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

Just want to remind everyone who hasn’t made plans for Valentine’s Day yet to stop by the Dobbes tasting room for aphrodisiac and wine pairing. We’re holding the event both Saturday, February 13th and Sunday, February 14th. You can expect delicious gourmet goodies like espresso brownies, baklava and lemon squares with a  raspberry drizzle to be paired with our sumptuous wines.  All of the desserts contain several aphrodisiac ingredients so you’ll be sure to leave with a smile on your face!  The event will be held during normal business hours- 11 am to 6 pm. RSVP with Charles: charles@winebyjoe.com or call 503-538-1141.

We held our first Vino & Vinyasa event on January 16th and are so excited about how well it went. Everyone had such a great experience that we are still getting positive feedback on it and have decided that it will now become a regular event here at the winery! Blogger Renae Walter posted a great write-up on the event, portland-and-one-of-the-best-winery-experiences-ever-thank-you-dobbes-winery. Check it out and then email: nicci@winebyjoe.com to reserve your spot at the next one on February 27th!

Hey everyone! Just a quick introduction, I’m Mary Bellando and I’m the Northwest Sales Manager for Dobbes Family Estate and Wine By Joe. I asked to be a guest blogger to let you all know about this amazing vintner dinner we are putting together with this tiny little restaurant called Ruth’s Chris Steak House, maybe you’ve heard of it? I went to Ruth’s Chris restaurant in Portland a couple weeks ago to put together the menu with the food and wine pairing for the Dobbes Family Estate wine dinner on Jan. 13th . It was awesome! I was with two of my sales reps from Young’s Columbia. We tasted each course they (Ruth’s Chris) want to serve at the dinner.

We started with an appetizer of BBQ shrimp in a zesty creamy BBQ sauce served with their yummy garlic bread. We chose the 2007 Dobbes Family Estate Pinot Gris to pair with that dish. Next was a fabulous harvest salad with mixed greens, dried cherries, toasted pecans and a little goat cheese, we decided on the 2008 Dobbes Viognier for that dish.

The entrée was their signature filet toped with a crab cake and drizzled with a béarnaise! We couldn’t decide on which red we wanted to use for that course because the Pinot Noir and Syrah were both excellent with the dish, so we decided to use both! That filet course will be served with Dobbes 2005 Cuvee Pinot Noir and the 2005 Grand Assemblage Syrah. We thought it would be a good food and wine pairing education to taste two different varietals with the same dish. The last course was Ruth’s Chris famous Crème Brule we of course paired that dish with the Dobbes 2007 Late Harvest Viognier.

I am really looking forward to this dinner on January 13 at Ruth’s Chris. There are only 30 seats available it should sell out quickly!

Mary

We had another amazing vintner dinner in the barrel room last Thursday! I was happy to see both old friends and some new faces. Chef Sarah’s Grilled Leg of Lamb dinner was so tender and delicious- cooked to perfection. And the Summer Vegetable Ratatouille was filled with garden fresh vegetables in a sauce so rich it knocked everyone’s socks off. In fact, she had several requests for the recipe, I’m going to ask Nicci get it out to you all in some form or another. I’m sorry to see summer on it’s way out, but looking forward to the mania of harvest which is rapidly approaching!

Let me just take a minute to say, “Wow!”  The delicious food served at last Friday’s dinner in the barrel room was my favorite yet. We all had such a good time- in fact Dundee’s very own Mayor Sundeen joined us for a second time here at the winery. I’m looking forward to the fantastic menu Chef Sarah will put together for August.

Just a quick note to all who attended our early Bastille Day Celebration. Petanque on the lawn was lots of fun. The car show was awesome as well. A big thanks to our “French Features” for taking time out of their day to make ours more special. 

In honor of the origin of our beloved grape variety, Pinot Noir, we are celebrating France’s Independence Day here at Dobbes Family Estate. Bastille Day is the French national holiday, held on July 14th of each year. As a tribute to all things French, we’ll have a Petanque demonstration and Citroëns on display. We have plenty of great Burgundy here, so bring some brei and a baguette and enjoy the show. I look forward to seeing you all here at the winery on Sunday. Berets are encouraged!

Several members of  the Portland Bouligans have agreed to participate in the Bastille Day Celebration and perform a Petanque demonstration. Petanque is a form of boules where the goal is, while standing with your feet together in a small circle, to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet (jack). The game is normally played on hard dirt or gravel, but can also be played on grass or other surfaces.

Citroën is a French automobile manufacturer. Founded in 1919 by André Citroën, it was the world’s first mass-production car company outside of the USA. Citroën had a keen marketing concept-he used the Eiffel Tower as the world’s largest advertising sign, as recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. Today, classic Citroën automobiles are collector’s items and members of the Citroën Club of America are bringing a Citroën to display at the event.

Quick Links:

Portland Petanque Club

Citroën Club of America  

We had our third private vintner dinner in the barrel room on Friday night. I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the evening and the warm company of my guests. And don’t let me forget the amazing food. I continue to be impressed with each unique menu. Thank you Chef Sarah for creating such delicious and diverse dinners. I’m looking forward to the next!

My beautiful wife, Patricia, with our guests Jason and Jeff, enjoying Viognier and appetizers in the tasting room.

Honey tomato bruschetta with creamy ricotta.

Grilled artichokes with a lemon aioli and mustard dipping sauce.

Grilled vegetable gazpacho topped with fresh lump crab.

Mixed Grill featuring rack of lamb, beef rib eye, pork loin chops, and organic sausage. We paired this with Skipper’s Cuvee and Griffin’s Cuvee Pinot Noir.

Is anyone else getting hungry? I’m surely ready for seconds, or thirds! Our next dinner will be in mid-July. We’ll keep you posted. Until then, I hope to see you in the tasting room. We’re barrel sampling the 2008 wines these days, and let me tell you, this is an amazing vintage that I look forward to releasing.

Thanks to all the dads who came out for the Father’s Day Event! In addtion to enjoying the company of your children, either little or grown, we hope everyone had a great time tasting wine, eating the delicious food provided by Huckabee’s BBQ and checking out the boat, RV and personal watercraft. I have two wonderful kids and I cherish every bit of time I get to spend with them, here’s to you all doing the same!

True Form RV and Marine had an RV, a fishing boat and a wave runner on site for everyone to tour and/or view.

We had an extra special guest attend our big wine tasting event in May, Karl Klooster from the Yamhill Valley News-Register. Karl is a regional editor and wine columnist for the newspaper. He wrote a very complimentary article about the event that was published in the June 11, 2009 issue of the newspaper. See below for some of his kind words and then click this link to read the rest of the story.

“A recent tasting of wines from 12 different producers was testament not only to the considerable winemaking talents, but also substantial management skills, of Joe Dobbes… Combining winemaking ability with seemingly boundless energy explains how he can successfully coordinate so many projects at once – that plus long experience. ”

We are appreciative to Karl and everyone else who showed up to support Dobbes Family Estate and the 11 other Oregon wine brands featured at the event.