Let’s start this week’s newsletter with a glance back at a HUGE mistake I made with Andrew Beckham’s name. I started with the correct name, and for some crazy reason, I called him David somewhere along the way. Talk about feeling awful. The amount of egg on my face is still firmly in place. I am incredibly sorry. I can’t believe I made such a massive mistake.

To name another injustice, I have not mentioned Oregon Wine Month this month. I have a ton of excuses why, but it boils down to me not taking the time. Here are some things you could do to participate in the festivities. First, visit Oregon Wine Board's Instagram page and listen to their Pair it Forward Series. Once you have done that, you should also notice a post giving away two tickets to IPNC this year.

Massive shoutout to Dave and Lois Cho of CHO Wines for being on NBC Nightly News this past week. If you are wanting to know more about this dynamic couple I recently interviewed them for the podcast ( YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify)

AHIVOY also got some great press on Fox 12 News about their training program making a difference in Oregon's Wine Industry.

Vinepair has a nice write-up on the cool climate wines of Oregon.​

Samantha Cole-Johnson has an excellent write-up on Oregon 2021 wines (behind a paywall). I appreciate how she takes the time to make a quality assessment compared to a report with over 400 wines.

Have you ever had a tasting at Ribbon Ridge Winery / Ridgecrest in the Yurt? I must tell you it's a blast, but I will have to check out the new Ridgecrest Cottage.

I wonder how long it will take for the Air Sommelier Cert to become a thing?

In remembrance of last year's frost, this is an interesting solution to battling frost.

Since this week's newsletter is about Corollary, I must inform you about them joining Dirty Radish for Jazzy Nights at CH Northeast on Tuesday, May 30th.

I had no clue when I opened an email from a new winery called Corollary in the early months of 2020 that I would be writing about our podcast interview today. I also didn’t know they would set the Oregon Sparkling scene on fire. I almost feel like a scouting agent for the next big producer coming out of Oregon.

Here we are, a little over three years later. Dan and Jeanne from Corollary are literally creating new roads for Oregon Sparkling on their new plot of land purchased last year. Vines are being planted this Spring, a tasting room will happen at some point, and somewhere in the 50-year project, miles upon miles of caves will be constructed to store Sparkling along with a cave tour here and there (the whole cave part I made up, but it’s so much fun creating new rumors)!

If you are unaware of Corollary, I have an excellent backstory to read here.

In our conversation, we dove into some great stories about Dan and Jeanne meeting for the first time, putting together supper clubs, Jeanne’s reaction to getting their first ton of grapes, and even dove into AI a little more than we should have. Then, we had to dive into the Oregon Wine Community. It wouldn’t be a Weinnotes Podcast if we didn’t.

Speaking of Community, Jeanne and Dan are trailblazing the path for Oregon Sparkling. On the interview day, they hosted three winery couples to talk Sparkling. Two of the couples (Arabilis and Cho) already make Sparkling. The other couple (Prive) currently doesn’t make a Sparkling. You know what this means, right? Prive is coming out with a Sparkling (rumors, gotta love 'em).

During the interview, Dan mentioned someone calling them for advice on Sparkling. He didn’t detail who it was, but I got another piece of the puzzle a week after the interview. I am pretty darn sure I know who called them, and holy Toledo, that is way freaking cool! This felt very similar to the day I interviewed Andy Lytle. He mentioned talking to Jeanne and Dan but never mentioned the topic. Now, I am pretty sure it was about getting advice on the property purchase. Oh, I adore the heck of out stories like this. It gives me goosebumps and warms my heart through and through!

If you have yet to have a tasting at Corollary, I have to say you are missing out on some crazy good yumminess! Plus, the weather is Holy Toledo hot for mid-May, and Bubbles are perfect this time of year! Dan and Jeanne just announced they are teaming up with Ruddick/Wood for tastings with some food options! So make an appointment today, and when you are sitting down at the table with Dan and Jeanne, you can tell them, “A.J. sent me,” or if you are aware of the South Park three-phase business plan mention that instead to get a great laugh!

Before I forget, thank you to everyone for your support of having sponsors for the podcast! I wish the subscriptions to all the software I use to make the podcast happen were free, but it isn’t. I also put in a crap ton of time to research questions, set up the equipment, do the interview, post-production on the discussion, and getting it to all of the places on the interwebs for you to enjoy. So again, thank you for your support!

Speaking of sponsors, let me give a quick shoutout to Aubaine. This week we dive into Aubaine’s winemaker, the wonderful Isabelle Meunier! She is one heck of a fabulous winemaker! If you didn’t read my fanboy newsletter I did on Isabelle, I highly encourage you to get another cup of coffee and read this.

This weekend I will be sitting by the pool and enjoying some Aubaine Chardonnay during the day and transitioning to Pinot Noir for dinner. I cannot wait, and you should stock up for Memorial Day weekend by using my promo code of WEINNOTES for 20% off on Estate Chardonnay and ‘Joie’ Pinot Noir.​

Here are all of the links for your video-watching and audio pleasure.

• ​YouTube​
• ​Apple Podcasts​
• ​Spotify​

With Gratitude,

A.J.

PS - How would you feel if the cadence of the newsletter and podcast slowed down to spend time on another project allowing the stories of the wineries we adore out to more people?