THE 12 WINES OF CHRISTMAS, 2012 Alloro Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

A fun way to introduce you some of our favorite wines in the store that we believe would make great gifts!

The "villa" at Alloro Vineyards was designed to reflect owner David Nemarnik's Italian heritage.

Our second wine of Christmas was destined to be on our shelves even before we tasted it...

The first time I heard the name Alloro Vineyards I was on a plane to Portland for our first trip to Oregon in 2012.  Anytime you are headed to wine country, anywhere in the world, people have opinions on where you "must go".  As this guy spouted off about Alloro to his friend, I didn't pay much attention to him, but I did file the name in the back of my brain for future reference.

 As you drive down Highway 99 from Portland into the Willamette Valley, the first AVA you hit is Chehalem Mountain with the town of Sherwood marking the entrance to wine country.  Blue and white signs along the road announce which wineries are where and your heart starts to beat a bit faster just thinking about all of the delicious wine that awaits you.  And as we came through Sherwood on that initial drive down through the valley, one of the very first blue signs I see is for Alloro Vineyards.  Including the location of the winery into that file in the back of my brain, we drove on through Newberg, then Dundee and Lafayette, stopping finally in Carlton to check into our apartment.

That evening at dinner James Moises is talking about other wineries that have approached him about distributing their wines in New Orleans.  Again the name Alloro comes up and I realize that after the third mention in a day, I need to pay attention.  So James ends up visiting the winery the day we leave the valley and is incredibly impressed with the place, the wines and the people.  

Yes, he picked up the wines and it was love at first sip for all of us.  Fast-forward to 3 years later and the wine is still one of our favorites with the 2012 holding a spot on our shelves as well as our wine list.  And I can honestly tell you that anyone who tries it at the bar, more often than not, walks out with a bottle!

The 2010 was the first vintage we tasted - we knew then how special it was!

2012 Alloro Pinot Noir - A terroir driven wine displaying ripe black cherries, candied cherries, and rose petal, with  subtle hints of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.  This is a fuller bodied wine that reflects the vintage with lively acidity, and very broad and fine texture that lingers nicely from the palate.  1,600 Cases Produced.

This under $40 gem would be a great bottle to introduce your California Pinot Noir drinker to an Oregon wine.  2012 was a warmer vintage making this wine a bolder style than what is typical of the winery and the region.   And if you'd like to try it first just grab a glass of it on your next visit, I can almost bet you'll leave with a bottle or two...

Carol & Maya enjoying a glass of wine on the patio at Alloro during Swirl's Artisan Oregon Wine Tour, October 2013