Amalie Robert Estate Dry January: It's Not for Everybody...
Hello and Welcome,
We understand that some people are experiencing a “DRY” January. It doesn’t have to be that way. Here in the Willamette Valley wine country, we are about as far away from DRY as you can get! Also known as dog nose weather - cold and wet.
On average, our vineyard receives about 45 inches of precipitation a year. This is received mostly as rainfall, but occasionally as freezing rain or, maybe 3 years out of 10, as snow. And the heaviest months for rain are December through February. Sometimes referred to as “The Pineapple Express” originating from the Hawaiian Islands.
The Pineapple Express, from Hawaii to Oregon. Credit: AccuWeather
Oregon Pinot Noir requires soil moisture during the growing season, but it is fairly DRY in our DRY farmed vineyard from about April through September. The vines rely upon the WET months to charge our sedimentary clay loam soils, so they can thrive during the DRY summer growing conditions.
In This Communication:
The BIG Picture
Planning a Trip to the Willamette Valley? Now is the Time!
January Daylight and Moons
But the Wines are Dry
Spotlight Wine: Chardonnay Both Ways
Other Resources
The BIG Picture
What’s a Pinot Noir grower to do? First off, in the fall we drill in some cover crop seeds that will germinate and grow roots to hold the topsoil onto the hill during the rains. If we have chosen correctly, these little seeds will become healthy plants that will fix nitrogen right out of thin air and co-locate it in the soil next to our vines’ roots. And that’s how we feed our vines all winter long. But it doesn’t’ work if it’s DRY, we need rain to make this happen.
Dry January in Willamette Valley wine country? That’s not for us.
Planning a Trip to the Willamette Valley? Now is the Time!
But it’s not going to rain forever, probably. We think the record is 40 days and 40 nights, but don’t quote us on that one. If you are thinking about visiting the Willamette Valley during the summer when it is DRY, we have prepared a handy little guide to the Willamette Valley AVA’s.
Get your FREE guide to the Willamette Valley AVA’s here!
Fully featured and loaded with information you can actually use! Which AVA is the biggest? When was the Willamette Valley AVA established? What are the soil types? Who grows what wine? Where the heck is Mt. Pisgah and why should I care? Whether you are experiencing a DRY spell or not, it’s all here for you! And wine fly’s free on Alaska Airlines, just sayin’.
January Daylight and Moons
Increasing daylight hours in January. Credit: AccuWeather
And you have time, harvest is still about 9 months away. As the earth rotates the Northern Hemisphere back toward the sun, we will be experiencing more daylight hours. In January alone, we can expect about 50 more minutes of daylight than we had in December. And if your trip planning includes any lunar influences, here is a guide to the 13 full moons of 2026, including a rare blue moon, and the ever-exciting Supermoons! EXTRA: Full lunar eclipse is scheduled for 3 am March 3 on the West Coast. That’s really farming early.
The moons of 2026. Credit: AccuWeather
But the Wines are DRY
That’s how the way we do it. In the winemaking idiom, the term DRY refers to the amount of unfermented or residual sugar in a wine. The first thing to know about that is whether or not that was the intended wine style at the beginning of fermentation.
Some wine styles are intentionally left sweet, or off DRY. Think dessert wines such as an Ice wine, Port or Sauternes. One of our favorites is Banyuls, but we don’t grow it. Extra Dry Champagne is actually sweet. The sweetness is referred to as residual sugar and is measured in grams per liter (g/L). But that’s not important.
Click here to watch the vide, Pressing Syrah after fermenting DRY.
What is important to know is that freshly harvested wine berries have around 225 grams of sugar (glucose and fructose) per liter of juice. This is the starting point of 100% residual sugar (RS). Apple juice can run 100 to 155 grams of sugar per liter, and orange juice comes in at about 85 to 100.
It is generally accepted that DRY wines can contain up to 10 grams of unfermented sugar per liter – that’s also known as 1% RS. Off DRY wines can go up to about 35 grams per liter of unfermented sugar, or 3.5% RS. Anything beyond that is considered sweet.
Dry Wine: Less than 10 grams of residual sugar per liter (g/L)
Off-Dry Wine: 10 to 35 g/L of residual sugar
Sweet Wine: More than 35 g/L of residual sugar (often 120 g/L or more for dessert wines)
The end goal of our fermentation is to ferment those 225 grams of sugar per liter down to about 1 gram per liter or less (0.1%), producing around 13% alcohol by volume wine. That is a very DRY wine.
Sometimes as the yeast are happily converting sugar to alcohol, they run into trouble. One of the most obvious occurrences is when there was a whole lot more than just 225 grams of sugar to ferment per liter. Yeast are “all in” up to about 15.6% alcohol, then they die off from alcohol toxicity. The resulting wine is left sweet, because the yeast cannot continue fermentation.
This can occur naturally in the vineyard due to desiccation, forcing a very high concentration of sugar. Or conversely, from freezing temperatures that keep the water as ice inside the wine berry as the highly concentrated juice is pressed out.
And sometimes, the yeast just may not like you and abruptly stop fermenting. It could be a phase of the moon, or you put your left shoe on first that day. Maybe the grapes lacked proper nutrition to feed the yeast, or maybe the tank temperature was too cold. One early morning things are fine, and the next night you are sleeping on the (not DRY) winery floor trying to restart a stuck fermentation.
Whatever the reason, once the yeast stop fermenting, they typically do not restart. And then you may be left with too many unwanted grams of residual sugar in your very many liters of unfinished wine. When this happens, phrases such as “That’s a feature not a flaw” or the universal get out of jail free card “I meant to do it that way” get bandied about. It’s not for everybody.
Spotlight Wine: Chardonnay Both Ways
Chardonnay is one of the most widely planted wine grape varieties at about 520,000 acres worldwide. The United States has around 100,000 acres of Chardonnay, and Oregon makes up about 34,000 acres planted. But it’s not the size of your acreage that counts, it’s the magic in it.
Here at Amalie Robert Estate we have 0.75 acres of Chardonnay planted in Block 24. At the turn of the century, we planted a total of 1,089 Chardonnay vines, about 50% Dijon Clone 76 and 50% Dijon Clone 95, all on 5C rootstock. Our vines are densely spaced at 1,452 vines per acre.
We harvest our Chardonnay vines based on aroma and flavor. Typically we are mostly finished with the Pinot Noir harvest when these wine berries hit their “sweet spot”. Chardonnay clusters are larger than Pinot Noir clusters and the harvest crew makes fast work of 1,089 vines.
In the winery, we dedicate an entire processing day to Chardonnay. Logistically, Ernie selected his press capacity to match his Pinot Noir fermenters at about 1,000 liters. What that means for Chardonnay is about 1,200 pounds of freshly plucked wine berries can fit in a single press load. Pressing takes about an hour, then it is cleaning out the pressed wine berries and reloading. This goes on (and on) until we run out of Chardonnay wine berries, usually around 4 o’clock in the afternoon.
The yield from a light press is about 160 liters of Chardonnay juice from one ton of wine berries. You can press harder and get more juice, but the quality degrades the harder you press. Then it is off to tank to settle the juice for a spell. Here is where Mother Nature does her bit. Whenever a piece of fruit gets bruised, it begins to turn brown. Think pears, bananas, apple cider. Now consider the press as the biggest bruiser of them all. As a result the freshly pressed juice begins to turn brown. This is a very important step in the winemaking process as you would prefer this browning to occur before fermentation instead of afterwards in the bottle.
Let the fermentation begin! After a couple of days of settling a portion of the juice goes to 1,000 liter stainless steel tanks and a portion goes to a single, brand new 500 liter French oak barrel. Fermentation begins forthwith, and Ernie adds a 300 watt fish tank heater to maintain a 65 degree temperature. The yeast like 65 degrees and will finish a fermentation. DRY As a side note, Dena does not really like off DRY Chardonnay and Ernie really does not like sleeping on the fermentation floor.
These two fermentation styles produce two dramatically different wines. With all the magic from mighty little Block 24, we produce Dijon Clones Chardonnay fermented in stainless steel and the Heirloom Cameo Chardonnay - Barrel Fermented Chardonnay (BFC).
Fermentation in stainless steel captures the true aromatic expression of Chardonnay. Unadorned by oak or any other distractions, our Dijon Clones Chardonnay delivers a deft and delineated palate experience. Just after work with friends, or because of them, a glass of Dijon Clones Chardonnay offers an offramp from the day, or an onramp for the evening.
Heirloom Cameo is our barrel fermented Chardonnay. Or as Dena would explain it: “This wine wraps you in an elegant silk scarf and instantly makes you feel really good - about being you.” Or as Ernie would say, “We only make one barrel of this wine a year, so we try not to bucket up!”
When you are looking for something more, maybe it’s a quiet night in, or a dinner party for your most cherished friends, the Heirloom Cameo is right at home. Serve with a slight chill around 50 degrees in a Pinot Noir stem, and you are golden.
Dry January means many things to many people, obviously. Take advantage of our DRY January Chardonnay promotion now, even if you choose to wait until February to enjoy the wines!
2024 Dijon Clones Chardonnay
Haystacks Yellow* scintillating aromas of Meyer lemon zest, starfruit and honey comb entice. A deft and delineated palate experience exudes and permeates, disarming your resistance in a most unsubtle and yet pleasurable way. The full palate experience is completed by a resounding finish, conjuring classical conditioning stimulating a dopamine like response. Just imagine if Ivan Pavlov had Chardonnay instead of dogs… Expertly Hand Harvested, Field Sorted and Whole Cluster Pressed. Wowzah! 40 cases produced.
Culinary Inclinations: The inherent richness and natural acidity of stainless steel fermented Chardonnay pairs exceedingly well with Oregon Dungeness Crab. Here are two of our favorite pairing preparations courtesy of the Oregon’s Choice website. Savory Dungeness Crab Beignets and Crab Cakes with Lemon Aioli.
* Monet began a series of paintings of haystacks in the summer of 1890.These paintings, of which there are more than 25, would become defining examples of impressionist painting. His haystacks elevate the status of common bales of hay, highlighting the importance hay plays in agriculture and sustaining life. Impressionism, and Monet specifically, often give importance to working class elements of life, like farming, by painting them. https://www.claude-monet.com/haystacks.jsp
2021 Heirloom Cameo Chardonnay
Canary Diamond. Swirling light effortlessly teases pheromonic scents of White Lion Daffodil, plum blossom, yellow rose and citron zest. An enticing beginning grows into a full on palate experience. Not lean, not fat, but a muscular and taught palate presence that leaves no wanting unfulfilled. The lingering expression of acidity remains long after the wine, preparing the palate for another tryst. If you want to be bad, you have to be good… Expertly Hand Harvested, Field Sorted, Whole Cluster Pressed and Single Barrel Fermented Chardonnay (BFC). 55 cases produced.
Culinary Inclinations: Seared scallops nestled onto a bed of roasted garlic fettucine, served at dusk over candlelight. If you need a little guidance on searing scallops, check out Gordon Ramsay.
Take the Big Blue Button to DRY January Chardonnay!
We personally (no bots) confirm all orders and shipping conditions prior to shipping. We suggest using a UPS or FedEx ship to location. This allows for a climate controlled facility to receive and hold your wine. Another benefit is minimized travel exposure while your wine is trying to co-locate with you and your ability to collect your wine at your leisure. If you have any shipping questions, please email Dena.
Wine Shipping Update 2026: All 12 bottle case orders receive up to a $40 shipping credit and 6 bottle orders receive up to a $15 shipping credit. All shipping options are available to you. You can apply your credit to ground shipping, or next day air. The credit also applies to Alaska and Hawaii shipments. Please email Dena for options.
And it’s better on the A-List! A-List members receive a 10% discount on any 1-11 bottle purchase and a 20% discount on 12-bottle case purchases.
Once we get past Dry January, we are very much looking forward to International Syrah Day on February 16, 2026
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie
Other Resources
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