Explore Oregon Wines: Wineries | Varietals | AVAs | Cellar 503 Selections
Sis & Mae Wine Co. 2017 Gentil d’Oregon
She flies with her own wings
As I travel Oregon, it’s always surprising how many different paths there are to the vino life. I’ve met winemakers who came to winemaking as chefs, scientists, journalists, sales professionals, engineers, and more.
Scott Wadlow combines two of those back stories. He’s a software engineer who spent all his free time blogging about wine and his adventures in wine tasting. The now-defunct blog, The Vino File, became so popular he soon became what we recognize today as an “influencer”. Of course, as an engineer, he dug deep on teaching himself the wine biz – working as a buyer for restaurants and in a winery during harvest.
And then, family. When he and his partner had a child, they wanted to return home to Oregon, closer to the family and land they loved.
Scott’s grandmother and her sister-in-law, Sis and Mae, were a pair of cantankerous Oregon feminists in a time and place when that wasn’t very well accepted. They truly exemplified Oregon’s state motto – She flies with her own wings – and Scott honors them and celebrates their heritage through Sis & Mae Wine Company.
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Sis & Mae Wine Co., St. Paul, Oregon
2017 Gentil d’Oregon
In the northeast corner of France, along the Rhine river border with Germany, the wine region of Alsace is known for its boldly aromatic white wines. We love the crisp and dry Reislings and Gewürztraminers of Alsace.
Like many regions, Alsace has its own particular blending styles. The Gentil d’Alsace is a blend that requires at least 50% Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris, or Muscat, with lesser amounts of Chasselas, Pinot Blanc and Sylvaner.
At the Wirtz Vineyard, Scott discovered a mix of Alsatian grapes planted together. The result? A field blend that is 60% Pinot Gris, 25% Gewürztraminer, 10% Sylvaner, and a hint of Riesling and Muscat.
The result is a wonderfully aromatic white wine with bracing acidity reminiscent of Alsace. This is an interesting wine – some days you’ll get green apples, some days you’ll get lychee fruit. But underlying it all is a thread of minerality and a light texture that hold the wine together.
A Cellar 503 selection in July 2019, Summer Party Wines Willamette Valley | Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling
