Wine & Spirits Riesling Resurgent Article features winemaker Matt Berson

From Wine & Spirits Magazine August 2016

Riesling Resurgent
by David Schildknecht

pg 47. "...That Seestedt’s Sunnyside success isn’t some winemaking tour de force is demonstrated not only by his familiar claim to have done as little “making” as possible, but also by the equally vibrant and infectiously juicy 2014 Sunnyside Riesling crafted by Seestedt protégé and former restaurant manager Matt Berson under his Love & Squalor label. Berson, who also works adeptly with the fruit of Richard Cuddihy’s 1971 planting, ferments and raises multiple tiny lots according to differing protocols, one possible explanation for the satisfying complexity of his results. Another intriguing piece of the Sunnyside puzzle—assuming you’re puzzled that riesling this good comes from a place of which few riesling-lovers have heard—is that the vines are trained with so-called Pendelbogen arches, a method that promotes sap distribution and efficient picking, as well as depresses must weights, which might nowadays be advantageous."

The article can be downloaded here

Great Northwest Wine Blog Reviews

Love & Squalor 2011 Antsy Pants Riesling, Willamette Valley

By Great Northwest Wine on June 27, 2015

Portland Wine Company’s reserve approach to the noble grape of Germany is not your grandmother’s Riesling — unless, by chance, her name is Brunhilda. The greenish hue of the drink comes with heavy vapors of diesel and petrol, joined by gooseberry, lychee nut and Thompson Seedless grapes. Across the palate it takes nerdy, nervy and succulent approach with fresh gooseberry, Granny Smith apple peel and lime pith. A bit of the petrol also trickles into the flavors, backed by a structure that’s a dry as bone and unusually lowin alcohol. The IRF Scale portrays this blend of Brooks Vineyard (66%), planted in 1976, and Cherry Grove Vineyard as “dry.” And the chemistry from this cool vintage reflects that rocket ship ride with the pH at 2.86, titratable acidity of 11.8 grams per liter and lemon/lime residual sugar down around 0.6%.

Rating: Recommended
Production: 54 cases
Alcohol: 9.9%

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Love & Squalor 2011 Antsy Pants Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley

By Great Northwest Wine on June 26, 2015

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Portland vintner Matt Berson works with Temperance Hill in the Eola-Amity Hills, Winter’s Hill in the Dundee Hills and Saikkonen Vineyard on Ribbon Ridge for this Pommard-leaning Pinot Noir, and the Antsy Pants reference represents the barrel select tier for Love and Squalor. It’s indeed a more reserved style of Pinot Noir with aromas of ripe strawberry, dried Montmorency cherry and dried apricots, backed by cherry wood, earthiness, eucalyptus and anise. On the palate, there’s a delicate approach with Bing cherries and pink raspberries, backed by sweet tannins, moderate acidity, a touch of straw and cherry pie filling. Berson holds back the Antsy Pants bottlings until he believes the time is right, and while this would pair well with grilled salmon, the wine’s structure and moderate ABV bodes well for the future.

Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 75 cases
Alcohol: 12.6%

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Love & Squalor 2013 Riesling, Willamette Valley

By Great Northwest Wine on June 16, 2015

Matt Berson launched this edgy brand in 2007 under his Portland Wine Co., starting with a mere 65 cases. Now, he’s running at a clip of 1,800 cases, and this Riesling serves as a significant portion of his production. The dry-farmed vineyard sources include Brooks, which is poignant because the late Jimi Brooks helped mentor Berson, as well as other 40-year-old plantings such as Cuddihy and Sunnyside. Contributing diversity are Roncali near Eugene and Tunkalilla, the latter a younger site that joins Brooks Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills. Aromas of Ambrosia Salad, dried apricot, alyssum and dusty Granny Smith apple also pick up a pinch of spearmint. On the palate, there’s a marvelously dry and Grüner-like entry of Bosc pear, gooseberry, river rock and a touch of raw honey. Citrusy acidity more than balances the residual sugar of 1.3%, which reveals itself as a lick of Jolly Rancher Green Apple candy in the finish. Riesling geeks will appreciate the chemistry numbers of 9.7 TA, 2.92 pH and 10.6% ABV, and it slots in at “medium dry” on the International Riesling Foundation taste profile.

Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 440 cases
Alcohol: 10.6%

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About Great Northwest Wine

Articles authored by Great Northwest Wine are co-authored by Eric Degerman and Andy Perdue. In most cases, these are wine reviews that are judged blind by the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel.

Portland Wine Examiner

Why Wine? An interview with Matt Berson of the Portland Wine Company

December 23, 2014 12:15 PM MST

Michele Francisco

Portland Wine Examiner

This is part of a series introducing you to interesting people in the wine industry. For many, the journey into wine is not only intriguing but often quite an adventure. These talented individuals are what make the wine industry what it is today so follow this series to meet this group of passionate people who have dedicated their lives to wine.

Why Wine? An interview with Matt Berson of the Portland Wine Company and Love & Squalor Wines

Examiner: Was there a specific wine, moment or place that unlocked your passion?

Matt Berson: I was definitely excited when I first tasted the Oregon Rieslings from Ransom and Brooks, and Patty Green’s Pinots. But I just wanted to drink them and meet the people who made them, not make my own. Then fate intervened and I was hanging out with those same winemakers and cleaning their barrels and washing tanks and I was bit with the bug and was in the perfect place to pursue my new passion.

A lot of winemakers have an “aha” wine. Interestingly, it is usually a style or varietal that they are no longer fond of. Mine was a right bank Bordeaux that some tech guys brought into one of the restaurants I worked at and they shared with me. I had never had a merlot like that before. It was delicious and intriguing. I wish I could say it was a Dagueneau or Nuits St. George, but in any case it did the trick.

What did you study in school and what were you doing before you started in the wine industry?

I was a restaurant manager. I came up in the San Francisco food scene of the 90’s. My degree in Modern American Culture from UC Berkeley and my thesis on The History of Disco did little to prepare me for the vinous life. However, my food service experience has been crucial to my success.

How has being in the wine industry changed you?

I always wear grubby clothes and rarely comb my hair. Really it’s made me more connected to the world. At least to the cycles of nature, and to the experiential world. To go from the mud of a vineyard to a consumer drinking and talking about the wine - usually all in the course of one day - is a very full and connected thing.

What’s your favorite part of being in the wine industry?

My favorite part of making wine, and owning my own business, is the continual learning and growth. Rarely a day goes by that I don’t learn something new. My favorite part of being a winemaker is the response I get when someone at a party asks me “ So, what do you do?”

Looking back, was there something in your past that led you to wine?

There is no doubt that growing up with a wide variety of foods on our table, and a mom who loves to cook, and seeing wine on the table too, and travel, lots of travel, and foreign foods. And the VW camper bus breaking down in Bordeaux and then breaking down once again in Champagne. It may all be coincidence, but here I am.

http://www.examiner.com/article/why-wine-an-interview-with-matt-berson-of-the-portland-wine-company

Vinography Review

08.04.2014

Coastal Diamonds: The Rieslings of Oregon

About every two years, I get an invite to attend the International Pinot Noir Celebration in Oregon's Willamette Valley. The event continues to be one of the best run and highest quality wine events in the country, with a fantastic combination of excellent wine and equally fantastic food. More about Pinot Noir in a day or two. In addition to attending one of the best wine parties around, IPNC also gives me (and a number of other wine writers) the excuse to do something slightly less expected: taste a lot of Oregon Riesling. Each year following IPNC, the Oregon Riesling Alliance holds a tasting of a recent vintage.  Most people still have no idea that Oregon even grows Riesling, yet amidst the crowded hills of Pinot Noir, there lie an increasing number of Riesling vineyards. So many, in fact that continuing to describe these growers as experimental is as inaccurate as it is unfair.

Riesling has actually been planted in Oregon since the very first days of Oregon viticulture. Pioneering vintner Richard Sommer, whose 1960's Hillcrest Vineyards winery was one of the state's earliest forays into wine, included Riesling as part of his plantings. By 1980 Riesling actually accounted for 25% of the state's plantings. But then Pinot Noir came along and as often happens when a region discovers a gold mine, Riesling all but disappeared.

Today Oregon has close to 800 acres of Riesling, spread across the Umpqua Valley, the Rogue Valley, the Colombia River Valley, and of course, the Willamette Valley. From the perspective of broad climate measures, Oregon fits nicely in the known range for growing Riesling, which likes a cooler climate, known as Region 1 to climate scientists. Other winegrowing areas in Region 1 include Burgundy and Germany's Rhine region.

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 9
2011 Love & Squalor "Antsy Pants" Riesling $28
Pale gold in color, this wine smells of mandarin oranges, pink grapefruit, and a hint of candle wax. In the mouth, juicy mandarin zest, pink grapefruit flesh, and lemon pith are beautifully balanced and fresh, with bright, mouthwatering acidity. Very pretty. 54 cases produced.

WINES WITH A SCORE BETWEEN 8.5 AND 9
2012 Love & Squalor Riesling, Willamette Valley $18
Palest greenish gold in color, this wine has a very distinctive nose of ripe pear and ripe papaya aromas. In the mouth, bright tropical fruits, including papaya, mix with pink grapefruit and delicate acidity that has a nice balance to it. Quite distinctive and interesting. Dry. 440 cases produced.

http://www.vinography.com/archives/2014/08/coastal_diamonds_the_rieslings.html

Wine Is Serious Business 198

Wine Is Serious Business # 198: Blind 2011 Oregon Pinot Noir Around $20/$30

Published on Sep 16, 2013

Dan picked out a bottle he had enjoyed at tastings over the summer, and Chas picked out two that he hadn't tried yet but wanted to. We put them into bags for a single blind tasting and are happy to say that we enjoyed all 3! They're all reliable local producers that are always worth checking in on. We get a little bit of A.V.A. education from the experience as well. In the show, we taste the following 2011 Crowley Laurel Hood Pinot Noir, the 2011 Love and Squalor Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, and the 2011 Matello Durant Vineyard Pinot Noir. What is the best blind tasting you've been to?