Silicone on Sapphire 2019

This has become our flagship wine, which makes sense. We’re a winery that’s inspired by Friuli, and this is our remix of the multi-grape white blends that are common in that corner of Italy. It happens to be the most age-worthy bottle we make, a structured white that combines old-world structure with a bit of Oregon flair.

The 2019 version is a bit more delicate and crystalline than the previous year, which traded on power. Don’t be fooled by its fresh, mineral brightness, though—this will put on fruit and savor in the cellar, if you can avoid drinking too many young (it seems to go with anything).

The 2019 was blended to highlight that delicacy, and also to complement the Italianate grapes, which had lower yields this vintage. It’s composed of 22% Ribolla Gialla, 8% Tocai Friulano, 44% Pinot Blanc and 26% Chardonnay. Ribolla has an austerity to it that provides structure and spine, while Friulano is blessed with beautiful fruit but lacks some acidity. Pinot Blanc provides beautiful highlights and Chard enhances the texture to provide a frame for the other grapes.

There was a belief that the Willamette Valley bore a passing resemblance to far-northeastern Italy long before we were even sure there were any of Friuli’s native grapes planted here. The quality and tenor of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay reminded us of the Collio and so when we had the ability to acquire a minuscule amount of Ribolla Gialla and Tocai Friulano, we jumped at the chance.

Like our other wines, it was fermented by native yeasts in barrel. We assembled the blend in August following the vintage and racked the wine to stainless steel tanks for a further six months of aging on its lees before bottling.

The 2019 also represents perhaps the last vintage of this wine for a while. The Ribolla and Tocai Friulano vines we relied on were ripped out by the new owners of the vineyard in 2020 and so none was produced that year. We are working on getting more grafted—but there’s no rushing nature and very few people have the grape planted in the Willamette Valley.

44 cases produced. (Sold Out)