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Vincent Wine Company 2021 Pinot Blanc
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
2021 Pinot Blanc
Scandal! For years, California winemakers (and even a few in Oregon) had been growing and selling grapes mislabeled as Pinot Blanc. In the mid-1980s, a visiting French oenologist discovered that the grapes were really Melon de Bourgogne. By the early 1990s, true Pinot Blanc was planted in Oregon — and state regulations were put in place to ensure that our Pinot Blanc (unlike the California stuff) is the real thing.
Vincent’s 2021 Pinot Blanc is a great example of wines from the Willamette Valley. Light, bright, and lemony, its strong acidity is balanced nicely with a natural fruitiness and some creaminess due to malolactic fermentation.
The natural, wild-yeast-only fermentation process takes place in old oak barrels but there is no oaky butteriness to this wine. Vincent’s hands-off approach means he doesn’t filter the wine, so expect a little haziness to go with the brightness.
We’ve been fans of Vincent’s wines for years – in fact, his 2013 Pinot Blanc was featured in our very first Cellar 503 shipment. We’re thrilled to be able to share this delightful, lively white wine with you again!
A Cellar 503 selection in June 2023, Past, Present, Future Willamette Valley | Pinot Blanc
