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Vincent Wine Company 2020 Gamay Noir
An intellectual approach to wine
When Vincent Fritzsche became a winemaker, he approached it differently than most.
He took an intellectual approach, reading everything he could about wine – how to taste it, how to grow the grapes, how to make the wine. In the early days of the internet, he joined a chat room full of experienced winemakers from all over the world who enjoyed chatting with each other and sharing their knowledge with the curious rookie.
Next, Vincent expanded his knowledge with hands-on experience at wineries in California.
But when it came to starting his own winery, Vincent settled in Oregon — where he could make wines reminiscent of those he experienced during his extensive travels in Europe.
As a winemaker, he is hands-off, refusing to add yeast, stir the lees, filter, or fuss with the wine. He just carefully sources and selects grapes from a few excellent vineyards in the Willamette Valley and lets the grapes express themselves.
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Vincent Wine Company, Amity, Oregon
2020 Gamay Noir
This is the sixth time that we’ve featured a Gamay Noir for Thanksgiving, but you’re to be forgiven if you’re still new to the Gamay revolution. After all, there’s precious little of it grown outside France, where it is produced almost exclusively in Beaujolais.
What little is grown in North America is almost entirely in Oregon, and yet there’s so little here that the Oregon Wine Board’s annual statistical roundup tosses Gamay Noir in with “other”.
But Gamay Noir is a perfect wine for Thanksgiving. Like Pinot Noir, it’s a light-bodied red with modest tannins. But its rounded fruit and brighter acid profile makes it a perfect complement to the rich flavors of the holiday. Your wine snob cousin will be impressed, while Aunt Mabel happily enjoys it with her turkey.
Vincent’s 2020 Gamay has a deep magenta color with fragrant floral notes balanced by clean, earthy aromas. It is bright and lively with dark berries, white pepper, and those classic Beaujolais characteristics. It’s a juicy wine with herbaceous undernotes that make this wine perfect for the holiday.
A Cellar 503 selection in November 2021, Thanksgiving Wines Willamette Valley | Gamay Noir
