Quick Sip: Westrey Willamette Valley 2012 Reserve Chardonnay
Today’s Quick Sip is the Westrey Reserve 2012 Chardonnay from Willamette Valley, Oregon. Amy Wesselman, proprietor and co-winemaker of Westrey Wine Company, was recently featured on Protocol Wine Studio’s weekly (every Tuesday at 9PM EST) #winestudio Twitter chat. The show, or ‘twittersation’ as I call it, focused on Willamette Valley Chardonnays for the entire month of November. And as a willing, Twitter-savvy participant, I had a chance to chat with Amy and others and taste her 2012 Reserve Chardonnay.
Amy and her husband, David Autrey, founded Westrey Wine Company in 1993. They are a small farm winery producing approximately 5K cases annually from their Oracle Vineyard and other nearby sites. Their specialty is Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay – all grape varieties indigenous to Burgundy, France, that do extremely well in the Willamette Valley. Speaking of which, it was the couple’s year-long internship in Burgundy that sealed their fate in the wine industry. Upon returning to Oregon, Amy and David took a one-small-step-at-a-time business approach. They purchased a neglected vineyard in the Dundee Hills and focused on growing and crafting small lots of wine – all while working at several other local wineries during the day. For Amy, this included a five year stint at Eyrie Vineyards -- Willamette Valley's founding winery. Today, Westrey Wine Company is a thriving winery and the vineyard Amy and David revived /replanted is LIVE (Low Input Viticulture & Enology) certified and producing quality fruit. The Chardonnay tasted for this segment is deliciously balanced and a complement to a wide variety of foods and occasions. I highly recommend giving it a swirl, sniff, and sip! For further information and where you can find it, please see my tasting notes below.
Westrey Willamette Valley 2012 Reserve Chardonnay |
Have a question about this post? Feel free to drop me an e-mail at myvinespot@yahoo.com or hit me up on Facebook or Twitter. Stay tuned ...more to come. Happy Sipping, my friends! Disclosure: This wine was provided for review. Thoughts are my own.