Liz Ratcliff's Page

Last year I had a self proclaimed wine snob in our Volcano Vineyards Tasting Lounge who snorted when I told him our 2004 Syrah was a “cool climate” Syrah. He dismissed me as “spinning” the marketing on our wine. He was obviously an idiot, as that wine won a double gold medal at the Wine Press Northwest Platinum Judging. His idea of Syrah was the big, fat, flabby high alcohol fruit-bomb wine typically coming out of Walla Walla, parts of California and Australia (where they call is Shiraz – yes,… Continue

Let’s debunk some myths right off the bat (and don’t you love that word “debunk” - like you are kicking someone out of your bed…)



Myth #1: Wine people are snotty.

I admit some wine people are snotty, although you will find that the snotty ones usually aren’t in the industry and they tend to get most of their wine education from reading The Wine Spectator. We had a gal visit our Tasting Lounge once who made fun of the fact that we referred to the winery as our… Continue

In our December newsletter, I hit a nerve – I have never gotten so many comments on a newsletter before, and there was one particular line that seemed to resonate with people, and in case you missed it, here it is:



Scott and I have been on the precipice of financial ruin for the last 3 three year. Welcome to our world.



We were flooded with folks dropping into the Tasting Lounge to commiserate. Those moments were the highlight of this holiday season.



But I… Continue

We harvested Fortmiller Vineyard last Thursday, the 30th, our latest harvest yet. The grapes, as expected, looked stellar.

For the Lakeside Vineyard Syrah grapes, Scott is trying something new this year – we harvested 7 tons, and fermented two of those tons whole cluster, meaning the stems were still attached. Because of the freeze, the stems were brown and dry, and should add a soft tannin overtone we haven’t had in our syrahs in the past.

Wineries are an extension of farming, and therefore are subject to the whims of Mother Nature. For the Willamette Valley and southern Oregon, harvest 2007 will be remembered for the rainstorms that rolled through, slowing end of season ripening and diluting the grapes. In 2008 we faced the cold – parts of the Rogue and Applegate Valleys were hit with hard freezes (temps in the 20s) this past weekend, mid-harvest for many. It was only supposed to hit the mid 30s. That Mother Nature, she’s a… Continue