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Story Teller Wine Company
Having spent my formative years growing up In Olathe, Kansas I will always have a soft spot for most things Kansas. It was a great place to grow up and I love all my Kansas relatives. Having said that (my homage to last night’s Curb Your Enthusiasm), I also have more than a healthy respect for those folks who were smart enough to move away. And if they moved to Oregon, well then, that pretty much jumps them into the brilliant category in my book. So please allow me to introduce to Brad McLeroy, a brilliant winemaker. Brad grew up in the Kansas City area and despite a moment of weakness when he headed to the University of Colorado, lived there for a good part of his adult life. There he was, successfully owning and operating Gomer’s Midtown (a really nice wine store) and putting the skills he picked up in culinary school to good use. But it wasn’t enough. Every time he came across a bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir, he realized there was something more out there. Trips to Burgundy didn’t help much in terms of squelching Brad’s vinous wanderlust. He was hooked on Piot Noir. And since there wasn’t much land to be purchased in Burgundy, Brad packed up his family and moved to Oregon. After a brief stint working for a wine distributor, Brad landed a dream job as the cellarmaster for Veronique Drouhin at Domaine Drouhin Oregon. While Brad was learning his craft at DDO, his in-laws were contemplating retirement from their medical profession jobs up in Seattle. The idea of growing grapes and making wine was of particular interest to Brad’s father-in-law, Don McClure. Don’s great grandfather was on one of the wagons that made it to Oregon via the Oregon trail in 1852, and that group brought with them grape vines. Talk about coming full circle! So here is a tight knit family that lives up on Ribbon Ridge, living the Pinot Noir dream. There wines reflect the pride and passion they put into their work. 2008 Ayres Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (24.00 at the winery) I guess this will be our first Storyteller discussion of Oregon’s 2008 vintage. As I tasted through barrels at various wineries over the past summer I was struck by how pretty the wines were. There was the plush fruit and perfumed nose of the warmer 2006 vintage but at the same time there was a nice bit of acidity and structure to balance everything out. It’s no wonder that pundits have been touting this vintage so heavily! It appears to be a remarkably nice vintage that offers the chance to make everybody happy. There’s fruit to make fans of the 2006 vintage happy and the acid-loving 2007 fans will be pretty pleased as well. And this particular wine is the perfect way to kick things off. When I first poured the Ayres Pinot Noir in my glass I was impressed by the heady aromas of dark, rich raspberry fruit, rose petals and brown spice. It was a warm and inviting bouquet, a great way to forget about the cold, rainy weather outside my kitchen windows. But as I plopped down on the sofa to watch a Blazers game, my mind kept wandering back to this wine. It was just so rich and pleasing. There was that same dark raspberry fruit on the palate, along with some kind of really dark cherry note. In addition, there were touches of coffee, pie crust and cool, damp earth. There is a lot going on in this wine, way more than you usually find in such a modestly priced bottle. It’s dark and plush to be sure, but the fruit’s performance is not upstaged by the oak treatment. As I watched the Blazers rout the hapless Timberwolves I couldn’t find a single thing wrong with this wine. At first that bugged me, but then I just surrendered to its charms. It’s a very nicely made wine that displays balance and a deft touch I can’t think of a better introduction to the promising 2008 vintage of Oregon Pinot Noir! Brad, Kathleen, Don and Carol sell this wine for 24.00 up at the winery and it is a steal for that price. But I’m anxious to have folks who may not be aware of Ayres Vineyard try this wine. So if you buy up to five bottles, the price will be 22.50 a bottle. Put a six-pack together and the price will be 120.00. But if you go for the 12 bottle case the price drops to 18.00 a bottle. That’s a heck of a deal for a mighty nice “entry level” Ayres experience. Friday Night Wine Tasting, Dec. 4, 6:00-9:00PM : Todd Hamina of Biggio-Hamina Cellars Our next in-store wine tasting will be Friday December 4 with Todd Hamina of Biggio-Hamina Cellars. Todd is hot off a series of excellent reviews/scores from The Wine Advocate and several of those wines will be on hand Friday evening. There will be no charge for this tasting event. Cheers, Michael Alberty Head Storyteller PS You may now follow the antics of Storyteller Wine Company on both Facebook (under Storyteller Wine Company) and Twitter (@HeadStoryteller). Lots of photographic evidence of what I do on a daily basis on the store’s Facebook page. Become a fan of Storyteller Wine Company on Facebook and you will become privy to super secret deals that only get announced through Storyteller updates. Visit www.StorytellerWine.com >> 5511-B SW Hood Ave, Portland \| (503) 206-7029 \| 1.800.753.2531

Story Teller Wine Company

Having spent my formative years growing up In Olathe, Kansas I will always have a soft spot for most things Kansas. It was a great place to grow up and I love all my Kansas relatives. Having said that (my homage to last night’s Curb Your Enthusiasm), I also have more than a healthy respect for those folks who were smart enough to move away. And if they moved to Oregon, well then, that pretty much jumps them into the brilliant category in my book. So please allow me to introduce to Brad McLeroy, a brilliant winemaker.

Brad grew up in the Kansas City area and despite a moment of weakness when he headed to the University of Colorado, lived there for a good part of his adult life. There he was, successfully owning and operating Gomer’s Midtown (a really nice wine store) and putting the skills he picked up in culinary school to good use. But it wasn’t enough. Every time he came across a bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir, he realized there was something more out there. Trips to Burgundy didn’t help much in terms of squelching Brad’s vinous wanderlust. He was hooked on Piot Noir. And since there wasn’t much land to be purchased in Burgundy, Brad packed up his family and moved to Oregon. After a brief stint working for a wine distributor, Brad landed a dream job as the cellarmaster for Veronique Drouhin at Domaine Drouhin Oregon.

While Brad was learning his craft at DDO, his in-laws were contemplating retirement from their medical profession jobs up in Seattle. The idea of growing grapes and making wine was of particular interest to Brad’s father-in-law, Don McClure. Don’s great grandfather was on one of the wagons that made it to Oregon via the Oregon trail in 1852, and that group brought with them grape vines. Talk about coming full circle! So here is a tight knit family that lives up on Ribbon Ridge, living the Pinot Noir dream. There wines reflect the pride and passion they put into their work.

2008 Ayres Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (24.00 at the winery)
I guess this will be our first Storyteller discussion of Oregon’s 2008 vintage. As I tasted through barrels at various wineries over the past summer I was struck by how pretty the wines were. There was the plush fruit and perfumed nose of the warmer 2006 vintage but at the same time there was a nice bit of acidity and structure to balance everything out. It’s no wonder that pundits have been touting this vintage so heavily! It appears to be a remarkably nice vintage that offers the chance to make everybody happy. There’s fruit to make fans of the 2006 vintage happy and the acid-loving 2007 fans will be pretty pleased as well. And this particular wine is the perfect way to kick things off.

When I first poured the Ayres Pinot Noir in my glass I was impressed by the heady aromas of dark, rich raspberry fruit, rose petals and brown spice. It was a warm and inviting bouquet, a great way to forget about the cold, rainy weather outside my kitchen windows. But as I plopped down on the sofa to watch a Blazers game, my mind kept wandering back to this wine. It was just so rich and pleasing. There was that same dark raspberry fruit on the palate, along with some kind of really dark cherry note. In addition, there were touches of coffee, pie crust and cool, damp earth. There is a lot going on in this wine, way more than you usually find in such a modestly priced bottle. It’s dark and plush to be sure, but the fruit’s performance is not upstaged by the oak treatment. As I watched the Blazers rout the hapless Timberwolves I couldn’t find a single thing wrong with this wine. At first that bugged me, but then I just surrendered to its charms. It’s a very nicely made wine that displays balance and a deft touch I can’t think of a better introduction to the promising 2008 vintage of Oregon Pinot Noir!

Brad, Kathleen, Don and Carol sell this wine for 24.00 up at the winery and it is a steal for that price. But I’m anxious to have folks who may not be aware of Ayres Vineyard try this wine. So if you buy up to five bottles, the price will be 22.50 a bottle. Put a six-pack together and the price will be 120.00. But if you go for the 12 bottle case the price drops to 18.00 a bottle. That’s a heck of a deal for a mighty nice “entry level” Ayres experience.

Friday Night Wine Tasting, Dec. 4, 6:00-9:00PM : Todd Hamina of Biggio-Hamina Cellars

Our next in-store wine tasting will be Friday December 4 with Todd Hamina of Biggio-Hamina Cellars. Todd is hot off a series of excellent reviews/scores from The Wine Advocate and several of those wines will be on hand Friday evening. There will be no charge for this tasting event.

Cheers,
Michael Alberty
Head Storyteller

PS You may now follow the antics of Storyteller Wine Company on both Facebook (under Storyteller Wine Company) and Twitter (@HeadStoryteller). Lots of photographic evidence of what I do on a daily basis on the store’s Facebook page. Become a fan of Storyteller Wine Company on Facebook and you will become privy to super secret deals that only get announced through Storyteller updates.

Visit www.StorytellerWine.com >>
5511-B SW Hood Ave, Portland | (503) 206-7029 | 1.800.753.2531

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