From: Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
Varietals: 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Riesling, 30% Pinot Gris
Tasting Notes: Vibrant aromas of lemon zest, wildflowers, green apple, crisp pear, and sea spray travel seamlessly through the palate, layering zesty citrus, juicy orchard fruit, and white peach. A beachy, saline finish keeps everything dry and lifted.
“Plucked from the briny waters of the Pacific Ocean and borne to the crowded tables of Oregon’s celebrated restaurants, this wine is inspired by the exalted oyster and dedicated to the Pacific Walrus - the foremost connoisseur of the shelled miracle. The wine is a dry blend of three aromatic whites grown in the volcanic basalt and sedimentary marine soils of our valley. The nose conjures a mix of salt and sand and coastal flowers. The body more giving with texture and fruits coating the tongue. And in the finish, we return to the sea where the salty winds whip past bringing cool misted air up to the low coast mountains.” —Love & Squalor
Pairing: With a name like Mothershucker, it’s almost self-explanatory that this wine is the perfect pairing for fresh oysters. How lucky we are to live where deliciously fresh local oysters are available! If you’re not in the mood for shucking, you could pivot to various seafood and shellfish-based dishes. One excellent example highlights takeout from Local Tide in Fremont: their Rockfish Bowl and Salmon Belly dip are North Seattle favorites. Other delicious pairing options include summer salads, veggie tacos, nachos, or Thai papaya salad. For today’s recipe pairing, we’re sharing Daniel Grittier’s recipe for Halibut à la Nage (Poached in Broth) With Clams, Dill, and White Wine.
About. The husband and wife team, Matt Berson and Angie Reat, have been making fretted- over, hand-crafted, small batch, un-manipulated Love & Squalor Wines sourced from the Willamette Valley since 2006. They opened the Portland Wine Company, their winery and tasting room, in the Fall of 2019 as a home for their Love & Squalor label, as well as other projects from the team. The following excerpts come from vintner and winery owner, Matt Berson.
In 2003, I was rescued from the restaurant grind by a band of marauding Oregon winemakers. I worked in their cellars and vineyards until it got under my skin. Then I traveled to New Zealand, Napa, Germany, and Argentina, to work in their vineyards and wineries and discover the secret of making great wines. Sure, it’s a glamorous lifestyle (cue needle scratching across vinyl)—it’s actually incredibly hard work with equal parts barrel heaving, lab tinkering, hand wringing, and business minutiae.
I love what I do and learn something new every day. Hard work aside, getting back to basics and finding simple ways of doing things—such as making tasty wines for different moods, foods, and palates—is part of the creative process that truly drives my passion for this labor of love.
All Love and Squalor wines start with the belief that wine needs to taste alive. The best way to ensure this is to let the grapes express themselves. Flexibility here [in Oregon] is key, as conditions in the volatile Pacific Northwest change with each harvest. Just as wines vary per region, wines from the same region shouldn’t taste the same each year. We strive to present those with a unique personality, personality that includes authenticity (or, honesty) in each vibrant sip.
The 2022 Love & Squalor Mothershucker is a white Willamette Valley blend of 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Riesling, and 30% Pinot Gris. The grapes underwent a light, whole-cluster press prior to being transferred to small primarily stainless steel vessels. Fermentation took place slowly at low temperatures with a combination of commercial and indigenous yeasts.
