To echo the winemaker and some of the other comments, as someone who lives in the portland area, the climate differences in that area can be extreme. We ski Mt Hood (which Hood River is just down the mtn from, with some pinot vineyards scattered throughout the other fruit orchards) from oct/nov thru june. We can spend much of that time hiking another 30-60 mins east down the gorge in our shorts.
I got the last offering but can offer no comments as I haven’t had any yet, nor anything else from these guys. I LOVE columbia valley syrah though, and am still a big fan of the '08 pinots…and I would say that the hood slope area is not that different from the WV, certainly not like walla walla, even though I’m saving most of them for a few more years.
Entertaining is good, but informative might have been better. The right information at the right time, and I might have pushed the button before the SWMBO_IWBM.
wow, at least he made it OVER the snow bank, gotta give him credit for that. I am snowed in myself… and I did NOT make it over the snow bank.
does anyone have any more detail on tasting notes from the last offering? I breezed thru the postings from last time but would like to know other’s experiences… any help???
I imagine that greater fluctuations in climate also translate to greater fluctuations in quality from region to region. I have seen generalized reports that 2008 was a good year for Oregon wines - e.g. this one that reads “The fourth category is the great vintages, for the 2000′s it looks like 2008 was the year.” and “The wines should be balanced and have exceptional flavor. They will also age well.” But he’s especially focusing on Willamette Valley PNs - did Hood River follow suit?
We have something of an analogous situation here in NY, in the upstate Finger Lakes region. Storms can blow in and affect some vineyards but not others. In some years, a series of storms late in the growing season wreaked havoc on the harvests.
I purchased the last offering in March of this year. My first experience with this wine has made this an instant buy. Been waiting for a while to see them pop back up. The 2007 cab and pn in the last offering was excellent (I didn’t have any turpentine tasting issues, but I do remember letting it decant for a while) so looking forward to the 2008.
I bought the offer in March - it is not one of my favorite woot purchases. I haven’t had it in months so i can’t tell you why - it may have been just too young and needed time. I love PN’s and did not enjoy that one.
It came with a flyer that encouraged the decanting of the wines in a pronounced way that led me to believe (correctly or not) that the wines were not ready.
I may go try a bottle of the CS tonight and decide from there. I remember being quite interested in the wine prior to it arriving and then having a bit of a letdown after i had opened the wine.
I will try again as the winery folks made a good case for their wines.
Ahhh, so much more gentle today 
BTW (also to Duke) don’t worry, i believe the turpentine was in ref to the PN, not the Cab, and before decanting, and this Pinot Noir is a different one! There were some good reviews Hope somebody’s tried it…
It’s definitely a cooler climate area than Cali so even with variation in climate across the valleys within 20 or 50 miles the wines are all likely to be more restrained, and so perhaps need longer before coming into their own for drinking!
Temporary Highjack…I spent a week this fall fishing in the Astoria Columbia River(salmon)and Pacific (tuna) areas. Home base was near Portland where my son was working on a project. Got down to Willamette Valley Lange and Ann Amie, but ran out of time to do Tori Mor, then over to the gorge and Bonneville Dam area. Traveled up to Mt St Helens in WS. Ate…err drank at two microbreweries in Astoria - Rogue - an old tuna cannery (great beer and food) and Fort George (great deep fried tuna). The climates, terrior, and scenery are outstanding and very different in that part of Oregon, all within a 1 -2 hr drive. Didn’t get to the Mt Hood area or Cathedral Ridge, but I understand their climate changes. My son would like to move there and I wouldn’t mind retiring there.
I like the little poem that’s written about this, but it talks about grabbing the Pinot Noir from the fridge… you aren’t really supposed to refrigerate the Pinot Noir, are you?
“And then I went upstairs and opened up the cabinet beside the fridge”
Seems like a love - hate relationship today. Hope the winery and people familiar with their wines chime in.
As a brandnew - and very unsophisticated - wooter, I would appreciate more comments from those who have ACTUALLY CONSUMED these wines.
So would we all, but all of these wines are being offered for the first time on Woot. There were a couple of Cabs of different vintages, a different Pinot Noir, and no Syrah.
Obviously, if anyone has had any of these, we’d love to hear.
… and please don’t assume that any of us are actually sophisticated!
I happen to use sophistry all the time.
Good Morning from Cathedral Ridge.
My name is Brianna and I work for the winery.
I wanted to touch base and thank everyone for their discussions.
To answer a few of the questions I have seen today, all of our wine is ready to drink now, however any time given to our wines will be awarded.
As far as alcohol percentages go, our 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon is holding at 14.2%; our 2008 Syrah has an alcohol content of 14.5% and our 2008 Bangsund Pinot Noir is at 13.8%.
Any other questions and comments are always appreciated. We love hearing from the consumers!
crikey, yesterday’s comments section was exciting reading. bind that one into the ww coffee table book for sure.
Are the vineyards for the Cab and Syrah in the Columbia Valley AVA near the Dalles, like the previous offer?
Thanks Brianna… as Hunter mentioned in the voicemail, these tend to have more acidity than most wines… do you have those numbers handy?