Judgments, competitions, ratings, and price tags — all are factors appearing to rank wines based on quality. However, ask one person (or even expert) for his or her assessment, and it may vary quite widely from another’s.

Many describe winemaking as a melding of art and science. However, which parts of the process require an artistic touch versus scientific doesn’t often get articulated.

Wine tastes good. And it smells good, too. These simple realities should be at the core of tasting wine. Unfortunately, we too often meet guests who . . .

For Alex Fullerton, it all began in Burgundy. His father and Proprietor Eric Fullerton tasted his way through the region (and many others) as a young lad, and then brought his son, Alex Fullerton, to the vinous motherland for his 18th birthday.

We love experimenting with new fermentation techniques in an attempt to bring more complexity to our wines. In 2011, Eric Fullerton gifted Alex a single rotator barrel after both had seen one in action at a fellow Willamette Valley winery.

Oregon and sustainability go together like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. When tasting wine around the Willamette Valley, terms like Biodynamic, Salmon Safe, and Organic get mentioned frequently. What sets these terms apart?

Another stunning Willamette Valley vintage is in the books. The 2016 vintage comes on the heels of the opulent 2014 and the structured 2015 vintages. All three produced fruit-forward wines with 2016 providing more elegance and polish with lifted aromatics. All three of these vintages are considered warm years, but 2016 moderated during the summer compared to 2014 and 2015.

Then there is the gamble. Drink or hold. Pull the cork on treasured wines while young, and we receive certain pleasure. But gamble with time, attempt to drink at the pinnacle, and we dance with chance. Perfectly aged wine can elevate the experience to heights sought by many wine lovers. However, we can lose the bet, and find the wine frail, a shell of its once full-potential.