The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday Magazine March 18, 1984 S19 The wine scene Eyrie wines: Excellence from Oregon by Carole von Schmidt WHEN AN OREGON winery produces superior wines, namely Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris, it fulfills a prophecy. Experts agreed and predicted that the climate and soil of the Red Hills outside of Portland in the Willamette Valley are the perfect conditions for premium grape growing. Eyrie Winery of McMinnville, Ore., brings this convincing prediction into the realm of reality. s. David Lett, native Utahn, and graduate of the University of Utah, was trained in the skills of wine making at the School of Enology at the University of Califonia, Davis. Lett owns Eyrie. He is also its winemaker. The international recognition and rave reviews for his well made wines seem natural, given the ideal raw materials, i.e. the grapes grown in Oregon; however, Letts careful techniques and his clear commitment to varietal excellence add to the charm and character of his wines. Lett is a straightforward, unabashed admirer of Northwest wines. For example, Lett succinctly states, There are only two phrases I like it or I dont to describe wine like it, all else is unnecessary. Lett likes his own wines. So do thousands of otherdiscerning people. One of the reasons why Eyrie wines are so popular is their style, which shows the similarity of the Oregon appellation to that of the Burgundy region of France. The latitudes are nearly identical. The Wil- - lamette Valleys climate offers conditions of sun and rain, with lots Of .THEME CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 PartofUSNA 5 Blemish 9 Ice island 13 Gossip Barrett 17 Theater box 18 Patent base 19 Upright, e g. 20 One of The Odd Couple" 21 Jean Harlow, 2wds. et al: 24 Priestly wear 25 Learned ones 26 Mrs. St. Johns 27 Verified 28 Esoteric 29 Small container DOWN 1 Heidis milieu 2 Popular pops 3 Whence cantala 4 Disconnects 5 "The Lion in 6 Sunburned 7 A- d8 Filing aid 9 Bridge play 10 Serve the soup 11 Draft status: 2 wds. 12 will blossom with fruit and flavors to acquire an elegance and finesse known only to Oregon Pinot Noir. Then, as now, it is and will continue to be a collectors item; the search is worth it. The 1979 Pinot Noir by Eyrie is available at the Trolley Wine Store for $13.30; however, there are only a few bottles of this vintage left. This wine, too, is still young, but is ultimately drinkable. That is the value of most Eyrie wines, for they can be drunk young or aged. I am still enjoying the 1977 Pinot Noir which has been in my cellar since its release date. It is now at peak, but shows no sign of growing old. Eyrie Pinot Noir is aged in oak for one year, a combination of old and new oak casks are used for desired balance of wood flavors. humidity, which match that of Burgundy. Pinot Noir, the problem child of California wine makers, thrives in this Northwestern valley. The 1975 Eyrie Pinot Noir wowed the international judges at Beaune, France, at one of the worlds major wine judg-ingLetts Eyrie wine beat many established Burgundian names to win a first prize. Some of the French wines cost many times more than the unknown Oregon Pinot Noir. THE DEPTH OF berry flavors of the Eyrie Pinot Noir, mixed with overtones of earth and spice, create a pleasing complexity. The Oregon vines planted by Lett 18 years ago are now old enough to produce mature grapes. This vine age is needed, for a truly complex Pinot Noir only comes from mature vines. The choice of Oregon as a specific site for a vineyard proves that the research that Lett carried out in northern Europe paid off, for it was only after considerable questioning and searching that he purchased land in the marginal coolness of the Willamette Valley. Remember, the Pinot Noir grape likes to struggle for its existence, and produces better wine if that struggle is monumental. To prove the point of excellence, Lett made a a 1981 Pinot Noir reserve, which will be available in limited quantities for about $25. After tasting this dark, deep young wine, it was decided that the Pinot Noir reserve would take 10 years of aging to reach its peak. Lett promises it will be worth the wait. The wine, still out of balance in its youth, Dawn goddess 13 Erase 14 Author of "The Vicar of Wakefield" 15 Peachy 16 Fired 19 Dull burg: colloq. 30 Colander 31 Pageantry: abbr. 32 Rural sights 33 Tributaries 35 Made kebabs 38 Starred in "42nd Street": 2 wds. 40 Blithe 42 Dear me! 43 Milk wheys 44 Boxtops 45 Not shared 46 Parents: colloq. 47 "Porgy and Bess" r: 2 wds. 51 lily 52 Thatcher and - Mitterand 54 Kitchen gadget By William THE SOFTNESS of the 1977 vintage will be matched by other Eyrie Pinot Noir vintages, because that is one of Letts goals in wine making. Like the comparable Burgundies, Oregon Pinot Noir can be consumed over a wide span of yeacs with pure satisfaction. Wine experts like Waugh of London and The Spectator magazine concede in print that these Oregon Pinot Noirs are as good as those of Burgundy. If you fail to acquire the 1979 vintage, Letts new vintage, the 1982, arrives momentarily at the Trolley store. Au-ber- PINOT GRIS, now planned for 50 percent of Letts production, is popularized by his own faith in this little known varietal. Eyrie vineyards just planted another 10 acres of cases, is, again, typically French in style. This Chardonnay spends nine months in oak, then is bottle aged before release. Interestingly, the cold fermentation process in Letts Oregon winery is totally natural. First, the 55 degree tem- perature which are normal at harvest time mean no special equipment. Lett crushes a full six weeks later that the California wine makers. Second, the October crush gives the grapes more time on the vine to gather flavor. This flavor retention is the secret to Letts fruity wines. 5,000 Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot cases per year Noir only 5,000 grows in vinepremium wine yards tended personally by Lett and a few loyal employees. Lett and his wife, Diane, have a pact; he stays out of her kitchen, she stays out of his vineyards. Pruning of the vines, la- beling of bottles and their corking are done by Billie Sutton and Irene assistants at the Sears, long-tim- e winery. This is the handwork of a wine making operation. All this may sound glamorous, for the wine indus-trjlikto create an image of crystal glasses, candlelight and luxury, but Letts life involves tending vines, checking soil balance, planting new vines, checking and scraping vats, cleaning needed equipment and of course, making the wine. The luxury comes only in the drinking of the finished product, and that may take years of patient waiting if the real finesse of a wine is to be appreciated. Now, Lett has a wine coming on each year, so the anticipation is lessened. Lutwiniak 55 More aloof 56 Supports 57 Zip and area 58 Kings of Norway 59 up (tallies) 61 French poodle 62 Structural 65 Like the Catskills 66 Played Sergeant Bilko: 2 wds. 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 Pinot Gris. A white, dry wine with almost pungent qualities in some vintages, it is a perfect food wine. Serve Pinot Gris with strongly flavored or sauced fish, like Oregon salmon, with seafood dishes including lobster, with veal or pork, with smoked fowl, or with most strong cheese. The varietal Pinot Gris originated, according to various wine encyclopedias, in the Alsace, Baden, Italy and Hungary. The gris is a true member of the Pinot family, a grape color when ripe. with a grayish-ros- e The word Pinot on a label is assurance of quality in varietals, whether it be Noir or Gris or Chardonnay. When Lett planted Pinot Gris in Oregon, it was with full understanding that the grapes of this Pinot family thrive in that moist climate. Having compared the 1982 and the 1983 Pinot Gris, there is a true and distinctive difference in these vintages. Varietal character is, however, retained in both. Since all Eyrie wines are 100 percent varietals, that is, there is no blending with other grape varieties, the differences in vintages are in pure terms, form climactic conditions and other uncontrollable variables. The 1982 Pinot Gris is strong, smokey and wonderful, a full wine great for food. The 1983 Pinot Gris shows more elegance, is softer now than the year older counterpart. Neither wine has seen oak'. The 1982 vintage is not a wine for sipping; the 1983 certainly is. The 1982 is now sold out in Utah, the 1983 is on its way to the shelves. EYRIE CHARDONNAY, about 25 percent of Letts total production of Equi- - - "Well Seed covering Grid shutout Footfall Fiasco "Cactus Flower star: 2 wds. 78 Suffers pain 79 Mediterranean wind 82 "Casablanca" 83 Hole in one 84 Fragrant wood 85 Lawsuit expenses 86 Treeless expanse 89 Silk fabric, of yore 91 Slow, in music 92 Separation 94 Unassisted 95 Role for Edward Arnold: 3 wds. 98 Mafia units 99 Ruhr city 100 Mrs. Chaplin Eve 101 102 Ampersands 103 City on the Orne 104 Adolescent Mabel" 105 "Since - TREASURE TROVE j