Last time I went to taste wine at Torii Mor here in Woodinville, I immediately regretted going without Jen. I instinctively knew she would love these Oregon wines so much!
So when our appointment to visit another tasting room nearby fell through, I took it as a sign it was time to finally get Jen in here to taste their fabulous Pinot Noirs!
We met Emma, the delightful tasting room associate who is so knowledgeable about Washington and Oregon wines (and wine in general). She’ll be leaving to help out at crush season so we won’t be able to pop in and pester her again for a while!
Our tasting began with the 2016 Pinot Blanc. I don’t think I’ve tasted a Pinot Blanc before. I loved the floral nose and citrus taste. This wine was put into neutral French oak barrels. The grapes were grown in the Winkler Vineyard in Oregon.
The tasting lineup that day was the 2016 Pinot Blanc, 2017 Rosé, 2015 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, 2015 Yamhill Carlton Select Pinot Noir, 2015 La Colina Vineyard Pinot Noir, and the 2012 Syrah Port.
We didn’t taste this wine, but Emma showed us the beautiful label artwork on the limited edition 2015 White Rose Vineyard Pinot Noir.
Our second tasting was the 2017 Pinot Noir Rosé. We loved the strawberry and raspberry flavors. Jen and I have a bit of a.. problem.. with “collecting” Rosé, and we both purchased a bottle of this for our homes.
Wondering about the name? “The name Torii Mor derives from the Torii gate in the property’s Japanese garden and the ancient Scandinavian word for earth.” Learn more about the history behind the winery here.
We tasted three different Pinot Noirs – I love doing vertical tastings! Jen’s favorite was the Yamhill Carlton Select and mine was the La Colina Vineyard. If you peek at their website, you’ll see that they make many other Pinot Noirs, sourcing them from several different vineyards. It must be so fun to be a wine club member here and try all the variations!
Jen was particularly excited to taste Torii Mor’s dessert wine, the 2012 Syrah Port. I don’t think she’ll mind if I tell you she’s already been back once to buy another bottle of it!
We appreciated Emma’s time and learning about wine from her, thanks so much!
Next time you’re in Woodinville, stop by Torii Mor to taste Oregon wine in a lovely Washington wine town!
-Carrie
RESOURCES:
Torii Mor Winery Woodinville Tasting Room on Yelp
