January 20 2007
As an Indiana native and a resident of Indianapolis for going on 12 years I’m something of a Colts fan, albeit a secondary fan to my first passion, Notre Dame Football. Nonetheless, a hearty ‘Go Blue’ frequently passes my lips and I certainly appreciate the richness an NFL team adds to our city tapestry.
I was pleasantly surprised today when I browsed a local wine shop and found something of a Colts branded wine from Oregon.
Joining Jason Goelz from Sapid Wines and David Cronin from Beuhler Vineyards as Indiana wine expatriates, is apparently, the founder of Cherry Hill Winery in Oregon, Michael Sweeney.
I found this out when making a jaunt into a local wine shop today where they were doing a tasting for a 2005 Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley called, “Kickin’ Ass Colt Cuvée” replete with a blue colt on the simple but attractive label.
I initially thought the wine might be marketing schtick where a winery was doing local geography private label wines for NFL teams—not a bad idea, actually. As I slurped the sample of the Pinot, which is a little green and underripe, I learned that the owner of the winery is an Indianapolis native. Cool. I picked up a bottle; at $15.99 it’s not a wine that’s gonna knock your socks off, but I figured the novelty factor was worth it on the eve of one of the biggest games of the modern era for the Colts coupled with the fact that I like supporting a winery that has roots in Indy with enough marketing moxie to do a “Kickin’ Ass Colts Cuvée.”
Cherry Hill Winery, a relatively young winery, purchased their parcel of land from William Hill, a Napa legend who had purchased in the Willamette Valley in the 90s (Excerpt from their Web site):
Hill’s special facility with hillside sites is famous: he developed Atlas Peak, Diamond Mountain Ranch, Mount Veeder and other distinctive appellations in the Napa region.
That same ‘nose for slopes’ led him to the Eola Hills. The undeveloped rural district had all the right ingredients for world-class pinot noir: the right cool climate, southwestern slopes, elevations between 250-500 feet, and the essential rich, well-drained Jory soils. He divided the property into three separate parcels, all of which are now planted to pinot noir and one of which was purchased in 1998 by our own Mike Sweeney.
One of the things I like about a lot of Pinot Noir from Oregon is there is a purity of spirit with the winemakers, most of whom strive for a burgundian style and a terroir-based expression of fruit. While the Colt Cuvee is second-label/bulk quality there is still a lot to be said for the vino coming from an Indianapolis fella and a place with some passion and some soul.
The wine isn’t available online, probably something of a Central Indiana exclusive, but you can order the rest of their wine lineup online at their site www.cherryhillwinery.com Cheers to an Indianapolis native son, and “Go Blue.”
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