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[upbeat music] Cheers to another episode of the Wine Notes podcast.
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I'm your guide, AJ Winesuttle, on this journey of stories showcasing the people behind the wonderful world of wine, where we dive into conversations ranging from terroir, viticulture, to favorite music, superpowers, and more.
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Please enjoy this episode of the Wine Notes podcast. Jessica, thank you so much for be- taking the time to be on the podcast today. I really appreciate it. Well, thanks for having me. This is gonna be really fun.
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Yeah, it will be fun. I know that we tried to do this, you know, a couple months ago, and we had to reschedule, so thank you for, you know, allowing me to reschedule. I appreciate that. Well, thank you. Um,
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you know, [sighs] nor am I going to pour blind wine, but I, I'm curious, right? You're out, you're out there in the vineyard. You are like the queen of the vineyard. [laughs] How is the 2024 vintage looking like so far?
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The 2024 vintage, well, it, it always come down to September. [laughs] Uh, but right now everything's looking good. My vineyard had a little bit of hail damage, but just to the leaves, nothing significant.
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Right now, some hot weather, but the canopies have plenty of water, so everything's looking good. So yeah, right now looking really good. We should be harvesting kind of s- mid to end of September.
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Without a doubt that will be nice. I heard it very interesting, I heard another person talking a few weeks ago, and I didn't realize that powdery mildew was an issue this early in the vintage.
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And it was, it was fascinating, because they were saying, like, there's so much moisture in the ground that when it gets hot, it all evaporates, and that moisture gets up into the clusters, and I was really fascinated by that.
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Yes. I mean, powdery mildew really s- starts from the moment there's green leaves out there. So- Oh, wow... so that's why we start spray programs early.
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It's really all about keeping the spore count down so that when we have the flowers and small berries that are the most susceptible t- to mildew, that we have the spore count down, and we can keep those small berries safe until they develop some of their own natural immunity.
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Wow. But right now, yeah, between the moisture and when we have a lot of moisture, we get a lot of lateral growth. Those are the side shoots that come out.
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Right So right now we just have a lot of growth happening, and, and a lot of humidity from rain and soil moisture. So plenty of opportunity for mildew. [laughs] It's fascinating.
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[laughs] There's just so many things to learn. I don't think I'll even begin to like... [laughs] I could talk about mildew all day long, so- [laughs] We, [laughs] well, we don't wanna do that. [laughs] No.
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How about we move on to some blind wine? Okay. Okay. Sure. Uh- I know it's white. It is white. [laughs] Yes. Oh, as I tell everybody, you know, there is, uh, no pressure. You can say it's yummy. You can say it's yuck.
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Mm. You can go, "Hmm," and, you know, that's, that's all. [laughs] It's just a nice little, uh, additive to the, to the interview, and I always try to find some sort of connection with the blind wine to you.
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So- I wanna say Chardonnay Clone 76. [laughs] Evening Land. Okay. That's what I'm going for. Okay. But how about that? Seven Springs. Okay.
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Do you want- Smells really pretty. Yeah. [laughs] Um, so at the end, you know, I'll, I'll reveal what it is, and, you know, if you want to, you know, think about it during the conversation- [laughs]...
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whatever, you're more than, uh, more than willing. As far as the winemaker, have to think on that one, 'cause it could be from Seven Springs but be one of the client winemakers. Mm-hmm.
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So I'll have to think on it a little bit. Maybe not Evening Land, but Seven Springs. Okay. Uh- At least I wanna make a guess. Why not, right? [laughs] Why not? Just dive right in.
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Be confident about it and- Dive in, and the worst is, I could be wrong. [laughs] Exactly. [laughs] But there's nothing wrong with being wrong. [laughs] Nothing wrong. That's- So...
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blind wines are so humbling- [laughs]... in so many regards. [laughs] Uh, going back in time, how in the world were you fighting forest fires at the age of 18?
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[laughs] I w- uh, how did I end up fighting forest fires? Well, I mean, right from the time I was a kid, I was really into plants, and I was really into being outside. I did not like being inside the house.
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So anything I could do to be outside was great. And so I was working for the forest service in Brookings, and we were doing trail maintenance,
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a bunch of things, and then I started driving the fire truck engine, water truck, around the Siskiyous in Brookings, and that was a little scary, dodging log, log trucks with this big water truck.
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But that's kind of how I ended up going and fighting fires in a few d- different places. Flew out to Montana, and up on the Washington-Canadian border, and a few other places, and so yeah. Wow.
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Ended up having a chance to do some firefighting back when there were very few women out there doing it as part of our district crew from Southern Oregon. Wow. Do you, do you miss fighting fires any?
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You know what I liked about it was just the camaraderie- Right... of the group, and everybody working really hard, and feeling like you're accomplishing something, but just a lot of camaraderie.
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We had a lot of fun and silly jokes that we'd, when we were tired, that we'd have going around, so. [laughs] That's cool. That's cool. That's, you know, it reminds me a lot of, like, harvest in some respects.
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Yeah, it's kinda like harvest too, where you're only thinking about that one thing. All the other, your bills, all the other things are-In the background for a while.
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You're just focused on that one specific thing, whether it's fighting fires or harvest. Exactly. Yeah. Yep. Uh, so always being, like, wanting to be outside and whatnot, uh,
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you, you've mentioned multiple times that you had, like, five acres of dandelion. [laughs] What, what, what does one do with five acres of dandelion?
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[laughs] Well, as I was finishing my master's degree, I had worked at Craft Vineyard, and I got a taste of vineyard work, and I thought it was fascinating, but at the time, there was a lot of sulfur being sprayed.
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And, and so I also got interested in herbal supplements and medicinal herbs and growing fruits and berries for health benefits. So I moved out toward Mount Hood, and I was working for medicinal herb companies.
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At the time, The Eclectic Institute, and they had beautiful property right on the Sandy River. I would ride my bike out there from Portland, lots of hills. And then, um, we grew a whole bunch of different plants.
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Not marijuana. Everybody thinks I grew that. [laughs] That's the one I've never grown. I hate to admit it, or I like to admit it just because it's fun. [laughs] But everything else.
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So at one point, we planted five acres of dandelion because dandelion's really high in iron and has a lot of health benefits. Mm-hmm.
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So we're using dandelion root for teas and tinctures and as well as the dandelion leaves. Okay. So yeah. Well, that's, that's good to know. I never would've even thought about that.
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[laughs] Um, earlier this spring, you know, I had, you know, some, uh, people in my car, and, you know, you had the fields of red clover, and we were all talking about, like, "What in the world is that even used for?"
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So, you know, like the, the just acres and acres of red clover. Do- what do they harvest red, that r- red clover? So the red clover in the valley's harvested for seed production, so for cover crop seed. Okay.
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But for medicinal herbs, we used to grow red clover for herbal supplements and teas as well. So you can use- Oh... it for teas, but most of it's for cover crop seed. Okay. Yeah, no, it's just fascinating.
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It just is beautiful to see. Wow. Um, well, thank you. I notice you have a couple wines here from your, from your label, Cortel collec- uh, Collection. Mm.
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Uh, do you wanna dive into one and kinda tell us about it a little bit? Sure. Um, the Chardonnay here, uh, is the first Chardonnay I've produced- Okay... from the '22 vintage.
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So this fruit was from a little one-acre vineyard I'm taking care of that had about 300 pounds, and then I was able to get some from Seven Springs Evening Land. So, uh, barrel-fermented, quite a bit of structure, and
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yeah, give it a try. Thank you. [laughs] So when I, uh, go to s- smell this, it's gonna be like Clone 76 Evening Land just right off the, right off the get-go? Uh, might be a different clone.
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[laughs] If you can tell me which clone it is. I have no idea. [laughs] No clue. [laughs] I believe it's '96. Okay. I- And maybe a little bit of '76. Okay.
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In the glass, it's, you know, you can... It's very...
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You can tell it's, it's young and vibrant, and then on the nose, you know, you get, you know, all sorts of floral and fruit, and it is, uh, it's, it's beautiful on the nose. Thanks.
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Yeah, and it, it has quite a bit of structure, which is kind of fun and should help it age quite a while. Mm. Mm-hmm. So some good structure, good acidity to give it a good balance.
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It has great, great acidity. Um, and wow, that finish just keeps going and going and going. That is, that is quite something. Um, your barrel program on that, what is... Do you know what...?
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I know we got a, uh, Dami Puncheon. Okay. And I don't remember if we had any other new oak, but we did have a new Dami Puncheon to go with it. Very nice. Yep. [laughs] Yeah. That's fun.
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Otherwise, yeah, not a huge amount of oak. Okay. Yeah, no, that's... That would be, uh, absolutely wonderful for the summer. [laughs] Yes. Mm. Uh, so you, I mean, you've been in, in
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viticulture for a long time. Like, you go overseas, and people are like, "Oh, Jessica, we love you." And, like, you know, they, you know. [laughs] Uh, you know, and they love the research that you've done, and, uh,
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it is quite something. And when you look at the different types of farming, you know, just, like, three basic ones, you know, organic, biodynamic, and regenerative, how would you describe kinda the, the, the differences?
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Um, well, there's a lot of similarities between organic, regenerative, and biodynamic because they're all built on that platform of organic. Right.
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So organic-I was an organic farm inspector for quite a while, both before it was part of the USDA program and after it was the, with the USDA. So at least it's nice it is now a y- national program. Right.
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So that means everybody has to follow the same standards. So organic is based on, one of the main principles is not using synthetic products, so everything needs to be mined from the earth and not processed.
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And so organic, biodynamic, and regenerative ag are all on that foundation of no synthetic products. Right. Meaning all the, like if we're spraying sulfur oil, it's all natural.
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Um, and then if you break out organic, biodynamic, and regenerative ag, they definitely have some differences.
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Biodynamic's based on Rudolf Steiner's principles and his writings, and so it's also based on moon cycles- Mm-hmm... and the lunat- lunar, uh, system, and has some very distinct
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aspects of it in terms of spraying certain products on the vines or sp- certain mixtures, teas, in effect.
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And then organic doesn't really dive into that so much as just, here's what's allowed, a- and it encourages you to do good soil health practices, but it's not, like, required in, uh, in the same way that it is in regenerative ag.
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So in regenerative ag, the big, the big difference there is it's really focused on soil health, and also looking at climate change and saying, "Can we sequester carbon in the soil?" Right.
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So that's where we're really looking at minimizing cultivation and protecting the soil with living cover crop all the time and keeping that carbon in there.
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Whereas organic and biodynamic, there's not so much emphasis on that.
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Organic you might plant a cover crop and rototill it under, which can provide nutrients for the plants, but it also causes a huge microbe flush, and then they break down the organic matter and release a lot of CO2 and nitric s- oxide as they're breaking down that organic matter.
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So regenerative ag is, uh, is more focused on protecting that carbon source in the soil. Biodynamic,
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in that case, it's looking at a whole farm system, so ideally with re- biodynamic you're incorporating animals into the system and using animals to provide fertility, and having as much as possible a closed system where you're not bringing in outside inputs or fertilizers.
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Right. Yeah. A- and to me, in a perfect world, you wouldn't necess- Yes, I know that you're gonna have to go off of some lunar stuff, but not strict i- in my world, right? Mm-hmm.
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If I had a vineyard, I think it would be partly biodynamic. Mm-hmm. [laughs] And then also try to bring in as much regenerative practices as much as possible i- in, in my world.
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Yeah, and I think, you, you know, sometimes... Well, the fact that I have a PhD, a lot of people- [laughs] I've had people so often ask me, "Well, you, you have a PhD. What do you think about biodynamic farming?"
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You know, 'cause they think I'll, that I'll be like, "Oh, well, it's silly 'cause it's not based on science."
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But even though I am trained as a scientist, I also like to realize there's a huge amount we don't know, and that there's a huge amount that we don't understand in terms of the soils and microbes.
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And so I just like to keep an open mind, and I like to incorporate practices from a lot of different, uh, approaches.
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So that's where I don't like to look at saying, "Well, organic's better than this," or, "Biodynamic's better than this." I like to just look at it as w- are we on a path that helps protect the earth and helps- Right...
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protect the planet that we live on? And if those practices are helping us go in that direction, then it's good.
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You know, a- and I feel like sometimes people spend too much time saying, "Oh, well, this and th- that," about biodynamics or organics. But, you know, if it- Right...
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helps people get on that path of sustainability, then I think it's great. I, I would agree. [laughs] Very much so. And I do like to just incorporate various practices.
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You know, I don't do all biodynamic, but we do a lot of biodynamic compost, which is a static compost pile.
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And, you know, occasionally we'll do some of the teas and sprays, but, you know, we're not super fanatic about it. Right. At my house, I've been focusing mostly on regenerative ag.
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I got really curious about that, and my home vineyard is, like, the best place to practice and just see how it goes. But I also have Kunekune grazing pigs, so I have incorporated animals into that.
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And I th- after, what, five, six, seven years, I can really see that they're changing the dynamics and, and really increasing the fertility in the, the vineyard as a whole. Right. So. Wow.
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So when you, you say your home vineyard, that's the Cortel Vineyard, right? Uh, the, my home vineyard is actually Carlisle's Crest. Okay. So I have two vineyards.
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Carlisle's Crest is kind of west, southwest facing, looking directly at the Van Duzer corridor, and it's about eight acres planted, about 18 acres total, so I have left a lot of oak to help support native birds.
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So I only have about eight acres planted there. That fruit, those grapes typically go to Antica Terra into their Pinots and Chardonnays. I did make a '21 Pinot with a little bit of it. [laughs] Right.
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And then the Cortel Rose Vineyard is across from Brooks, so east-facing, volcanic soil, nice view of Mount Hood.
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So right across from Brooks, and I have Pinot and Chardonnay, some Gamay, and I've planted some Trousseau Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and-I'll probably plant a few more things there.
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But I did bring, this is the Corte Rose wine here. Okay. So that's the one from across from Brooks. Okay, great. Well, we'll dive into that here in just a little bit.
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[laughs] Uh, you mentioned talking about bike riding, y- you know, just a teeny bit, and, you know, you've raced mountain and road bikes. How did you get into that? [laughs] Well, I started out...
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[laughs] I mean, I, I didn't start out as an athlete. I, I actually almost died of pneumonia from maybe secondhand smoke. My dad smoked, which wasn't good, so that was... And then I developed asthma.
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But my dad also drove the school bus, and he would drive the school bus with the cross-country team, the track team, the basketball team.
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And when we were growing up, he would take us along on the bus, and we'd go watch the basketball games and the track meets.
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And so I think that's how I got into running cross-country and track, and also playing basketball, was from going on those bus trips.
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And then after doing running for a number of years, there wasn't a lot of bike riding in Brookings, but for a while I didn't have a vehicle, and I worked for the state park, and it was about a 10 or 12-mile ride to the state park, and then all uphill on the way back.
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Oof. 12 miles uphill. And I used to ride my road bike to, to work at the beach. Wow. At the Harris Beach State Park.
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And so that's kinda how I got into cycling, and somebody said, "Oh, you should race," and, but there was nobody in Brookings that raced.
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And so it wasn't till mountain bikes started becoming popular that my younger brother, Adam, and I decided to buy mountain bikes. [laughs] And so we bought mountain bikes, and,
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and, and I kept reading about the Revenge of the Siskyous, this mountain bike race. It was like 49 mile, just super hard. Like, you climb up Mount Ashland, and you get, descend forever and ever.
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And, and we were like, "We have to do that race." And I had still been trail running and everything, and I showed up at that race and actually did really well, 'cause I had the legs for going uphill.
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[laughs] And so that's kinda how I... I think that was actually my very... I, I got into bike racing there, but actually I, I realize my very first mountain bike race was actually in New Zealand. [laughs] Oh, wow.
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So I forgot about that. Whoops. I actually am the New Zealand National Mountain Bike Champion of the very first ever championship in New Zealand. And- Oh, wow...
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that's kind of fun, because I was going to school there, and it was their first ever national championship. And there were only three women that entered the race. Mm-hmm.
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But it was like a foot of snow, and it was muddy and wet snow. And so basically it was like, if you could, like, get to the finish line- Right... then that was good. And I managed to get to the finish line first.
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And [laughs]- Wow... so, so that was kind of the start of my mountain bike racing career, was actually in New Zealand.
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And then I came back and started racing in, uh, in Oregon, and also started road racing and cyclo-cross. So lots of racing from about, hmm, uh, early '90s to about 2000.
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And 2000, when I started, or 2002 when I started my PhD, I decided to just ride for fun and not do any races at that point, so. Right. Well, that's fun. [laughs] Oh.
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So one of the, like, on one of your bike rides, I think Dan and Jean from Corollary, they were with you. Yep. Right? Yeah. [laughs] And, like, that's, like,
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from what I've heard from them, they're like, "Oh yeah, you should get some grapes from that vineyard," and, "Oh, you should get grapes from that vineyard."
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[laughs] And how, and you ended up kinda helping them find their, their new, their new home, right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, actually, I need to go on more rides with them, and you as well, but, uh,
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when they first started, I forget if it was 2015 or 2017, they called me and, or emailed me, and they're like, "Oh, we're look, we're newbies. We know nothing. But we're looking for grapes to make...
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We wanna make world-class sparkling wine. May work crazy, but that's what we wanna do." And so I helped set them up with Namaste and helped point them in the direction of the Cottrell brothers',
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uh, vineyard that's near their new planting, which is exciting. Yeah. So they have been making wine from that for quite a while. Mm-hmm. And then a guy, um, Brian Johnson, that I had raced mountain bikes with for years,
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he had happened to email me or texted me, and he said, "Hey, maybe you remember me, but I happen to have property in the Eola Hills near where you live. Can you look at it and see if it might be good for a vineyard?"
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And at the time, it had Douglas fir trees on it. I checked it out, and I was like, "Yeah, you know, I think the top part could be really interesting, volcanic soils," and that it gets really steep as it drops- Right...
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down to the valley floor on the west side. And so he logged it, and then it s- sat for a couple years with a lot of stumps. And then I hooked Brian up with Dan and Jean, and they worked out a sale agreement.
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And I was there last night, and, you know, it's really amazing to take a look at it now and see what it looks like now, 'cause it's a... If you haven't been there, you have to check it out.
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But it's really amazing, and the tasting room has an incredible view, and it's a whole lot different than when it was all stumps and blackberries. [laughs] Oh, I can imagine. Yeah.
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And, and, and I have been up there, and it's, it's an amazing tasting room. And, you know, just watching all the construction and- [laughs]... all the rocks that came out of the ground. [laughs] That was crazy.
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Yeah, and it's interesting that all the rocks came out of mostly one block.
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Luckily, when we took a look at it, I was like, "Okay, about half of this doesn't have a lot of rocks, but-"This, there's two rocky knolls Right...
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one where the tasting room is and one where they could put a house, and that's where it's just solid rock pretty much. Holy cow. [laughs] I'll be curious to see how they incorporate all the rocks. Yeah.
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Well, I told Gene, I go, "Well, you could build a rock tasting room, but [laughs]..." [laughs] "There was enough rock for it." [laughs] Yeah. Yeah. But- That would be interesting. Um,
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you know, so you, you know, you've talked about, you know, ha- getting your PhD. You know, we haven't really talked about that you've been in vineyard management, but we've, like, kind of skirted around it a little bit.
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And you are like, like I said, you're like the queen of the vineyard. Like, everybody knows who you are, uh, and you take care of some amazing vineyards.
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And you're running around, especially at harvest time, just all over the place. How, why, why did you just create your own label? [laughs] I mean, you already have a- That is a very good question [laughs]...
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a, a time-and-a-half job, and now you're adding more. Yeah. Well, I definitely have had that question in my [laughs]... [laughs] Sometimes be- because definitely,
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you know, getting the wines out there in front of people has been a challenge right now, just because I've been so busy with the vineyards. Right.
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But I think it was kind of a culmination of everything I have been doing to be able to actually make wine and to really play around with the expression from each vineyard and really dial in how we grow the fruit, and, you know, really try to...
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I always like to just push the limits of what's possible, you know? Mm-hmm. Like, in Oregon, it's like, okay, let's keep pushing those limits of what is possible in Oregon. What can we do? Mm-hmm.
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What can we do with wine and, and different styles of wine, and with pinot and chardonnay, which of course are our, you know, namesake, main varieties that we're famous for. Right.
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Um, the interesting thing is, even back in, like, my early 20s, little did I know that it was a fledgling industry at the time, I actually had talked to Scott McFarlane that owns American Dream Pizza place, and he had the Big River restaurant in Corvallis, and we had talked about buying land and planting a vineyard way back when I was in my mid-20s, and then, you know, that never ended up happening then.
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And then when I first started planting my vineyard, I thought I was going to make wine, but I got too busy managing vineyards and teaching vineyard management.
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So, so it's actually been kind of, kind of on the side there, like, oh yeah. Right. I'm gonna make wine. Well, it's just taken a while to actually do it, but here we are. [laughs] Well, congratulations. Thanks.
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[laughs] You're welcome. Um, you know, so on your labels, in, like, the, the picture that you have right here, uh, tell us a little bit about that, that picture and, like... Put that over there for a second.
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Yeah, so on the label, it was based off of this picture I took here
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of this oak tree with a canola field or a mustard field in front of it, and that was just a picture I had taken while driving around, checking on vineyards.
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And so a lot of times I feel like I sort of have a eye for other things that people could drive right past and not even notice. I think I've had people look at me like, "Well, what are you taking a picture of?"
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[laughs] And so that's kind of the little story on the back label about me taking pictures.
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And ideally I wanted to incorporate a lot of different pictures onto the label, but for now we decided to just stick with this- Mm-hmm... just, just as a good starting point. And then I worked with a label designer.
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The, that picture's on the back, but w- then we worked with a label designer. And, you know, we thought about putting a big tree right in the middle, but, uh, it really wasn't what I wanted to do.
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I really wanted to come up with something that was modern and minimalist. Right. But also I love colors, so I wanted to have that pop of color in there. And so we pulled the tree over to the corner here.
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This is actually my hand lettering here, and then we pulled, did a wraparound label to kind of pull it around the corner so that it, that it, your eye kind of gets pulled around the corner.
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And we've had a lot of compliments on the label, and it really does pop out on the shelf, and it's fun that it is very unique and distinct becau- and, uh, it's exciting just that I had a lot of input into it as well.
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Right. No, that's great. It's, and it's a gorgeous picture. I mean, I've seen it multiple times. [laughs] And, uh, you know, good job just pulling over to the side of the road and just capturing that moment.
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Yeah, so this year my goal was to go by and take a picture of that tree every month, but I just realized I better run over there quick 'cause I think I missed June.
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But just to kind of show how in agriculture and out in nature, it's always changing. Right. Like, it's not the same view.
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You're always seeing something new out there, and it's ever-changing just depending on the clouds and the, and the sun and that type of thing. [laughs] Exactly. Exactly. Uh, shall we dive into the pinot? Sure.
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Let me kind of dump one of these in there. So this pinot is the Courtaul Rose Pinot, so this is a vineyard across from Brooks. Okay.
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And in this pinot, it's a '22, we, uh, for the pinot labels, we, the top color g- kind of represents the character of the wine, so this got kind of the rose color and a little bit more bright. Mm-hmm.
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And then the bottom two colors are the same. And this vineyard is called Courtaul Rose because Mark Rose is the one that started planting it,
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and then I guess I'm the one that's carrying on, 'cause I bought him out of his purchase option, and now I've- Right... just recently closed on the lower half, so. Wow. Finished that purchase.
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Still need to finish closing on the upper half. But- Well, congratulationsAnd this one was fun because since I'm out there with the harvest crew,
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it was really easy to be like, well, it's hard, if you've ever seen pickers getting paid by the bucket, trying... It's like herding cats.
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But I was able to say, "Okay, we're going to go over there, and everybody's gonna pick four buckets of grapes, and we're gonna put them in the bin, and get one bin of this clone, 667. We're gonna run up there.
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We're gonna, every- everybody'll pick four bins, 777. We'll run over there, pick four bins Pommard." So we did that. I don't remember.
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I'd have to look back, but I think we put four or five different clones in here, and so it was about a, a bin of each. [laughs] Oh, wow. I, you know, looking at it in the glass here, I s-
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it is, you know, uh, I, I'm a dark fruit pinot person, and I love how dark and deep it is in color. Uh, and this one's a little lighter than some of the other ones. Okay.
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Maybe we should open the Black Bobcat for you 'cause it's got the midnight blue on it. Oh, okay. All right. Uh-huh. But anyway, so this one, yeah, is really a little bit more on the pretty feminine side. Right.
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But it's fun that I was able to make some wines that were different in style between the different pinots.
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Yeah, it's... I'm curious, why do you call this feminine in style? [laughs] It's not. I mean, it's a, just a little bit. It's not as feminine as maybe my '21, but- Okay...
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but if you tried it next to the Black Bobcat, for example, or, or the Willamette Valley Pinot that's more savory and a little more- Right... dark fruit character.
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This just has a little bit more of that perfume note and a little bit more of that red fruit character. Um. Oh, very nice. No, I, I like, um,
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to me, it kind of balances, you know, in between, you know, the, the super light pinots- Yeah, no, it's not light [laughs]... and the deeper, darker. Right. It balances out, you know, perfectly, right in between.
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Yeah, and it has a lot of mouthfeel and kind of psh. It does. Little burst of energy and vibrancy, so yeah, it's definitely not light. It's- No, it's, it is, it is- Yeah... gorgeous. I, I enjoy it a lot. Thank you.
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[laughs] Yay. Oh, so before we, you know, started recording, you know, you were asking me, you know, how much I've gotten out on my bike, and, you know, you did some, a little bit of trail running.
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[laughs] I mean, you have so much on your plate. Do you... I, I know I've seen you at some events, but, like, do you ever... Like, what do you do for actual, like, fun and recharge? [laughs] For fun?
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Well, yeah, I mean, I do go to some of the wine events. I've tried to go to a little bit less this year just to try to have more time to go ride my bike. [laughs] Um, but I do like to...
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It is fun to go to some of the events and just see everybody and taste some wines. Um, I don't do enough for fun, for sure. I work too much. Um, I have been
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trying to get out for rides, and then tinkering around in the vineyard, planting flowers and planting vegetables and that kind of thing. Yeah.
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But yeah, I'm, I'm trying to figure out, yeah, how to get it where I can actually spend a little more time doing those things and hanging out with friends. [laughs] Yeah. That, that- [laughs] That would be good.
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And, you know, you've had some, like, get-togethers out at your farm. And, you know, all of your, all of your animals, especially, like, all your pigs are just absolutely adorable.
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[laughs] Yeah, I could have piglets any day now, so, uh- Oh my. Yeah, and it's definitely, I'm glad they didn't happen with 106 degrees today. Yeah. But they could happen soon.
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[laughs] Well, I'm sure they will be adorable when they- Yeah... when they do arrive. Yeah. Right now with this hot weather, I have swimming pools for them, and, uh, I've gone home and sprayed them down with hoses.
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So yeah, it's- [laughs]... right now a little tricky keeping them cool. [laughs] I can, I can imagine. I remember IPNC a couple years ago, you were going back- Uh, yeah. That's right [laughs]...
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and forth and taking care of them. Yeah, 'cause that was a hot IPNC too. That was a very hot IPNC. Yeah. [laughs] Are you doing IPNC this year? Yes. Good. Yes. Are you?
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I'm actually a moderator for one of the, uh, University of Pinot talks. Oh, wow. So that will be fun. Nice. Yeah. Yeah, well, I hope it continues, but I'll be there. Yeah, I will definitely be there.
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I, it's gotta continue in some fashion. Yeah. I mean- Yeah, I mean-... maybe not the whole weekend thing, but it's, it's not- Yeah. Yeah... it can't just poof, go away. Yeah. [laughs] I sure hope not- Yeah...
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'cause it is a lot of fun. I would agree. And that has been fun 'cause I've gone with, yeah, you and Amy and, and all the, all the crowd, everybody. Yeah. Yeah, that's been fun going the last couple years.
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[laughs] I would agree. Oh, I have some rapid-fire questions for you. Oh. And then I'll reveal the blind wine and get you out of here. Aha. Okay. Uh, favorite artist to listen to during harvest? Oh, no. See, I-
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Are you- [laughs] Well, it, just... I can't think of any names, but- Okay... I do pick, because we pick night and day, I'll always pick sort of, like, my one song that's, like, my night harvest theme song. Right.
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And it always has to be something really upbeat. I think it was, oh, who is that Clap Your Hands song? Uh- Oh. I, ch- I can make your hands clap. Ch, ch, ch. Make your hands clap. Yeah, exactly. Ba, dun, dun, dun, dun.
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Yeah. And that was, like, my... Oh, I, I'm spacing on their name. I'll think of it, but- Yeah, but I know what song you're talking about, yeah.
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But yeah, that one, that was one year, and then there's always something that has to be really lively because when we start getting tired, I need that. [laughs] Yeah, I can, I can only imagine.
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And then I play it really loudly while I'm driving to the night pick. [laughs] Oh, man.How much sleep do you get on an average night during harvest?
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During harvest, because I have to plan out all the logistics, and what I realize is when you pick day and night, it's almost like you're not just doubling the logistics that you have to plan out every day.
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It's almost like quadrupling it somehow, because you have to plan out who's picking, who's hauling fruit, how the bin's getting there, how are the tractors getting there.
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And so because I have to do the logistics, I try not to do as many night picks, but I average maybe four to six hours of sleep. I feel like I have to get that just to be able to- To function...
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keep everything functioning properly. Right. Wow. So. Uh, your favorite indulgent food? Favorite indulgent food. Probably anything salty and savory. Um, what's a good one?
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[laughs] Um, well, the last couple days has been ice cream, but I haven't had- [laughs]... ice cream for, like, a whole year. But I've decided that when it's 106, having ice cream for dinner is a good thing.
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But, uh, how about we say, like, salt and vinegar pistachios. Those have been, like, my go-to lately. All right. Very nice. 'Cause I need salty. [laughs] If you could choose a superpower, what would it be? A superpower.
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[laughs] Uh, a superpower. How about making the days longer? [laughs] There you go. More hours in the day. I need more hours. [laughs] Um,
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harvest notes, like, for y- you know, for your wines, are they digital or handwritten, or...? Um, I do harvest notes. Um, I have some digital, but yeah. Okay. Hard- handwritten might be interesting, too.
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I need to keep better notes, because it's amazing how you start forgetting what actually happened. [laughs] So- Right... maybe the...
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Yeah, and I do like to try to write a little vintage summary, too, because it's nice to look back on it. It is. [laughs] Very much. Uh, and then finally, the last book you read.
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It could be Audible or it could be a podcast, or...
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I always get asked this, and I feel like I love reading books, but it seems like it never seems to happen anymore, so I think I need to go do the Audibles [laughs] more. Fair enough.
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[laughs] I'm trying to think which one I read last. Well, I know I had the One Straw Revolution book sitting next to my bed stand. Right.
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Well, my, my large Anatolian shepherd puppy, Pyrenees, Great Pyrenees, he decided to read it or eat it. I mean, he shredded it, so- Oh my goodness... I, [laughs] I will have to get a new copy so I can finish that.
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But I would like to get that one read. [laughs] That would be good. Yeah. But it's, uh, shredded into bits right now. [laughs] Ugh. So. [laughs] Oh my goodness. Uh, all right. I'm gonna reveal the, the blind wine.
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All right. All right. Uh, any- Oh... any thoughts on the winemaker, or...? Hmm. I mean, y- you mentioned it. I mean, it's, it's totally up to you. I'm gonna stick with Evening Land as my guess. How about that?
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Evening Land as the label? Yeah. Okay. That. So Seven Springs, you're co- totally right. It is Audient. Okay. [laughs] I was almost gonna change and say Audient. [laughs] Almost changed. Okay. Yeah.
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I almost had it, but okay. Yeah, but, you know, uh- I was waffling, 'cause then I was like, "Well, the last Audient one I had, Audant one I had had more reduction, and this one didn't have as much." What year is it?
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Okay. I think this is the '19. Okay. Yeah. Maybe it was a s- '18 or '17- Okay... that had a lot more reduction. 'Cause I was thinking, I'm like, "Okay, it's Seven Springs. It's either Evening Land or Audant." Okay.
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Well, I was close. Yeah. Well, you know, I- That was gonna be my next guess. Yeah. Well, I knew that, you know- Sure... you manage, you know, the Seven Springs chardonnay, or vineyard. And I forget which block he gets.
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I think it is clone 76. I could be wrong. I'd have to double-check. I don't know. I'm curious, though, what gave it away from clone 76? Well, I might be wrong, but
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at least with the Evening Land, when you have clone 76, it has this sort of floral, but also fruity kind of lemon curd. It has just a distinct kind of delicate quality. Right. Very linear, but delicate.
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And then if you go to, like, 95, it's more structured, more citric, more apple, pear. A little different in terms of its structure. Okay. So, so that's how I sometimes pick 'em out. Very nice.
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You know, a lot of winemakers say that all the chardonnay clones are the same, but I, I guess being a vineyard person, I, I disagree. I think they're very different.
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[laughs] Well, I will say, you've been the only person on the podcast that sniffs, and you're like, "Name the vineyard. Name the clone." Boom. Got it.
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[laughs] See, but I almost, yeah, I almost changed and got the winemaker, but, uh- Yeah... yeah, I almost, I was about to say, "Let's change from Evening Land to Audant," 'cause I was thinking it could be. [laughs] Yeah.
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Well, you know, you know, I know that Andrew from Audient, you know, helped you with your wine, and you know- Yep... the vineyard. Like, that was just a perfect connection. Yeah, the... Yeah.
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[laughs] Well, that's, yeah, yeah, he's been a great help with the wines and making some really nice wine, so that's fun. Yes. Yeah, that is fun. [laughs] Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Well, thanks.
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This has been so much fun. Yes. Thank you. Thanks, AJ. [upbeat music] Thank you for joining me on this flavorful voyage through the world of wine on the Wine Notes podcast.
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I've been your host and guide, AJ Winesel, and it's been an absolute pleasure sharing these captivating stories with you. But alas, like the last sip of a fine vintage, our time together must end.
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But don't fret, my wine-loving friend.
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The cellar doors of the Wine Notes podcast will always remain open, waiting for you to return and explore new conversations, stories, and musings from the captivating people behind the magical world of wine.
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Before you go, hit that subscribe button on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify, and don't forget to leave a sparkly five-star review to help spread the word.
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Until our glasses clink again, remember to savor life's moments, and let the spirit of wine and camaraderie linger on your palate.
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Cheers, and as always, may your wine glass be full, your heart be light, and your journey be delightful. Thank you again.
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[upbeat music] Cheers to another episode of the Wine Notes podcast.
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I'm your guide, AJ Winesuttle, on this journey of stories showcasing the people behind the wonderful world of wine, where we dive into conversations ranging from terroir, viticulture, to favorite music, superpowers, and more.
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Please enjoy this episode of the Wine Notes podcast. Jessica, thank you so much for be- taking the time to be on the podcast today. I really appreciate it. Well, thanks for having me. This is gonna be really fun.
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Yeah, it will be fun. I know that we tried to do this, you know, a couple months ago, and we had to reschedule, so thank you for, you know, allowing me to reschedule. I appreciate that. Well, thank you. Um,
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you know, [sighs] nor am I going to pour blind wine, but I, I'm curious, right? You're out, you're out there in the vineyard. You are like the queen of the vineyard. [laughs] How is the 2024 vintage looking like so far?
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The 2024 vintage, well, it, it always come down to September. [laughs] Uh, but right now everything's looking good. My vineyard had a little bit of hail damage, but just to the leaves, nothing significant.
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Right now, some hot weather, but the canopies have plenty of water, so everything's looking good. So yeah, right now looking really good. We should be harvesting kind of s- mid to end of September.
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Without a doubt that will be nice. I heard it very interesting, I heard another person talking a few weeks ago, and I didn't realize that powdery mildew was an issue this early in the vintage.
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And it was, it was fascinating, because they were saying, like, there's so much moisture in the ground that when it gets hot, it all evaporates, and that moisture gets up into the clusters, and I was really fascinated by that.
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Yes. I mean, powdery mildew really s- starts from the moment there's green leaves out there. So- Oh, wow... so that's why we start spray programs early.
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It's really all about keeping the spore count down so that when we have the flowers and small berries that are the most susceptible t- to mildew, that we have the spore count down, and we can keep those small berries safe until they develop some of their own natural immunity.
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Wow. But right now, yeah, between the moisture and when we have a lot of moisture, we get a lot of lateral growth. Those are the side shoots that come out.
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Right So right now we just have a lot of growth happening, and, and a lot of humidity from rain and soil moisture. So plenty of opportunity for mildew. [laughs] It's fascinating.
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[laughs] There's just so many things to learn. I don't think I'll even begin to like... [laughs] I could talk about mildew all day long, so- [laughs] We, [laughs] well, we don't wanna do that. [laughs] No.
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How about we move on to some blind wine? Okay. Okay. Sure. Uh- I know it's white. It is white. [laughs] Yes. Oh, as I tell everybody, you know, there is, uh, no pressure. You can say it's yummy. You can say it's yuck.
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Mm. You can go, "Hmm," and, you know, that's, that's all. [laughs] It's just a nice little, uh, additive to the, to the interview, and I always try to find some sort of connection with the blind wine to you.
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So- I wanna say Chardonnay Clone 76. [laughs] Evening Land. Okay. That's what I'm going for. Okay. But how about that? Seven Springs. Okay.
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Do you want- Smells really pretty. Yeah. [laughs] Um, so at the end, you know, I'll, I'll reveal what it is, and, you know, if you want to, you know, think about it during the conversation- [laughs]...
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whatever, you're more than, uh, more than willing. As far as the winemaker, have to think on that one, 'cause it could be from Seven Springs but be one of the client winemakers. Mm-hmm.
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So I'll have to think on it a little bit. Maybe not Evening Land, but Seven Springs. Okay. Uh- At least I wanna make a guess. Why not, right? [laughs] Why not? Just dive right in.
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Be confident about it and- Dive in, and the worst is, I could be wrong. [laughs] Exactly. [laughs] But there's nothing wrong with being wrong. [laughs] Nothing wrong. That's- So...
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blind wines are so humbling- [laughs]... in so many regards. [laughs] Uh, going back in time, how in the world were you fighting forest fires at the age of 18?
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[laughs] I w- uh, how did I end up fighting forest fires? Well, I mean, right from the time I was a kid, I was really into plants, and I was really into being outside. I did not like being inside the house.
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So anything I could do to be outside was great. And so I was working for the forest service in Brookings, and we were doing trail maintenance,
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a bunch of things, and then I started driving the fire truck engine, water truck, around the Siskiyous in Brookings, and that was a little scary, dodging log, log trucks with this big water truck.
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But that's kind of how I ended up going and fighting fires in a few d- different places. Flew out to Montana, and up on the Washington-Canadian border, and a few other places, and so yeah. Wow.
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Ended up having a chance to do some firefighting back when there were very few women out there doing it as part of our district crew from Southern Oregon. Wow. Do you, do you miss fighting fires any?
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You know what I liked about it was just the camaraderie- Right... of the group, and everybody working really hard, and feeling like you're accomplishing something, but just a lot of camaraderie.
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We had a lot of fun and silly jokes that we'd, when we were tired, that we'd have going around, so. [laughs] That's cool. That's cool. That's, you know, it reminds me a lot of, like, harvest in some respects.
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Yeah, it's kinda like harvest too, where you're only thinking about that one thing. All the other, your bills, all the other things are-In the background for a while.
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You're just focused on that one specific thing, whether it's fighting fires or harvest. Exactly. Yeah. Yep. Uh, so always being, like, wanting to be outside and whatnot, uh,
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you, you've mentioned multiple times that you had, like, five acres of dandelion. [laughs] What, what, what does one do with five acres of dandelion?
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[laughs] Well, as I was finishing my master's degree, I had worked at Craft Vineyard, and I got a taste of vineyard work, and I thought it was fascinating, but at the time, there was a lot of sulfur being sprayed.
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And, and so I also got interested in herbal supplements and medicinal herbs and growing fruits and berries for health benefits. So I moved out toward Mount Hood, and I was working for medicinal herb companies.
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At the time, The Eclectic Institute, and they had beautiful property right on the Sandy River. I would ride my bike out there from Portland, lots of hills. And then, um, we grew a whole bunch of different plants.
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Not marijuana. Everybody thinks I grew that. [laughs] That's the one I've never grown. I hate to admit it, or I like to admit it just because it's fun. [laughs] But everything else.
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So at one point, we planted five acres of dandelion because dandelion's really high in iron and has a lot of health benefits. Mm-hmm.
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So we're using dandelion root for teas and tinctures and as well as the dandelion leaves. Okay. So yeah. Well, that's, that's good to know. I never would've even thought about that.
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[laughs] Um, earlier this spring, you know, I had, you know, some, uh, people in my car, and, you know, you had the fields of red clover, and we were all talking about, like, "What in the world is that even used for?"
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So, you know, like the, the just acres and acres of red clover. Do- what do they harvest red, that r- red clover? So the red clover in the valley's harvested for seed production, so for cover crop seed. Okay.
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But for medicinal herbs, we used to grow red clover for herbal supplements and teas as well. So you can use- Oh... it for teas, but most of it's for cover crop seed. Okay. Yeah, no, it's just fascinating.
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It just is beautiful to see. Wow. Um, well, thank you. I notice you have a couple wines here from your, from your label, Cortel collec- uh, Collection. Mm.
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Uh, do you wanna dive into one and kinda tell us about it a little bit? Sure. Um, the Chardonnay here, uh, is the first Chardonnay I've produced- Okay... from the '22 vintage.
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So this fruit was from a little one-acre vineyard I'm taking care of that had about 300 pounds, and then I was able to get some from Seven Springs Evening Land. So, uh, barrel-fermented, quite a bit of structure, and
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yeah, give it a try. Thank you. [laughs] So when I, uh, go to s- smell this, it's gonna be like Clone 76 Evening Land just right off the, right off the get-go? Uh, might be a different clone.
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[laughs] If you can tell me which clone it is. I have no idea. [laughs] No clue. [laughs] I believe it's '96. Okay. I- And maybe a little bit of '76. Okay.
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In the glass, it's, you know, you can... It's very...
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You can tell it's, it's young and vibrant, and then on the nose, you know, you get, you know, all sorts of floral and fruit, and it is, uh, it's, it's beautiful on the nose. Thanks.
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Yeah, and it, it has quite a bit of structure, which is kind of fun and should help it age quite a while. Mm. Mm-hmm. So some good structure, good acidity to give it a good balance.
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It has great, great acidity. Um, and wow, that finish just keeps going and going and going. That is, that is quite something. Um, your barrel program on that, what is... Do you know what...?
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I know we got a, uh, Dami Puncheon. Okay. And I don't remember if we had any other new oak, but we did have a new Dami Puncheon to go with it. Very nice. Yep. [laughs] Yeah. That's fun.
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Otherwise, yeah, not a huge amount of oak. Okay. Yeah, no, that's... That would be, uh, absolutely wonderful for the summer. [laughs] Yes. Mm. Uh, so you, I mean, you've been in, in
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viticulture for a long time. Like, you go overseas, and people are like, "Oh, Jessica, we love you." And, like, you know, they, you know. [laughs] Uh, you know, and they love the research that you've done, and, uh,
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it is quite something. And when you look at the different types of farming, you know, just, like, three basic ones, you know, organic, biodynamic, and regenerative, how would you describe kinda the, the, the differences?
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Um, well, there's a lot of similarities between organic, regenerative, and biodynamic because they're all built on that platform of organic. Right.
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So organic-I was an organic farm inspector for quite a while, both before it was part of the USDA program and after it was the, with the USDA. So at least it's nice it is now a y- national program. Right.
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So that means everybody has to follow the same standards. So organic is based on, one of the main principles is not using synthetic products, so everything needs to be mined from the earth and not processed.
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And so organic, biodynamic, and regenerative ag are all on that foundation of no synthetic products. Right. Meaning all the, like if we're spraying sulfur oil, it's all natural.
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Um, and then if you break out organic, biodynamic, and regenerative ag, they definitely have some differences.
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Biodynamic's based on Rudolf Steiner's principles and his writings, and so it's also based on moon cycles- Mm-hmm... and the lunat- lunar, uh, system, and has some very distinct
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aspects of it in terms of spraying certain products on the vines or sp- certain mixtures, teas, in effect.
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And then organic doesn't really dive into that so much as just, here's what's allowed, a- and it encourages you to do good soil health practices, but it's not, like, required in, uh, in the same way that it is in regenerative ag.
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So in regenerative ag, the big, the big difference there is it's really focused on soil health, and also looking at climate change and saying, "Can we sequester carbon in the soil?" Right.
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So that's where we're really looking at minimizing cultivation and protecting the soil with living cover crop all the time and keeping that carbon in there.
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Whereas organic and biodynamic, there's not so much emphasis on that.
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Organic you might plant a cover crop and rototill it under, which can provide nutrients for the plants, but it also causes a huge microbe flush, and then they break down the organic matter and release a lot of CO2 and nitric s- oxide as they're breaking down that organic matter.
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So regenerative ag is, uh, is more focused on protecting that carbon source in the soil. Biodynamic,
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in that case, it's looking at a whole farm system, so ideally with re- biodynamic you're incorporating animals into the system and using animals to provide fertility, and having as much as possible a closed system where you're not bringing in outside inputs or fertilizers.
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Right. Yeah. A- and to me, in a perfect world, you wouldn't necess- Yes, I know that you're gonna have to go off of some lunar stuff, but not strict i- in my world, right? Mm-hmm.
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If I had a vineyard, I think it would be partly biodynamic. Mm-hmm. [laughs] And then also try to bring in as much regenerative practices as much as possible i- in, in my world.
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Yeah, and I think, you, you know, sometimes... Well, the fact that I have a PhD, a lot of people- [laughs] I've had people so often ask me, "Well, you, you have a PhD. What do you think about biodynamic farming?"
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You know, 'cause they think I'll, that I'll be like, "Oh, well, it's silly 'cause it's not based on science."
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But even though I am trained as a scientist, I also like to realize there's a huge amount we don't know, and that there's a huge amount that we don't understand in terms of the soils and microbes.
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And so I just like to keep an open mind, and I like to incorporate practices from a lot of different, uh, approaches.
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So that's where I don't like to look at saying, "Well, organic's better than this," or, "Biodynamic's better than this." I like to just look at it as w- are we on a path that helps protect the earth and helps- Right...
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protect the planet that we live on? And if those practices are helping us go in that direction, then it's good.
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You know, a- and I feel like sometimes people spend too much time saying, "Oh, well, this and th- that," about biodynamics or organics. But, you know, if it- Right...
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helps people get on that path of sustainability, then I think it's great. I, I would agree. [laughs] Very much so. And I do like to just incorporate various practices.
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You know, I don't do all biodynamic, but we do a lot of biodynamic compost, which is a static compost pile.
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And, you know, occasionally we'll do some of the teas and sprays, but, you know, we're not super fanatic about it. Right. At my house, I've been focusing mostly on regenerative ag.
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I got really curious about that, and my home vineyard is, like, the best place to practice and just see how it goes. But I also have Kunekune grazing pigs, so I have incorporated animals into that.
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And I th- after, what, five, six, seven years, I can really see that they're changing the dynamics and, and really increasing the fertility in the, the vineyard as a whole. Right. So. Wow.
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So when you, you say your home vineyard, that's the Cortel Vineyard, right? Uh, the, my home vineyard is actually Carlisle's Crest. Okay. So I have two vineyards.
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Carlisle's Crest is kind of west, southwest facing, looking directly at the Van Duzer corridor, and it's about eight acres planted, about 18 acres total, so I have left a lot of oak to help support native birds.
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So I only have about eight acres planted there. That fruit, those grapes typically go to Antica Terra into their Pinots and Chardonnays. I did make a '21 Pinot with a little bit of it. [laughs] Right.
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And then the Cortel Rose Vineyard is across from Brooks, so east-facing, volcanic soil, nice view of Mount Hood.
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So right across from Brooks, and I have Pinot and Chardonnay, some Gamay, and I've planted some Trousseau Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and-I'll probably plant a few more things there.
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But I did bring, this is the Corte Rose wine here. Okay. So that's the one from across from Brooks. Okay, great. Well, we'll dive into that here in just a little bit.
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[laughs] Uh, you mentioned talking about bike riding, y- you know, just a teeny bit, and, you know, you've raced mountain and road bikes. How did you get into that? [laughs] Well, I started out...
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[laughs] I mean, I, I didn't start out as an athlete. I, I actually almost died of pneumonia from maybe secondhand smoke. My dad smoked, which wasn't good, so that was... And then I developed asthma.
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But my dad also drove the school bus, and he would drive the school bus with the cross-country team, the track team, the basketball team.
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And when we were growing up, he would take us along on the bus, and we'd go watch the basketball games and the track meets.
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And so I think that's how I got into running cross-country and track, and also playing basketball, was from going on those bus trips.
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And then after doing running for a number of years, there wasn't a lot of bike riding in Brookings, but for a while I didn't have a vehicle, and I worked for the state park, and it was about a 10 or 12-mile ride to the state park, and then all uphill on the way back.
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Oof. 12 miles uphill. And I used to ride my road bike to, to work at the beach. Wow. At the Harris Beach State Park.
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And so that's kinda how I got into cycling, and somebody said, "Oh, you should race," and, but there was nobody in Brookings that raced.
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And so it wasn't till mountain bikes started becoming popular that my younger brother, Adam, and I decided to buy mountain bikes. [laughs] And so we bought mountain bikes, and,
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and, and I kept reading about the Revenge of the Siskyous, this mountain bike race. It was like 49 mile, just super hard. Like, you climb up Mount Ashland, and you get, descend forever and ever.
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And, and we were like, "We have to do that race." And I had still been trail running and everything, and I showed up at that race and actually did really well, 'cause I had the legs for going uphill.
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[laughs] And so that's kinda how I... I think that was actually my very... I, I got into bike racing there, but actually I, I realize my very first mountain bike race was actually in New Zealand. [laughs] Oh, wow.
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So I forgot about that. Whoops. I actually am the New Zealand National Mountain Bike Champion of the very first ever championship in New Zealand. And- Oh, wow...
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that's kind of fun, because I was going to school there, and it was their first ever national championship. And there were only three women that entered the race. Mm-hmm.
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But it was like a foot of snow, and it was muddy and wet snow. And so basically it was like, if you could, like, get to the finish line- Right... then that was good. And I managed to get to the finish line first.
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And [laughs]- Wow... so, so that was kind of the start of my mountain bike racing career, was actually in New Zealand.
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And then I came back and started racing in, uh, in Oregon, and also started road racing and cyclo-cross. So lots of racing from about, hmm, uh, early '90s to about 2000.
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And 2000, when I started, or 2002 when I started my PhD, I decided to just ride for fun and not do any races at that point, so. Right. Well, that's fun. [laughs] Oh.
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So one of the, like, on one of your bike rides, I think Dan and Jean from Corollary, they were with you. Yep. Right? Yeah. [laughs] And, like, that's, like,
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from what I've heard from them, they're like, "Oh yeah, you should get some grapes from that vineyard," and, "Oh, you should get grapes from that vineyard."
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[laughs] And how, and you ended up kinda helping them find their, their new, their new home, right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, actually, I need to go on more rides with them, and you as well, but, uh,
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when they first started, I forget if it was 2015 or 2017, they called me and, or emailed me, and they're like, "Oh, we're look, we're newbies. We know nothing. But we're looking for grapes to make...
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We wanna make world-class sparkling wine. May work crazy, but that's what we wanna do." And so I helped set them up with Namaste and helped point them in the direction of the Cottrell brothers',
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uh, vineyard that's near their new planting, which is exciting. Yeah. So they have been making wine from that for quite a while. Mm-hmm. And then a guy, um, Brian Johnson, that I had raced mountain bikes with for years,
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he had happened to email me or texted me, and he said, "Hey, maybe you remember me, but I happen to have property in the Eola Hills near where you live. Can you look at it and see if it might be good for a vineyard?"
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And at the time, it had Douglas fir trees on it. I checked it out, and I was like, "Yeah, you know, I think the top part could be really interesting, volcanic soils," and that it gets really steep as it drops- Right...
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down to the valley floor on the west side. And so he logged it, and then it s- sat for a couple years with a lot of stumps. And then I hooked Brian up with Dan and Jean, and they worked out a sale agreement.
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And I was there last night, and, you know, it's really amazing to take a look at it now and see what it looks like now, 'cause it's a... If you haven't been there, you have to check it out.
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But it's really amazing, and the tasting room has an incredible view, and it's a whole lot different than when it was all stumps and blackberries. [laughs] Oh, I can imagine. Yeah.
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And, and, and I have been up there, and it's, it's an amazing tasting room. And, you know, just watching all the construction and- [laughs]... all the rocks that came out of the ground. [laughs] That was crazy.
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Yeah, and it's interesting that all the rocks came out of mostly one block.
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Luckily, when we took a look at it, I was like, "Okay, about half of this doesn't have a lot of rocks, but-"This, there's two rocky knolls Right...
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one where the tasting room is and one where they could put a house, and that's where it's just solid rock pretty much. Holy cow. [laughs] I'll be curious to see how they incorporate all the rocks. Yeah.
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Well, I told Gene, I go, "Well, you could build a rock tasting room, but [laughs]..." [laughs] "There was enough rock for it." [laughs] Yeah. Yeah. But- That would be interesting. Um,
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you know, so you, you know, you've talked about, you know, ha- getting your PhD. You know, we haven't really talked about that you've been in vineyard management, but we've, like, kind of skirted around it a little bit.
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And you are like, like I said, you're like the queen of the vineyard. Like, everybody knows who you are, uh, and you take care of some amazing vineyards.
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And you're running around, especially at harvest time, just all over the place. How, why, why did you just create your own label? [laughs] I mean, you already have a- That is a very good question [laughs]...
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a, a time-and-a-half job, and now you're adding more. Yeah. Well, I definitely have had that question in my [laughs]... [laughs] Sometimes be- because definitely,
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you know, getting the wines out there in front of people has been a challenge right now, just because I've been so busy with the vineyards. Right.
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But I think it was kind of a culmination of everything I have been doing to be able to actually make wine and to really play around with the expression from each vineyard and really dial in how we grow the fruit, and, you know, really try to...
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I always like to just push the limits of what's possible, you know? Mm-hmm. Like, in Oregon, it's like, okay, let's keep pushing those limits of what is possible in Oregon. What can we do? Mm-hmm.
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What can we do with wine and, and different styles of wine, and with pinot and chardonnay, which of course are our, you know, namesake, main varieties that we're famous for. Right.
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Um, the interesting thing is, even back in, like, my early 20s, little did I know that it was a fledgling industry at the time, I actually had talked to Scott McFarlane that owns American Dream Pizza place, and he had the Big River restaurant in Corvallis, and we had talked about buying land and planting a vineyard way back when I was in my mid-20s, and then, you know, that never ended up happening then.
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And then when I first started planting my vineyard, I thought I was going to make wine, but I got too busy managing vineyards and teaching vineyard management.
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So, so it's actually been kind of, kind of on the side there, like, oh yeah. Right. I'm gonna make wine. Well, it's just taken a while to actually do it, but here we are. [laughs] Well, congratulations. Thanks.
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[laughs] You're welcome. Um, you know, so on your labels, in, like, the, the picture that you have right here, uh, tell us a little bit about that, that picture and, like... Put that over there for a second.
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Yeah, so on the label, it was based off of this picture I took here
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of this oak tree with a canola field or a mustard field in front of it, and that was just a picture I had taken while driving around, checking on vineyards.
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And so a lot of times I feel like I sort of have a eye for other things that people could drive right past and not even notice. I think I've had people look at me like, "Well, what are you taking a picture of?"
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[laughs] And so that's kind of the little story on the back label about me taking pictures.
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And ideally I wanted to incorporate a lot of different pictures onto the label, but for now we decided to just stick with this- Mm-hmm... just, just as a good starting point. And then I worked with a label designer.
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The, that picture's on the back, but w- then we worked with a label designer. And, you know, we thought about putting a big tree right in the middle, but, uh, it really wasn't what I wanted to do.
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I really wanted to come up with something that was modern and minimalist. Right. But also I love colors, so I wanted to have that pop of color in there. And so we pulled the tree over to the corner here.
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This is actually my hand lettering here, and then we pulled, did a wraparound label to kind of pull it around the corner so that it, that it, your eye kind of gets pulled around the corner.
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And we've had a lot of compliments on the label, and it really does pop out on the shelf, and it's fun that it is very unique and distinct becau- and, uh, it's exciting just that I had a lot of input into it as well.
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Right. No, that's great. It's, and it's a gorgeous picture. I mean, I've seen it multiple times. [laughs] And, uh, you know, good job just pulling over to the side of the road and just capturing that moment.
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Yeah, so this year my goal was to go by and take a picture of that tree every month, but I just realized I better run over there quick 'cause I think I missed June.
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But just to kind of show how in agriculture and out in nature, it's always changing. Right. Like, it's not the same view.
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You're always seeing something new out there, and it's ever-changing just depending on the clouds and the, and the sun and that type of thing. [laughs] Exactly. Exactly. Uh, shall we dive into the pinot? Sure.
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Let me kind of dump one of these in there. So this pinot is the Courtaul Rose Pinot, so this is a vineyard across from Brooks. Okay.
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And in this pinot, it's a '22, we, uh, for the pinot labels, we, the top color g- kind of represents the character of the wine, so this got kind of the rose color and a little bit more bright. Mm-hmm.
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And then the bottom two colors are the same. And this vineyard is called Courtaul Rose because Mark Rose is the one that started planting it,
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and then I guess I'm the one that's carrying on, 'cause I bought him out of his purchase option, and now I've- Right... just recently closed on the lower half, so. Wow. Finished that purchase.
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Still need to finish closing on the upper half. But- Well, congratulationsAnd this one was fun because since I'm out there with the harvest crew,
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it was really easy to be like, well, it's hard, if you've ever seen pickers getting paid by the bucket, trying... It's like herding cats.
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But I was able to say, "Okay, we're going to go over there, and everybody's gonna pick four buckets of grapes, and we're gonna put them in the bin, and get one bin of this clone, 667. We're gonna run up there.
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We're gonna, every- everybody'll pick four bins, 777. We'll run over there, pick four bins Pommard." So we did that. I don't remember.
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I'd have to look back, but I think we put four or five different clones in here, and so it was about a, a bin of each. [laughs] Oh, wow. I, you know, looking at it in the glass here, I s-
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it is, you know, uh, I, I'm a dark fruit pinot person, and I love how dark and deep it is in color. Uh, and this one's a little lighter than some of the other ones. Okay.
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Maybe we should open the Black Bobcat for you 'cause it's got the midnight blue on it. Oh, okay. All right. Uh-huh. But anyway, so this one, yeah, is really a little bit more on the pretty feminine side. Right.
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But it's fun that I was able to make some wines that were different in style between the different pinots.
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Yeah, it's... I'm curious, why do you call this feminine in style? [laughs] It's not. I mean, it's a, just a little bit. It's not as feminine as maybe my '21, but- Okay...
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but if you tried it next to the Black Bobcat, for example, or, or the Willamette Valley Pinot that's more savory and a little more- Right... dark fruit character.
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This just has a little bit more of that perfume note and a little bit more of that red fruit character. Um. Oh, very nice. No, I, I like, um,
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to me, it kind of balances, you know, in between, you know, the, the super light pinots- Yeah, no, it's not light [laughs]... and the deeper, darker. Right. It balances out, you know, perfectly, right in between.
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Yeah, and it has a lot of mouthfeel and kind of psh. It does. Little burst of energy and vibrancy, so yeah, it's definitely not light. It's- No, it's, it is, it is- Yeah... gorgeous. I, I enjoy it a lot. Thank you.
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[laughs] Yay. Oh, so before we, you know, started recording, you know, you were asking me, you know, how much I've gotten out on my bike, and, you know, you did some, a little bit of trail running.
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[laughs] I mean, you have so much on your plate. Do you... I, I know I've seen you at some events, but, like, do you ever... Like, what do you do for actual, like, fun and recharge? [laughs] For fun?
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Well, yeah, I mean, I do go to some of the wine events. I've tried to go to a little bit less this year just to try to have more time to go ride my bike. [laughs] Um, but I do like to...
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It is fun to go to some of the events and just see everybody and taste some wines. Um, I don't do enough for fun, for sure. I work too much. Um, I have been
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trying to get out for rides, and then tinkering around in the vineyard, planting flowers and planting vegetables and that kind of thing. Yeah.
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But yeah, I'm, I'm trying to figure out, yeah, how to get it where I can actually spend a little more time doing those things and hanging out with friends. [laughs] Yeah. That, that- [laughs] That would be good.
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And, you know, you've had some, like, get-togethers out at your farm. And, you know, all of your, all of your animals, especially, like, all your pigs are just absolutely adorable.
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[laughs] Yeah, I could have piglets any day now, so, uh- Oh my. Yeah, and it's definitely, I'm glad they didn't happen with 106 degrees today. Yeah. But they could happen soon.
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[laughs] Well, I'm sure they will be adorable when they- Yeah... when they do arrive. Yeah. Right now with this hot weather, I have swimming pools for them, and, uh, I've gone home and sprayed them down with hoses.
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So yeah, it's- [laughs]... right now a little tricky keeping them cool. [laughs] I can, I can imagine. I remember IPNC a couple years ago, you were going back- Uh, yeah. That's right [laughs]...
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and forth and taking care of them. Yeah, 'cause that was a hot IPNC too. That was a very hot IPNC. Yeah. [laughs] Are you doing IPNC this year? Yes. Good. Yes. Are you?
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I'm actually a moderator for one of the, uh, University of Pinot talks. Oh, wow. So that will be fun. Nice. Yeah. Yeah, well, I hope it continues, but I'll be there. Yeah, I will definitely be there.
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I, it's gotta continue in some fashion. Yeah. I mean- Yeah, I mean-... maybe not the whole weekend thing, but it's, it's not- Yeah. Yeah... it can't just poof, go away. Yeah. [laughs] I sure hope not- Yeah...
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'cause it is a lot of fun. I would agree. And that has been fun 'cause I've gone with, yeah, you and Amy and, and all the, all the crowd, everybody. Yeah. Yeah, that's been fun going the last couple years.
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[laughs] I would agree. Oh, I have some rapid-fire questions for you. Oh. And then I'll reveal the blind wine and get you out of here. Aha. Okay. Uh, favorite artist to listen to during harvest? Oh, no. See, I-
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Are you- [laughs] Well, it, just... I can't think of any names, but- Okay... I do pick, because we pick night and day, I'll always pick sort of, like, my one song that's, like, my night harvest theme song. Right.
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And it always has to be something really upbeat. I think it was, oh, who is that Clap Your Hands song? Uh- Oh. I, ch- I can make your hands clap. Ch, ch, ch. Make your hands clap. Yeah, exactly. Ba, dun, dun, dun, dun.
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Yeah. And that was, like, my... Oh, I, I'm spacing on their name. I'll think of it, but- Yeah, but I know what song you're talking about, yeah.
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But yeah, that one, that was one year, and then there's always something that has to be really lively because when we start getting tired, I need that. [laughs] Yeah, I can, I can only imagine.
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And then I play it really loudly while I'm driving to the night pick. [laughs] Oh, man.How much sleep do you get on an average night during harvest?
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During harvest, because I have to plan out all the logistics, and what I realize is when you pick day and night, it's almost like you're not just doubling the logistics that you have to plan out every day.
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It's almost like quadrupling it somehow, because you have to plan out who's picking, who's hauling fruit, how the bin's getting there, how are the tractors getting there.
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And so because I have to do the logistics, I try not to do as many night picks, but I average maybe four to six hours of sleep. I feel like I have to get that just to be able to- To function...
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keep everything functioning properly. Right. Wow. So. Uh, your favorite indulgent food? Favorite indulgent food. Probably anything salty and savory. Um, what's a good one?
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[laughs] Um, well, the last couple days has been ice cream, but I haven't had- [laughs]... ice cream for, like, a whole year. But I've decided that when it's 106, having ice cream for dinner is a good thing.
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But, uh, how about we say, like, salt and vinegar pistachios. Those have been, like, my go-to lately. All right. Very nice. 'Cause I need salty. [laughs] If you could choose a superpower, what would it be? A superpower.
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[laughs] Uh, a superpower. How about making the days longer? [laughs] There you go. More hours in the day. I need more hours. [laughs] Um,
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harvest notes, like, for y- you know, for your wines, are they digital or handwritten, or...? Um, I do harvest notes. Um, I have some digital, but yeah. Okay. Hard- handwritten might be interesting, too.
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I need to keep better notes, because it's amazing how you start forgetting what actually happened. [laughs] So- Right... maybe the...
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Yeah, and I do like to try to write a little vintage summary, too, because it's nice to look back on it. It is. [laughs] Very much. Uh, and then finally, the last book you read.
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It could be Audible or it could be a podcast, or...
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I always get asked this, and I feel like I love reading books, but it seems like it never seems to happen anymore, so I think I need to go do the Audibles [laughs] more. Fair enough.
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[laughs] I'm trying to think which one I read last. Well, I know I had the One Straw Revolution book sitting next to my bed stand. Right.
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Well, my, my large Anatolian shepherd puppy, Pyrenees, Great Pyrenees, he decided to read it or eat it. I mean, he shredded it, so- Oh my goodness... I, [laughs] I will have to get a new copy so I can finish that.
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But I would like to get that one read. [laughs] That would be good. Yeah. But it's, uh, shredded into bits right now. [laughs] Ugh. So. [laughs] Oh my goodness. Uh, all right. I'm gonna reveal the, the blind wine.
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All right. All right. Uh, any- Oh... any thoughts on the winemaker, or...? Hmm. I mean, y- you mentioned it. I mean, it's, it's totally up to you. I'm gonna stick with Evening Land as my guess. How about that?
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Evening Land as the label? Yeah. Okay. That. So Seven Springs, you're co- totally right. It is Audient. Okay. [laughs] I was almost gonna change and say Audient. [laughs] Almost changed. Okay. Yeah.
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I almost had it, but okay. Yeah, but, you know, uh- I was waffling, 'cause then I was like, "Well, the last Audient one I had, Audant one I had had more reduction, and this one didn't have as much." What year is it?
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Okay. I think this is the '19. Okay. Yeah. Maybe it was a s- '18 or '17- Okay... that had a lot more reduction. 'Cause I was thinking, I'm like, "Okay, it's Seven Springs. It's either Evening Land or Audant." Okay.
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Well, I was close. Yeah. Well, you know, I- That was gonna be my next guess. Yeah. Well, I knew that, you know- Sure... you manage, you know, the Seven Springs chardonnay, or vineyard. And I forget which block he gets.
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I think it is clone 76. I could be wrong. I'd have to double-check. I don't know. I'm curious, though, what gave it away from clone 76? Well, I might be wrong, but
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at least with the Evening Land, when you have clone 76, it has this sort of floral, but also fruity kind of lemon curd. It has just a distinct kind of delicate quality. Right. Very linear, but delicate.
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And then if you go to, like, 95, it's more structured, more citric, more apple, pear. A little different in terms of its structure. Okay. So, so that's how I sometimes pick 'em out. Very nice.
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You know, a lot of winemakers say that all the chardonnay clones are the same, but I, I guess being a vineyard person, I, I disagree. I think they're very different.
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[laughs] Well, I will say, you've been the only person on the podcast that sniffs, and you're like, "Name the vineyard. Name the clone." Boom. Got it.
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[laughs] See, but I almost, yeah, I almost changed and got the winemaker, but, uh- Yeah... yeah, I almost, I was about to say, "Let's change from Evening Land to Audant," 'cause I was thinking it could be. [laughs] Yeah.
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Well, you know, you know, I know that Andrew from Audient, you know, helped you with your wine, and you know- Yep... the vineyard. Like, that was just a perfect connection. Yeah, the... Yeah.
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[laughs] Well, that's, yeah, yeah, he's been a great help with the wines and making some really nice wine, so that's fun. Yes. Yeah, that is fun. [laughs] Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Well, thanks.
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This has been so much fun. Yes. Thank you. Thanks, AJ. [upbeat music] Thank you for joining me on this flavorful voyage through the world of wine on the Wine Notes podcast.
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I've been your host and guide, AJ Winesel, and it's been an absolute pleasure sharing these captivating stories with you. But alas, like the last sip of a fine vintage, our time together must end.
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But don't fret, my wine-loving friend.
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The cellar doors of the Wine Notes podcast will always remain open, waiting for you to return and explore new conversations, stories, and musings from the captivating people behind the magical world of wine.
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Before you go, hit that subscribe button on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify, and don't forget to leave a sparkly five-star review to help spread the word.
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Until our glasses clink again, remember to savor life's moments, and let the spirit of wine and camaraderie linger on your palate.
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Cheers, and as always, may your wine glass be full, your heart be light, and your journey be delightful. Thank you again.
