2015 Dampier Pinot Noir
“Best of Category” Award winner! – 2018 NorthWest Wine Summit
Our Dampier Pinot is a deliciously distinct example of vineyard specific nuances. A beautiful, bright wine with late harvest cherries and earth characteristics on the nose and a full palate of Rainer cherry, and lingering baking spice. We age the wine in neutral oak barrels for a minimum of 16 months. While considered a long time for Pinot Noir, we believe this makes a smoother, more developed Pinot than one that is bottled in under than a year. At the cool end of the Columbia Gorge region, Dampier Pinot Noir is a true cool weather Pinot with mouthwatering acidity (pH) of 3.5, perfect for food. It pairs well with a whole range of foods from seafood to salami – we particularly love Grandma Bell’s 5-spice Glazed Yams – a custom recipe provided with every sale of the wine! Limited bottling of 125 cases.[show_more more=”Read More” less=”Show Less”]Dampier Vineyard is a gorgeous vineyard estate owned by Paul and Pier Huber that sits across the Columbia River on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge as part of the illustrious Underwood Mountain grape growing district. Some of the most famous Columbia Gorge AVA grapes and wines come from this area such as Celilo Vineyards legendary chardonnay. Underwood Mountain is a bit of a phenomenon, even for the Gorge – with southern facing walls dramatically reaching from river to a peak over 1400 feet and gets the last tickles of moisture coming from the west. The mountain was formed when the Missoula Floods washed through the area creating the Columbia River and depositing sediment from volcanic ash along with soil muddled with minerals of all descriptions.
This combination of factors creates a very distinct wetter and cooler meso-climate at Dampier Vineyards, different from even our winery’s climate at only a stone’s throw across the river, 1 1/2 miles away. As one example, Underwood typically receives up to 58 inches of rain a year (similar to the Willamette Valley) while our House Vineyard gets an average of 38 inches of rain a year – Wow! That’s a mind-blowing difference in landscape for such a short distance. There is no irrigation on Underwood – it is all dry-farmed. From the Hood River winery, we look directly at Underwood and Dampier Vineyards and can witness the changes throughout the year – a rare treat! The fruit is thinned to a single cluster per shoot to and the mineral-rich soil delivers fabulous grapes that are lighter in body, elegant and exude less tannins – Perfect for Pinot Noir.[/show_more]
Pairs well with: Grilled Salmon, Salami, Yams/Squash, Goat Cheese
Price: $38.00
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