Antica Terra, one of Oregon’s most innovative wineries guided by the aesthetically oriented Maggie Harrison (formerly of Sine Qua Non and recently featured and dubbed “one to watch” by Food & Wine), has just announced an unprecedented addition to its already extraordinary tasting experiences.
From Facebook.
Having always offered a comprehensive tasting experience featuring Antica Terra’s current releases as well as a rotating selection of inspirational bottlings from around the world, the Collective Tastings at Antica Terra now all begin with Royal White Sturgeon Osetra and Champagne followed by house-made hen liver and foie gras terrine, a selection of farmhouse cheeses curated by Steve Jones of Portland’s Cheese Bar, jams by Ayer’s Creek Farm and Alma chocolates.
All tastings at Antica Terra offer a superlative journey through the senses including a selection of rare and inspiring wines from all over the world thoughtfully compiled and sourced by Winemaker Maggie Harrison. A total of nine wines are poured at each. The Collective Tastings are approximately 90 minutes and $75 per guest. Reservations are required at least one hour in advance and can be made by calling (503) 244-1748 or via www.anticaterra.com. The winery is located at 979 SW Alder Street in Dundee.
All dietary restrictions, ranging from kosher to vegan, are gracefully honored and catered to on request. “Our entire purpose with in the new Antica Terra Hospitality Department is to make each and every guest feel seen and heard,” says Harrison. “It is about meeting people where they are. If that means providing bites that are congruent with dietary restrictions, then that is what we do. There is no formula or recipe. It is all about being present and willing, as we at Antica Terra all are.”
About Maggie Harrison and Antica Terra
Antica Terra co-owner and winemaker Maggie Harrison arrived in 2005 from Ventura County where she had spent the previous eight years making Syrah at the iconic Sine Qua Non winery. Maggie’s approach to winemaking is informed by the notion that beauty is conveyed in the accumulation of minute human actions. She sets aside reductive thinking that often associates the quality of a wine with simple quantities (such as pH, alcohol and SO2) and formulaic actions, believing the quality will instead be determined by her combined interaction with fruit and vine. In the Antica Terra winemaking process, clusters and individual berries are meticulously sorted by hand. The wines are fermented naturally, manually punched down and tread by foot, siphoned and bucketed into barrel, never settled or racked and aged on the lees before being bottled without fining or filtration.
During the first two editions of Wine Without Walls former Chairperson Alice Feiring devised criteria for judging to include the descriptors: ‘liveliness’, ‘evolution’, ‘balance’, ‘drinkability’, ‘savoriness’, ‘sense of place’, ‘emotional impact’, and ‘transparency’. Based off these editions, Monty Waldin decided to use and adapt six of the descriptors, changing ‘emotional impact’ with ‘individuality’ and ‘transparency’ with ‘clarity.’
Winesong is thrilled and honored to feature two staunch supporters of its annual event. Dan Duckhorn has been supporting Winesong for over two decades in both the Grand Tasting and Live & Silent Auctions with his brands Duckhorn, Goldeneye, Migration, Paraduxx and Decoy. Tom Rodrigues has also supported Winesong for decades with his art and his wines, and this year as he celebrates 50 years as a glass artist, he was the clear choice as Artist of the Year. Both Dan and Tom have generously given of their time and talent over the years, and each has a storied career.
The first bottle is a white wine from 2004. He makes only two wines, one red, one white. The white, 100% Chenin. Six years in barrel before bottling, then, in the case of this wine, four more years before release. Robert asks about skin contact (Xavier speaks no English, I translate as best as I can). No skin contact. We discuss the press regime and fermentation for 30 minutes. In great detail. He uses an old champagne press with a capacity of about 500 liters– very small, and exactly the same capacity as our presses at Tenbrink. A typical day during the white harvest has the following rhythm: wake up, harvest as much fruit as the press will hold, bring it back to the winery (“where do you do the work?” I ask, pointing to the overgrown yard and the complete absence of what we would call a crush pad. “Where you can,” he says with a smile). Load the press. Begin pressing. Go past midnight. Adjust the pressure. Assess. If all seems good, go home. Sleep, wake, return to the winery, release the pressure, break up the grapes (“Whole cluster?” “Yes. We do not crush or destem anything”), re-apply pressure, go harvest fruit, return, unload the press, begin the cycle again. They work with about 3 vineyards typically but make 3-4 passes in each vineyard. There could be a dozen days of pressing; sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. They break up the cake of compressed grapes only once and gently. He wants as little friction and trituration as possible. There is no breaking up of the fruit on the way into the press or in the press as we do (“makes the fermentation too fast,” he explains. “Oh yes, how fast? What counts as a rapid fermentation for you?” “Three weeks.” Ah, that is rapid. What is the optimal time for you?” “A few months . . . . A year.” “Ah yes, we call those ‘French Fermentations.'” He smiles.)
Not one to turn down a bottle, err, I mean an opportunity to try a new bottle of wine, I readily agreed to the tasting. (If you want to try them they have a tasting room open to the public Thursday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6 p.m.: 3045 90th Street West, Rosamond, CA, 93560, 661-256-6203.)
But first we must start with some hand passed appetizers – marinated tuna and red potatoes – paired with a bright and cheery 2012 rosé that cooled off the guests as they entered and mingled in the private Salt Creek Grille patio.
