snushillwinery.com/ .

Sunday night I journey across the Iowa border to Cheddarhead land also known as Wisconsin. A quick visit and dinner with my family and then off to sell lots of Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Milwaukee, Madison and La Crosse. So if you know any Wisconsin restaurants, bars or retailers who would be a good fit for our wines, please let me know so I can setup an appointment with the wine buyer.

Looking forward to my trip and I am sure I will have lots of good stories and pictures to post.

Willamette Valley Sauvignon Blanc Coming Soon

Watch out New Zealand, there is a new competitor coming your way! Sauvignon Blanc grown in the Willamette Valley AVA of Oregon. You betcha. It may be 3-5 years away from being in the bottle, but the buzz has already started. I will be documenting this project from start to finish. Watch for videos, pictures and postings on this blog to see the progress of Willamette Valley Sauvignon Blanc from "still deciding on a name" Vineyard.

Walk a mile in my shoes...

A The King, Elvis Presley, said, "Walk a mile in my shoes." I actually wore two different shoes to work today and didn't notice that they were different until I was about to leave work. Just another chaotic and crazy day of my life. At least they were the same color, right?

Challenge yourself

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." Joshua J. Marine

The words above pretty much sum up my entire Oregonian weekend. There are so many times in life when I choose not to do something because it is uncomfortable or scary. Then I look back and wish I would have done it, but it is too late. I have made excuses like having to work, not having enough money or thinking I would just do it another time. What I have realized is that the time is now.

This weekend I had an opportunity to go skiing at Willamette Pass. In all actuality, I really just wanted to go up to see the snow, read a magazine and watch everyone else ski and snowboard from inside the warm bar area. My friend, Brent, persuaded me otherwise. Before I knew it, I had ski boots on my feet and poles in my hands. I warned him that I was a horrible skier. But what he did not know was that I was absolutely terrified of skiing. Well, absolutely terrified of the chairlift!

You see I have only skied twice in my life and that was over 10 years ago at Mt. LaCrosse. The second time doesn't really count either, because after only two runs and a wicked wipe out I gave up and sat inside by the fire. So here I am, 29 years old, staring at the chairlift and scared. I take a deep breath and clumsily make my way to board the lift. Huh, that was easy. As we ride to the top and I jokingly ask Brent what happens if you miss getting off? Do you just ride the lift all the way down and back up again? He laughs and says I will be fine.

We reach the top and in front of us is a mother and a young girl about age five or so. They get off easily. Hey if they can do it, then so can I. We are next. I lean forward and oops I hesitate one second too long. Yep. You guessed it. I missed the exit. I can hear the guys behind me say, "I've never seen that happen before." They obviously don't know me then! The chairlift operator stops the lift and I jump off and walk around to where I should have originally jumped off in the first place. I glide down the hill with my head held high and laugh. At this point, that is all I can do. I wonder if Brent is thinking that bringing me up here is a huge mistake.

I make it down the hill slowly, but without falling. I am scared at first but then it starts to get fun. The second time I go up the lift, the operator slows it down so I can jump off and down I go like a pro. Easy! After that I am not afraid anymore. The rest of the day on the hill is fantastic! There is fresh powder, the sun is shining and I cruise down the hill...back and forth, back and forth. I don't even fall. I conquered one of my biggest fears and challenged myself to step outside my comfort zone. I appreciate that someone was able to make me realize that something I thought was impossible was actually not impossible at all.

Sincerely,

Becky "Never seen that happen before" Rochester

A dream come true..."From Vine to Wine"

The "From Vine to Wine" project is underway. Two acres of Sauvignon Blanc will be planted in Oregon's Willamette Valley AVA this spring. This project will be used as a teaching experience for my staff at Willamette Valley Vineyards to see a vineyard from the very start and along the way I will teach them different lessons like disease and pest management, cycles of the vineyard, cover crop management, pruning, leafing, etc. The project will be documented in words, videos and photos and I hope to create a documentary to debut with the release of the wine in 2014 or 2015.

According to the Vineyard report for 2009, there were 67 planted acres of Sauvignon Blanc in Oregon and 43 acres were harvested. The average ton per acre was 2.67 tons and 115 total tons were harvested in 2009. Price per ton averaged around $1,620.

Friday night Willamette Valley Viticulturist, Chelsea Brittan, and I tasted six Sauvignon Blancs from around the world to help us determine the profile and style of Sauvignon Blanc to plant. The lineup included 2008 Patricia Green Sauvignon Blanc (Croft Vineyard, Oregon), 2008 Andrew Rich Vintner Sauvignon Blanc (Croft Vineyard, Oregon), 2009 Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand where I worked!), 2008 Cono Sur Sauvignon Blanc (Chile, where I wish I had worked!), 2007 Hill Family Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley, CA) & a 2008 Chateau Saint-Florin Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend (Bordeaux, France where I will be headed this winter for vacation!).

After two grueling hours of smelling, swirling & tasting, then smelling, swirling and tasting again, we came to the following conclusions:

1. I love Sauvignon Blanc (SB, Sauvey).

2. Create a SB that does not overwhelm you with the well known cat pee, gooseberry nose, but we definitely don't want to hide all of that unique SB characteristic.

2. Add a touch of Semillon to the SB blend to create a creamy mouthfeel and to mask a little of the vegative, herbaceousness.

3. SB profile should have a slight gooseberry nose, with hints of lime, citrus and bell pepper aromas.

4. Mouthfeel should be somewhat creamy (maybe sur lees for 1 year in oak barrel) and blend with SB that has been fermented in stainless steel to get a nice fruity balance.

5. Clonal selection and rootstocks debating at this point are clones 1, 14 & 27 with a row of Semillon. Chelsea to call on some California vineyards to help us with this selection.

6. As for trellising, well there are a few options we are kicking around. We are considering the traditional VSP method or a crazy four cane trellis system that has been trialed in California and used in New Zealand.

Stay tuned for more information on "From Vine to Wine" at Willamette Valley Vineyards. This project is going to follow these 2 acres of Sauvignon Blanc from vine to wine over the next 3-4 years. There will be pictures, videos and stories documenting this project and a huge celebration when the SB is produced, by me, and in the bottle.

A three month match.com lesson

My three month membership on match.com has officially come to an end. So I am sure you all are wondering if I have met my perfect match? I don't have the answer to that question quite yet.

Online dating. Who does that, right? Well besides me, it seems like a majority of the people who are online are 25-35 years old, work too much or are new to the area and are looking for a new way to meet people. The whole experience was eye opening, and I have some good stories that will probably never make it to this blog, but some of you may have been fortunate to hear.

Below I posted snippets from three match.com emails I received over the past three months (there were some even better ones, but I deleted them).

1. "Girl who loves IPAs, country music, and working out. Yeah, we're pretty much perfect for each other and should probably hang out."

2. "I have a question for you...I initially got an email saying that you were interested in me so I read your profile. I thought we had a lot in common so I emailed you but you never wrote back. Why is that?"

3. "hi there, well I live out in battle ground wa on 2 parklike acres in a nice cape cod home right next to town, I like living in the Country right next to town, do ya like country living?"


"Love doesn't make the world go round, love is what makes the ride worthwhile." Elizabeth Browning

DMACC Enology Video

Check out this video on DMACC Enology Program: I took most of the photos. Cool!
https://go.dmacc.edu/programs/viticulture/Pages/videos.aspx

30 things continued

Continuing my list of 30 things to do before I turn 30.

1. Ride in a hot air balloon

2. Surf off the Oregon Coast

3. Go to Canada, eh

4. Go without the internet, phone, etc. for a whole weekend

5. Karaoke night at Lumpy's in Dundee

6. Write 30 letters to 30 people who changed my life

7. Consume 30 bottles of wine (no problem and I accept this challenge)

8. Be able to do the splits. That means stretching properly so I don't hurt myself again!

9. Run a marathon (I have completed the Chicago Marathon but that is a long story)

10. Invent something

11. I would like to see my bio dad, Ben. When are you coming to visit?

12. Get my Enology Certificate from DMACC

13. Go winetasting in Walla Walla

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A Toothsome Threesome-Pears, Cheese & Wine

Check out this article on Willamette Valley Vineyards Wine, Cheese & Pear event.

http://www.thetasteoforegon.com/2010/03/16/a-toothsome-threesome-%E2%80%94-pears-cheese-and-wine/

30 things to do before I am 30

To make life more interesting, I have decided to make a list of 30 things to do before I am 30. I have about 110 days to complete this list. So I need your help to come up with a list of 30 fun, interesting, cool, funny things to do.

I will get the list started:

1. Ride in a hot air balloon

2. Surf off the Oregon Coast

3. Go to Canada, eh

4. Go without the internet, phone, etc. for a whole weekend

5. Karaoke night at Lumpy's in Dundee
6. Write 30 letters to 30 people who changed my life

7. Consume 30 bottles of wine (no problem and I accept this challenge)

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Indie Wine Festival Judging...lessons learned

Today I volunteered at the Indie Wine Festival. I woke up at 5:30 AM and was out the door at 6:45. A cute guy bought me coffee at the Dutch Bros. drive through. Great start to my day!

I arrived at The Vintage Plaza Hotel at 7:15 AM pumped up for the day. My behind the scenes look at a real wine competition. What happens at a wine competition? Well there are lots of bottles to open, flights of glasses to setup, tables to clear, dump buckets to well...dump and racks of glasses to wash.

As the day proceeded, the cycle continued with Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Syrah, Sparkling, Pinot Gris, Viognier...you get the picture. All of the volunteers and Indie Wine Festival staff were fantastic! The results will be announced to the winners by the end of the week.

The most important thing I learned today is it doesn't matter who you are or what you do, unless you inspire and appreciate others who want to be like you. I aspire to be a wine writer and leader in the wine industry. When that happens, I will make sure to motivate others, take the time to find out their story, their dreams and goals and share advice and guidance.

I was the captain of a five person panel today and not one of the judges took the time to ask me my name, what I do or thank me for helping out. At lunch all of the judge's sat together and all of us volunteers sat at the "kids table". Not one of them came over to introduce themselves or to say hello. Each volunteer today was passionate about wine, the industry and would have loved the opportunity to meet many or any of the judges. They were wine writers, chefs, winemakers, TV personalities, wine buyers. Basically the who's who of the wine industry.

That is the one thing I admire most about my boss. He is humble, down-to-earth, inspirational and most importantly takes the time to reach out to each guest and make a personal connection with them. Others should aspire to be more like him.

Make sure to check out the Indie Wine Festival. It is in May and will be a great opportunity to taste wines from many small, boutique wineries around Oregon. I posted some information and a link to the website below.

What is the Indie Wine Festival?

Join 40 craft producers that represent the heart and soul of Oregon’s world-class wine industry as they pour their wines during the 6th annual Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival. The festival is an exciting opportunity to meet rising star winemakers from emerging cellars across the state in a farmer’s market-style setting. Most of the wines being poured are very limited in production and not widely available to purchase. This is your chance to buy wine you like from the winemaker on the spot and take them home.

2010 marks the official launch of the Indie Wine Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to preserving and sustaining the art of craft winemaking.

Saturday, May 8, 2010
Grand Tasting Event
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Bison Building
419 NE 10th Avenue
Portland, OR 97232

This year’s Grand Tasting will showcase 40 jury-selected, Oregon craft wineries and 15 of Portland’s creative culinary talents in an intimate farmer’s market-style setting. General Admission tickets are $75/person and include one tasting glass, festival passport and access to pours from all wineries and food from all featured restaurants.

2010 Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival Judges included:

Michael Davies, Winemaker, A to Z Wineworks
Alice Feiring, Journalist and Author
John Grochau, Winemaker, GC Wines
Tim Kennedy, Winemaker, Don Carlo Vineyard
Toni Ketrenos, Wine Buyer, New Seasons Market
Ted Loos, Freelance wine writer, Town & Country, Sherman's
Claud Mann, Chef and host of TBS' Dinner & a Movie
Naomi Pomeroy, Chef/owner, Beast
Jason Smith, Director of Wine, Bellagio, Las Vegas
Bernie Sun, Corporate Beverage Director, Jean-Georges Management, LLC
Cathy Whims, Chef/owner, Nostrana
Summer Wolff, Wine Broker, Sokolin & Indie Wines

There is free parking nearby in lots as well as on-street parking. We’re arranging a wine pick-up zone at the Grand Tasting Event so you may load your car with wine directly following the event. There will be wine valet volunteers with handcarts to help deliver wine to your car.

Tickets can only be purchased online or at the door.

$75 for a general admission ticket into Saturday’s Grand Tasting

$125 for a VIP admission ticket into Saturday’s Grand tasting (gets you in an hour early)

Tickets are non-refundable, non transferable. Tickets are provided at WILL CALL only. Bring your final order page with you to claim your entry at the door.

Got to http://www.indiewinefestival.com/ for more information.

King Estate & Pfeiffer Vineyards

A day to play

Today was a day to play. Rachel, Chelsea and I drove south to Eugene and visited one of our biggest competitors, King Estate. We had a fabulous winetasting, lunch and tour and frolicked around the grounds. Thanks Ed King III, Sasha Kadey and Josh Massie for being such wonderful hosts to us.

Here's a bit of the King Estate story:

King Estate, celebrating 19 years of Oregon winemaking in 2010, is located southwest of Eugene, Oregon and produces Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and limited amounts of Chardonnay. Founded in 1991 by the King family, King Estate is committed to producing Oregon wines of exceptional quality using organic & sustainable farming methods, meticulous fruit selection, impeccable winemaking practices and judicious blending.

The beautiful estate of 1,033 acres is certified organic and includes 465 acres of organic vineyards, as well as 30 acres of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. The Estate is crowned by the charming, European-style winery, where the winemaking process is also certified organic.

The Restaurant and Wine Bar at King Estate features wine tasting & winery tours as well as fine dining. Our menu incorporates estate and locally grown organic ingredients that fully complement King Estate wines.

Check out the King Estate website: http://www.kingestate.com/

We also stopped by Pfeiffer Vineyards and met Robin Pfeiffer, a wonderful, entertaining man who gave us a Pinot Class.
 
Here's a bit of the Pfeiffer story:
 
After several calls from the French who wanted to purchase their 70 acres of south-facing slopes, Robin learned they wanted the land for wine grapes. The family sold the sheep, and planted grapevines. "The only thing we knew about wine grapes was that we liked wine and dried grapes were called raisins," noted Robin Pfeiffer. However, he learned after careful analysis that their site was ideal for grapes.
 
Owners Robin and Danuta Pfeiffer have always looked to the future of environmental practices and "green" solutions. Pfeiffer Winery is one of the first completely solar operated facilities in the Willamette Valley and the first in Lane County. Roof-lined solar panels enable the winery and the Pfeiffer Villa to produce their own electricity, and sell back to the electrical grid.

The winery produces limited releases of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Rose and Muscat.

Check out Pfeiffer Vineyards: http://www.pfeiffervineyards.com/

I will post a slideshow of pictures from today's trip.

Coffee to go...or maybe not

I think I have hit a wall. Saturday morning I went to my local drive thru coffee shop. I drove up, the girl said medium black with a straw, I shook my head yes, she collected my cash and my punch card, handed the change and punch card back, I commented on her lovely nail polish, she said thanks and I drove off. Five minutes later I realized that I had driven off without my coffee. By then I was on I-5, too far away and too embarrassed to go back.
I will see the coffee crew in the morning and I am pretty darn sure that they will make fun of me. Hey I would too.

Let's just say that I need a day off, and I am looking forward to this weekend. I hope it rains so I don't feel bad laying around all day. That's what I plan to do.

Put the camo on it's time to hunt...

House hunt that is. That's right! I am committing to one place in the world. At least for now. I have begun my search for a place I can call home. No more white walls, leases and throwing my hard earned money away on rent. Next weekend I begin the hunt.

What I am looking for: character vintage with a side of modern, a parking spot or plenty of street parking, cute little coffee shop to hangout, a Thai restaurant within walking distance and a place to run.

Portland here I come. The city keeps me alive.

Opposite sides of the table

Monday night and I, Becky Rochester, was on the other side of the table! You probably are wondering what I am talking about. Well, those of you in the wine industry may know but those of you who are not probably will never understand. I spend a majority of my time pouring wine rather than drinking wine.

Take for instance the Newport Seafood and Wine Festival this weekend. I didn't taste one single wine all weekend long. There were over 80+ wineries at the event. Instead I poured wine and made sure that everyone who visited Willamette Valley Vineyards booth had a good time. How could they not? We had great wine, good entertainment, cowboy hats, handkerchiefs and mustaches.

Tonight I went to the Wine Party! 2010 at Doug Fir in Portland. The room was packed with people. Some were actually interested in the wineries and wines and others were there just to drink. Which one was I? Come on! My boss reads this blog. I was the person in the room with my notebook and hundreds of questions. Probably not the place to ask questions and spit wine, but honestly I didn't care.

Becky's Top 5 Washington Wineries (in no particular order):

1. Goramn Winery
2. Efeste
3. Sparkman
4. Gifford Hirlinger
5. Dunham Cellars

I am excited to roadtrip to Washington and do some serious exploration and education about Washington wines. Are you ready Chelsea and Dawn?

It's a small world afterall

The wine industry continues to amaze me. I have found a career that enables me to meet the most fantastic people from all over the world. I am hoping it is such a small world that someday I will meet Robert Parker, Harvey Steiman, Kevin Zraly. I have been lucky to meet Dr. Richard Smart and Jancis Robinson.

Tonight was another great example. I stopped by the Willamette Valley Wine Center in McMinnville, and there was a couple lounging on the couch enjoying a glass of wine. The concierge told me that they were in town for the Oregon Wine Symposium and the gentleman was with Auckland University.

Right away I wondered if he knew of Delegat's Oyster Bay. I had helped do a yeast wine trial with Delegat's and Auckland University in 2008. So on my way out I stopped to say hello and we began to chat. It turns out his name is Dr. Matthew Goddard (pictured left) of Auckland University. The same man who set up this yeast trial I had helped run in 2008!

Check out this article, "Yeast adds fruity zing to wine" posted online on the New Zealand Herald: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10499550&pnum=0
Here is a tiny preview of the article: "A wild West Auckland yeast that lifts the fruity zing of New Zealand "sav" has been harnessed by researchers - a find that could revolutionise the country's sauvignon blanc industry. The yeast lifts the gooseberry and passionfruit flavours of New Zealand's esteemed sauvignon blancs, lead researcher Dr Matthew Goddard of Auckland University said, and it was commercially viable.

But one wine expert suggested more fruity zing might be like adding more sugar to Coca-Cola. Commercial trials of the yeast will begin within the next two weeks on a handful of Marlborough vineyards, including Saint Clair, Delegat's and Pernod-Ricard New Zealand." Click the link above for the full article.

Did I tell you I love my job?

Willamette Valley Vineyards is headed to the coast for Newport Seafood & Wine Festival 2010

This weekend I will experience first hand what all the buzz and excitement is about the Newport Seafood & Wine Festival. The festivities begin Friday and end on Sunday.

This year's theme: The Grape Wild West. If you are headed to the coast, make sure to stop by the Willamette Valley Vineyards booth, I mean JB's Saloon, and say hello. I will be be pouring our award-winning wines Saturday and Sunday. It should be a hoof kicking, barn dancing good time.

Click here to go to Newport Seafood and Wine Festival website.

My biggest challenge is figuring out which boots to wear. Because you know I love my boots. Maybe instead of Backswing Becky, my nickname should be Becky Boots.

My dear friend Gabb-eh

Happy Birthday Gabb-eh!

Dear Gabb-eh,

Happy Birthday (Wednesday, February 24)! It is 8:00 AM in the morning in Dijon, France and you are probably just waking up. I hope you celebrate your birthday today by drinking a lovely bottle of French Pinot Noir. I will make sure to toast to you tomorrow night.

One of the best things about going to New Zealand was meeting you. Boy we sure had some fun times! I miss laughing with you, reading NZ gossip magazines in the cellar (hidden oh so secretly under our operation notes), cleaning bungs, beers at Woody, the mustache photo project, word finds, riding in Berger's clown car, breakfast parties with no sleep and falling asleep in the cellar during inoculations.

I will never forget our trip on the North island...shearing rabbits, pet pigs, fashion in Auckland, and a crazy bus ride followed by some Wii bowling with a stranger who ended up cooking us dinner. You are a wonderful person inside and out. Remember we promised to live next door to each other so our kids can play while we share a bottle of wine. Wherever that may be, I am looking forward to it.

Study hard. You are going to make a fine winemaker!

Love,

Becky