Blue Pirate
Oregon

Blue birds would sit in the trees outside the Westnut hazelnut factory in Dundee, Oregon and steal the nuts from the delivery trucks, drop them on the ground, and break the shells.  The birds would then swoop down and grab the nuts for food, leaving the shell behind.  These swashbuckling birds were name Blue Pirates.  Westnut produced packaged hazelnuts and name the product "Blue Bird Filberts".  Our Pinot Noir is produced at this renovated historical building, now called "12th and Maple Wine Company" and is also dedicated to the blue bird that once pirated the hazelnuts - The Blue Pirate

Winemaker – Aron Hess
In 1996, Aron followed his nose to Europe to tour the wine regions. One Sunday when the wineries were closed, he followed a tip from a guide book and found himself in a tiny ferme auberge in the Dordogne where he met his wife and business partner, Pam Walden. Several months later they arrived in Oregon with a dream to make the best Pinot Noir this side of the Atlantic.
Aron worked first at Flynn Vineyards and occasionally at Evesham Wood Winery before joining Rex Hill Vineyards in 1998, first as the Enologist, later as the Assistant Winemaker working with Lynn Penner-Ash, and then as the Winemaker for three vintages (2002 to 2004). Aron’s tenure at Rex Hill included some of the most innovative and cutting-edge experiments in the region, while focusing on very traditional methods of vinification.
In the summer of 2005, he moved to head-up production at 12^th & Maple Wine Company, a 1700-ton-capacity, state-of-the-art custom crush facility in Dundee, Oregon. There he makes wine for several clients along with crafting Battle Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir and Blue Pirate Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris.

The Wines

shelf talker / case card

#O0EE231014PNM
UPC code: 0 035246 40010 9
2008 Blue Pirate, Pinot Noir 12/750ml
Vibrant red and black raspberries, wild strawberries, Bing cherries and floral (violet) aromas, with subtle notes of minerality and spice. Sweet, soft medium-weight entry, with dominant flavors of wild strawberry and raspberries echoing the aromatics. Very fine-grain tannin and persistent sweet fruit, along with nicely balancing acidity give the impression of plump fresh fruit on the mid-palate. The flavors continue to mirror the aromas, with the addition of a zesty citrus character, and persist through the nicely resolved lingering finish.

National Retail Price: $15.99/btl