Wines at the Southern Mediterranean Festival

by Maxine Borcherding, Lead Chef Instructor, Culinary Management Program

Wines produced by Oregon winemakers from varietals from southern Spain and the south of France were the focus of the Southern Mediterranean Festival at Cana’s Feast Winery on June 27.  OCI Culinary Management students attending the festival with me were Ken Benton, Hannah Coates, and Travis Bird, who helped with registration, lunch preparation and service, and assisting winemakers in the tasting tent.  The $15 dollar ticket included a choice of two lunches (a roasted vegetable sandwich on focaccia with manchego and romesco; or a plate of braised beef cheek croquetta, and a salt cod croquetta with romesco dipping sauce. Both entrees were accompanied by an orange, red onion, and black olive salad.)

Sixteen wineries sampled wines from Mediterranean varietals, and the Oregon Olive Mill sampled extra virgin olive oil from their olive grove in Dayton, Oregon, where they farm 11,000+ Arbequina, Arbosana and Koroneiki olive trees, spread over 15 acres. These particular varieties of olives are cold hearty to 10 degrees F, and are well suited to soils in the Willamette Valley. They grow as bushes rather than large trees, and are easier to harvest and maintain than their larger counterparts. I for one had no idea that olives could be grown commercially here in the valley. Olive trees are gorgeous, and I am looking forward to researching the possibility of growing olives in my garden!


In addition to old friends (such as the Abacela Albarino that we feature in the OCI restaurant, and the luscious Troon Vineyards Insomia Port) we tasted some delicious surprises. The outstanding new varietal was Counoise, produced as a single varietal by both Patrick Taylor at Cana’s Feast, and Andrew Rich of Andrew Rich Wines. Counoise is a grape that is used in southern Rhone blends, and is one of the 13 grapes permitted in Chateauneuf du Pape. It isn’t usually seen as a single varietal, but the counoise from both of these vintners were absolutely delicious -- light bodied, light color, great fruit, but not as confected as Gamay, and more peppery than the earthy quality of Pinot Noir. Andrew Rich describes it as “luscious and heady, with a peppery streak running through it, this is a bit like a floozy slurping on a cherry (in a good way). ” This is a great summer sipper!  But stock up now, Andrew Rich says that this is his last vintage of counoise as a single varietal, and Patrick will decide whether to bottle or blend this year’s counoise, depending on how it develops in the barrel.

Another wine I loved was the Coup d’Etat blend from Andrew Rich, a blend of Grenache (60%), Mourvèdre (25%), and Syrah (15%). Absolutely delicious now, and it will continue to improve.

All in all, a beautiful day in a beautiful setting, with good food and wonderful wines. It doesn’t get better than that.

Note:  Chef Borcherding recently completed the International Sommelier Guild's Diploma program and is a Certified Spanish Wine Educator.  She teaches 'Oenology and Viticulture' and 'Wine Regions of the World' at OCI.