Vintage 2006 in Oregon

The end of the 2006 Oregon harvest coincided with the arrival at my door of a box of Pinot Noir from one of Oregon's newest appellations, and my thorough enjoyment of Susan Sokol Blosser's memoir, At Home in the Vineyard: Cultivating a Winery, an Industry, and a Life. Holiday cheer, all around.

First: The 2006 vintage is the type to which Oregon producers aren't accustomed, with high quality and high yields for the state's flagship grape, Pinot Noir. It was mostly warm and dry throughout the growing season, with a few showers to keep things cool in the summer...