Joe the Winemaker – The Official Blog of Oregon Winemaker Joe Dobbes

I thought it would be nice to provide a short vineyard update. The vines are growing well right now! Look at these beautiful buds.

Rob and Chris and the rest of the vineyard crew are working on disking the cover crops, every other row.

They are also suckering the vines which means they are removing stray shoots growing from the trunk. We have an awesome vineyard crew with a lot of experience, so they’re moving through the vines quickly.

I’m happy to report that we’re farming our vineyard sustainably and getting certification.

Memorial Day Weekend Picnic
May 23rd & 24th, 2009

Visit Dobbes Family Estate from 11-6pm for a picnic on the lawn and to enjoy three newly released wines with NO ENTRY FEE. Huckabee’s BBQ fare will be available for purchase. Complimentary and reserve flights available. For more information contact Charles at 503-538-1141 or email: charles@dobbesfamilyestate.com

Memorial Day Weekend Flight List:
2007 Wine By Joe Pinot Gris
2006 Wine By Joe Jose’s Rose
2006 Dobbes Family Estate Viognier
2007 Dobbes Family Estate Grande Assemblage Pinot Noir
2007 Dobbes Family Estate Skipper’s Cuvee Pinot Noir
2005 Dobbes Family Estate Grande Assemblage Syrah
2005 Dobbes Family Estate Fortmiller Vineyard Syrah

Considering the state of the economy and the barrage of bad news coming from the media lately, I thought it would be nice to be that little ray of sunshine peaking through the dark clouds of the business world right now. I am happy to announce that we have added two new people to our wine making team.

The first addition to the Dobbes Family Estate team is Rob Schultz. His primary position for our company is to manage our 214 acre vineyard, Larkins Estate. He will also act as a grower liason by being the communication point between the winery and the vineyards we source fruit from. In addition, he will oversee shifts during harvest. Rob has 7 years of winery and vineyard experience, including positions at Eyrie Vineyard and Enterprise Vineyard. He specializes in sustainable viticulture and will continue our efforts towards being LIVE and Salmon Safe certified.

Tom Dodson is our new production manager. He started his career in cellar operations in 1997  at Chataeu St. Michelle Winery. Tom has great knowledge and experience in managing cellar operations. While at Dobbes Family Estate, he will be facilitating the production crew, maintaining quality operations by adhering to the standards set by Joe and the Production Team and will work on team developement.

We are all very excited about these team member additions and happy to be growing during these times! Welcome gentlemen!

The “Meet the Extended Family of Dobbes Family Estate” Event was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who came out to the winery yesterday. We appreciate the support and hope you all had as much fun attending the event as we had hosting it. For those that missed it- we hosted 12 wineries and they poured a total of 40 wines. Trying 40 wines for $15 bucks? That, my friend, is a recession-proof afternoon of wine tasting!

All of the clients were pleased with the turnout and the results. We’re 99% sure that we’ll make this an annual event.

Thanks to all Winemaking Clients, Club Members, and Valued Guests who attended. We’ll see you again.

Last week we held our second wine dinner of 2009. The first dinner sold out in less than 2 hours and this one just as quickly. Chef Sarah and I decided to do something a little more casual this time- but no less exciting: revolving around a progressive-dining and Tapas theme, we started in the Tasting Room with our Jose Rose.

It was all spicy and addictive (food, wine and conversation). With the Rose, the Empanadas shone brightest- pork and Manchego cheese are about as Spanish as you can get… bullseye! We then enjoyed ‘06 Viognier and ‘07 Skipper’s Cuvee Pinot Noir. We all agreed that the goat cheese with leeks worked best with the Viognier. The camp was split about the red: it seems that about half liked it with the gourmet charcuterie and half preferred it with the marinated mushrooms. Me? As long as Patricia and the members are happy- then I’m happy!

We then moseyed over to the barrel room for salad and the main course. Our ‘07 Pinot Gris was good with the salad, but I don’t think either got the attention it deserved, because the whole time we had salad and gris, we could see and smell the main course…

Chef Sarah produced a bright copper pan that was nearly 3 feet across. It was stacked with shrimp, sausage, mussels, clams, onion and a brilliant saffron-scented rice. Yes, we had Paella for dinner.
For this exotic, hedonistic dish we had an exotic, hedonistic wine: the 2005 Cuvee Noir (soon to be called Patricia’s Cuvee). Magic together- ‘nuff said!

We drew some barrel samples of port from barrel, told some stories, told some lies, and then came back to the tasting room for dessert. Thank goodness it was a tray of imported cheeses- anything richer and we would have exploded. The top of the night was 2004 Late Harvest Viognier- the sugar and acid remain perfectly balanced and even I’m not sure how long this wine can last: 5 more years? 10? Of course you’d need the willpower…

We’ll do another dinner in a month or so. They are limited to 12 seats- period! The seats go to the first people to respond to the email invitations. That is another good reason to check your email often.

I’m off to look at more vineyards for 2009 and beyond… drink well- I hope to see you all soon!

I’ve been travelling a lot recently to spread the good word about how great Oregon wines are…. especially our wines…

Since I’m out meeting new people, I wanted to ask everyone to meet our new people at Dobbes Family Estate.

Charles continues to manage the finest and friendliest tasting room in Dundee, and he has an entirely new “crop” of staff-members to help.

Linda Wyborny: our newest face might seem awfully familiar… Linda and her husband live in Dundee and have been Club Members of Dobbes Family Estate nearly since Day One! With her personal experience enjoying our wines throughout DFE’s history, she can probably tell you about our vintages and their ageability nearly as well as I can!

Michelle Bolliger: A similar story- Michelle and her parents (Grace and Drew) have been members for ages. Michelle has spent countless hours studying wine and viticulture. Michelle’s background as a local realtor has made her remarkably travel-savvy for the area and makes her a great go-to person for nearly any question about travelling in Wine Country.

Orion Leguyonne: Orion was raised in Oregon, then he was spoiled working in prestigious Napa Valley tasting rooms. Back home now, we hope to fully re-acclimate him to real people and real wine (we’re mostly kidding). Studying to be a winemaker, Orion knows his stuff. If he’s not too busy in the tasting room- try to stump him with wine trivia!

David Fish: another wine veteran, David has more than 20 years experience in wine and hospitality. He is also one of our Custom Winemaking clients. Now living in Dundee, he is probably the most random, casual, practical joker that you’ll see in any tasting room anywhere. He knows the facts about wine, but if the fiction is funnier, he might go that route. Our wines are serious- David isn’t…

Stop by our tasting room and meet our new crew. While you’re there- consider tasting some wine!

On Sunday, May 17 Dobbes Family Estate Winery is hosting an event from 11 AM to 6 PM where you can taste over 40 wines and meet the owners of 12 small Oregon wine brands that are handcrafted by winemaker Joe Dobbes. Entry fee of $15 (or $10 in advance) includes all wine tastings, live music, and hors d’oeuvres. Click here for more information.