About this winery

Sokol Blosser is one of the pioneering estates of the Oregon state wine industry. In 1971 when Bill Blosser and Susan Sokol Blosser began converting an old prune orchard into a vineyard they became one of five bonded wineries in the region. In the ensuing decades Oregon’s wine industry has grown (today there are over 500 wineries), changed and blossomed with Sokol Blosser at the forefront. Leading by example in their quest to produce exceptional wines while also promoting social and...

See the SOKOL BLOSSER detail page for more information on this brand

Product notes

In our 45th growing year at Sokol Blosser was very special: their earliest bloom on record. You can just about set your clock from the time of bloom to the first day of harvest…100 days. Grapes were harvested in August as it was not a especially dry year and typical heavy rainfall hit in the winter of 2015 and 2016. The winery was very happy with the fruit knowing it is a vintage of excellent quality.

Production notes

The grapes were carefully hand harvested at 22°Brix on a cool morning the last day of August. They were then sorted by hand on the crush pad to remove any flawed bunches and 100% destemmed directly into several 3-ton stainless steel fermenters. 20% of the ferments were inoculated with Sokol Blosser's native yeast. The remaining portion was inoculated with a slow and cool fermenting yeast. Cap management was done via gentile punch downs up to 2 times per day. The wine from this block was drained and pressed off the skins immediately following primary fermentation with 13-15 days of skin contact time.This wine was aged in 100% French oak barrels for 17 months with minimal SO2 levels. There were 10 barrels hand selected for this final 2016 Orchard blend. 30% of the blend consists of wine aged new oak barrels. 50% of the blend includes wine sourced from a young section of this block just starting to come into its own.

Tasting notes

Aromas of fresh blueberries and cherries. The tannins are delicate with strong flavors of black cherry and red currant. Hints of plum and cedar linger on the finish.