A Tutorial on Left Coast Estate and Their Summer Wines

In the past when I received samples from Oregon's Left Coast Estate, I opened each bottle over the course of at least a week - sampling each wine multiple days.  Not so for this latest shipment of summer wines as I shared the four bottles with neighbors during an impromptu block party.  Actually, the evening turned into a mini-wine class as I discussed the Willamette Valley AVA, the Van Duzer Corridor AVA, 45 degrees latitude and Burgundy, white Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Meunier, lees, sparkling wine, and the wonderful estate that is Left Coast Estate.

We started with the 2017 The Orchard Pinot Gris ($18), a blend of 91% Pinot Gris and 9% Pinot Blanc.  While sipping I explained first how Pinot Blanc provides a bit of roundness to the wine and second, the Left Coast estate itself. Particularly, that The Orchard is a distinct vineyard and the overall estate is 350 acres - all contiguous and within the newly designated Van Duzer Corridor AVA. This new AVA benefits from the cooling breezes of the Van Duzer Corridor that allows the grapes to retain acidity and includes the Willamette Valley's three major soil types (marine sediment, volcanic sediment at higher altitudes, and loess from the Missoula Floods).

We then turned to the neighborhood favorite, the 2018 White Pinot Noir ($24) which consists of 93% Pinot Noir and 7% Pinot Blanc. The grapes are crushed at cold temperatures to ensure minimal coloration from the skins and then fermented and aged on lees in stainless steel. The group was not familiar with aging in lees so I explained how this process adds texture which everyone recognized in this wine. The online order should be coming through soon.

It was a pleasant evening for rosé and fortunately, the samples included the 2018 Left Coast Rosé ($24), a blend of 76% Pinot Noir and 24% Pinot Meunier. The later was another unrecognized grape and I discussed its Champagne origins. This lead to a discussion of French wine regions, Burgundy specifically. Because Left Coast Estate shares the same 45-degree latitude it receives the same amount of sunshine as the famed region.

As the evening was concluding, I had to retrieve the last wine. This was the 100% Pinot Noir 2018 Queen Bee Bubbly ($36). For this sparkling wine, estate honey is used in the secondary fermentation which led to a discussion of methods of producing sparkling wine and how normally the spent yeast cells are disgorged. But not in the Queen Bee, the lees rise and settle with each pour. A very interesting sparkler to conclude an enjoyable neighborly evening.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this wine free from Left Coast Estate I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.

Left Coast Estate Cools the Pinot

June 5th was the last day for comments regarding the proposed Van Duzer Corridor AVA, a viticultural area that would be carved out of the existing Willamette Valley AVA from portions of Polk and Yamhill Counties, Oregon. About the same time I opened a trio of wines from Left Coast Estate whose 350 acre contiguous estate lies entirely within this pending AVA. The grapes for these wines benefit from the Willamette Valley's three major soil types (marine sediment, volcanic sediment at higher altitudes, and loess from the Missoula Floods) as well as from the cooling breezes from the Van Duzer Corridor. This cooling allows the grapes to retain acidity which is reflected in these samples.


2017 The Orchard Pinot Gris ($18) is a blend of 91% Pinot Gris and 9% Pinot Blanc. The Orchards is the winery's prime estate for Pinot Gris and once hosted apple, pear, and cherry orchards. This is a fresh wine, great acids with plenty of citrus and green apples. Besides the refreshing acids the wine finishes with a steely minerality and tea.

2017 Rosé ($25) consists of 54% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Meunier, and 6% Pinot Blanc sharing more traits with Burgundy other than residing along the 45th parallel. The wine was fermented in oak which provides a fair amount of texture to augment the light cherry - strawberry flavors. Finishes dry and savory.

2017 White Pinot Noir ($24) contains 91% Pinot Noir and 9% Pinot Blanc. The grapes are crushed at cold temperatures to ensure minimal coloration from the skins and then fermented and aged on lees in stainless steel. This process provides plenty of body - a creamy texture - that envelopes the citrus and stone fruit flavors.

More Summer White #Wine from Oregon's Left Coast Cellars

In 2018 Oregon may gain it's 19th American Viticultural Area (AVA) with the possible establishment of the Van Duzer AVA. The vineyards and wineries petitioning the TTB are located in an area known as Perrydale Hills, but the AVA name is based on the well known Van Duzer corridor. This passageway provides a break in the coastal mountain range and allows cool ocean winds to flow inland - dropping temperatures dramatically.

Left Coast Cellars is one of the wineries participating in the consortium as their estate lies within Perrydale Hills. Interestingly, this vineyard is the largest contiguous estate in the Willamette Valley covering 350 acres with approximately 150 planted with vines.  Not only does the estate obtain the grape retaining cooling affect from the Van Duzer Corridor, but the estate's soil is a refection of the entire valley as it consists of the three major soil types: marine sediment, volcanic sediment at higher altitudes, and loess from the Missoula Floods.

This summer I received  the next vintage of two of my favorite Left Coast Cellars wiens. As expected these wines were fresh and approachable - both in the palate and the wallet. Cheers.

2016 Orchards Pinot Gris ($18) The Orchards is the winery's prime estate site for Pinot Gris that was once a productive apple, pear, and cherry orchards. This wine brought Pinto Gris back into my good graces as it is not overwhelmingly lemongrass but instead dominated by a refreshing lighter grapefruit and green apple. There are traces of minerality and a very pleasing acidic tail.  This wine suits me well.

2016 White Pinot Noir ($24) is 100% Pinot Noir harvested from across their Willamette Valley vineyards. The winery limits skin contact to achieve clarity and the wine is as usual, delicious. This vintage provides a more citrus flavor in addition to the stone fruit. The minerals and acids provide a pleasant finish. My family's favorite of the two.