Italian Varietals In Oregon Wine Country

After a quick tour of the winery, we settled in at the bar and sampled a couple of Remy's fantastic single vineyard Italian varietal wines: the 2009 Illahe Vineyard Oregon Lagrein and the 2009 Rosebud Vineyard Washington Barbera.

The lagrein was super dark and inky red in the glass, with a glowing halo of bright ruby red. Vibrant aromas of plum and raspberry were highlighted by leather and vanilla. In the mouth, round supple tannins and bright acidity with a gorgeous velvet-like texture came together to create a sultry, soulful, dark fruit wine. I absolutely loved it.

I loved the barbera equally, which was quite the Old World-style beauty. The nose was all about the blackberries, plums, and spice. On the palate, super soft tannins were rounded out by a nice, solid acidic backbone. Medium- to full-bodied, this wine was filled with jammy, fruity, dark berry flavors that were enhanced by black licorice and pie spice. A seriously awesome wine, with layers of flavors and great depth of character.

I was dying to know how Remy ended up producing intense robust Italian reds in the middle of the Willamette Valley, and I was about to find out.

Click here learn more about the Remy vineyard, and the winemaker's inspiration.

— Julia Crowley, Snooth