#WineWednesday: Goin' Rogue in Oregon

As you may have seen on Twitter, each Wednesday is dubbed #WineWednesday and provides the opportunity to give mention to those that have something to do with wine. I am bringing that idea to WestToast  and will be bringing you my thoughts on a recent bottle I drank on each #WineWednesday.

In just over a week Katie and I will be heading up to the Oregon to spend a week in the coastal town of Yachats. Katie’s family is having a family reunion and I must say, they chose a great location. 

To get in the spirit, we have been stepping away from our usual California wine and beer and sipping on some delicious Oregon refreshments. First was picking up a 6-pack of Rogue Dead Guy Ale the other day at the store....yeah, that’s already gone. Tonight we decided to open up a bottle of wine after dinner and I gave Katie the choice of Oregon or California. In preparation for the trip, she also went with Oregon and so I grabbed a bottle of 2007 Griffin Creek Tempranillo from the Rogue Valley. Griffin Creek is a label from Willamette Valley Vineyards and one of the first Oregon wines I tried while living in the Pacific Northwest.

I must admit that I don’t drink enough Oregon wine and sometimes I get surprised when I pour a glass and it is lighter in color than expected. This tempranillo was more translucent then I thought it would be and it had this beautiful reddish brown, reminding me of rust. But not the bad kind of rust that is slowly taking over our 1996 Ford Explorer, but the good kind of rust....okay, so there really is no good kind of rust, but the color was still pretty.

It was a little flat on the nose at first so it needed a little time to breathe. After awhile it started expressing this plum and leather aroma that was totally inviting. It was medium bodied and I picked up on cherry, plum, and just a hint of vanilla on the finish. With the medium body and tannins, I could see enjoying this wine with a lot of different food options, but was also great as a post dinner wine. I am definitely in the Oregon spirit and am looking forward to making it out to the Willamette Valley while up there. 

The particulars:

2007 Griffin Creek Tempranillo

AVA: Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon

Abv: 12.5%

Aging: 18 months French Oak

Until next week, cheers!

Jesse