The first one from Silvan Ridge. Back in the mid to early 90's, this was a fairly hot winery, but their winemaker Joe Dobbs left to Willamette Valley Vineyards, the only publicly traded Oregon winery. Wines have somewhat languished, which new, super high end wineries have sprung forth...Strangely, the winery has two brands: Silvan Ridge, their 'reserve' line, and Hinman Vineyards, their....non-reserve (shrug). Both are virtually indistinguishable.

Silvan Ridge 2000 Oregon Pinot Gris, 13.95% alc
Look: medium/light. $14
Smell: very yeasty / white bread. Bubble gum, lemon, slight perfume, evergreen / pinecone, nutmeg
Taste: very clean, finishes quick, relatively light on acid for an OR PG, some leesy body. Little aftertaste, easy to drink.

Rating: B. That's because PG is my favorite white (usually). This wine reminds me of my Bear Creek Zin TN a week ago.....while not the best example, it is truly typical of it's varietal and region. It shows everything Oregon PG should have, while not really expressive beyond that. Still, based upon that virtue, it's a wine I am enjoying. Wine & Spirits rated this an 88, but that was a year ago. Based upon their descriptive analysis, I think this wine has lost some of its fruit since (low acidity can do that in whites).

Second wine: Chateau Lorane. This is named after the ultra tiny mountain town of Lorane, which is the same town King Estate is in. It's like a half hour souththwest of Eugene. I've been to King Estate about 100 times (that's not an exaggeration), but never to Ch. Lorane.

Chateau Lorane 1999 Oregon Marechal Foch, 13.2% alc. A decal says 100% organically grown grapes. Their website hasn't been updated in quite a while, so I don't have any more info about this.

Look: dark ruby
Smell: sulfides, manure, dirt, wet moldy wool, a hint of raspberry and cherry
Taste: very tannic and acidic, metallic taste
Rating: C-

I think this is the first Marechal Foch I've had, and it reminds me of a Tannat on a good day or a Charbono on a bad day. Obviously from my descriptors, it's not particularly pleasant to drink, and I'd only recommend it for those who really have to try a Marechal Foch to complete their lives.

Liver punishment complete.

-Vitis Vinifera in Lodi

I wrote a while back about the '96 Lorane Marechal Foch "Port", which tasted a lot like cranberry wine . I dumped most of it.
I liked a recent PN better. Seems to be more of a hobby than a business.

Vitis,
It looks like I'm going to have to bring some Pinot Gris with me also for Nov 2003.

VV, I also am a big fan of Oregon Pinot Gris. The Elk Cove, King Estate Reserve, and Ponzi are consistently fine and great QPR's. What I don't understand is why the NY and Canada PG's are so bad. You can also lump in most of the Italian Pinot Grigios.