The vineyard is currently planted with an eclectic mix of grapes, including gewürztraminer, albariño, pinot gris, sauvignon blanc and viognier, but she is hoping to add riesling, grüner veltliner and, in a block intended for sparkling wine, pinot meunier and pinot blanc.
“High-acid whites are what sing here,” she said.
“Sing” is just the right word for her lively, energetic wines. The 2020 vintage was lost to smoke from wildfires, but her unreleased 2019s include a tangy, creamy, quietly persistent edelzwicker, a blend of white grapes; a textured, subtle pinot gris; a bright, mineral viognier; and a Bordeaux-like sauvignon blanc with a lightning bolt of acidity.
Ms. Brennan Bissell, 37, gives off a sense of grounded wisdom as a winemaker who believes in history and the classics, not just in whatever is trendy. At the same time, she won’t reject styles without good reason. She says she is inspired by the Caravaggio painting, “David With the Head of Goliath,” which she interprets as humility killing pride.
“I like the idea of building my practice, not with the influence of others, but by what is beautiful to me,” she said. “I think of it like making a perfect pot of rice. It can take 30 years to achieve.”
Analemma Wines
Among the Gorge’s new wave, Steven Thompson and Kris Fade are old-timers. While vineyards in the area have been traced back to 1852, the modern era began in 1968, Mr. Thompson said. He and Ms. Fade, business partners, founded Analemma in 2010, first making wine only from fruit they purchased, supplemented more recently by their estate vineyard in Mosier, Ore.
