Teutonic Pear Blossom Riesling

Winemaker: Barnaby Tuttle

Appellation: Columbia Gorge, Oregon

Grape Varieties: Riesling

The Columbia Gorge AVA is getting more attention these days as a notable growing site, both on the Oregon and Washington side. Pear Blossom Vineyard is in Washington, located on Underwood Mountain with an elevation between 1200 and 1300 feet and is on a south facing slope. Pear Blossom vineyard is 18 acres total with 16 of them planted with vines and pear trees, thus the name, Pear Blossom Vineyard. It is dry farmed, which is our requirement when purchasing fruit. By not watering the vines, it forces the roots to grow deeper into the earth, pushing through various layers of soil strata and picking up more complex flavors which express themselves through the fruit giving the wines a better expression of place- terroir. Because Underwood Mountain is an extinct volcano, the soil is volcanic with the specific type called Chemawa shotty loam which are tiny-sized pellets mixed with loam that allow for excellent soil penetration and drainage. This wine is fermented with wild yeast collected from the vineyard by making a pied de cuvee yeast starter a couple weeks before the harvest. Then the active yeast from the vineyard is used to kick-start the fermentation. All our wines are fermented and aged in neutral oak barrels. Our process is minimal and fairly hands off. This Riesling nicely showcases our house style of an off-dry wine with ripping high acid, making it balanced and easy to drink and of course making it a perfect pairing with fatty, salty & spicy foods.

Winemaker Barnaby Tuttle is a native Portlander, a rarity these days. He was just 12 years old when he began to wash dishes at Papa Haydn Restaurant in Southeast Portland. After years at this benchmark institution and a few other jobs, Barnaby returned in 2003 to work as general manager and wine steward. During his tenure there, he developed an insatiable passion for wine and after meeting German wine importer Ewald Moseler, he became obsessed with esoteric cool-climate wines.

Drawing parallels to his native land, Barnaby and his wife Olga set out to produce lean/low alcohol wines that maintain their sense of place and varietal structure. The Tuttles found their hallowed ground in some of the most coveted vineyards in Oregon: including Medici, Maresh, David Hill, and John Albin's Laurel Vineyard (with an elevation of 1250ft, this is the highest vineyard site in the Willamette Valley). Their house style is represented by wines that are low in alcohol (typically 9% to 12% alcohol by volume), and high in acidity.

In early spring 2005, Barnaby and his wife, Olga, were presented with the opportunity to plant a small vineyard on a friend's property in Alsea, Oregon. Alsea is west of Oregon's coast range and only 22 miles from the Pacific Ocean. They took a gamble, planting Oregon's first coastal vineyard. The first years were quite challenging, as they learned some valuable lessons, but they remained true to their goal--to grow fruit in a cool climate. Their first crop in 2008 produced two barrels of Pinot Noir which became available in Oregon in November 2009. Barnaby worked as the assistant winemaker at Laurel Ridge Winery in Carlton, Oregon for two years before moving off on his own to form Teutonic Wine Company with Olga.