Memaloose Wines Idiots Grace Primitivo 2012
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Brian McCormick and family came to the Gorge from Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley in 2001. He had long wanted to plant in the Columbia Gorge — believing that he could best produce his style of wine in this remarkable location. Rob McCormick and his wife Barbara joined them in the Gorge shortly thereafter.
Planting commenced in 2002 on both sides of the River, at “Idiot’s Grace” in Mosier, and in Parker’s Vineyard at Mistral Ranch in Lyle. The remaining three vineyards were planted on a rolling schedule over the next few years, with completion of the original plan in 2009. A new expansion to the Idiot's Grace vineyard started in 2015.
The original winery was a converted barn on the Mistral Ranch in Lyle, WA., which was occupied in 2006. Our second, and major winery, opens in 2017 on Idiot's Grace farm in Mosier, OR., on the South Bank. Case production has grown from 250 in 2006, to over 2000 in 2016. Eventual plans and capacity are for 3500 cases.
Loved for its inky, brambly, fruit-driven wines, the Primitivo grape actually has Croatian origin. Primitivo landed in Italy in the late 1800s and became an important variety in the hot, dry, southern region of Puglia. Here it was named from the Latin word, primativus, meaning "first to ripen." Somm Secret—No one knew Primitivo and Zinfandel were the same until 1994 when DNA profiling at UC Davis finally revealed the link. The grape goes by the name of Tribidrag in Croatia and is a parent to Plavac Mali.
Straddling the Columbia River Gorge with vineyards in both Washington and Oregon, this 40 mile stretch of vineyards, starting about an hour drive east of the city of Portland, grows a wide variety of grapes, including everything from Syrah to Gewürztraminer.