WINE WEDNESDAY: Syncline Wine Cellars 2011 Grüner Veltliner, Underwood Mountain Vineyard, Columbia Gorge
Husband and wife James and Poppie Mantone are the heart and soul of the Columbia Gorge’s Syncline Wine Cellars. With nearly 40 years of experience in the wine industry between the two enophiles, Syncline was the beneficiary of their matrimony (in love and wine) in 2001. The winery’s peak production stays at 6,000 cases while their Grüner Veltliner is kept at the shallow end of the pool with only 200 and should be jumped on when available. The 2011 Grüner Veltliner from Underwood Mountain Vineyard shows the complexity and range of Columbia Gorge fruit, cross classic Old World characteristics of the Austrian varietal. The wine has radiant acid with savory straw, grass and floral aromas and widens in the palate with apricot and fresh green melon. Oysters are an obvious pairing selection but vegetables, even the strenuous match of asparagus, stand a chance in a pairing trial.
