2006 Cameron Giuliano

Cameron calls this wine Oregon White Table Wine. That is it. It is named after his son and is the third vintage that I have tried. Each one has its own field blend of grapes and is unique and delish in its own right. I do not know what the 06 has in it, but surely some Pinot Gris, Riesling, perhaps Chardonnay? It is sure great whatever he has thrown in there.

It is made in the same playful spirit as his Cameroni (an Italian blend), his Pinko Rosso which has a picture of Che on it, and his Screaming Ego which has a pic of Icarus on the label and is only sold in magnums in a handful of Portland restaurants. He only collects when they sell a bottle. John Paul (Cameron) reaps what the earth gives him with all organic vineyards and non-iragated vines. I have always loved his Pinots and single vineyard Chardonnays that are truly Oregonian.

For the '06 Giuliano, the nose gives a bit of honey, white pepper, and mellow white flowers (not sweet). On the tongue, crispy minerals with bass notes of pine sap. I can find no fault with this wine, I really, really like it, but I am not over the moon swooning over it.

To compliment the wine, I made an asian inspired broth of ginger, garlic and shallot to which I added sauteed cod and noodles. Something you would have at an asian bar with a nice Riesling. A peasant dish for a table wine!

I don't remember the cost of the wine, another fountainhead import, but I'm sure it was between $18 and $24 on the shelf. A great Oregon blend, 4 of 5 glasses.

10.21 2004 Cameron Dundee Hills Pinot Noir

For dinner on Saturday, I made an attempt to create a chicken and dumpling dish from this month's Savour. The recipe called for 5.5 CUPS of butter for the batter, with only 2 cups flour. I thought it must have been a typo, so substituted only 5 tbsp. It worked out OK, but the dumplings didn't fully form and just made the chicken and vegetables thicker. I compared it to a chicken pot pie without the pie!

To compliment an American Classic, I chose a 2004 Cameron Dundee Hills Pinot Noir from Oregon, that I have been saving for a little over a year. This is a wine we have caried at the restaurant for many years (as well as other Cameron wines) and the quanities have steadily declined - thus last year we only had 12 bottles allocated(one for each of us, 1 to drink together, 9 to sell). And we should have waited for this beauty.

Austere is a good description, with minimal fruit, a little char, and notes of oak and pine. Another fantastic wine that was perfect with the meal, and was great on its own.