Wednesday Wine Down Tasting: Exploration of Oregon Wines

"Wine-Down" your Wednesday with a fun and educational tasting at Asheville's Neighborhood Wine Shop since 2010! We're super excited about our next tasting, as we'll explore the wonderful world of Oregon wines. We'll start with one of the state's top Pinot Gris' before we take a deeper dive into some top-flight Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs. Trust us, it's going to be good, real good!

Our Wednesday Wine Down Tastings are a bit different than our Saturday tastings, and we just want to make sure you know how they work.
1. They are casual yet organized. We only take 20 tasters, and attendees can stop by any time b/w 3-6 PM. This prevents over-crowding at our little tasting bar, and it gives you a chance to ask questions and become better informed.
2. We put out a nice spread of cheese and snacks. Peg just purchased a nice assortment of goodies at Whole Foods the other day, and this allows you to get a glimpse of how the wine will taste with food.
3. We pour your wines into nicer, larger glasses, and the pours are more ample than at our Free Saturday Tastings. This gives you a better opportunity to taste, ask questions, and learn.
4. The wines are of a very high caliber, and all of them are discounted to prices that are nationally competitive. All tasting wines are discounted 20% off on tasting day and for ticketed tasters only.
So there you go, it's essentially a smaller, more intimate, and more guided style of tasting, and our fearless leader Josh always presents the wines. At just $20 + tax, it's a great way to taste, learn, and save on some wonderful, family-made wines.

The Wines
The lineup of wines is subject to change based on availability. If we have to make a sub, don't worry, it will be a comparable one!

1. 2022 Elk Cove Pinot Gris
Founded in 1974 by Pat and Joe Campbell, Elk Cove is one of Oregon's oldest and most trusted estates. The family were also early proponents of planting Pinot Gris, and today their vines are some of the oldest of any producer in the state. This is always good, but the '22 is especially tasty, offering up wonderful notes of nectarine, pear, and honeysuckle, all offered up on a creamy palate.

2. 2022 Stoller Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
One of the most beautiful estates in all of Oregon, Stoller's vineyards are located in the Dundee Hills, long considered to be some of the Willamette's best terroir. Their entry-level Pinot does not drink like an entry-level wine at all -- it's quite packed with flavor, it's nuanced, and it's even a bit complex. Still, it's red fruit and spice aromas and flavors combined with its silkiness make this very easy to drink.

3. 2022 Colene Clemens 'Dopp Creek' Pinot Noir
Every vintage (back to 2014) of this wine has scored at least 91 points with Wine Spectator, and the current release just took home 93 points. Located in the Chehalem Mountain sub-AVA, in the northern part of the Valley, winemaker Steve Goff never misses with this richer, riper, and more powerful Pinot Noir. Despite is bigger personality, it maintains wonderful elegance, refinement, and polish.

4. 2021 Walter Scott 'Sojeau' Pinot Noir
Like we said earlier, we pour bigger and better wines at these tastings, and Walter Scott's 2021 Sojeau was one of the top-rated wines of this great vintage. From a single vineyard in the centrally-located Eola-Amity Hills section, this about as good as Oregon Pinot Noir gets. Powerful, layered, and deeply complex, with a long life ahead of it, tasting this is worth the price of entry.

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