Happy July!
Click for July’s playlist
Happy July! The next holiday = 4th of July, and we are honoring American wines during the month of our nation’s birth.
I am very rarely in the States for Independence Day. I have often been in Syria, sometimes Spain, and the last two years I have been in Iraq. This year, Iraqi airspace is closed as I write this, and it looks like I may be celebrating at home. That also means I would be celebrating my birthday at home (July 8th) and can have some rhubarb pie! UPDATE: as I edit this, it looks like that airspace is open. Insh’allah I shall be celebrating with an arak 😊 ).
I have thought long and hard about what this blog should convey. In the end, I realized it is too short, too casual, and too general a format to be a manifesto that appropriately encapsulate the fundamental freedoms encoded in our constitution, and the crucial and essential significance played by its separation of powers, and checks and balances to fend off tyranny - as well as the power of the people to ensure it. I have no pithy way to express the vital role of the many, many waves of immigrants and refugees who continue to come to America and call these shores home.
Instead, we will just talk about wine 🍷.
The wine industry in the US is relatively young, but it has a longer history than some realize. Here are some fun facts:
The first successful commercial winery in the US was founded by Swiss immigrant, Jean-Jaques Dufour, in the state of my birth: Indiana. This “Second Vineyard” (a failed attempt in Kentucky was “First Vineyard”) was planted in 1802 with a hybrid grape known variously as the Cape Grape, Schuylkill Madeira, Schuylkill Muscadel, Schuylkill Muscadine. Yes, it was from Philadelphia.
The first commercial winery in Oregon – whence this month’s wines originate – was also founded by a Swiss immigrant. Peter Britt established Valley View Vineyards in 1873, in what is now the Applegate Valley AVA a sub-appellation of the Rogue Valley.
Onto our wines…
July’s wines are from OVUM, based in the Willamette Valley. Those interested in etymology may wonder about the name, OVUM. In the English language, the word has a specific meaning as a biological product of an ovary, though it is directly from the Latin for egg of any type, ovum. “Oval” is also derived from Latin ovum, with the meaning “egg-shaped”. OVUM, the winery, uses it in reference to the oval concrete vessels – called “eggs” – in which they make much of their wine.
Why eggs/ovals? John House and Ksenija Kostic started OVUM in 2011, specifically to highlight Oregon fruit and terroir. They are “natural” winemakers, and value minimal intervention and additions to their wines. It is believed that the egg shape allows for less intervention by the winemaker, as the “currents” from convection preclude the need for manual stirring or pumping. Concrete is selected as its porosity results in the same micro-oxygenation as with oak barrels, but without the flavors from the oak; concrete is neutral.
Does that mean that all OVUM wines are made in concrete eggs? No. Many are, some are made in oval barrels, some in barrel-shaped barrels, and some in tank. While the egg came first, the ultimate goal is to produce wines that evoke place.
For July Wine Club, that means wines that are made in tank. These are a newer line from Ovum, called BIG SALT™. The BIG SALT™ wines are created from 10 vineyards spanning Oregon from the Willamette Valley in the North, the Rogue Valley in the South, and the Columbia Valley in the East. Grapes from across these many terrains and terroirs are co-fermented
According to Ovum’s founders and winemakers, “BIG SALT™ is a white wine that tries to capture a day at the beach in a bottle.”
I grew up on the shores of lake Michigan. The lake has a fresh smell that is almost akin to rain and fog, AND there is always a bit of fish in the air. It is quite unmistakable and enjoyable. It is quite different from the slightly-sweet smell of the ocean, which I’ve now grown accustomed to. Regardless, they each create an ease of mind and body with the crash of waves and sand between the toes. I will drink to a wine that evokes such relaxation and pleasure.
Ovum BIG SALT™ 2024 White Table Wine
This is a mix of many grapes from those ten vineyards: 46% Riesling, 28% Gewurz, 18% “Early” Muscat, 6% Pinot Blanc, 1% Pinot Gris, and 1% “others”. In keeping with the desire to let fruit shine, each grape is treated differently (whether skin-macerated, whole-cluster pressed, soaked) before all are fermented together in tank. The wine is rested on lees for texture and depth.
The result is, well, a day at the beach! It has a palette of sea spray and fresh citrus with a tropical island nose. It is both lush and zippy, and FRESH! Winemaker notes include “salty lemon, ginger, and aloe vera.”
Ovum BIG SALT™ 2024 Orange Rosé
The Orange Rosé is made with 50% of the Big Salt White, with 50% Pinot Gris (plus small amounts of Muscat and Gewurz) from the volcanic soils of the Columbia Gorge. The Pinot Gris has 5-7 days of skin contact, and then is mixed with the Big Salt White in neutral barrels. It spends 5-6 months on lees.
The result is all that citrusy goodness from the White gets some spicy notes of ginger, and some earthy aromas. The winemakers describe it as, “stirring a mandarin creamsicle into a glass of hibiscus ginger tea”. Bring it.
These wines will taste great on their own, on the porch, on the beach, or at a July happening! Need one? We have one!
It’s a BBQ Jawn on the 4th of July! Brandon Washington is continuing his father’s “Ron’s Ribs” legacy… and we benefit, yum! Join us in the garden from 5 - 9 pm.
Details here.
Here are some other important dates for July:
July 17th: World Day for International Criminal Justice
July 27th: National Love is Kind Day.
July 30th : International Day of Friendship
Cheers!
