Maloof Wines, "Scrambled Sticks" 2020, Johan Vineyard, Van Duzer Corridor, Willamette Valley, OR

This orange made with a Friulian blend is highly structured, with an aromatic nose of tea, apricot, and flowers. On the palate it’s tart and structured, with gently gripping tannins and a long finish.

COUNTRY: USA

STATE: Oregon

APPELLATION (AVA): Van Duzer Corridor

REGION: Willamette Valley

SUBREGION: Polk County

VINEYARD: Johan Vineyard

VINTAGE: 2020

GRAPES: 35% Ribolla Gialla, 30% Pinot Gris, 20% Tocai Friulano, 15% Chardonnay

SOIL: Marine sedimentary with granite deposits

PRACTICE: Biodynamic

VINIFICATION: Pinot Gris, Ribolla Gialla, and Tocai Friulano all fermented separately, in three fashions for each grape. Some direct pressed and barrel fermented, some fermented on the skins in open fermenters until dry (30ish days), and some fermented and aged on the skins in Amphora for 10 months. Chardonnay direct press and fermented in barrels. All of the lots are combined together in the summer. (Amphora made by Andrew Beckham)

STYLE: Still

COLOR: Light pinkish-copper

BODY: Medium bodied

TASTE: Dry

PRIMARY AROMAS: Tea, dried stone fruits, flowers, oxidative

FLAVOR: Tannic, tart, apricot, tea, structured, chalky

FORMAT: 750 ml

ALCOHOL: 12.5%

SERVICE AND FOOD PAIRING SUGGESTION: Serve slightly chilled (not too cold!). Pair with a Moroccan tagine.

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) 

ABOUT THE VINEYARD: Johan Vineyards

“Johan Vineyards is an 85-acre certified-Biodynamic Estate winery in the Van Duzer Corridor. The project first started in 2005, and by 2007 the path to Biodynamics was well underway. The Johan crew has been unbelievably supportive of the Maloof project since we first started working together in 2017. Today, Nathan Wood focuses on the farming program, while Morgan Beck heads up the cellar team. The Johan crew continues to push the envelope in Oregon in both farming and winemaking. Drink their wines!” (maloofwines.com)

ABOUT THE NAME: “This wine is the result of a happy accident and fun lesson in top grafting (turns out all sticks look the same), and is made from a special plot within Johan Vineyard where we have a number of Italian grape varieties interplanted.” (maloofwines.com)