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Airlie Winery 2016 Dry Müller Thurgau
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
2016 Dry Müller Thurgau
Once a Christmas tree farm, the original owners of Dunn Forest Vineyard began planning grapes in 1983 and Airlie Winery was born in 1986. Nine varietals are planted on the estate – Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Müller Thurgau, Gewürztraminer, Maréchal Foch, and Muscat Ottonel.
This dry Müller Thurgau is a perfect accompaniment to your Thanksgiving dinner. The fruity complexity and citrus zing of the wine will cut right through the richness of your turkey, gravy, and buttered everything.
Elizabeth’s tasting note says it all: “An exotic hint of petrol mixed with apricot, kaffir lime and lychee nut on the nose segues into a dry palate rich with notes of white tea, more apricot, Mandarin orange and an overall minerality that leads to a lime finish.” Just 141 cases produced and only available in the Airlie tasting room and to Cellar 503 members!
A Cellar 503 selection in November 2017, Thanksgiving Wines Willamette Valley | Müller-Thurgau
