You just never know when you're going to come across a really great wine.
This time I found a nifty one during...of all things...a single barrel bourbon tasting.
Yup. I was semi-officiating...well more like sententiously pontificating...at a single barrel bourbon selection tasting for a sizable bunch of whiskey enthusiasts, wherein we were all tasting individual barrel samples to decide which would be selected for the final bottling, and I found myself between two winemakers.
It was hardly a choice of a rock and hard place though, because one of them was an internet wine buddy, Vincent Fritsche (he of the Vincent Wine Company here in Oregon, as well as being one of the four Guild Winemakers, also here in Oregon). The other, as it turned out, was his partner in wine at Guild, Ann Hubatch, and also proud proprietor of her new winery debut, Helioterra. [Website here: http://www.helioterrawines.com/]
Since several samples of bourbon (all in the name of serious science!) can make one loquacious---not that I need any lubrication for that, or so my wife frequently tells me---we all shortly found out that amidst all the many bottles of whiskey at the abounding bar, there was a bottle of Ann's Pinot Blanc.
"Aha!" said I. Yes, I do actually say "Aha!" on occasions, and this was one of them. A chance to continue my quest for the elusive but occasional good bottle of Pinot Blanc. So I asked Ann whether hers was closer to a fruity California style or an earthy Alsatian style.
"Neither," she quickly replied. "It's actually more like a Northern Italian Pinot Bianco---crisp, citrusy, lively, good acidity." "Aha," I said again (see, I told you I say it, but usually to myself), and immediately headed over to try the Helioterra Pinot Blanc.
She was right: decidedly Northern Italian in style, with lots of perky, zippy citrus fruit; crisp, nicely etched flavors; bright acids; a streak of green herbal (Ann said freshly shaved fennel, and I agree with her); and down deep a lovely earthiness, transmitted as both flavor and fullness in the mouth. For the first vintage out of the gate with her new label she has a winner, a thoroughly drinkable and engaging Pinot Blanc at a nice under-$20 price.
How did she manage the crispness and the eathiness in the same wine? She fermented partly in stainless steel and partly (small partly) in wood, and blended them together! Nicely done. (She's also a University of Wisconsin-trained geologist, so maybe she knows stuff about getting earth in wine than us regular people do, whaddaIknow?)
Turns out the Pinot Blanc's not a one trick pony either, because once I saw the label it nudged a memory, so I went on the internet when I got home and checked---the Helioterra Syrah Columbia Valley had received some serious kudos from Palate Press, the online wine magazine I read with some regularity (basically because it's good). You can read that review here.
So....rising star...ten year overnight phenom...puffs and points and prongs...blah blah blah. In short, stay tuned to Helioterra, and check it out when you get a chance. It's small production (by choice), so it may not be easy to find; but hey, nothing good is easy, right? Make the extra effort. You'll be rewarded. And in this life too; you don't have to wait for that damned Rapture, which apparently keeps getting postponed anyway.
