May Club Release: Oregon Wine Month!

So, what kind of wine do you sell?

I love this question! This strikes at the heart of Partake’s mission in Grants Pass. We are blessed to live in a stunning landscape with rugged wilderness, thoughtful agriculture, and deep historical roots. Our goal is to be the best example of what the Applegate Valley has to offer. We spend countless meetings every week working with local vendors to create an economically impactful, locally seasonal menu, headed by our Executive Chef Justin Wolf, who approaches every dish with artistry and precision.

This raises the question, why don’t we serve more local wine? I will always have a short list of amazing local wines for anyone who walks in the door. Our local wine industry is not economically incentivized to sell wine in retail shops. One of the best parts of living in a wine region is the winery experience: a glass of wine on a sunny, breezy day, overlooking the vineyard it was harvested from, has a romance that is hard to put into words. We will always help all our customers make intentional decisions about which amazing local wineries to visit. If we can encourage you, our customers, to buy directly from local wineries, it will help keep them in business rather than Partake taking a cut. Next time you are in, ask us about some of our favorite places to hang out. We all have great lists and stories of wonderful experiences to share.

Our wine selection is guided by two key values: “Value in the Glass” and “Exploration of the World”. There are a lot of wines in the world, but the sad truth is that price point is rarely directly correlated to quality. There are too many amazing values and great deals to be found for us to sell you something because their marketing is really good. Every wine in our shop passes through the palate of our wine buyer, Shawn, first. If it passes his high standards, it goes through a vetting process with you, the customer. Anyone who has joined our weekly tastings knows that there are some crazy, complex, and interesting finds in here. Based on your feedback, we determine whether this wine deserves a spot on our shelf. Too many Sommelier projects have shelves full of nerdy wine that is too avant-garde for wine drinkers who don’t spend hours a day evaluating wine. Our goal is to show wines with true value in the glass, and you are vital to finding what that word “value” is, not subjective but truly objective.

Exploration of the World means more than just maps on the walls and names of places where wine comes from. There is a fancy French word called Terroir. Although the literal translation is 'soil,' in the wine world it has a deeper meaning: a sense of place. This includes traditions and cuisines from these areas as well. For instance, Spain is an excellent example; traditional Spanish wines are racy and acidic, especially from coastal sites, reflecting its cuisine and preferences. There are many producers who, instead of making the best expression of Terroir, attempt to mimic other regions like Bordeaux or Napa. They harvest later than is traditional, use enormous amounts of French oak, and obscure what makes Spain unique and special. We are not looking for a race to be one of the best wines in the world, mimicking other regions' styles to entice more customers to our brand. If everyone liked the same wine, there wouldn’t be much variation; it would lose the romance of discovery and exploration.

Instead, our wines showcase where they come from. We lean away from the pressure of the overmarketed and overpriced wines, trying to be something other than the place they are from.

So why are we talking about this for the wine club?

Well, May is Oregon Wine Month. Let's explore the terroir of this great state! Rich in history and explosive on the international scene, Oregon wines have commanded more respect and value than wines from comparable regions around the world. The history of wine production in the Beaver State has roots back to the Oregon Trail. Peter Britt, of Jacksonville fame, opened the first winery here in Oregon in 1852. Since then, certain events have epitomized some of the big moments in Oregon, from an award at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis to Eyrie Vineyards taking first place in a 1975 Pinot Noir tasting in France, where Pinot Noir was created. Oregon has established itself as a more environmentally focused industry, spearheading many modern domestic certifications, including Demeter, Salmon Safe, Biodynamic, and Organic. Oregon is known around the world as a place with exceptional wines that express the unique terroir of our rugged and varied micro-climates and soils. So let's dig into this month's offerings!

Ruby Vineyards, Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, 2024

Our regulars will be excited to know that instead of going the route of an Oregon chardonnay, we decided to highlight some of the exciting Pinot Gris. We have been exploring these juicy, mineral-driven, crowd-pleasing wines in our weekly tastings, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. So, after many different tastings, we landed on Ruby Vineyards' 2024 release. This is a mix of 40-year-old, own-rooted wines from the Merten Vineyard and the Ingus Row vineyard in the Laurelwood District. A great conversation of creating an objective definition of “Juicy”, the intersection and balance between fruit, acid, and viscosity. This wine is loaded with stonefruit, with a twist of citrus-driven acid and a full, satisfying mouthfeel, almost like biting into a ripe nectarine without the sticky sugar. This could land in your glass as a wonderful warm-weather summer sipper. If I wanted a dinner to show off what was in the glass, I’m leaning toward capers and white fish with a delicate cream sauce on a bed of saffron perfumed rice.

Westry, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, 2015

How do I choose just one Pinot Noir from the smorgasbord of options available to us in this beautiful state? There are so many styles to choose from, so many amazing stories to become inspired by, so much to experience; it is hard just to choose one. So instead of me deciding to pick only one amazing Pinot from the 1100+ wineries in the state, we should discuss what we can do with Pinot Noir. Westry was kind enough to open their library and offered us an 11-year-old 2015 version of their flagship Pinot Noir. I have carried the current release of Westry on our high-end shelf for a while now, mainly as a wonderful example of ageable Pinot Noir. A master class in aromatics, this wine will jump out of your glass with complex notes that only come with age, worn leather, sweet tobacco, and dried cherry blossoms. Watch how much the flavor changes and develops after you swallow the wine; it lingers behind, leaving a flavor memory in your mouth that primes you for your next bite

or sip. If you were to make that next bite a kale salad with strawberries, pecans, and thin slices of medium-rare steak with black pepper, I think you would have won the day.

Cowhorn Vineyards, Syrah, Applegate Valley 2022

I cannot leave our local wine scene out of the mix here! I spent a morning with Vince Vidrine over at Cowhorn getting a taste of their experience. He was one of many ideas I had to represent red wine from Oregon that isn’t Pinot. His offering was exceptional, and the deal was a steal for the club. I couldn’t pass it up. If you haven’t been to Cowhorn yet, they are buried in a gulch alongside the Little Applegate River, south of Ruch, before you hit McKee Bridge. Their unique soil composition, as well as the dynamic exposure they get in different parcels of their vineyard, creates an exciting potential for amazing wine. Pair that with their mission-forward drive toward biodynamic farming, and you have the pieces for something special. I tasted through some barrels with Vince while I tried to read his passion and artistry. Personally speaking, it is places like this that will take the Applegate Valley to the next level, producing a product worthy of being on the shelf alongside what the rest of the world-class wine regions are doing. I especially think this is true with their Syrah, which I hope you will enjoy as much as I do. It is exactly what I hoped it would be: a full-bodied, inky Syrah, full of black plum, chocolate, and black olives. This screams grilled pork to me. Throw a tenderloin on the grill with some bacon-wrapped asparagus and invite me over, please.

April Club Release Bordeaux

As with many things in our life, music, food, wine, coffee, clothing brands, etc, that which you first explore ends up becoming the measuring stick that all other experiences are measured against. As with most of the English-speaking world, for wine, Bordeaux is where I first sharpened my wine experience. One of the most over-digested, reimagined, debated, overvalued quickly when success strikes, yet also a gold mine of undervalued, undiscovered treasures. The region has an estimated 7,000 producers spread across 400 square miles. It is defined by two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which merge into a wide estuary called the Gironde, which then empties into the Atlantic at the westernmost edge of the growing region.   

There are pages I could write about the soil delineations, altitude variations, wind, and weather patterns. For now, let's leave those variables to the winemakers. My internal analogy for the climatic and soil influences on wine is a limited color palette available to 7000 artists, all trying to create art that sets them apart from their neighbors. You can imagine how granular terroir expression can become with these limitations.   

Choosing a Bordeaux to purchase is also a study in resisting marketing manipulation. It is easy to follow what the fancy talking heads say and buy accordingly. Still, the unfortunate truth is that scores are more subjective and marketing-focused than a consumer would be happy with if they could look behind the curtain. As with most experiences, setting and expectation often influence a consumer’s perceived value more than raw sensory experience. So here is my pitch to you:  

This month’s wine club selection is really good. You can look up scores or read fancy descriptions online; they all have a pretty strong online presence. Alternatively, let’s prepare these wines for proper enjoyment and give an honest evaluation. Love it or hate it, opinions are what matter. We all have different frameworks for taste; some were raised on soda, some on Malt-O-Meal. We often are unaware of the measuring sticks we are bringing to the sensory tasting experience. I’ll list these wines, give a brief description, and follow up with how to prepare them. Since these wines are made for cellaring, to drink them young, we need to give them some oxygen and let them open up. What this allows is for some of the complex, long-chain tannins and molecules that we do not have sensory receptors for to break down with oxygen into simpler molecules that we can perceive.   

Lions de Suduiraut, Bordeaux Blanc Sec, 2024  

If you have not had the chance to explore the white wines coming out of Bordeaux, let this be a wonderful primer. Blending the contrasting profiles of Semillon, melon, and beeswax with Sauvignon Blanc, citrus, and grass provides a surprisingly complex, fuller-than-expected body. Although these do have aging potential when winemakers are intentional with their production, they can be enjoyed fresh, straight out of the bottle, with a chill. I chose this bottle for its typicality of the style. Still, I also thought the balance of herbal and floral aromatics with the racy, complex acidity was notable, in contrast to the generous mouthfeel if you are looking for an ideal pairing, Lamb Gyro. Set out open 1.5 before service. 

Chateau Tour Chaigneau, Lalande-de-Pomerol, 2022  

Bordeaux is stylistically split between the left bank and the right bank, denoting on which side of the Gironde the grapes are grown. Let us set this as your typical example of what a right-bank Bordeaux is: it is located 800 meters from the famous and overpriced Petrus. The blend clocks in at 92% Merlot, grown on the famous clay and limestone with iron dross soil, allowing Merlot to deepen the depth (clay) and mineral complexity (iron).  The rest of the blend is there to provide some definition and structure for the Merlot to fill in: 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Pressac. Look up a romesco sauce to top some tender pork medallions for some matching magic.  Set out to open 20-24 hrs before service. 

Chateau Haut de la Becade, Pauillac, 2022  

Now to the left bank, home of Cabernet Sauvignon. Terroir is all about location, and this chateau is between some of the best-known vineyards in the world, to the north, Lynch Bages, Mouton Rothschild, d’Armailhac, and Pontet Canet, turning south, Pichon Baron, Pichon Lalande de Comtesse, and Latour. Cassis and rocks dominate the experience—70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc. Expect a monumental structure, framed by stone-driven tannins and deeply concentrated dark fruits. As a pairing contrast to the fruit and to highlight the tannins, I feel a generous application of Mediterranean herbs to some juicy red meat, or, better yet, to a flourless chocolate torte. Best served with 1-1.5 hours of opening time prior to service.

March Wine Club: Forgotten wines and found bottles

As the seasons March on, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who is joining Partake on this adventure. The transition into this new wine club format opens up so many exciting opportunities for all of us. Our combined purchasing power gives our club members access to rare wines at excellent prices. We hope our club members are as excited about our efforts to build this collection as we are. When I’m

evaluating wines for our club, I’m looking for wines that jump out of the glass, with excitement and significance. Wine that leaves an impression that you won’t forget. Wines that you feel like you have to share with others. Wines that draw you in, not only with their aromas and symphonies of flavor on your palate, but also that captivate you

with their stories. These fascinating stories, both historical and modern, have captured my passion and continue to keep me engaged in the world of wine. As a student of life, wine has been a world full of intriguing experiences that excite more senses than most of what modern entertainment offers. Let’s jump into this month! I approached this month wanting to spend some time discussing the history and significance of the plant Vitis vinifera. This is the scientific name of almost all of the grapes that make wine. The genus name Vitis

includes other grape species, including Vitis californica, which grows wild in northern California and southern Oregon. Unfortunately, these vines haven’t spent a few millennia being specially selected for flavor and make mediocre wines at best. In the few hundred years that other grape species have been cultivated, the best we have been able to come up with is some intriguing off-dry wines with a distinctive

“foxyness” that is not very pleasant