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Valcan Cellars 2024 "Bare" White Malbec
I'm Not Mr. Malbec
JP (Juan Pablo) Valot was born in Mendoza, Argentina, which is most known as Argentina’s wine country. JP comes from a multi-generational line of wine entrepreneurs. He completed a five year degree in agricultural sciences, with a focus in enology and viticulture at the National University of Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina. In 2001, he came to Oregon looking for new challenges and attracted by Oregon’s growing wine industry. In 2002, he met his wife Doris and both decided to settle in Oregon.
JP started his own project, Valcan Cellars, with Doris back in 2012. Craving to grow his own grapes for Valcan Cellars, he took over Rainbow’s End Vineyard in 2013 and later in 2016, Mountain View Vineyard. Both vineyards are located in Monroe. Juan Pablo was appointed by the Governor to the Oregon Wine Board in 2012 and served as chairman of the Oregon Wine Standing Committee on Research until 2018. He is a well-rounded wine professional who understands Oregon’s wine industry and the winemaking process from the vine to glass.
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Valcan Cellars, Corvallis, Oregon
2024 "Bare" White Malbec
Medium-bodied wine with a refreshing bright acidity and a long finish, delivers flavors and aromas of wild flowers, raspberries, pear, melon, lemon blossom and citrusy notes.
Our White Malbec is the first and only one produced in the USA and it’s a tribute to my homeland Argentina’s flagship wine Malbec.” – JP Valot, Proprietor & Winemaker
This stripped down head-turner starts off with white sage, dried rose petal, gardenia and grapefruit aromas. The wine tastes like an ice cold glass of tart strawberry lemonade where the maker skimped on sugar. Tangy and terrific, the Bare is America's first known commercial white Malbec. — Michael Alberty
Yes, you can absolutely make white wine using red grapes.
In the wine world, this is known as Blanc de Noirs, French for "white from blacks" - and this can refer to both still and sparkling wines. Because the juice inside almost all red wine grapes is clear, you can produce a white wine by pressing the grapes gently and removing the skins immediately so the juice takes on no red color.
Here is how it works:
The Juice is Clear: The red and purple pigments of a grape are located entirely in the skins, not the inner flesh or juice.
Remove the Skins: To make a white wine, winemakers crush the red grapes and extract the juice right away. By keeping the juice separated from the skins, the wine ferments pale, clear, and free of red color.
Famous Examples: This process is most famously used in Champagne, where red grapes like Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are used to make sparkling white wine.
Note: This is different from a rosé, where the skins are left in contact with the juice for a short period (hours instead of weeks) to extract a pale pink color.
A Cellar 503 selection in May 2026, Magnificent Malbec Rogue Valley | Malbec
