Hey Dinsdale...

[Goober McTuber]

Are you familiar with this Pinot? Thoughts?

Terry & Sue Brandborg settled in Elkton, Oregon, just 36 miles from the Pacific Ocean after a long search for a perfect cool climate growing region for their fledgling wine business. After starting off with 5 acres, it quickly grew to over 50 acres of vines that stretch from the banks of the Umpqua River up to 1,100 feet above sea level. The Elkton Oregon AVA is significant because the cool temperatures that it receives from the ocean maritime climate prevents early season frosts. Their vineyards maintain a perfectly cool, long growing season with the temperatures rarely going over 80 degree's in the summer months, all of which makes for perfect Pinot Noir growing. This week’s email deal, the 2016 Brandborg Benchlands Pinot Noir will give you a shot at seeing just how true that is.

The 2016 Brandborg Bench Lands Pinot Noir displays a very vibrant garnet color with an iridescent rim in the glass. You’ll find elegant aromas with notes of red currant, raspberry, black cherry, blueberry, violet and light spice. The Bench Lands signature seamless texture to the palate with ripe red berry and blue berry fruits and hints of toasty spice and dry finish are why we keep coming back to this wine. It is a perfect weight for a red wine at this time of year and would benefit being served with a slight chill/at cellar temperature to focus the fruit and provide some relief to the warm temps outside. The wine is a sure bet by the glass or with grilled pork tenderloin, wild caught Copper River salmon or a good Gruyere cheese w/ a cherry compote.

[Dinsdale]

Never drank it. Elkton is a lot of hype (it's no Willamette Valley), but there's some good wines from that tiny little town. The part of the write-up where it says "rarely gets above 80" is complete horseshit -- it's usually over 90 there in summer. Which is fine -- it's near the top of the tidewater on the Umpqua, with a fairly straight shot to the ocean. Vines like it when it's hot in the day, and cool at night. But once you go south of the Willamette Valley, grapes can ripen too quickly in hot years, giving a "jammy" quality. They came up with their own trellis system in Elkton for pinot (useless fact of the day).

I haven't been down the Umpqua in a few years -- beautiful place. But to characterize that part of the valley as "cool climate" is a stretch. It's considerably warmer than here, and even that far downriver can get downright hot for long stretches. A little warm for moderate-climate grapes, a little cool for hot climate grapes (which do fine slightly inland from there).

Elkton is still better known for their world-class fishing than their wine.

In short, Umpqua stuff can vary quite a bit year-to-year. Give it a try if you like the price. Report back here with your results.

[Derron]

You can also get some roll over fogs around harvest time that produce some great crops of mold too. Outside of some striper fishing there about 10 years ago, one of the less visited parts of the state for me.

[Derron]

You can also get some roll over fogs around harvest time that produce some great crops of mold too. Outside of some striper fishing there about 10 years ago, one of the less visited parts of the state for me.

[Goober McTuber]

It was as described. Was reasonable at $14.99.

[Dinsdale]

Hard to bitch at $15.

BTW -- Elkton, OR average high temps

July - 85
August - 85
September - 81

I would have guessed higher. But that's not consistent with "rarely going over 80."

[Goober McTuber]

But that's not consistent with "rarely going over 80."

That was before global warming.