New Varietals on the Horizon

Just when you thought it couldn't get any more exciting - Love & Squalor is introducing more flavors. Last Harvest we brought in some Pinot Gris from the Barnes Vineyard that we have been purchasing Pinot Noir from for some time. We also hooked up with a young vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills that has a block of Sauvignon Blanc - one of my all-time favorite varietals. The vines are young and bursting with intense fruit. Additionally there is a very special old-vine white project sitting in barrel that will likely only produce about 40 cases, so stay tuned for that.

No new reds to introduce yet, but we are hunting for the right addition to our line-up. Let me know what you would like to see . . .

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Oh My, What a Busy July!

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We're very excited to be releasing the new wines next week and have planned a mess of events so you can taste the goodness. NOTE: This dinner has been moved to August 7th. Seats are still available I believe. Next week - -Tuesday night - is the debut of a series of 'Mentor/Mentee Dinners' at Wildwood. The idea, brainchild of Wildwood somm Savanna Ray, is to pair up-and-coming winemakers with the winemaker who gave them their start. This dinner will feature my first wine teacher Patty Green of Patricia Green Cellars, me, and the dynamic duo behind Walter Scott Wines. Lots of wine, delicious foods and some ribald tales I am sure. Call Wildwood for reservations.

7/14 - Pouring New Seasons Raleigh Hills - 2pm 7/15 - Plate & Pitchfork w/St. Jack and Gruner - SOLD OUT 7/20 - Pouring New Seasons Sellwood - 4pm 7/21 - Pouring New Seasons 7 Corners - 4pm 7/28-7/29 - International Pinot Noir Festival (aka wino summer camp)

Stay tuned for more chances to taste Love & Squalor as the summer trips along.

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Fancy Pants!

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Fancy Pinot

Why, thank you. They are for special occasions only. I'm not allowed to wear them to school. The new Love & Squalor wines were named after a favorite pair of madras trousers that I had as a kid. The first ever Love & Squalor 'reserve' wines are now available to our most devoted followers. Two wines were bottled; a primarily native yeast selection of dry (very dry) Riesling and a 1.5 barrel selection of the richer Pinots in the cellar. Both are very limited releases - 60 cases and 30 cases were bottled.

The wines are featured at select restaurants in Seattle and Portland - RN74, Marche Seattle, Wild Ginger, Wildwood and Metrovino. Look for them there or order them direct through me. Prices and tasting notes are up on the 'wines' and 'order' pages of this site. Go ahead and try on your Fancy Pants this weekend.

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"Really Tasty"

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Wine Enthusiast Magazine

91 points

love & squalor 2009 Riesling (Willamette Valley)

Biodynamically-farmed, old vine fruit from the Eola Hills vineyard is the source. The wine is forward and tangy, with a Vouvray-like sweet/sour character. It could be Chenin Blanc, only just a bit lighter, but with the same tart and tasty mix of acid and sugar, with lemony fruit and floral highlights. Really tasty.  — 

Paul Gregutt

Published 10/1/2011

Link to the original web page

here

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It's Gonna Happen!

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Sunset View 8/30/11

This cool Spring and Summer has left a lot of winemakers wondering if we will ever get to harvest grapes this year. Well, of course we will. And the Pinot grapes will be red as proven out by these snaps taken on Tuesday at Bob Bailey's Sunset View Vineyard in the Eola Hills. See?

Sunset View 8/30/11

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Oregon's Best Wines!

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AwardPlaque

They blind-tasted over 400 wines. Four days of arduous sipping and spitting. They chose just 15 white wines and only four were Rieslings. Love & Squalor 2010 Willamette? No. 12!

I am extremely grateful to the tired palates at the Portland Monthly for their nod. I'll buy you guys a beer.

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No.12

Best-buy-graphic

Love and 
Squalor

2010 RieslingWillamette Valley, $18

Matt Berson’s zesty riesling—made with organic grapes—is sweet, lush, and refreshing, offering flavors of peaches and mangoes for a balanced palate that’d be a perfect picnic sipper. Pack a backpack with a baguette, smoked salmon, Peppadew peppers, and a corkscrew, and you’re set for a wonderful meal.

Here's the link.

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Winter's Hill Tasting Next Week

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Hey There - Hope you can make it out to this tasting - Five Wineries/One Vineyard - only 45 minutes from Portland.

Cheers -

Matt

The Terroir of Winter's Hill expressed by 5 Winemakers June 26 11-5pm Winter’s Hill Vineyard 6451 NE Hilltop Lane, Dayton OR 97114 Taste wines made by 5 different winemakers using grapes grown in Winter’s Hill Vineyard. $10 tasting fee.

In addition to making estate wines from their vineyard in the Dundee Hills, Winter's Hill Vineyard sells grapes to other wineries in the region. For the first time, we are bringing those wines and winemakers together for a public tasting. Compare and enjoy the similarities and differences between the wines while nibbling on food pairings selected by the winemakers to accompany their wines.

Anne Amie Vineyards makes one of the few single vineyard designated Pinot Gris wines in Oregon, using fruit from Winter’s Hill Vineyard. Winemaker Thomas Houseman worked with Winter’s Hill fruit at a previous winery, and since coming to Anne Amie he has put his own stamp on the wine.

Matello owner and winemaker Marcus Goodfellow has worked with Winter’s Hill fruit for more than 10 years. That kind of long-term working relationship has tremendous value to both the vineyard and winery, as both can learn from each other as they work to improve the quality of the wine.

Cottonwood Winery is a boutique winery making wines from several of Oregon’s best vineyards. Winemaker Aaron Lieberman and Russell Gladhart of Winter’s Hill worked together at Amity Vineyards in the mid 90’s and have remained friends ever since. It is a pleasure to work together again.

Love and Squalor Wines are made by proprietor Matt Berson. As an assistant winemaker at several well known Oregon wineries he made wine from vineyards across the Willamette Valley. That knowledge serves him today as he blends Pinot Noir for his own label.

Winemaker Delphine Gladhart of Winter’s Hill works almost exclusively with fruit from Winter’s Hill Vineyard. She is looking forward to tasting the wines that other people have crafted using the same building blocks.

Special 5-pack savings! All five winemakers have selected one of their wines for inclusion in a special five bottle pack at 15% off.

Winter's Hill Vineyard www.WintersHillWine.com cellardoor@wintershillwine.com 6451 Hilltop LaneDayton, OR 97114 503-864-4538

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New Releases: Get Them Here First!

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I am very pleased to announce the pre-release offering of the new Love & Squalor wines. You can order them via eMail at buywine@loveandsqualorwine.com. I will be pouring these beauties this coming Memorial Day weekend at Brooks Winery in Amity (just south of McMinnville). Please come and say hello between sips.

The 2009 Eola Hills Riesling is drinking great, even in its youth. It is a bit drier than previous vintages but still shows forward apple and citrus fruits, a tropicality in the mid-palate and  a long wet finish. $18/bottle.

2008 was a banner year for Oregon Pinot, and the Love & Squalor 2008 Pinot noir bottling is surely taking part in that parade. Floral and forest notes lead into a dark and rich beginning. The middle spreads wide across the tongue, coating with cherry, black tea and finishes with bright complexity. This is my finest effort yet and I hope you will agree. $24/bottle.

As always, I will extend a 10% discount on orders of 6 or more bottles. I also have a bargain four-pack  - 2 Riesling + 2 Pinot for only $80 + shipping. Or try the six-pack deal - 3 Riesling + 3 Pinot for only $110 + shipping. Please see last year's order form on this blog for more clarification. 2009/2010 L&S Order Form

Thank you for your continued enjoyment of Love & Squalor. May we have the opportunity to toast together soon.

Cheers-

Matt

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It's In The Bottle

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14093_106386816058519_100000616023683_112068_2369188_s

Here are are Frank and Stephen packing cases on the bottling truck. Weather be damned, we managed to get all of the Love & Squalor wines into their final homes. Now they will rest up after their tiring journey and come to your table fresh and ready to drink with your meal.

The 2009 Willamette Valley Riesling $18 (200 cases) is once again 100% sourced from the Brooks' Eola Hills Vineyard - old-vine and biodynamic. This year sees a return to a more minerally wine, bracketed with tropical fruits and varietaly typical apple and citrus. It is a bit drier than previous years but is still packed with plenty of fruit.

2008 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir $24 (175 cases). Wow! The '08 vintage is a doozy. This wine is sourced from Temperance Hill, Winter's Hill and Left Coast Vineyards. The wine is brimming with dark cherry and bramble with a delicate floral overtone. A real mouth-filler, the fine tannins coat and the gentle acid carries the finish to a long linger.

As usual, I will send out a formal release invitation, but the wines are available for pre-order now. Just get in touch with me.

Thanks to the hard-working bottling crew, the timely label printers and cork makers, and, especially, to Chris Williams and Janie Brooks-Heuck at Brooks Wines

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Love & Squalor In Print!

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The 2006 Love & Squalor Pinot noir (the maiden vintage) is one of only nine Oregon wines featured in Robert Parker's new book - Parker's Wine Bargains; The World's Best Wine Values Under $25. While we may not always agree with the world's most valuable tongue, we think this inclusion was a very smart choice. The wine is listed as a product of Ransom Wine Company as this was before the Portland Wine Company was established. While the '06 is long gone, and the '07 has just left the building, the 2008 Pinot is just finishing its journey to the bottle. The final blend (Temperance, Winter's Hill and Left Coast Vineyards) is marrying and will be bottled at the end of this month. Expect an early summer release. The price will be a bargain as always - the same price Parker paid for his taste of the '06 - $24

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