Willamette

Salmon pink in color with a touch of orange.  A nice mousse with small bubbles.  Clear and bright.  The nose is expressive with strawberries, and a touch of cranberries.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is nicely balanced with crisp acidity.  Flavors  of cherries and slight cranberries.  Long finish.  This is delightful on its own and very food friendly.  It will work well with salty and fried  appetizers.  Drink over the next few years.

This is a sparkling wine from Oregon made from a 55/45 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Pale gold in color with some silvery hues, clear with a nice mousse of tiny bubbles.  The nose is fruity (mostly apples but some pears) and slight oxidation.  With air, some lemons come out.  A bit of mint on the back end.  Good acidity.  On the palate, lemons with a slight herbal note.  Long finish.  This is very nice and drinks well on its own.  Very food friendly, this would be nice to sip with popcorn while streaming.  Drink over the next five years.  Nice value in Sparkling wines.  

Nice to revisit this.  The vineyard is now owned by Louis Jadot (of Burgundy fame) but for many years, this was the top wine in the Sineann portfolio and 2002 was as good as it gets.  Now, at age 22, this wine was brilliant.  Deep garnet with slight purple swirls in color, no signs of browning, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, slight sour cherries, spices, sandalwood, slight earthiness and slight char.  Deep and complex.  Medium to full bodied.  Light remnants of tannins left.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is deep, layered and complex.  Plenty of fresh cherries, some

This is the flagship wine, 100% Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.    Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and night.  The  nose is dusty with black cherries.  Light tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, black cherries and cherries with a musky quality that is interesting.  Good finish.  This is an earthy, musky Pinot that Burgundy lovers might really enjoy.  It is nice on its own but would be better with food.  It would work well with some soft, stinky cheese.  Drink over the next ten years.  

This is a nice, middle-of-the-road in style, Pinot Noir.  Cristom's flagship Pinot is generally a good value and high quality.  Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, sandalwood and slight baking spices.  Firm tannins.  Soft texture.  Good balance.  On the palate, great cherry fruit with some spice and just a hint of forest floor.  This is very young and needs air or more cellaring.  That said, it is very enjoyable and drinks well on its own.  It will also work well with many foods from grilled salmon to roasted fowl.  Drink over the next eight to fifteen ye