AN OREGON FIRST

"Another Rare Creature" is a slogan my colleague and friend Matthew Rorick, winemaker of Forelorn Hope Wines states on his wine bottles.  This phrase is apt for this little wine treasure as well.  Flora was one of the first wine grapes created specifically for California's cooler climate wine regions by the famous Horticulturist; Dr. Harold Olmo.  This grape was developed in 1938 at the Agricultural Experiment Station managed by the Universtity of California - Davis and released for commercial use in 1958.

Flora is a cross between Gewurztraminer and Sémillon.  It retains a bit of the "spice" of Gewuztraminer with the aromatics of Sémillon.  It has a very low acid profile and produces wines that are very soft on the palate with a smooth texture.  It was a grape that was mis-used for many years by industrial wine producers who valued its low acidity.

Our Flora is the first (and only?) vines of their kind to be planted in Oregon back in 1966.  One can only assume that Mr. Coury crossed paths with Dr. Olmo at UC-Davis while he was a student there in the early 1960's.  One can also assume that this plant material was collected from Dr. Olmo's original research vineyard at UC-Davis.

Our 2016 'OLMO' Flora is the first varietal release from the historic Charles Coury Vineyard (now: David Hill Vineyard).  It is also the first ever 100% Flora wine made in Oregon.  We hope you enjoy this unique piece of Oregon viticulture history.

WINE INFO

APPELLATION:                           Willamette Valley AVA
WINE TYPE:                                 White
VINTAGE:                                     2016
GRAPE:                                        100% Flora
ESTATE GROWN:                        No, purchased grapes
VINEYARD SOURCE:                  David Hill Vineyard
VINEYARD AGE:                         50 years old
DRY FARMED:                             Yes
OWN ROOTED:                           Yes
SOIL TYPE:                                  Laurelwood  (Loess)
ELEVATION:                                490 feet (149m)
HARVEST DATE:                         September 6th, 2016
HARVEST METHOD:                   Hand Harvested
BRIX AT HARVEST:                     22.1
SKIN CONTACT:                          None
CHAPTALIZATION:                     No
FERMENTATION:                        Ambient Yeast
MATURATION VESSEL:            228L DAMY & 2 x 15g SS tanks
ALCOHOL (by volume):            12.50%
SULFUR DIOXIDE (SO₂):           72m/L
ACIDITY SCALE (pH):                4.03 (yes, really)
TOTAL ACIDITY:                          5.4 g/L
FINING AGENT:                           Unfined (Vegan)
BOTTLE SIZE:                              750ml & 1.5L (Antique Green)
CLOSURE TYPE:                         FinecorkX & Beeswax
FILTRATION:                                Unfiltered
HAND BOTTLED:                        Yes
PRODUCTION:                            35 cases
BOTTLING DATE:                       April 22nd, 2017 & August 28th, 2017
RELEASE DATE:                         May 7th, 2017 (at the Real Wine Fair, London, UK)

This wine was bottled in  🇺🇸 made glass, with a cork from  🇮🇹 and a label that was designed and printed in the  🇺🇸 .
Please  ♻︎ this bottle when you are finished enjoying it.