A shift in the tasting room to experience all aspects of wine.
After a whirlwind of a first week as a Harvest Intern my weekend ‘off’ began with an unexpected twist—I found myself working a shift in the tasting room due to a staff shortage. In true “all hands on deck” fashion, everyone pitches in wherever needed. Honestly, it was a nice change of pace from the heavy manual labor, and I had a wonderful time interacting with wine club members and visitors. It was a great reminder that winemaking is as much about people as it is about grapes.
Sunday brought a beautiful and educational morning in the vineyard. I spent a few hours with winemaker Aaron Kendall sampling from different blocks to check on grape ripeness.
Read More
Aaron & Tracy Kendall.
In life, they say nothing is certain, but in the world of wine, few things come as close to a sure bet as two accomplished winemakers teaming up for their own project. The duo we’re discussing happen to be husband and wife Aaron and Tracy Kendall. Aaron was the assistant winemaker at Beaux Freres, now head winemaker at Compris Vineyard, and Tracy was the associate winemaker at Nicolas-Jay.
After recently purchasing an established vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, together they bring a wealth of wine expertise to their own project, Folly of Man.
Read More
Domaine Drouhin – a top Pinot Noir producer in the Willamette Valley
Rosé wines have experienced a remarkable surge in popularity in recent years, winning over wine enthusiasts with their refreshing flavors and relatively very high QPR (Quality Price Ratio). Oregon has recently emerged as a notable producer of rosé wines on the higher quality end of the style’s spectrum. Across the state, winemakers are crafting rosés that are making the wine world take notice.
Read More
Winemaker Guillaume Large.
It was 2019 when we discovered Résonance Wines, the Oregon outpost of Burgundy powerhouse, Maison Louis Jadot. We were preparing to do a series of articles on Willamette Valley wineries that had Burgundian roots. Our research uncovered the relatively little-known winery located in Yamhill-Carlton that has rapidly become one of the most talked about in Oregon.
That conversation has been uniformly filled with praise and the scores of their wines from the major publications have echoed our own: excellence across the board.
Always a great visit at Résonance Wines.
Since that first meeting, we have made it a point to stop in at Résonance each time we go to the Willamette Valley; either to interview their very talented winemaker, Guillaume Large, or to at least stop by one of their tasting rooms, enjoy a glass, and of course, buy a few bottles.
With this year’s visit we have seen a continuation of the innovations and the acquisitions as well as the development of their wines as the vineyards have moved into a more mature phase. Like their wines, this story just keeps getting better with time.
Read More
Todd Alexander
Our second visit with the team at Force Majeure took place at their beautifully renovated new tasting room, housed in an old schoolhouse in Milton-Freewater. There we met and tasted with Carrie Alexander, Head of Sales and marketing and her uber-talented husband, Todd Alexander, Force Majeure’s winemaker.
Read More
Recent Comments