Are you affiliated wITH David hill vineyards?

No. I do source numerous grapes from them and also make all of my wines in their historic winery. Beyond that, I have no affiliation with the David Hill brand. The research that I have done on Charles Coury, his plant material sources, DNA analysis, the Rueter Family, and all other content in this website is my own.

Who is the winemaker?

I am. However, I do not use the word “winemaker” to describe myself as I am not intimately involved in all of the grape growing decisions from the vineyards that I source from. In my opinion, a true winemaker is someone who works mostly in the vineyard. I am not that person, yet. I make all picking, fermentation, blending, sulfur/no sulfur, labeling, branding, and bottling decisions. During the heavy bottling season and especially during harvest, the team at David Hill has been an invaluable ally. Most importantly, great wine happens when you’ve got many people assisting in the pursuit. Nobody does it alone, therefore the focus shouldn’t be on just one individual.

What is a co-fermentation?

There is a huge difference between a blend and a co-fermentation. The best way to help you understand this difference is through a cooking example. If I was going to make you chili tonight for dinner, I could cook all of the ingredients separately and then assemble them in a bowl for you, just before serving it to you (a blend). This chili would taste drastically different than if I cooked everything together in the same dutch oven (a co-fermentation). I believe that co-fermentations attain the highest level of nuanced flavors and textures than blended wines.

What is Orange wine?

An orange wine is made from white grapes, but processed and made just like red wine. A rosé is made from red grapes processed and made like white wine. Orange wines are not a fad or a new type of wine. They are a centuries old wine that became less common as wine culture moved deeper into Western Europe. Basically, the French and Germans historically did not make orange wine and since most of our wine education is based on a Franco-German model, we have not been exposed to orange wines. In the country of Georgia, orange (amber) wines are the norm, and finding a “white” wine as we know them, is not as common. Since the skins are used in the winemaking process, there are more tannins and antioxidants in the wine, so less sulfur is needed. Skin contact in wine is a preservative, it provides texture, and of course color.

Are your wines ‘Natural’?

I have been drinking, buying, supporting, learning about ‘natural’ wines for over a decade. I am well versed on the subject. Having said that, I am very, very, very careful in not using dogmatic terms and absolutes. Like every person, every wine is different. Depending on grape quality and vintage, I use very little (sometimes no sulfur). Now, I DO NOT THINK that sulfur use is a bad thing in winemaking. The best way to describe my views on sulfur is to use another cooking analogy. Sulfur use in winemaking is like salt in cooking. I could cook you dinner tonight and not use salt in any of my cooking and some of the dishes will probably still taste good. But if I add just a “pinch” of salt the flavors will pop and the dishes will taste way better. If I over salt everything, I will have ruined all of the dishes and left you feeling bloated. There are wines that benefit from sulfur and there are wines that really don’t need much, if any. This boils down to a wider understanding of grapes, vintage, and health of the individual fermentations. The vast majority of my wines have well under 40ppm of sulfur additions. By the time they are in bottle, they usually have less than 10ppm. We believe in transparency in winemaking and we believe in a select, microdose, barrel to barrel, use of sulfur. We do not indiscriminately use suflur in a large lot of wine.

Are your wines VEGAN?

Yes, all of my wines are unfined (vegan) and also predominantly unfiltered.

Can I find your wines at my local grocery store?

Most likely not. Most of my wines are too small in production to be found at large grocery store chains. In my personal experiences in buying wines, I have found that the absolute WORST place to buy your wines is at a big box store, TJ’s, large grocery store chains, and large wine/spirits superstores. These establishments are not interested in “taste”, they are interested in convenience. First, I must HIGHLY recommend shopping for your wines directly from local producers and secondly, from your local independent retailer. They are going to have the best selection of what I call “real wines”…..but what about those “healthy” style grocery store chains? Ah, unfortunately, no. Do you have any guesses as to which isle is completely ignored in those stores that champion their “organic”, “sustainable”, “free range”, “artisanal”, “farm to fork”, “vegan”, and “gluten free” products? Yep, that wine isle is a mess.

What states can you ship to?

This is the most frustrating question, because the answer is way more complicated and criminal than it needs to be. As an Oregon wine producer, there are still 13 states in the United States of America that I cannot legally ship wine to. Ironically, nearly all of those same states ALLOW ME to ship a gun. We have focused many of our distribution arrangements and direct to consumer sales to the following states: CA, WA, OR, NY, NJ, , IL, MA, TN, MO, and WI. If you’re unsure whether we can ship to you, please contact us. If you live in WV, UT, TX, MS, AL, SC, ND, SD, MT, AK, AR, or HI we will probably never be able to ship to you. Please accept our apologies. If you are unaware of your states wine shipment laws, please view this resource: FREE THE GRAPES.

Do you donate to school or non-profit auctions?

No. It is always problematic donating alcohol, most state regulators make it more trouble than it is worth. I personally donate to many causes, but I do not use my wines in this fashion. I am however, interested in collaborating in events that I can attend, talk about wine, and facilitate dialog.

Why don’t you disclose your vineyard sources?

Simple. Poaching. I will only mention the vineyard name for wines that I have a long term grape contract with. There are more and more rich people getting into the wine game and more and more newbies who would rather poach my sources than do the hard work of finding a great source themselves. For what it is worth, I don’t really share the locations of where I hunt chanterelles either.

Who is your distributor?

It depends on the state. Please send me an email and I will provide you with the most current contact information. If you are a distributor and are interested in my wines, please contact me here.

Are your grapes hand harvested?