the Rizzo winery NOTEBOOK
At Rizzo, we want to help our valued customers learn about how many hands this bottle went through before reaching their glass - or why wine has been the chosen beverage for thousands of years throughout history. We wanted to share the tools that enable our wine lovers to feel confident about discussing the bottle of Rizzo they are drinking with friends.
We created the Notebook to help get you there and to pass on our wealth of knowledge to you.
Our Tasting Room Is Open!
Our Tasting Room is finally open and we are so excited to host you. We have snacks galore, as well as flights or glass pours to whatever fits your fancy! Come enjoy the view, meet Mali and bask in good company.
Finally, it seems, the day has come and Rizzo Winery’s gates have opened, the wines have been flowing and you can taste them while breathing in the fresh air of our wonderful country view.
Currently, we are open Saturday and Sundays from 11 AM to 4 PM. Since there is limited seating, due to the current pandemic restrictions and our smaller space, reservations are highly encouraged. We have both indoor and outdoor space, since our indoor space is severely limited, and our outdoor space is uncovered, the reservations are subject to cancellation due to inclement weather.
Our menu has two different flights available to choose from. Our Winemaster Flight is a mix of white wine, rosé, and red wines, whereas our Bold & Beautiful flight is all red wines. If you’d prefer to sip on one wine the whole time, we have glass pour options as well. To snack on while you bask in your wonderful company, we have a marketplace where you’ll find essential charcuterie items à la carte for your custom picnic needs.
Meet Mali, the woman behind the inner workings of our beloved Tasting Room! With her WSET* Level 3 Award in Wines, she has tons of knowledge she’d love to share as you taste through the beautiful wines of Rizzo’s Wine Cellar. From studying in Italy, to pouring you wine and all her personal projects, Mali has been in the wine industry for a few years now. The only thing she loves more than wine is her sweet dog Moose.
*WSET stands for Wine & Spirit Educational Trust and is an international school for wine and spirit professionals.
We Reflect On 2020
At Rizzo Winery we reflect on this past year. Struck with hardship, we gained determination and decided we needed to better connect with you all. We are so grateful to those who enjoy our wines, and we are so excited for what lies ahead.
This year has been incredibly difficult for many, with many lives lost due to the coronavirus pandemic, wonderful restaurants and bars permanently shutting their doors after feeding hungry mouths for decades, and the wine industry shifting to new heights in an attempt to survive. At Rizzo Winery, we try to be thankful whenever we can and remember that there is always a rainbow at the end of a storm.
The Rainbow of 2021 here to save our sanity.
This year was a year of big changes for our little winery. We revamped our website and got with the times, getting an easier to navigate online shop just in time for that to be the only way to purchase our wines when the world shut its doors. We decided that you all needed to see the beauty that we are fortunately graced with every day at our estate, even when you couldn’t visit, and made an Instagram account to post these photos to. We started sending you all emails, some educational, some showcasing specific wines, and some all about the deals & discounts. Overall, this year we decided to take flight and connect with you all as best we could.
A very literal representation of us about to take flight.
We wanted to be there for you this year because the world turned upside down and we realized we all needed more from each other. Restructuring our wine club allowed us to give back to those who are there for us as our biggest fans. We gave our members more benefits, more complimentary wine tastings, and access to fun events when the fun can be had again. We reflected on where we had been lacking and decided to fully dedicate ourselves to improve. We invested in our tasting room and made it into a beautiful space where you’d want to spend the cold afternoon inside, or the warm afternoon outside, either way admiring our beautiful views when the world sees a bit of normality again. We believe in hospitality, and soon we will be able to host you all with open arms, glasses of wine, and charcuterie galore.
Our Wine Club Shipments ready for pick-up with their cute new sticker name tags and logo’d sides.
Overall, we’d like to say thank you. Thank you for making it through this year with us, we toast to you, as you are what allows us to keep making our delicious wines that are meant to be shared.
Until we can share again, cheers!
Team Rizzo
Rizzo Winery's 2008 Pinot Noir
One of the most picture-perfect vintages the Willamette Valley has ever seen. A vintage that created a wine that was rushed into wine cellars by buyers, leaving it sold out to anyone late to the game. Luckily for all of you, we are sharing our cellar with you, so you can have a luxurious tasting experience with the 2008 vintage.
The 2008 vintage was a knockout for the Willamette Valley. It had everything vintners love, naturally lower yields, a bit of rain towards harvest that didn’t dilute the grapes but hydrated them instead, and a range of temperatures that allow for interesting acidity and flavors to develop all summer long. A vintage that swept the valley and sold out to be stored in wine cellars all over the world. Luckily for you all, we love sharing and have brought this bottled beauty out of our cellar for you to enjoy the luxury of drinking perfectly aged Pinot Noir.
A stunning appearance of our 2008 Pinot Noir.
The luxury of a well aged Pinot Noir, tasting incredible right from the cellar.
An outstanding vintage, a pretty much sold out everywhere vintage, that we have for you!
Rizzo Winery's 2011 Pinot Noir Rosé
Learn all about our bone dry, delicious, tangerine forward Rosé made with the finest Pinot Noir grapes from Oregon's famous winemaking region the Willamette Valley.
The world has come a long way from the days of White Zinfandel in the 1980’s, since then we’ve seen a resurgence of Rosé wines. Now, it seems, there is a Rosé for every occasion, with every flavor profile, and in every pink hue imaginable. Yes, normally Rosé is from the newest vintage filled with youth and optimism, but 2011 was an interesting vintage here in the Willamette Valley. We found that with all of the greatest things in life there is patience that lies beneath the surface. Pinot Noir across the valley are tasting the best they’ve ever been from 2011 and even the Rosé’s needed this time to develop what would become delicious signature flavors.
A soft salmon hue of beauty in our 2011 Pinot Noir Rosé.
A printable tasting note to read as you sip and swirl your beautiful rosé.
Learn all about weather from the 2011 vintage and the journey of the grape to make the wine!
Rizzo Winery's 2006 Pinot Noir
Dive into the world of well-aged Pinot Noir with us as we share some knowledge on aging wines, our 2006 Pinot Noir flavor profile, and the 2006 vintage here in the Eola-Amity Hills.
There is a common misconception about aging Pinot Noir that exists in society, and we’re here to tell you that the age limits that exist are guidelines, not hard fast rules. Aging wine, in any sense is fully dependent on the quality of the wine you’re trying to age. Our wines are of incredible quality, we have cellared these wines because we believed in them, and now we’re drinking the benefits of that. This 2006 Pinot Noir is a delicious and true testament to this belief. Buy a bottle or two, grab a glass and enjoy the luxury of aged Pinot Noir.
Our 2006 Pinot Noir, just as beautiful as ever
Printable tasting note for the 2006 Pinot Noir, read as you sip!
Vintage notes for 2006, a little insight in the grapes journey from bud burst to the bottle you’re drinking from!