Newsletter


Story Teller Wine Company
William Stafford’s birthday has come and gone. A lot of people adore William Stafford because of his poetry. I have other reasons. My first year of university was spent at Lewis and Clark College. There was a professor in the English department who gave poetry readings that were well attended by the women on campus. When I was invited to attend one of those readings, I had this vision of a thin, emaciated guy with a pony tail talking about his feelings. But I went because I thought I would ignore the prose and study the audience. After hearing his stories, however, I was a William Stafford convert. William Stafford was not what I expected from a poet. He was sturdy and confident and he was from Kansas. Kansas? At that time I didn’t even know my former home state allowed such a thing as poets. But here was a man who had decided at an early age he was both a poet and a pacifist. So when he was drafted to go into the service during WWII, he decided to take a pass. Being a pacifist in Hutchinson, Kansas takes a lot of guts, even now. Becoming a conscientious objector in Kansas in the 1940s required both courage and a complete lack of regard for your physical well-being. But William Stafford survived all that, and ended up teaching at Lewis and Clark College. I reveled in William Stafford’s stories. This wasn’t gushing poetry about love and yonder windows, these were the stories of a tough guy who had been bounced around by even tougher experiences. His childhood made him sound like Homer Macauley in William Saroyan’s The Human Comedy. The fact some of these stories took place in Kansas made it even better. NV Cameron Winery Willamette Valley Chardonnay 14.00 I feel like I’m channeling comedian Jim Gaffigan. “Why is he going on about a dead poet? I thought there’d be wine.” It’s easy. If you have ever lived in the midwest you know how gray, drab and lifeless the month of January can seem. I just returned from a trip to Lawrence, Kansas and the lack of landscape color was just as I remembered. There’s more color and pizazz at a Dick Cheney family reunion than Kansas in January. So imagine how I felt as a young man when I first heard William Stafford recite a poem called “One Evening.” It’s a story about how one winter day he spent an afternoon ice skating on a remote pond near Liberal, Kansas. And if you have never been to Liberal, Kansas, that’s remote. As the sun set, he headed home. The poem ends: “I would go home, confront all my years, the tangled events to come, and never know more than I did that evening waving my arms in the lemon-colored light.” Wine, to me anyway, is like poetry: it tells you where the author has been and where you are going. And this Cameron Chardonnay? It is the color of that cold Kansas sunset. It is lemon-colored light that John Paul has captured in a bottle. But forget about that gorgeous color. The serious action begins wen you get your first sniff from the glass. The Cameron Willamette Valley Chardonnay has truly floral aromas of honeysuckle (or maybe gardenia), Golden Delicious apple skins and wee bits of almond and marzipan. And I love that the aromatics of this wine trick you into thinking you are about to drink a Chardonnay that has seen a lot of new oak or malolactic fermentation. The nose is floral and rich. The palate? That’s a whole different matter. The Cameron Willamette Valley Chardonnay is non-vintage because it is a blend of two barrels of Cameron’s 2007 Abbey Ridge Chardonnay and their 2008 Abbey Ridge Chardonnay. According to assistant winemaker Scott Frank, the 2007 juice spent two full years on the lees without being disturbed. John Paul may have given the barrels a hard look as he passed, but other than that, nothing. And the two French oak barrels used were old enough to be considered neutral material. So the palate is all about the Chardonnay fruit, without any oak interference. The result is a brisk, wonderfully aggressive Chardonnay that has flavors like tart citrus, lemon verbena and a touch of something nutty, like filberts. Skimming across the ice on a cold Kansas afternoon, under the glow of a dying January sun, that’s what drinking this wine is like. Brisk and life affirming. That’s a heck of a deal for a fourteen dollar bottle of wine. And that price tag is just astonishing to me. When John Paul releases a vintage year Abbey Ridge Chardonnay the price is about 39.00 a bottle. Yet this multi-vintage blend is a mere 14.00 Or, you can get a case of twelve bottles for 151.00. Cameron only made 100 cases of this wine and it is being released only to retail stores in Portland. So there isn’t much of it to go around. If you live outside of Oregon this may be one of your few shots at what I consider one of the best wine values I have seen so far in the Willamette Valley. Storyteller Wine Company has locked up ten cases, so please don’t wait too long to respond to this email to secure your bottles. And don’t forget to wave your arms in the bask of its lemon-colored light! Friday Night Wine Tasting, February 5, 6:00-9:00PM: Burgundy and Banter with Scott Wright! I have been waiting for this tasting for two years. But I had to wait until Scott’s favorite soccer team, Arsenal, was mired in third place behind my favorite team, Chelsea. Scott and I have spent years engaged in healthy trash talking over soccer and this Friday evening we bring our traveling show to Storyteller Wine Company. Oh yeah, there will be wine as well. Scott will be pouring samples of of some of the amazing red and white wines he imports from Burgundy. There may be something sparkling as well. In addition, we may allow Scott to pour one of his own wines from Scott Paul Winery in Carlton, Oregon. And while there may be no charge for this tasting, I promise one stupendous Burgundy “super pour.” And if you are looking for a great wine deal, anybody that attends the tasting while wearing a Chelsea jersey, scarf or hat will receive 25% off any purchase they make Friday evening. Saturday Wine Tasting, February 6, 12:00-5:00PM: New Arrivals of Note! Join us on Saturday as we open up newly arrived Pinot Noir bottles from McKinlay and Seven of Hearts. In addition, we will be debuting the brand new wine from local wine distributors Casa Bruno. It will be called Cote du Bruneaux and it is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. The wine was made by Andrew Rich and it will sell for a whopping ten bucks. There will be no charge for this tasting. 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir Hit List As promised, each Storyteller newsletter will include an alert on newly released 2008 Oregon Pinot Noirs. It looks to be a glorious vintage and unfortunately, production levels were lower. So there will be lots of great wines, but less of them to go around. We begin with three of my favorites in terms of lighter style and great “bangs for the buck!” 2008 McKinlay Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 16.00 (170.00 for a case of 12) Tart, smoky red fruit flavors and aromas and lots of nice acidity. Always one my favorites from the “light side” of the Willamette Valley. 2008 Westrey Oracle Vineyard Pinot Noir 24.00 (260.00 for a case of 12) Dark cherry Dundee Hills goodness. The Oracle predicts elegant drinking in your future. 2008 Westrey Justice Vineyard Pinot Noir 26.00 (280.00 for a case of 12) Bright, silky raspberries and a touch of Eola Hills blueberry, with some nice structure. Justice for all. Cheers, Michael Alberty Head Storyteller Visit www.StorytellerWine.com >> 5511-B SW Hood Ave, Portland \| (503) 206-7029 \| 1.800.753.2531

Story Teller Wine Company

William Stafford’s birthday has come and gone. A lot of people adore William Stafford because of his poetry. I have other reasons. My first year of university was spent at Lewis and Clark College. There was a professor in the English department who gave poetry readings that were well attended by the women on campus. When I was invited to attend one of those readings, I had this vision of a thin, emaciated guy with a pony tail talking about his feelings. But I went because I thought I would ignore the prose and study the audience. After hearing his stories, however, I was a William Stafford convert.

William Stafford was not what I expected from a poet. He was sturdy and confident and he was from Kansas. Kansas? At that time I didn’t even know my former home state allowed such a thing as poets. But here was a man who had decided at an early age he was both a poet and a pacifist. So when he was drafted to go into the service during WWII, he decided to take a pass. Being a pacifist in Hutchinson, Kansas takes a lot of guts, even now. Becoming a conscientious objector in Kansas in the 1940s required both courage and a complete lack of regard for your physical well-being. But William Stafford survived all that, and ended up teaching at Lewis and Clark College.

I reveled in William Stafford’s stories. This wasn’t gushing poetry about love and yonder windows, these were the stories of a tough guy who had been bounced around by even tougher experiences. His childhood made him sound like Homer Macauley in William Saroyan’s The Human Comedy. The fact some of these stories took place in Kansas made it even better.

NV Cameron Winery Willamette Valley Chardonnay 14.00

I feel like I’m channeling comedian Jim Gaffigan. “Why is he going on about a dead poet? I thought there’d be wine.” It’s easy. If you have ever lived in the midwest you know how gray, drab and lifeless the month of January can seem. I just returned from a trip to Lawrence, Kansas and the lack of landscape color was just as I remembered. There’s more color and pizazz at a Dick Cheney family reunion than Kansas in January. So imagine how I felt as a young man when I first heard William Stafford recite a poem called “One Evening.” It’s a story about how one winter day he spent an afternoon ice skating on a remote pond near Liberal, Kansas. And if you have never been to Liberal, Kansas, that’s remote. As the sun set, he headed home. The poem ends: “I would go home, confront all my years, the tangled events to come, and never know more than I did that evening waving my arms in the lemon-colored light.” Wine, to me anyway, is like poetry: it tells you where the author has been and where you are going. And this Cameron Chardonnay? It is the color of that cold Kansas sunset. It is lemon-colored light that John Paul has captured in a bottle.

But forget about that gorgeous color. The serious action begins wen you get your first sniff from the glass. The Cameron Willamette Valley Chardonnay has truly floral aromas of honeysuckle (or maybe gardenia), Golden Delicious apple skins and wee bits of almond and marzipan. And I love that the aromatics of this wine trick you into thinking you are about to drink a Chardonnay that has seen a lot of new oak or malolactic fermentation. The nose is floral and rich. The palate? That’s a whole different matter.

The Cameron Willamette Valley Chardonnay is non-vintage because it is a blend of two barrels of Cameron’s 2007 Abbey Ridge Chardonnay and their 2008 Abbey Ridge Chardonnay. According to assistant winemaker Scott Frank, the 2007 juice spent two full years on the lees without being disturbed. John Paul may have given the barrels a hard look as he passed, but other than that, nothing. And the two French oak barrels used were old enough to be considered neutral material. So the palate is all about the Chardonnay fruit, without any oak interference. The result is a brisk, wonderfully aggressive Chardonnay that has flavors like tart citrus, lemon verbena and a touch of something nutty, like filberts. Skimming across the ice on a cold Kansas afternoon, under the glow of a dying January sun, that’s what drinking this wine is like. Brisk and life affirming. That’s a heck of a deal for a fourteen dollar bottle of wine.

And that price tag is just astonishing to me. When John Paul releases a vintage year Abbey Ridge Chardonnay the price is about 39.00 a bottle. Yet this multi-vintage blend is a mere 14.00 Or, you can get a case of twelve bottles for 151.00. Cameron only made 100 cases of this wine and it is being released only to retail stores in Portland. So there isn’t much of it to go around. If you live outside of Oregon this may be one of your few shots at what I consider one of the best wine values I have seen so far in the Willamette Valley. Storyteller Wine Company has locked up ten cases, so please don’t wait too long to respond to this email to secure your bottles. And don’t forget to wave your arms in the bask of its lemon-colored light!

Friday Night Wine Tasting, February 5, 6:00-9:00PM: Burgundy and Banter with Scott Wright!

I have been waiting for this tasting for two years. But I had to wait until Scott’s favorite soccer team, Arsenal, was mired in third place behind my favorite team, Chelsea. Scott and I have spent years engaged in healthy trash talking over soccer and this Friday evening we bring our traveling show to Storyteller Wine Company. Oh yeah, there will be wine as well. Scott will be pouring samples of of some of the amazing red and white wines he imports from Burgundy. There may be something sparkling as well. In addition, we may allow Scott to pour one of his own wines from Scott Paul Winery in Carlton, Oregon. And while there may be no charge for this tasting, I promise one stupendous Burgundy “super pour.” And if you are looking for a great wine deal, anybody that attends the tasting while wearing a Chelsea jersey, scarf or hat will receive 25% off any purchase they make Friday evening.

Saturday Wine Tasting, February 6, 12:00-5:00PM: New Arrivals of Note!

Join us on Saturday as we open up newly arrived Pinot Noir bottles from McKinlay and Seven of Hearts. In addition, we will be debuting the brand new wine from local wine distributors Casa Bruno. It will be called Cote du Bruneaux and it is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. The wine was made by Andrew Rich and it will sell for a whopping ten bucks. There will be no charge for this tasting.

2008 Oregon Pinot Noir Hit List

As promised, each Storyteller newsletter will include an alert on newly released 2008 Oregon Pinot Noirs. It looks to be a glorious vintage and unfortunately, production levels were lower. So there will be lots of great wines, but less of them to go around. We begin with three of my favorites in terms of lighter style and great “bangs for the buck!”

2008 McKinlay Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 16.00 (170.00 for a case of 12)
Tart, smoky red fruit flavors and aromas and lots of nice acidity. Always one my favorites from the “light side” of the Willamette Valley.

2008 Westrey Oracle Vineyard Pinot Noir 24.00 (260.00 for a case of 12)
Dark cherry Dundee Hills goodness. The Oracle predicts elegant drinking in your future.

2008 Westrey Justice Vineyard Pinot Noir 26.00 (280.00 for a case of 12)
Bright, silky raspberries and a touch of Eola Hills blueberry, with some nice structure. Justice for all.

Cheers,
Michael Alberty
Head Storyteller

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

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