A Hunt for a Biodynamic Willamette Valley Wine: Johan Vineyards Farmlands Pinot Noir and Salmon #WinePW





A few weeks ago I wrote a post trying to untangle some the confusion between organic, biodynamic, natural, and sustainable wines (and more). Later in the post I got into my own opinions on the subject. Bottom line: I’m very much in favor of buying wines that are made with respect for the environment, and I generally try to buy wines from these camps; however, I find the subject to be too complex to be dogmatic about any one method.

Fast forward to this month and the Wine Pairing Weekend Group is focusing on certified biodynamic wines from Willamette Valley in Oregon. I honestly thought it would be no issue to find an appropriate wine as I’m extremely to lucky to live near several wine stores that to varying degrees focus on wine from these camps–I even work at one. However, as if to illustrate some of the difficulties from the consumer standpoint – albeit inadvertently – I had a hell of a time finding a wine.

I started trying to find a wine several weeks before because I knew things were about to get crazy busy on my end with the lead-up to Bâtonnage Forum. I thought I had found a bottle right away through a friend that works at Ordinaire, a natural wine store here in Oakland, only to find that their last bottle had been purchased without my friend realizing it shortly before my arrival.  I ended up trying 4 or 5 different wine stores plus Whole Foods in my search for a certified biodynamic Willamette wine. (I meant to try Wine.com as well, but it got away from me.) I found organic wines, natural wines, “practicing” biodynamic wines that weren't certified, and wines that fit the bill but from other parts of the state – there were a lot of wines I would’ve been really excited to try. I nearly gave up on the whole thing. Then I found myself with a little unexpected free time the day before Bâtonnage and decided to give it one more try. I finally lucked out: I called Minimo in Jack London Square and they had bottle for me!

I fully believe that we should do the best we can to buy wines that are made in a way that’s better for our bodies and the planet, but at present, adhering to one particular method can be hard (as this exercise demonstrated) and pretty limiting. I would challenge us all to try and make better choices in what we eat and drink, but let’s also cut ourselves some slack at the same time by not being rigid in our approach.

That said, the wine I ultimately found, the Farmlands Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2017 from Johan Vineyards was delicious and totally reasonably priced at $24 (taxes included). One of the things I really appreciate about Willamette Pinots in general is that they strike a balance between the fruit-driven qualities we see in a lot of California versions, and the earthiness of versions from Burgundy. Willamette tends to hit it right down the center in a wonderful way, to my palate anyways. This one fit right into this idea. It was juicy with red berries and pomegranate notes complemented by light earthy and herbal notes and a light hint of clove spice. I think this would be a crowd pleaser and a good all-purpose Pinot.

Johan Vineyards is clearly doing their part to farm in a conscientious way. Dag Johan Sundby purchased the 175-acre property in 2005 and began the conversion to organic and biodynamic agriculture two years later. The property achieved its certification in 2010. They believe that farming biodynamically “produces vines that are more resistant to disease and creates a healthy natural immune system within the vine.” It also “ increases the assimilation of nutrients naturally present in the soil,” among other things.

Greg and I enjoyed this with a simple salmon dinner. This recipe by Mark Bittman for the NY Times is one of my favorite, low-stress methods for preparing salmon. The only changes I now make is that I often prop the salmon on citrus slices, and I don’t bother flipping it or peeling the skin off. If I feel the skin needs to crisp a little further, I’ll throw it under the broiler for a minute or so. In this case, I also made roasted cauliflower steaks, and saucy sautéed mushrooms to accompany the salmon. The mushrooms made an easy complement for the earthy notes in the wine.

Altogether this Pinot and salmon dinner was a simple and nourishing meal leading building me up for a big and frenzied next day. It hit the spot perfectly; however, this is a versatile red that should also be able to go with any number of different dishes from vegetables, to light meats, and chicken.



 

Geeky Details


I couldn’t find a tech sheet for 2017, but the 2016 tech sheet states:  The wine was made from Biodynamic certified estate grown fruit.  Grapes were fermented in small batches using only native yeast for both primary and malolactic fermentation. During primary fermentation the cap was punched down twice a day, either by foot or pumped-over. Once the wine fermented dry, it was pressed off the skins and barreled down into neutral French oak barrels, where it aged for 7 months.


*****

The rest of the Wine Pairing Weekend group is exploring  biodynamic wines from Willamette. If You're seeing this early, you can join the our Twitter chat scheduled 8-9 am PT. 

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12 comments

  1. I was very pleased with the bottle of Johan I enjoyed last month for Earth Day. They are doing things right.

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    1. A really solid value for sure. Lovely wine. Thanks Wendy.

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  2. Great post! The label of this Johan Vineyards Farmlands Pinot Noir looks so different from my Johan Estate Pinot. The salmon looks really moist and yummy, and must go really well with your wine!

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  3. Love the geeky details! It seems salmon was the choice ingredient of the month! I love that these winemakers are so passionate about being good to the environment! (and making fantastic wines while they are at it!)

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  4. Sorry it was such an ordeal to find. The biodynamic labelling is confusing at baseline and then In the grand scheme of things there are not that many Biod bottles. I know several "practicing" wineries personally that I would have loved to include. But you have to draw the line somewhere for this type of event. If you want some personal recommendations on some practicing wineries from OR I'm happy to help.

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    1. I honestly didn't think it was going to be a problem given my general access to these types of wines. Like I said above, I live in a spot that's close to a bunch of different stores that put a focus on wines in these general categories. And there were a lot of wines that fit into the more broad camp of sustainable and natural wines from Oregon in these stores, even certified biodynamic from elsewhere in OR. It might have also just been unfortunate timing -- I was back at Whole Foods last night and they had a wine from Brooks this time around. If it had been a less busy time on my end and I'd more forethought, I would've hit up distributor friends that carry some of these wines with a little more lead time, but then again, I just didn't think it was going to be an issue. On the whole it was instructive for me in showing the difficulties consumers might be having in accessing wines of this type in general.

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  5. Great suggestion for a delicious yet easy-to-prepare weeknight dinner! And I appreciate your view on supporting biodynamic winemakers without becoming "dogmatic" about it. Understanding the complexity of the issue is probably the key to beginning to understand it!

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    1. Thanks Lauren! That salmon recipe is a go-to for us. And yes, these aren't easy issues.

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  6. I had the same problem a few months back trying to find a "certified" French biodynamic wine. It does seem when you get lucky and find them they are worth the search. After this month of Willamette Valley biodynamic wines, I will be back on the trail to track some down including Farmlands PN.

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    1. Thanks Jane. I do tend to agree with that -- they are often worth grabbing when you find them. This one definitely was, especially given the reasonable price point!

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  7. A great description of OR PN and striking a balance between CA fruit and Burgundy earthiness! Looks and sounds like a great pairing Nicole! Cheers!

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Thanks so much for leaving your comments and questions. I always love to hear from you!