News Briefs for March 2009
OCSW Launches
Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine (OCSW), an education program showcasing the Oregon Wine industry’s commitment to responsible, sustainable vineyard and winery practices, announced Feb. 10 that six Oregon wineries—Adelsheim Vineyard, Bethel Heights Vineyard, Panther Creek Cellars, Ponzi Vineyards, WillaKenzie Estate and Willamette Valley Vineyards—have OCSW-certified wines in their portfolios, translating to 210,241 bottles of Oregon wine. Six additional wineries have started the certification process: Amity Vineyards, Anne Amie Vineyards, Sokol Blosser Winery, Soter Vineyards, Stoller Vineyards and Wooldridge Creek Vineyard.
OCSW focuses on the shared principles of Low Input Viticulture and Enology (LIVE), Food Alliance, the National Organic Program and its certifying agencies and Demeter Biodynamic®. This unifying platform and certification logo aims to help consumers easily identify and purchase sustainable wines.
The OCSW logo on a bottle label guarantees that consumers are drinking wine crafted using responsible agriculture and winemaking practices; and that both of those processes were certified by an independent third-party, according to Ted Farthing, executive director of the Oregon Wine Board.
“The goal is to raise awareness and provide clarity and simplicity so that consumers interested in purchasing can easily and immediately identify these wines,” Farthing said.
The Oregon Wine Board will launch a comprehensive consumer and media awareness campaign when OCSW-labeled bottles are available nationwide and will provide participating wineries with trade materials to help communicate the program to distributors, retailers and on-premise personnel. A new, interactive website featuring OCSW wines and videos showcasing personal stories will launch in late March at www.ocsw.org .
Mac AVA Organizes
Welcome the McMinnville Winegrowers’ Association, the latest in a number of AVAs to form their own advocacy group.
It is comprised of six wineries and eight vineyards that are located within the McMinnville AVA, a winegrowing region that has become a distinct tourist destination.
The McMinnville AVA lies due west of the town of McMinnville, in the Coast Range Foothills of Yamhill County. This AVA is the most westerly of all Oregon AVAs and is geologically and climatically very different from any other in the Willamette Valley.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to show the unique aspects of our AVA to the public and to bring together such a diverse and dynamic group of wine professionals,” said Scott Neal, president of the new association. “The McMinnville AVA is primed to arouse the interest of the most distinguished Pinot palates.”
Look for future events, including “Discover the McMinnville AVA: A Passport to Our Wineries and Vineyards” on July 18 to celebrate the Oregon 150.
Wineries include: Brittan Vineyard, Coeur de Terre Vineyard, Coleman Vineyard, Maysara Winery, Stony Mountain Vineyard, Youngberg Hill Vineyard and Yamhill Valley Vineyards.
Vineyards include: Bass Hill Vineyard, Bellevue Cross Vineyard, Fox Ridge Vineyard, Four Winds Vineyard, J Wrigley Vineyards, Hyland Vineyards, Meredith Mitchell Vineyards, Momtazi Vineyard and Sunny Ridge Vineyard.
For more information about the new association, please visit www.McMinnvilleAVA.org .
Get Ready for Flight!
Spruce up and head out to this year’s McMinnville Wine & Food Class, Sip, at Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, March 13–15. Among the rockets and soaring satellites, taste the latest vintages from some of Oregon’s best wineries.
Celebrating 16 years, Sip aims to please again with handcrafted cuisine, Northwest chef demonstrations, unique art, live music and wine tasting classes.
