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.
Rosé For Winter? Groundbreaking.
Forget what you heard about Rosé, delightful in the Summer sure, but have you ever had a Rosé tailored to brighten your spirits during the Winter?
Most people when thinking of Rosé think of the beautiful of shades of pink this wonderful wine comes in, they think of it chilled to perfection and drank in the summer sun. Yes, when bodies of water call out to you, many exercise the “Rosé all day” state of mind. At Rizzo, we did something a little different. We made a Rosé that will invoke that same mindset, with no sunshine involved at all.
Meet the 2019 Pinot Noir Rosé. Made from the dry-farmed Pinot Noir vines that live on our Estate, this Rosé is both fresh and complex. The hue of this wine may be a bit darker than you’re used to, but it’s always in season to dabble with the dark side.
This wine has flavors of black pepper and watermelon, with whispers of strawberry Jell-O on the nose. This wine is bordering Beaujolais-style or a bottle of red wine with the ability to drink well chilled, but it’s that zing of acidity that reminds us that this is indeed a Rosé. Rizzo’s Rosé is perfect for those in-between Winter days, where it’s sunny but blisteringly cold, and pairs perfectly with a crackling fire.
Rizzo's Spotlight: 2011 Estate Pinot Noir
The 2011 Vintage in the Willamette Valley is a Cinderella story of patience, determination, and trust. A beautiful explanation of why some wines need a little extra time (in this case a decade) to show us what they’re truly meant to be.
If you read our last blog post, you’d understand a little better why we love cellaring and aging our wine for you, releasing the wines for sale when we feel they’re truly ready. We cellar our wines with patience and love, so you can skip straight to the fun part, drinking it! There is a unique flavor experience we are able to achieve with this extra time that goes a long way, this is especially the case with our 2011 Estate Pinot Noir.
A candid photo of our 2011 Estate Pinot Noir in the wild
A Cold Vintage Gave Way To Uncertainty
The harvest of 2011 was exceptionally cool in comparison to the years surrounding it. This gave the fruit much more acid development than our palates were used to for Oregon Pinot Noir, resulting in what many classified as a “lean” year. You could find 2011’s dumped, put on sale, and forgotten about. Written off as something unnoteworthy. Something that makes wine age-worthy is a harmony between the acid, fruit, and tannin. Without that harmony, it weighs the scale too far in one direction and won’t create something profound over time. Though many felt like the 2011 vintage was exactly that, the acid outweighing all and tipping the scale in a wholly wrong direction for the typical high-quality wines we were seeing come out of the Willamette Valley, something only a few producers gave in to was trust.
We trusted the fruit that wanted to shine underneath all of the powerful acidity. Those brilliant flavors were there but were currently being overshadowed. Knowing that we made a high-quality wine from the get-go, we wanted to give the 2011 Estate Pinot Noir a fighting chance to show us what it was all about. This meant laying it down to rest for almost a decade.
All of Oregon’s beauty in one photograph, nature in the scenery and Oregon’s bounty in the bottle.
A Decade Of Time Gave Us Decadence
They say patience is a virtue, and when it comes to our 2011 Estate Pinot Noir, they are definitely right. All that time spent in the bottle did not go to waste. Throughout the years the acidity began to settle down and take backstage, while new flavors were being thrust into the spotlight. With an initial aroma of caramelized sugar, like the top of a freshly roasted crème brûlée the warmth that’s developed envelops you. The acid still shows in aromas of ripe cherry. Flavors of raspberries, clove, and rose petals delight the palate. With silky tannins and a delicate acidity on the finish. The depth of flavor in this wine feel like a tale as old as time.
Print this image out and impress your friends with your vintage knowledge as you sip our beautiful wine.
Rizzo's Wine Cellar
With age, comes beauty. This is something we firmly believe in at Rizzo Winery. We have a deep understanding of our wines, which is why we wait to sell them until they are at their absolute best, often after many years of laying in our cellar.
At Rizzo Winery, we handcraft every bottle of wine with the utmost care. Many of our current vintages, don’t seem so current, since they’re often over 5 years old. Many of you must wonder, why age them for so long?
A little wine library, full of books and wines of age & potential
Of course, there are many opinions and advice on how long wines can age, but we have a deep understanding of our wines (we did make them, after all). What we have found, is that the main factor for a wine’s ability to age is the harmony between the different flavor components right off the bat. If there’s a good tannic structure, high acidity, and budding flavors when they’re young, then leaving the wine to age in the bottle allows for the marriage of these components. Over time the tannins will soften and the high acidity will mellow but will still allow the wine to taste fresh and filled with youth when you pull out the cork many years later. One of the main reasons we allow our wines to age is their flavors mature, gaining complexity and depth. Ripe and juicy fruit flavors can become earthy, opulent, and taste sweeter with time in the bottle.
The simple answer to why we age them before we offer them to you all is that we prefer them this way. We are experts in temptation and we think you deserve cellar wines without the hassle of aging them yourself.
Rizzo's Spotlight: Cabernet Sauvignon!
Rizzo Winery is based in the Eola-Amity Hills, a sub-region of the famed Pinot Noir King: Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Though Pinot Noir is king, winemaker David Rizzo has an affinity for bolder red wines, specifically Cabernet Sauvignon. This grape is what made David want to start creating wine, and in turn, Rizzo Winery was born.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the wine that sparked joy in David Rizzo’s heart, and gave him the “wine bug". That spark is one that many wine lovers know and understand well, as it happens to all of us. David was visiting California in the early 90’s and wine tasting with some friends. Back then, the wine industry was a bit smaller on the West Coast, the fire burning passion and love of wine that exists strong at Rizzo Winery, was alive and well in every single tasting room. As David tasted a beautiful, lush, Cabernet, the one pouring for him was telling him all about what went into the liquid that filled the glass in his hand. As David asked questions about the winemaking practices that went into the wine, a lightbulb went off in his head saying “I can do that” and so it began.
Cabernet Sauvignon, a tale as old as time.
Tasting wine with a spread of the tasting characteristics typical of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cabernet Sauvignon typically has characteristics (that you’ll see on the board above) of red or black cherries, blackberries, fig, red plums, ripe strawberries, bell pepper, mint, and cedar. Holding the wine above a white tablecloth will help you see the color of the wine, at it’s best.
Celebrate The Seasonal Change
Soak up the last little bit of Summer with our Summer Bruschetta. This delicious treat is a wonderful pairing to our Muscat Canelli. We’ve also included some tasting notes, so you can bring this combo to a picnic and impress all your friends with your wine knowledge and expertise!
It’s still quite warm in Oregon, so we’re holding on to every last drop of summer we can. This recipe for Summer Bruschetta helps us deny that summer is coming to an end. Whip up a batch of our Summer Bruschetta, chill a bottle of our Muscat Canelli, and soak up some September sunshine!
Yum! We love enjoying fresh, local produce.
Print these out, or read ahead of time to impress your friends with all your flavor profile knowledge!
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!