Troon wine: Farm-fresh flavor in every glass (#winePW)

After postponing a road trip down the Oregon Coast for a month due to wildfires, the time had finally arrived in mid-November to pack the binoculars and hiking boots and depart western Washington. The goals for this trip were simple: birds, trees, wine.

The trip exceeded expectations, but stark and surprising contrasts awaited us, too.

At Cannon Beach, we spotted black oystercatchers blending into Haystack Rock, only their long orange bills and legs giving away their whereabouts. Further down the coast, brown pelicans soared and swooped in the surf, and in Crescent City, California, close to 50 statuesque black-capped night herons camped out on the banks of Lake Earl Coastal Lagoon.

From Oregon to California, tall fir and spruce forests meet the sea and lead to giant redwoods so old and majestic they seem sacred. Does anyone tire of standing in a giant redwood grove? No matter. We had to push on.

As we left California and climbed Route 199 into the Siskiyou Mountains, we smelled the smoldering remains of those summer and early fall fires and witnessed the scars: trees charred or cut down to stumps, lumber piled along the side of the highway, workers wrapping wire around the bare hillsides to prevent rockslides.

Next up was the Applegate Valley and a promise I made to myself two years ago when I met Craig Camp, general manager of Troon Vineyard and Farm, at a conference. I wrote about a few Troon wines I tasted at the conference, but that wasn’t enough for me. I vowed to visit the vineyard if I ever found myself in southern Oregon. For the Wine Pairing Weekend (#winePW) theme on Dec. 8-9, “American Sparklers or Writer’s Choice,” I’ve selected a trio of fresh-tasting Troon wines that could serve as a model for American wines in these environmentally threatened times.

What is Troon?

On the way to Troon, fog hangs between the mountain ridges and gives the Applegate Valley a dreamy, fairytale-like appearance. Evidently, last season’s wildfires hadn’t scorched this region.

In geologic time, these transverse set of mountains (running east-west) are old and nothing like the volcanic peaks of the Pacific Northwest. Kubli Bench, the site of Troon Vineyard and Farm, is an old river terrace composed of fertile soils and abundant groundwater. Like northern California, the Applegate Valley gets all of its rain in winter and a little moisture in summer. It’s perfect for grapes.

At first glance, you wouldn’t notice anything too different or out of the ordinary. Perhaps the chickens and sheep roaming the crop-covered vineyards contribute to a more farm-like appearance than you’d find at other wineries. Otherwise, there’s a well-appointed tasting room with a view of the foggy mountain ridges and several outbuildings.

But Troon is different. Their secret sauce is what’s happening underground, in their soil. At Troon, five years of agricultural regeneration is quite literally bearing fruit. “Building biodiversity” is the phrase they use. “Repairing the world” is what I say.

In 2018, the 95-acre Troon property was under new ownership, but sadly, things were in bad shape. Grapevine leaves were suffering from red blotch, a common virus that impacts the plant’s vascular tissues and prevents ripening of the grapes. Their solution was to rip out the sick vines and replant the almost 50-acre vineyard – 10 acres a year for five years. In two to three years, the first replanted blocks started to yield grapes.

Along with replanting the vineyard, the owners and staff embarked on the process to become Demeter Biodynamic® Certified and Regenerative Organic Gold Certified™️. Troon is only the fourth farm in the world to achieve Gold Certification.

If you’re saying to yourself, “oh, biodynamic – what a lot of hoo-hoo,” I invite you to rethink what this method truly means.

A holistic approach, biodynamic farming was 19^th century Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner’s reaction to the industrial agriculture prevalent in his day and still going strong in ours. Instead of loading the soil with synthetically produced fertilizers and pesticides, Steiner experimented with and advocated for using organic means of returning fertility and diversity to the soil.

“Biodynamic agriculture is all about returning the microbiome to a healthy balance so that a grapevine can return to its natural process of extracting what it needs from the soil. This makes for a healthier, stronger vine and that means more flavorful fruit and wine. The easiest way to describe biodynamics is that it is organic agriculture combined with an intensive discipline of probiotic treatments – the biodynamic preparations. Over the years we know that biodynamics will add new dimensions and depth to our wines.”  – Troon Vineyard and Farm

Biodynamic farming follows time-honored traditions of planting and harvesting according to the cycles of the moon and other celestial events. Experience has shown that farming in harmony with nature, rather than against it, produces healthier results for everyone.

Regenerative agriculture goes a step further: the whole farm becomes a sink, sequestering carbon and playing a small but vital role in mitigating the negative impacts of climate change.

Essentially, every living thing on the farm – from the micro-organisms to the plants to the animals – has a role to play in creating a biodiverse and healthy environment. Those 35 chickens and 29 St. Croix sheep? They’re not lollygagging out there! They’re grazing and fertilizing the soil while helping to build the terroir, or sense of place, you taste in every glass of Troon wine.

More than that, the holistic principles of certified regenerative agriculture cover areas such as animal welfare and farm worker fairness.

Feeding the microbes

Garett Long didn’t know anything about growing grapes when he joined Team Troon two years ago. But he had earned a master’s degree in soils and biogeochemistry and had practiced biodynamic and regenerative farming at Apricot Lane Farms in Ventura County, California (see “The Biggest Little Farm” documentary).

Now, as Troon’s director of agriculture, he oversees the health and welfare of 20 different grape varieties on four different soil types. Rhône and other Mediterranean varieties like Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Vermentino, Marsanne and Roussanne fare especially well in the region’s warm, dry climate. Within that mix of varieties are multiple clones of the same grape – for example, four different clones of Syrah – to increase diversity and break up the monoculture as much as possible.

What sets Troon apart from other biodynamic vineyards is regeneration through a true closed loop system. Troon produces 250 tons of their own compost by layering hay from their pasture, pomace from their grapes, cow manure from an organic dairy farm down the road, landscape debris and farm-grown medicinal herbs like chamomile, yarrow and valerian. They produce their own biodynamic field and compost preparations rather than buying them off the shelf.

Garett guides us into the fertility shed where he and his team make “super-charged” compost teas, “the biological armor” that nourishes micro-organisms, builds resilience and suppresses disease. Troon has the rare ability to inject these teas directly into the soil via an injection pump. In other words, they can send the teas anywhere they send irrigation water to their young vines.

At Troon, Garett says, “we build fertility from within.”

From grapes to wine

Nate Wall studied environmental engineering in graduate school, but acquired his winemaking ethos in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, where Pinot Noir reigns and demands to be treated gently. Handling this finicky grape was perfect training for Nate’s perceptive, intuitive and 99.9% hands-off, biodynamic winemaking at Troon.

Hands-off means spontaneous fermentation using only native yeasts and spontaneous malolactic fermentation (conversion of harsh malic acid to softer lactic acid). A little sulfur before bottling to keep his wines stable is all Nate adds, and he uses far less than allowed by certified Demeter Biodynamic standards. This is winemaking without “the guardrails,” in Nate’s words. “All we can do is nudge.”

After all the effort in the vineyard to focus on terroir, Nate doesn’t want to do anything in the cellar to impart flavor. His choice of fermentation vessels includes neutral French oak – and by neutral, he means at least six years old – concrete and clay amphorae. If he wants to produce a richer mouthfeel, he presses the grapes whole cluster and lets the vine stems impart tannin. He uses stainless-steel tanks primarily for settling juice.

Troon is building toward a total capacity of 12,000 cases of wine a year (they’re at 6,000 now) and 2,000 to 3,000 cases of cider, eventually. They have a two-acre, heirloom French cider apple orchard and have almost finished planting their trees.

I ask Nate what the word “sustainability” means to him.

“Humanity is at the point where sustainability – do no harm – isn’t good enough,” he responds. “We need to be going beyond just trying to keep things as they are. We need to be actively trying to regenerate what has been lost. That’s why regenerative agriculture is so important. The longer we farm in this way, the healthier, stronger and more resilient the land becomes. And in an age of climatic flux, resiliency is exactly what we need.”

Tasting Troon Vermentino

Perhaps you know Vermentino from Sardinia and other parts of Italy. The same grape is grown in southern France under a different name: Rolle. Winemaker Nate Wall teases out various expressions of this citrusy grape variety. I opened three for Wine Pairing Weekend.

• 2022 Troon Vineyard Piquette! Vivace Vermentino, Applegate Valley
  Piquette is “frugal farmer fizz,” a type of Pét-Nat (short for pétillant naturel or “naturally sparkling”) wine that has been made for centuries. At Troon, they first press the juice to make their Vermentino white wine. Toward the end of each press load, they stop and empty the mostly pressed skins into clean bins and store them. At the end of the day, all of those Vermentino skins go back into the press, where they are rehydrated with some water overnight before being pressed again the next day. This second pressing is fermented to make the piquette. Primary fermentation occurs spontaneously in a stainless-steel tank. When the ferment reaches the desired level of remaining sugar, they bottle it into sparkling wine bottles. The fermentation then finishes inside the bottle, a process called méthode ancestrale or ancestral method. They allow the wine to age for several months before hand disgorging it. Because this wine is protected by carbon dioxide, it receives no sulfite additions at all. Unfined and unfiltered.
  My tasting notes: Light gold and cloudy. Clean aromas of just-picked apples and apricots. Palate is yeasty and buttery yet crisp, with apple peel upfront and ending on citrus peel notes. Fizzy (think kombucha) rather than sparkling like Prosecco. Alcohol: 10.8%. Price: $25.
  
• 2022 Troon Vineyard Vermentino, Applegate Valley
  Grapes were foot-treaded and allowed to soak on skins for a few hours before being loaded into the press. Primary fermentation in neutral French oak barrels occurs spontaneously with indigenous/native yeasts and bacteria throughout the winter months, finally finishing when the cellar starts warming up in the spring. During this time, malolactic fermentation also occurs spontaneously. Usually, 100% of the harsh malic acid is converted to softer lactic acid, giving the wines a round mouthfeel enhanced by extended time on the lees (spent yeast cells). After about seven months in barrel, the wine is racked to a stainless-steel tank for blending and bottling. It receives a small sulfur addition before bottling, but no additives.
  My tasting notes: Gold in color. Fruity and fresh with a white flower (gardenia?) aroma. On the palate, I get a hit of medium+ acidity upfront, finishing in lemon-lime and slight almond notes. Alcohol: 13.1% (the highest it has ever been, according to winemaker Nate Wall. 2022 was warmer than the last several years). Price: $30.
  
• 2021 Troon Vineyard Amphora Amber Vermentino, Applegate Valley
  Clay amphora wine vessels have been a part of wine culture for centuries. Grapes for this amber or “orange” wine were loaded into three separate amphorae: one amphora received 100% whole-cluster fruit, while the remaining two amphorae received de-stemmed berries. As with all Troon wines, no additives or adjustments of any kind were used at crush or during fermentation – no acid or sugar adjustments, no enzymes and no sulfur at crush. Primary fermentation occurs spontaneously from native yeasts and bacteria. The amphorae were placed in Troon’s cool barrel cellar for fermentation, receiving one “punch down” per day for the first three to four weeks of fermentation. They were then sealed up, and the wines continued to slowly ferment (and complete malolactic fermentation) on skins for roughly 10 months. The wine was then pressed and settled in stainless-steel tanks before being bottled, unfined and unfiltered, with only one small addition of sulfur prior to bottling.
  My tasting notes: Like the name says, this wine is amber, or copper-colored. I get candied orange peel and spearmint tea on a richly textured nose. The palate is buttery, round and crisp with orange and lemon peel, a hint of almond and a not-unpleasant astringency on a medium to long finish. Alcohol: 12.9%. Price: $60.

Troon wines are distributed in many major markets in wine shops, wine bars, restaurants and organic grocers. The easiest way to purchase all of their wines is through their website, as some limited-production wines are not distributed.

For pairing this trio of Troon, I started with a cheese plate consisting of two sheep’s milk cheeses imported from Spain and two blue cheeses from Rogue Creamery, an internationally acclaimed producer whose historic retail shop is located along a nondescript stretch of highway about five miles west of Medford, Oregon. Their Rogue River Blue was named World Champion Cheese at the 2019-20 World Cheese Awards in Bergamo, Italy, a first for an American-made cheese.

We learned about Rogue Creamery at Troon. When Rogue’s cheesemaker was looking for the characteristic blue vein for his Rogue River Blue, he visited Troon to taste their Syrah leaves. After chewing on leaves from various clones of Syrah, he found the precise taste he was looking for. Rogue Creamery also makes a blue cheese, called Bluehorn, that features Troon’s Syrah wine. We brought home a bit of both.

I chose polenta with wild mushroom ragu for our entrée to pay homage to the colorful mushrooms we encountered in the damp, humus-rich soil of the redwood forests. (Please note: Many species of wild mushrooms are poisonous. If you don’t know mushrooms, don’t touch them!). I substituted 2 tbsp. of olive oil for the vegan butter and nutritional yeast. Also, this recipe easily will serve 6-8 people.

Troon’s farm-fresh, fruity wines are made for food. All three were solid companions for the mushroom ragu as well as the spinach, artichoke and walnut side salad. The stars of the show, though, were the tangy cheeses – they were a match for all three crisp Troon wines and softened the astringent yet delightful, amber Vermentino.

If you find yourself in southern Oregon, and I hope you do, wander over to Punky’s Diner and Pies in Medford for bumbleberry (mixed berry and rhubarb) pie with the lightest pie crumb you could imagine. After a slice of Punky’s pie, a European-inspired bakery will be furthest from your thoughts, but do stop at Coquette Bakery, located on Route 99 in Central Point, between Rogue Creamery and Lillie Belle Farms handmade artisan chocolates. Lillie Belle’s lavender caramels are among Martha Stewart’s favorites.

Here’s what all the Wine Pairing Weekend bloggers are sharing this month:

• A Russian River Valley Pét-Nat with Veggie Tempura by Culinary Cam
• A Touch of Elegance At Our Holiday Table; 2013 Under The Wire Brosseau Vineyard Sparkling Pinot Noir by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• All American Sparklers from Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula by Grape Experiences
• Cheers, It is Christmastime in Michigan by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Christmas Cookie Swap and a Cooper’s Hawk Blanc de Blanc by Our Good Life
• Sparkling Picpoul with Fettuccine by Cooking Chat
• The Bubbles of Bel Lago by The Quirky Cork
• Troon wine: Farm-fresh flavor in every glass by My Full Wine Glass
• 4 US Sparkling Surprises: Sonoma’s SEPPI, Paso’s Halter Ranch, WA Gorge + Fav Festive Finger Foods by Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley