2024 Pinot Blanc
Not many wineries grow Pinot Blanc, a grape variety that is closely related to both Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris.
Vintage
The 2024 vintage here in the Willamette Valley was a winemaker’s dream: well-paced with idyllic conditions for cool climate vineyards.
The growing season started and ended cool and mild, with short heat-spikes in mid-summer. Winter and spring were wetter than average, giving the vines a head start underground. Budbreak in mid-April was followed by steady growth into June, when rains during bloom naturally lowered yields for us, lessening the need for thinning fruit. July and August were punctuated by several heat-spikes. Thankfully, the hottest temperatures occurred during the green phase of fruit maturation, while clusters are sunburn resistant. We were thankful for the efforts of our local fire department who snuffed out a couple of local fires near Hagg Lake in Gaston. Toward the end of the growing season, a late August drizzle left our vines clean and refreshed, ripening a moderate quantity of very beautiful fruit. We looked forward to harvest with keen anticipation.
The 2024 harvest had a slower pace than typical. With the exception of some early sparkling wine picks, all fruit came in over the course of 40 days. We brought in our first Pinot the second week of September and harvest continued at a steady beat, allowing us to give each vineyard block and fermentation our optimal attention. After a very mild October with plenty of sunshine and wonderful diurnal swings in temperature, the first cold snap of November brought so much cold air, the cellar required extra heating during our white wine fermentations. The timing of harvest was close to our historic average, but within a longer window contributing to great hang-time.
Expect concentrated, fruit-forward wines with great complexity. We are hopeful that the 2024 will come to be considered a classic Willamette Valley vintage.
Vineyard
The fruit for this Pinot Blanc is all hand-harvested from our own estate-grown hillside vines at our Five Mountain and Mount Richmond Vineyards.
Winemaking
The Willamette Valley has an ideal climate for Pinot Blanc, a delicate grape variety – enough sunlight and warmth for ripening, with cooler night temperatures that help retain varietal character. To preserve the freshness, our Pinot Blanc is whole-cluster pressed then fermented at very cool temperatures in small stainless steel tanks, all of which accentuates aromatics and enhances the richness and viscosity of the wine.
Viticultural & Enological Data
- Vatting Whole-cluster pressed and cold fermented in small stainless steel tanks.
Adam’s Crab Cakes
It’s our post-harvest tradition to rent a boat and go crabbing at Kelly’s Marina. While we don’t always make it to the coast to go crabbing ourselves, sitting around the table shelling cooked crab from the fishmonger is also a great way to catch up while anticipating the great meal ahead, usually while savoring a glass of what we in the Campbell family call “cooking wine” (wine poured for the cooks). Dungeness crab season in Oregon runs from December to August.
These crab cakes pair beautifully with our Pinot Blanc. Cheers and bon appétit!
RECIPE
For the cakes:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 teaspoons minced fresh dill
3 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
4 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
4 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
ground black pepper to taste
1 pound cooked blue or Dungeness crabmeat
2 cups panko bread crumbs (divided)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the Skillet:
2 tablespoons (or more) butter
2 tablespoons (or more) olive oil or grapeseed oil
For the salad:
salad greens of your choice
3tbs olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dijon
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
serve with crusty bread & hot sauce
In a large bowl, whisk ingredients the first 10 ingredients together. Mix in crabmeat, and break it up into a rough, chunky texture while feeling with your hands for any remaining pieces of shell. In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup panko with the cayenne then fold into crab mixture. Let stand while panko soaks up the liquid from the crab mixture. Place the remaining panko in a flat bottomed bowl or tray. Form crab into patties about 2.5 inches in diameter (about 12) then press both sides of patties into the panko. Chill the formed patties for 1 to 4 hours in the fridge.
To fry, add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook crab cakes on both sides for about 4-5 minutes until they are browned, adding oil as needed to the skillet.
Make a vinaigrette with any remaining herbs, tossing lightly into your greens and serving alongside your favorite crusty bread. Season if desired with lemon wedges and Louisiana-style hot sauce – Crystal is our favorite but Tabasco or Texas Pete work equally well. Cheers!
Pinot Blanc
