Giardet Wine Cellars

Last week my husband and I paid a visit to Giardet Wine Cellars to sample some of their wonderful wines and were reminded of just why this winery is one of the best things the Umpqua Valley has to offer.

Of course the biggest reasons are the excellent wines Giardet has the reputation for making consistently year after year. Their signature wine and most notable is their Baco Noir and something people just can’t get enough of. Philippe Giardet founder of Giardet Wine Cellars was responsible for bringing this varietal to Oregon from his native Europe and it has done so well here. Baco Noir is just one of many different varietals Giardet grows and produces so they have something for every palate. But the high quality wines are just a part of the appeal of this winery and we will get back to the wonderful wine in a minute.

I have found that behind great wine there has to be great people. At Giardet this is certainly the case. The people who are most visible at Giardet are all very committed, hard working, knowledgeable individuals and just as important a heck of a lot of fun! After all isn’t wine meant to be fun? Cedar who works the tasting room could not do a better job with her upbeat attitude, constant smile and sweet demeanor. Rob the cellar master is one of my favorite people on the planet and his high energy and passion for wine is obvious as well as infectious. I could talk to Rob all day about wine (and just about anything else, frankly) and he brings such a down to earth, can do anything, generous attitude I find so refreshing every time we meet. Cara who’s title is “Director of Marketing” but who obviously does that and a whole lot more is very smart and brings a competence and an easy ability to everything she does. Her wine knowledge runs the gamut and she is as comfortable discussing very technical wine topics as she is talking about anything else. She is a dedicated conservationist and due to her efforts Giardet is the only winery in the Umpqua Valley that uses only biodegradable/ recycled natural products at their wine events from their disposable coffee cups to their utensils and napkins. And last but certainly not least, Marc Giardet the wine maker who learned most everything he knows from his father Philippe and mother Bonnie is a talented, thoughtful wine maker who takes his job very seriously. His abilities obviously came with hard work and practice but I think there is something in the Giardet genes that sets him apart as a wine maker. There is much to be said for generations of wine makers and that special something that gets passed down from father to son. All of this shows up in the bottle of these enjoyable wines.

Their whites including their smoky chardonnay and bright, happy pinot gris to their well balanced riesling and sweet dessert wines truly offer something for every palate. And their reds from the pinot noir to the big bold Baco Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon are all well balanced with layers of flavors and long lingering finishes that leave you wanting more. The 14 Vines red is just that, fourteen different red grape varietals all together in one very special place. Yum! This winery truly has it all and is one of the best reasons to get out wine tasting.