A couple weeks ago, I attended Pinot in the City in Manhattan, a gathering of top Oregon wineries where consumers were treated to fantastic wines from well-known producers and upcoming wineries.

The winery I was most impressed with was a new player in the New York market – Harper Voit.

Winemaker/Proprietor, Drew Voit, was in attendance and fascinated us with both his tales of his winery’s evolution and with the very fine juice he poured for us. Voit is a veteran of the Oregon wine industry with winemaker stints at Domaine Serene Winery and at Shea Wine Cellars.

Harper Voit’s motto is “Obsessively Crafted Willamette Valley Wines” and after two pours of Drew’s wines, I get it. Here are two wines we sampled:

2012 Harper Voit Strandline Pinot Noir – $35

Red with purple hues in the glass, the 2012 Strandline Pinot Noir offers ripe raspberry aromas with earthy notes. It took me a while to get my nose out of the glass to take a sip but when I did – wow.  Big mouthful of juicy dark fruit and stone fruit with apple pie spice and mocha-ish undertones. Long fruity finish.

2014 Harper Voit Maresh Vineyard Old Vine Riesling – $25

This outstanding, and I mean outstanding Riesling is made from vines planted back in the ‘70s in the legendary Maresh Vineyard. Expressive tropical fruit aromas that continue on the palate for a hint of sweetness followed by a perfect level of minerality and acidity. Thai food please!!

I’m very much looking forward to finding these small batch wines and trying others from previous vintages. I’m also looking forward to what Harper Voit has in store for us new fans.

Cheers,

Veronique