Need A Sign that Good Times are Here to Stay? Swick Rosé!
Joe Swick's wines have quickly become some of our most popular.
While he never makes much wine volume-wise, he does produce upwards of 15 different cuvee each vintage. There are seasonal releases throughout the year, but the one that seems to generate the most excitement is his spring release.
As a little preview of what is about to come, we are featuring his always delicious Willamette Valley Rose of Pinot Noir!
A 5th generation Oregonian, Joe Swick is making some of the Pacific Northwest’s most unabashed wines.
He caught the wine bug while working in the wine department of his local Portland organic specialty food store. Soon, he landed at Owen Roe as a cellar hand. This marks the beginning of a journey that took him to Piemonte, Tasmania and Portugal.
After nine years and fifteen vintages, it was time to start his own winery.
Joe believes wines should be made simply and authentically. He wants nothing added or subtracted. And, most importantly, his wines must express specificity of place and vintage.
Swick sources fruit from vineyards in the Pacific Northwest that farm organically or biodynamic and rarely uses sulfur at bottling. His wines are never filtered or fined.
His ability to produce clean, ageable wines comes from both his vast experience and his naturally pragmatic approach.
He uses a small percentage of new barrels in every vintage in order to avoid brettanomyces. Brett is commonly found in older barrels purchased from conventional producers.
Creating his own stock of neutral barrels ensures their cleanliness and allows his wines to mature during élevage without added sulfur. He will only add a touch of sulfur at bottling--and only if the wine needs it.
While he works with the many varieties not commonly associated with the Willamette, he is a master of Pinot.
His Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is one of the best values in Oregon Pinot. His Rose version is no different.
While he makes more of this wine than most, we could still only grab a few cases. Stock up and have this little bottle of joy accompany you all spring and summer long.
Lovely raspberry and cranberry notes, steely acidity just a touch of fresh herbs and a long dry finish. This is a perfect poolside, but there is complexity and minerality that make it amazing with food. A hunk of semi-hard cheese, like Tomme de Savoie, really ups the ante.