Bottleology – Micole Miller of Furion Cellars

There are winemakers, and there are rock stars; and today I’m having trouble differentiating the two.

In walked winemaker Micole Miller, it was our first introduction, and I knew it was him at first sight: long hair to his shoulders or so held back by his shades, a sweet leather wrist band, dark slimming jeans and chucks—the Syrah bottle also gave him away.  Just like Micole’s first impression—his last was equally stylistic and lingering.

Micole actually runs the commercial side of Comcast; it’s what pays the bills and allows him to enjoy his passion of wine making and music.  In terms of the wine making, he says, “the most rewarding thing is definitely the camaraderie, it’s addictive. I love hangin’ out in Walla Walla. I go there quite a bit and everyone is always partying at night and having a blast…the people you meet in the industry are just amazing.” The 2006 vintage is his 3^rd commercial release, and he produces 350 cases out of his garage, a space now too small and restrictive for his growth.  Micole was turned onto wine the first time he stepped into a winery–John Bell’s (Willis Hall)—and has vivid memories of the enticing aromas that came from sticking your nose into wine barrels.

Micole makes his wines using primarily Rhone varietals of Southern France, largely Syrah and Grenache along with small tinkerings of Sangiovese.  His fruit comes from Walla Walla. The Syrah he sources is from Les Collines Vineyard, which neighbors Christophe Baron’s of Cayuse, who Micole admits is a winemaker he respects most.  The hangtime for the grapes of Fuirion are long—he’s always the last one of the season to pick up his fruit.  He finds that this extended ripening “turns the grapes into an earthy, dark, meaty style wine—it’s the oak that tames the ripeness.” His wines age 2- 2 1/2 years in American oak, and for those needing less aging he uses 2^nd and 3^rd year barrels from Quilceda Creek.

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