A-List Wine Club Newsletter | Fall 2021

Winemaking Update
Ian Burch, Winemaker

Nothing makes me happier than having our wines shipped to you. In many special ways, it’s like watching your kids go off to school. Each wine has had the opportunity to spend some time in the bottle and we’re now seeing just how remarkable and individualistic they truly are. The 2019 vintage continues to grow, gaining bulk, sophistication, and personality daily. It’s an Oregon vintage through and through, with real Willamette Valley bones. There’s juicy acidity, fresh fruit and wonderful complexity.

Our 2020 wines are nearly racked to tank, where they’ll live until we bottle them in December. Today, the enrapturing smell of Chardonnay is in the cellar air as we nudge it from barrel to tank. Already, we are witnessing concentration and drive in this vintage and we can’t wait to share it with you.

This year’s growing season has been dry with some irregular heat spikes. Fortunately, our vineyards are rooted deeply in the soil and are therefore incredibly resilient. The vines are tough as nails and thanks to a chemical-free farming philosophy, the resident microbes are making sure of that. Years like this, our biodynamic efforts in the field really pay off. The soil-microbe sprays we apply allow our vines to take on just the right amount of moisture, even in drought-like conditions.

Presently, the clusters are going through veraison. As a winemaker, that means you try to book out those very last vacations and read an extra book or two to your kids at night knowing that harvest is just around the bend. The clusters are medium to small and there are lots of beautiful, tiny berries. Dense, colorful, and flavorful wines are surely on the horizon. These are my favorite vintages, ones with an abundance of beautiful attributes and balance in the fruit. It’s hard not to be very excited. We’ll be ready for whatever Mother Nature dishes up between now and September harvest.

Harvesttime is practically hypnotic in the Willamette Valley. The sun de-intensifies as cool mornings kick off each day. The air feels incredibly invigorating. It’s easy to imagine why wine grapes like to call this place home. We hope that you can visit soon and relish in the beauty and bounty this wonderful place has so much of.

The 2019 Vintage

The 2019 harvest is synonymous with so many deeply Oregonian things. When one thinks of the Beaver State, they tend to imagine salamanders, ferns, pine trees, fresh and bouncy forest floors underfoot and rain. This pretty much sums up the vintage, at least the rain aspect.

Having just over two inches fall through harvest was something we played hopscotch with. We have grown accustomed to warmer, drier vintages as of late. The wet conditions rinsed off the fruit and gave the vines one last gulp of water as color and maturity in the clusters caught up with sugar levels and acidity.

The 2019 vintage wines are ethereal and showcase the soul of what Oregon truly is. We operate within a wine region that builds on acidity and tension with cool weather to allow complex development. The vintage is one I like to call “old school” in Oregon wine, and we could not be happier for you to experience it for yourself. At first sip you’ll hear the pure rains drumming on the rooftop and see evergreens standing tall in the distance, if only in your mind.