Maloof Wines, "Ross & Bee" Pinot Gris 2021, Temperance Hill Vineyard, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, OR

This tropical Pinot Gris has tropical notes like a piña colada and green apple-like acidity with a bready round finish.

COUNTRY: USA

STATE: OR

APPELLATION (AVA): Eola-Amity Hills

REGION: Willamette Valley

VINEYARD: Temperance Hill Vineyard

VINTAGE: 2021

GRAPES: 100% Pinot Gris

SOIL: Ritner, Nekia

PRACTICE: Organic, sustainable, biodynamic, LIVE-certified, dry farmed

VINIFICATION: Direct pressed and fermented in neutral oak barrels. Aged on the lees for 10 to 12 months with no bâtonnage until bottling.

STYLE: Still

COLOR: Pale lemon

BODY: Light to medium bodied

TASTE: Dry

PRIMARY AROMAS: Pineapple, coconut, caramel, white pepper

FLAVOR: Crisp granny smith acidity, round yeasty texture, smooth finish

FORMAT: 750 ml

ALCOHOL: 13.5%

SERVICE AND SUGGESTION: Pair with seafood dishes that have a bit of heat, such as jambalaya, paella, Portuguese seafood stew, pizza with caramelized onion and chili pepper, or yellow curry

ABOUT THE PRODUCER: Ross and Bee Maloof

“Maloof Wines is a husband-and-wife winery team based in Forest Grove, OR. They are a true yin and yang team. One is a materials engineer grounded in hard science, and the other is a restaurant professional. Both are two nerds with a penchant for good hospitality and properly fermented pizza dough.

“Bee Maloof represents the hard science behind the project. Prior to playing with grapes, she worked for close to a decade as a materials science engineer in aerospace. As a long-time lover of food and wine, Bee turned her scientific eye from rotorcraft to winemaking during the 2016 harvest. 

“Ross Maloof broke into the production side of the wine industry initially by traveling to Oregon to visit some friends, and ended up working harvest at Day Camp, a co-op started by Brianne Day. Before getting his first taste for winemaking, he worked for just over a decade in the Philadelphia dining scene. His hospitality work always had a huge focus on the beverage side. After the 2016 harvest (Maloof wine’s 2nd vintage), the two went back to Philly, but Oregon had left its mark on them, and in 2017 they relocated to Oregon permanently.” (smallwineshop.com) 

The current winemaker for Maloof Wines is Perry Heistuman.

ABOUT THE VINEYARDS: Temperance Hill Vineyard

“Temperance Hill is a cooler site, consisting of varying slopes and exposures. The vineyard looks straight out over the Van Duzer corridor, the large break in the Oregon coast line, receiving the full effects of the famed afternoon winds that pull in cooler air from the Pacific ocean, allowing extended ripening capabilities in the area. Because of this, every year, we split the Gris from this special site into two picks almost a full two weeks apart. The added airflow from the coastal winds allows us to hang the fruit of the 2nd pick for quite some time, making a richer, fuller showing of gris. The earlier pick allows us to capture more acidity and balance in the final wine.” (maloofwines.com)

Temperance Hill Vineyard is farmed by Dai Crisp. 

“Always farming organically, [Dai Crisp] moved into vineyard management for a number of well-regarded wineries in the area.  He has been at the helm of Temperance Hill for the past 20 years and is considered to be one of the best wine growers in the state.  He and his wife PK started their own wine label, Lumos Wines, in 2000.” (maloofwines.com)

ABOUT THE LABEL: The artist for Maloof’s line of Classic Single Site Single Varietal wines is Kat Freeman. Her artwork depicts some of the aromas and flavors to expect when drinking the wine. For this one, it’s piña coladas.