It's been awhile since we've put out an update, things have been busy! We hope everyone is beating the heat right now! Although oppressive, this warm weather is treating the grapes just right. The vines over at Jesse Estate Vineyards recently showed the first signs of veraison - which is when the clusters turn color and the vine pumps them full of sugar. Veraison is the last major step before harvest, based on averages harvest comes 30-45 days after veraison hits. That said, it looks like the 2018 harvest will come in at the end of September! We're looking forward to working with more great fruit from Jesse Estate!
With that, we're happy to share that we are crushing this year at Laurel Ridge winery. We are fortunate that they had space open up at the last second for us to move in to. Interested in participating in a crush? We may need help processing fruit, so if you'd like to get your hands dirty then let us know! Reply back to this email with your contact info and we'll stay in touch!
We will not be pouring out of Laurel Ridge's tasting room, instead we are working with Urban Decanter in Forest Grove to pour our wines until we open our new space. The details have to be finalized with the OLCC, but we should be cleared hot come October. We have narrowed down our options for a new location, but like we've said before - they're both build to suit. One site needs more TLC than the other, but either way it's looking like we'll be working on them through the winter. We are aiming to do a grand opening in conjunction with our next Riveter Rosé release in the spring of 2019. Stay tuned for more details!
The most common description of the 2017 pinots is that "it tastes like Dauntless." The vintage is living up to its predecessors; smooth, smoky, viscous, and full of fruit. The '17 No Man's Land in particular is already showing why it's a household favorite! Made with nothing but wadenswil, No Man's Land has dark fruit laced with smoke and savory tones which persist through a long finish. The perfect wine for any big meal!
The '17 No Man's Land will be our first pinot released from the vintage, and will be included in our next club release in the fall. We are also planning to release our 2017 "Trenton" pinot gris along side the No Man's Land. Trenton is bright and zesty and we're excited for you to try it! We're just waiting on labels - aside from that it is bottled and ready to go!
A special thank you to our Founder's Club member Leanne Babcock (Cpt. USAF) for presenting our Riveter Rosé at the annual Rosie Rally at the Rosie the Riveter museum in Richmond, CA! We are honored and humbled to have the opportunity to get our Riveter in to the hands of real Rosies! We plan on expanding our production of Riveter so we can provide rosé to their annual dinner. Speaking of - it's last call on the 2017 Riveter! We're down to three cases so get some before it's gone!
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In keeping with our slogan "wine with a mission" we are donating 15% of our sales from the Memorial Day weekend to the Returning Veterans Project!
The Returning Veterans Project is a non-profit based out of Portland, OR with a mission to provide free, confidential mental and physical health services to post-9/11 war zone veterans, service members, and their families in Oregon and Southwest Washington. RVP also hosts regular events for Veterans as well as clinics and other services. They are a fantastic organization that deserve recognition for their efforts. We are proud to support them and their mission!
Rick Imholte
August 31, 2018
Would love to attend Uncorked but we are currently in Sonoma for a wine tasting vacation.