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Airlie Winery 2018 Maréchal Foch
Live your best life in this life.
The story of Airlie is a story of three women, each of whom has a very similar tale about how they ended up in this beautiful little spot in the Willamette Valley.
It starts with Mary Olson. She was a high-powered telecom executive from Wisconsin, one of very few women. She traveled the country until her employer dropped her in Oregon. Before long, she was telling friends, “when I’m reincarnated, I’m coming back as a winemaker in Oregon.” Soon enough, her impatience won out and she decided to make it happen in this life. She bought Airlie and got busy driving a tractor and working the land.
For Elizabeth Clark, it was an accidental road trip to Oregon with a nothing but a plan to visit a cousin. A math major with a Russian minor from a small college in Maryland, Elizabeth fell in love with the wine in the Willamette Valley. From cellar rat to winemaker in just five years!
Living in San Diego, Kim Swecker wanted to try her hand at farming in retirement. They roadtripped up to Oregon and found the perfect little farm. The bad news? “I’m a terrible farmer,” she says. The good news? The farm she and her husband bought was next door to Airlie. Now, she’s the sales manager, and it’s a perfect fit.
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Airlie Winery, Monmouth, Oregon
2018 Maréchal Foch
I have been waiting for the perfect time and the perfect wine to be able to introduce you to Maréchal Foch and I finally found it in this edition from Airlie Winery.
Maréchal Foch is a grape hybrid of the French vitis vinifera and the native American vitis riparia species. These hybrids are typically bred in experimental vineyards at universities across Europe and in the United States for specific reasons – to weather climate variations, fight off pests, or develop new flavors.
As a French-American hybrid, the name of this grape celebrates the leadership of Marshal Ferdinand Foch, the French general who served as Supreme Allied Commander of the French, British, and American forces in World War I.
The cool nights and long summers of the Willamette Valley are perfectly suited for Maréchal Foch. This distinctive, medium-bodied wine has flavors of plum and blueberry with notes of dark currant and spice. It has lower acidity which makes it a nice match for rich pasta dishes or roasted meats.
A Cellar 503 selection in September 2021, Unusual Varietals Willamette Valley | Mondeuse
