Friday Find, November 11

Once again Ladies & Gentlemen, from Tiffany Stevens...

Each Friday we highlight a wine from the Northwest that we think is a real "find." By find we might mean that it's a steal, as all of these wines we'll feature weekly are under $20. We might also mean "Hey, you really need to go find this" and it might be a wine that we feel not enough people know about. In any case, with the weekend pending we're hoping to help you "find" a wine to kickoff the weekend right. We'll tell you a little bit about the wine and try to help you track it down here in the Northwest.

This Friday Find comes from a hidden gem of a winery, just in time for Thanksgiving. The beautiful grounds of Vercingetorix are nestled just outside Newberg, OR. As Vercingetorix (pronounced ver-sen-ge-tor-iks) does not easily roll off the tongue, the winery also goes by the name VX Vineyard. The meaning behind their name is illuminated on their website.

 It honors “a Gallic hero Vercingetorix who became chieftain under the threat of Roman invasion --     Vercingetorix adopted a ‘scorched earth’ policy against the Romans which preserved only the precious vineyards of Burgundy and the main settlement Averticum. Vercingetorix is honored to this day by local  Burgundians for his bravery and the preservation of the noble Pinot noir grape of Burgundy. We continue to honor his name at our vineyard, by producing small quantities of high quality Burgundian style pinot wines.”

What better occasion to honor such a noble deed than Thanksgiving. A cornucopia of variety for harvest dinner and wine selections exists, yet Oregon Pinot Noir will surely grace many Northwest tables. Remarkable for only $20, the Vercingetorix 2008 Willamette Valley Estate Pinot Noir is a perfect selection. Emulating Burgundian style Pinots, aromas of earth, red fruit and subtle barnyard drift up from the glass. High toned Bing cherry, raspberry and lavender delicately balance with flavors of dried leaves and earth. This smooth, lovely Pinot is available through the winery for pickup or shipment. Add their $18 Pinot Gris to your order to round out your Thanksgiving wine selection!

The tasting room is located on the grounds of the 210 acre Willamette Farms which produces hazelnuts, Christmas trees, arborvitae and their Estate Pinot Noir. Not far into wine country, the 45 minute drive from Portland is stunningly beautiful this time of year.

Posted in: Friday Find,Oregon Pinot Noir,VX Vineyards