Joe Dobbes, Jr. has left Willamette Valley Vineyards and is currently consulting for Pascal Winery as well as Torri Mor.
A bit farther north, Laurent Montelieu has departed Willakenzie Estate and will focus on his own label, Solena.
On another ropic, Winemakers Sam Tanahill (Shea Wine Cellars) and wife Cheryl Francis (Chehalem Vineyards) are the proud parents of a son, born in November, 2002.
(December 2002)
First, Lynn Penner-Ash has departed Rex Hill Vineyards after many years to form the Penner-Ash label. She is currently bulding a facility in the Newberg area.
Second, Rob Stuart has also started his own label, R. Stuart. His Pinot Gris is marketed under the name Big Fire and is wonderful. Rob was formerly the winemaker at Erath Vineyards.
(June 2002)
(June 2002)
Problems look to be snowballing for Sabaté, one of the world's largest cork manufacturers: Van Duzer Winery, in Oregon's Willamette Valley, has filed a lawsuit against the French firm, claiming that Sabaté's Altec composite stopper ruined 1,200 cases of 1999 Chardonnay with a retail value of more than $240,000.
Van Duzer joins a growing list of producers that are blaming the Altec brand of stoppers for contaminating their wines with trichloroanisole (TCA), a chemical that causes the musty cardboard aromas and flavors known as "cork taint."
Filed in Napa Superior Court on Sept. 24, Van Duzer's suit charges Sabaté with breach of contract, breach of warranty, unfair business practices and negligence.
Van Duzer owner Carl Thoma and his winemaker, Jim Kakacek, first noticed something amiss in January 2001, a few months before they planned on releasing their 1999 Willamette Valley Chardonnay, which would have retailed for around $17 a bottle. Kakacek said bottle samples were sent to a commercial laboratory, which found that the wines had average TCA levels well above many consumers' threshold of perception.
Van Duzer started discussions with Sabaté more than six months ago, but frustration over the pace of negotiations with Sabaté's insurers led Thoma to file suit. "I'm pretty sure this will be worked out, but by filing a lawsuit, it lets them know they can't just ignore this," he said.
François Sabaté, president of Sabaté USA, said further investigation is necessary to determine the cause of the taint. "We have always expressed a strong willingness to help identify what's going on. Should our product responsibility be demonstrated, our clients should rest assured we'll remedy the situation," he said. Wineries like Van Duzer can find themselves snared in an exasperating catch-22: Cork makers say they will take responsibility when their product is proven to be defective, but it is difficult to prove to them that the corks are the definitive source of a specific taint problem. While cork stoppers are the most frequent cause of TCA contamination, the chemical -- which results from an interaction of mold, chlorine and phenols (organic compounds found in all plants) -- is also known to occur in empty bottles, on wooden palettes and on corks improperly stored at wineries.
Altec, first released in 1995, is a blend of natural cork granules and synthetic compounds. Sabaté has sold more than 2 billion Altec stoppers, which currently cost about 10 cents apiece, in large part because the company originally claimed that they had "no taint." Although François Sabaté said that global sales are still strong, sales within the United States have suffered since the Sept. 7 publication of Wine Spectator's article describing California winemakers' complaints about Altec.
Van Duzer first started using Altec in 2000 after "a Sabaté sales rep came by and said [Altec] is more economical, and you won't have any corked wines," said Thoma. "We discovered unfortunately that wasn't the case."
In addition to the Chardonnay, Van Duzer also used Altec for "a couple thousand" cases of 1999 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir that were subsequently sold. Thoma said the Pinot Noir, which was bottled at a different time than the Chardonnay, was sealed with a different batch of Altec stoppers and didn't show taint problems.
During negotiations, Thoma said, Sabaté employees encouraged Van Duzer to sell the tainted Chardonnay at a reduced price to a cruise line or discount house, after which Sabaté would then reimburse the winery for the difference.
François Sabaté did not deny Thoma's statement, but said he needed to speak with other Sabaté employees to determine what transpired. He emphasized that a lack of uniform standards within the industry complicated the situation. "Before we talk about what kinds of wine should go to the consumer, we need to have a standard of an acceptable quality-level. And that hasn't been established," he said.
"Quality is a moving target. Wine is an organic product," Sabaté continued. "Quality efforts and standards [on TCA and other issues] ought to be equally shared by all parties and products involved in the complex process of winegrowing, bottling, packaging, shipping and wine storage, in order to provide the best possible quality wine for the consumer."
Van Duzer is now using the Supreme Corq synthetic stopper for its white wines and high-grade natural cork for its Pinot Noirs. The estate, which owns 140 acres in the Willamette Valley, currently produces about 8,000 cases of Pinot Noir, 1,200 of Pinot Gris and 1,000 of Chardonnay, annually. Because their overall volume is fairly small, Thoma said their inability to sell the tainted Chardonnay has created cash-flow problems.
"I don't wish any ill will on anyone," said Thoma of the lawsuit. "But how do you get someone's attention if you've been talking for months?"
Yes, it is true! The plants have gone through bloom and Oregon vineyards are now into the 2001 vintage season. Patty Green, co-owner and winemaker at Patricia Green Cellars, reports that the plants are supporting many blossoms and it is looking like a great start!
We send best wishes to Linda Aberg (Kristin Hill Winery) and Kinsey Miller Stangeland Vineyards. Both of these ladies were involved in accidents recently. We are happy to report that both are on the mend and back at their respective winery booths at the Astoria Crab & Seafood Festival April 27-29, 2001.
The effort was spearheaded by Barnard "Barney" Smith who has a five acre vineyard in the Applegate Valley.
The process took almost three years and there was opposition from some Rogue Valley area growers. They feared that a new appellation might raise the price of grapes in the area and that their crops would loose value.
Now can you name the other five Oregon Appellations? No cheating now! Try to name them, then click appellationsfor the answer.
The tasting room has not been updated since 1978,so the staff is excited about the change.
We hear that there will be changes in the style of wines made at Chateau Benoit over the next few years.
The style of wines will change, focusing on single vineyard Pinot Noirs. (Full story and photo below.)
Glen reports that they plan to retire from the business and their children did not want to take over the winemaking operation.
Oregon has experienced another fabulous vintage. This makes three great vintages in a row. It is said that the 2000 vintage rivals 1985, which was said to be one of Oregon's finest.
From the reports that have been coming in, the 2000 vintage was perfect. The Spring buds came out as expected. The summer was warm and dry and Labor Day Weekend yielded just the perfect amount of rain to keep the grapes from dehydrating.
So look for fabulous 2000 wines in the future....and of course, remember the 1999 wines as well. They will be intense fruit bombs!
Did you know that:
In July, Tom and Wendy Kreutner sold Autumn Wind Winery to Patricia Green and Jim Anderson.
Tom and Wendy bought the 52 acre, Newberg property in 1983 and had their first crush in 1987. As of July 2000, the property was planted with 24 acres of wine grapes.
Patti Green has an extensive winemaking resume. She has been the winemaker for several Oregon wineries as well as a consultant to others. Business partner, Jim Anderson, began his wine career as a tasting room staffer at Autumn Wind in 1994 and then joined Patti at Torii Mor.
The 1999 wines will be released under the Autumn Wind label and the 2000 vintage under the Patricia Green Cellars label. Green and Anderson just bottled the 1999 wines prior to the Labor Day weekend. The 1999 Sauvignon Blanc and the 1999 Pinot Gris were released on September 2, 2000. Visitors to the tasting room over the three day weekend gave the wines the thumbs up.
Best wishes are sent out to Patti and Jim for a fruitful future and to Tom and Wendy for a job well done and for their future plans.
