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September 2011
Hello friends,
Last night I hadn't expected to find myself upside down in a tree, goggles on, smoking peaches, croquet mallet in hand. Therein lies the problem with dreams: While dreaming, reality can slide right on by. We've been dreaming quite a lot here at J.K. Carriere in recent years. So much so that we forgot about our own tenth vintage anniversary last year (doesn't 1999 to 2009 sound like ten years? turns out it's actually eleven) and thereby, missed a super-slick marketing opportunity to get over on your sense of loyalty. We coulda dreamed it up real big. Shoot.
So instead, we decided to go with what you've told us works: namely, great wine and the next vintage. That next JKC release, two more of our 2009s, is now. With a vintage whose core nature is ripe, upfront and available fruit, we are pleased as heck to stand and deliver. Our flagship super-vetted JKC 2009 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir delivers plush vs. vibrant on a balanced chord. This year we christened it "Vespidae," the Latin name for the wasp on our label that keeps trying to kill me. Alongside that release comes our ample, racy, mineral JKC 2009 Willamette Valley Chardonnay, which now bears the name "Lucidité" - a nod to both its Burgundian inspiration and its fresh acidity. We'll be uncorking both at our annual release party on Sunday, Sept 25th.
Yep, what we've got for you this year is, frankly, more of the same: Great wine made because we would do no less, a place on a hill where you can know beauty, a commitment to shared generosity with friends and family, and extolling a lifestyle that embraces real. We keep bringing you this un-glossy story, the one that intones you to corner your friends around a table, stuff wonder in their bellies and pour generosity down their throats. Ours is not to scream at you, nor bombard you with message, but rather, to provide you with oh-so-real craftsmanship, and a little bit of dreamy. From J.K. Carriere you're buying the promise of a gracious evening. We're putting "kept" in every bottle.
Hope to see, or hear from you, and hopefully not dream about you, this fall.
Jim Prosser
Owner/winemaker/keeper
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1999 to 2009
September Release Party
Sunday Sept 25th
Noon to 5 pm
Please join us at the winery on Parrett Mountain for our (11th) annual September release party! We're kicking off the fall season and celebrating the release of the 2009 Vespidae WV Pinot Noir and 2009 Lucidité WV Chardonnay. We'll be pouring the new wines as well as our other current offerings, enjoying some excellent food, soaking in the September sunshine, and catching up with you! Noon to 5 pm. Complimentary for club members and those already on our mailing list (that's you, if you received this email directly); all others $10.
J.K. Carriere, 9995 NE Parrett Mountain Road, Newberg, OR 97132. directions
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2009 Vespidae Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
Class: Insecta, Order: Hymenoptera, Family: Vespidae, Reaction: Anaphylaxis, Result: Mors (death). Yes, such sweet Latin names for the little *&^#$! that keep trying to kill me. We strive to be real here at JKC, so I thought it fitting that our flagship wine, which already pays homage to my wasp nemesis, should now also bear its Vespidae name. The wine is moderate cherry in color and smells like an earthy-smoky plum and juniper berry jam. It's big and available, throwing savory spice and pepper jerky as a precursor to dusty cherry. Not lacking acidity, but it's surprisingly resolved in a rustic balance of peat, grain, malt, dark oak, blueberry, spice and Oreo cookie. There's a good balance of sweetness to savory with the third leg of acid just shy and fine tannins in context to respect the overall vintage. Vineyards: Temperance Hill, Shea Vineyard, Black Walnut, Gemini Vineyard and Anderson Family. 876 cases. $42/bottle, $36 case & club price. order
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2009 Lucidité Willamette Valley Chardonnay
Are you telling me you've liquidated my position on straw, Mr. Stiltskin? The color of pale straw in glass, the '09 Chard gives up hazelnut, lemon curd and honey on the nose. Earth, yellow grapefruit, Smarties and slightly green floral (daisy, Pinesol, hay) display on the palate. Good weight emulating the lemon/honey/bourbon of a hot toddy is driven home by prominent acidity and an ever-so-slight spritz for freshness and . lucidity. We picked early in an otherwise warm year to maintain that freshness and then held it long in barrel to drive the earth and brioche characters that come from yeasts as they get old and creaky. This wine is from a single vineyard, Temperence Hill's high and late-harvested southeastern shoulder in the Eola Hills. 88 cases. $32/bottle, $28 case & club price order
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Nail biting and mass casualties: 2011 pre-harvest update
I was at a dinner party a few nights ago, and when the topic turned to the prospects of this year's grape harvest, of course all eyes were on me. Well, I started to cry, fell on the floor pounding my fists and gnashing my teeth, then smiled through tear-stained eyes, laughed hysterically, and finally, toasted to greatness around the room. It turns out I am neither a conjurer nor reader of cards to know precisely what Mother Nature has in store.
Here's what's transpired to date and what we're doing about it: We had a chilly and wet extended spring that stayed cool well into the third week of July before summer finally began to appear (our first 90 degree day was in mid-August). The consequence of that was a fairly large crop of grapes that were running about a week, and in some cases more, behind last year's record cool pace. Not an easy trajectory, but what to do?
Grab a knife and start dropping perfect grape clusters on the ground. This step speeds ripening by concentrating the collective solar energy of all those photo-receptor leaves into just a tiny amount of fruit left behind. It is my job every year to get every vineyard, not merely 90% but 100%, ripe and to the finish line before the predictable late October storms arrive in Oregon. We've eschewed magic for a sharp knife and a small crop. I'm sorry if my earlier crying and wishing and crazy may now seem to you, less effective. - jp
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Fall calendar
Sat/Sun Sept 10 & 11: Pinot in the City, Portland's Pearl District
Pinot in the City is two spectacular days of Willamette Valley wines, winemakers and food. J.K. Carriere and more than 100 Willamette Valley wineries will converge on Portland and transform one urban block into a wine country experience. For more info and to purchase tickets go to www.willamettewines.com.
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Sun Sept 25: J.K. Carriere September Release Party
We're kicking off the fall season and celebrating the release of the 2009 Vespidae WV Pinot Noir and 2008 Lucidité WV Chardonnay. We'll be pouring the new wines as well as our other current offerings, enjoying some excellent food, soaking in the September sunshine, and catching up with you! Noon to 5 pm. Complimentary for club members and those already on our mailing list; all others $10.
J.K. Carriere, 9995 NE Parrett Mountain Road, Newberg, OR 97132. directions
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Sun, Oct 9: Slow Food $5 challenge potluck
Join us in taking the Slow Food challenge: Cook a slow food meal for less than the cost of a fast-food 'value' meal. Share your experience, your recipe, and the end result at our Sunday night potluck, 5 to 8 pm at the winery. We know where to find some wines. See our news page for more info, guidelines, and to rsvp. If you can't make it to the potluck, sign up to take the Slow Food Challenge, then gather your family and friends at home and tell us about your experience via email or on Facebook.
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We're looking forward to catching up with you!
Linda Crabtree
Jim Prosser
J.K. Carriere
9995 NE Parrett Mtn Rd
Newberg, OR 97132 directions
503-554-0721
www.jkcarriere.com
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Sat, Oct 22: Harvest dinner with Hunt & Gather
Fall wine tasting