VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
2020 will always be remembered as a year of epic challenges. For the grapes, a cold wet spring hindered fruit development during bloom and thus gave us the smallest crop since 1998. An exceptionally light crop level historically leads to exceptionally good quality. Loose clusters with big and small berries often leads to dark color and richer and more intense flavors. We began harvest on September 3rd and had a good week of bringing in most of our grapes for sparkling wine. Then, the winds changed and the fires started. For around seven days a thick fog of smoke hung over the Willamette Valley. During that time the sun was covered, all photosynthesis stopped and the grapes’ development stalled. The smoke event ended in an amazing fury of lightening, thunder, and 1” of rain on the night of September 17th. We then waited for the grapes’ development to progress, taking samples and doing micro-ferments to test for smoke effect. Proceeding slowly and carefully once full maturation had been achieved, we harvested the remainder of our Estate fruit feeling incredibly lucky and optimistic.

WINEMAKING
Our Bluebird Blanc de Noirs is a traditional method white sparkling wine made using only red grapes. The fruit was pressed quickly to avoid skin contact and color. The resulting wines was kept in tirage for 28 months to develop the flavors of the wine and produce small, delicate bubbles while the wine goes through its secondary fermentation. We balance the bright acidity of sparkling with a mid-brut level dosage of 12g/L. This is a limited edition wine.

WINE PROFILE
On the nose, the Bluebird Blanc de Noirs has notes of both lemon and lime zest with hints of apple pie filling. On the palate there is plenty of citrus zest with meyer lemon, sweet cherry, and apple pie.Wonderful acidity that gives hints of sweetness.

PAIRINGS
This wine will pairs amazingly with Thai food like Pad See Ew or Pad Thai, or creamy dishes like risotto with chantrelles, gouda cheese, or buttered popcorn.