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Portland, Pinot Noir and Poltergeists

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We’ve had a few innovative wines come out over the last decade or so. Wait, maybe they’ve been around forever, and it’s just me that’s been around the last decade or so. Either way, I highly doubt you’ve heard of ghost wine.

Don’t worry; it’s not official. Before you start concocting all the things that could possibly represent the term ‘ghost wine’, calm down for a sec. While it’s a romantic thought thinking about a ghost making your wine, it’s a little less exciting than that.

In saying this, if you’re prone to attacks of the nerves at even the mention of a poltergeist, you may want to avoid Argyle Winery. If you consider yourself an amateur ghost hunter, you may end up killing two birds with one stone – and sending the second right through an apparition.

Argyle Winery is situated in old Dundee City Hall. Old Dundee has a history that I’m not privy to, so I won’t bore you with the details. However, I do know that a ghost is said to consider this a great place to haunt, so you may end up getting more than you bargained for.

To be honest, I could justify seeing ghosts if the wine is quality and I’ve had enough of it. Or maybe they tell tasters at Argyle Winery that there’s a ghost so that they’ll be scared into trying all of the wine – you don’t want to piss them off, now.

Either way, this winery located in Portland is worth the visit. If there is anything to be seen that’s out of the ordinary, it could be the fact that before Old Dundee was a winery, it was a hazelnut processing plant.

You know what’s scarier than ghosts, though? Climate change. The worst part is, you can’t wish it away the more wine you drink.

This is why Argyle Winery is all about sustainability when it comes to their winemaking practices. Yeah yeah yeah, most people are these days. However, Argyle has really gone above and beyond in the pursuit of keeping the earth green.

In keeping with the ghost theme we’ve got going here, Argyle has practiced a bit of reincarnation when it comes to the building that houses their tasting room. Nobody ever imagined that the Douglas Fir trees that kept watch outside would someday take center stage inside, transformed into eye-catching design features.

If I was a tree and I knew I was going to come back as something, I’d want to wow people with my design, too.

Argyle Winery Wines

2016 Spirithouse Pinot Noir: hands up who can guess why this wine has its name. Yep, ghosts. Or ghost, singular – one that hasn’t been seen with the naked eye.

You’ll get some exciting flavors out of this Pinot – you could even say that it has a lot of spirit (sorry). With pink peppercorn, dark cherry, and black tea, you’re in for a wild ride that may just convince you that there’s more to this than meets the eye.

2008 Extended Tirage Brut: maybe the Argyle ghost had a hand in the processing of this wine, which is why it’s been extended (we all know ghosts can’t keep track of time). Whether you’re of this world or another, there’s no way you can say no to a 10-year-old wine.

You’ll get some orange rind, with plum, honey, and cherry. It’s complex, and it’s good.

2014 Nuthouse Chardonnay: three guesses where this wine got its name from. Hint: it’s got something to do with hazelnuts. You get some peach as well as honey with this particular chardonnay.

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there’s no reason why you can’t have a healthy debate about it over some of Portland’s finest sustainable wine. You’ve got every reason to make the trek out to Argyle Winery. Just make sure you don’t bring anything back with you – apart from wine, of course.

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