Latest Releases + Newsletter

Link to the new release letter here
Love & Squalor 2012 Releases!

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=f7d1…

Change Of Plans

Wildwood Mentor/Mentee Dinner has been moved to August 7th! Same great lineup of wineries and same great menu. See you there.

Tip Top Taps

The new Cask Cuvee Riesling is pouring freely from top taps throughout Portland. You can currently find it at Irving Street Kitchen, Kir wine bar and Riffle NW. More kegs will be tapped and I will tell you about it here.

Oh My, What a Busy July!

We’re very excited to be releasing the new wines next week and have planned a mess of events so you can taste the goodness.

NOTE: This dinner has been moved to August 7th. Seats are still available I believe. Next week – -Tuesday night – is the debut of a series of ‘Mentor/Mentee Dinners’ at Wildwood. The idea, brainchild of Wildwood somm Savanna Ray, is to pair up-and-coming winemakers with the winemaker who gave them their start. This dinner will feature my first wine teacher Patty Green of Patricia Green Cellars, me, and the dynamic duo behind Walter Scott Wines. Lots of wine, delicious foods and some ribald tales I am sure. Call Wildwood for reservations.

7/14 – Pouring New Seasons Raleigh Hills – 2pm
7/15 – Plate & Pitchfork w/St. Jack and Gruner – SOLD OUT
7/20 – Pouring New Seasons Sellwood – 4pm
7/21 – Pouring New Seasons 7 Corners – 4pm
7/28-7/29 – International Pinot Noir Festival (aka wino summer camp)

Stay tuned for more chances to taste Love & Squalor as the summer trips along.

Spring Has Sprung

The warehouse is getting emptier and emptier. The blends in the cellar are getting closer to their bottling date. In the meantime there are plenty of opportunities to get out and taste some Love & Squalor.

This Friday from 3-6pm I will be pouring at the brand new Zupan’s store in Lake Grove. I look forward to surprising the crowds with the Fancy Pants Riesling and other treats.

Next month marks the 10-year anniversary of the original eastside wine spot – Noble Rot. The Rot has been my hang since they opened, long before I was a winemaker. They were the first place to put Love & Squalor on the list and the first to pour it in a flight. I got all sorts of warm fuzzies for them. The Rotten Girls plus Leather are putting together a bash that is open to the public. 11 wineries pouring, mouth-watering snacks, some live tunes. If it is even half as memorable as the first anniversary, well . . . I guess I’ll remember some of it.

Hope to see you all out there this Spring.

Fancy Pants!

Why, thank you. They are for special occasions only. I’m not allowed to wear them to school. The new Love & Squalor wines were named after a favorite pair of madras trousers that I had as a kid.

The first ever Love & Squalor ‘reserve’ wines are now available to our most devoted followers. Two wines were bottled; a primarily native yeast selection of dry (very dry) Riesling and a 1.5 barrel selection of the richer Pinots in the cellar. Both are very limited releases – 60 cases and 30 cases were bottled.

The wines are featured at select restaurants in Seattle and Portland – RN74, Marche Seattle, Wild Ginger, Wildwood and Metrovino. Look for them there or order them direct through me. Prices and tasting notes are up on the ‘wines’ and ‘order’ pages of this site. Go ahead and try on your Fancy Pants this weekend.

Update March 2012

The long sleep of Winter is coming to an end. We sacrificed our one hour to the hands of time and now we sit down to eat dinner with the skies still bright and filled with birds.

In the cellar the wines are maturing. The new Pinot is ticking through malolactic fermentation – rounding out its rough edges and developing into full-bodied wine. The Riesling is dropping its cloudiness and waiting to be divided into blends – some for the kegs, some for the the Willamette Valley blend and a bit for the Fancy Pants. And, of course, there are the barrels of 2010 Pinot – racked and ready for the bottle.

The current releases are dwindling in the warehouse. The 2010 Riesling is still available on a few shelves and lists. The last bottles are being poured by the glass at The Heathman, The Ringside Fish House and Jade Cafe in Sellwood. The 2009 Pinot is on by the glass at Wildwood restaurant and remains on the at a few other restaurants and groceries in Portland and Seattle. I am excited to be shipping some cases up to Calgary for the first time for inclusion on the opening list at Jackie and Kirk’s new restaurant “Avec.”

Fancy Pants Pinot and Riesling are in slow release (and extremely limited in quantity). Look for a newsletter soon with more ordering info on these wines. And lastly, Behemoth, the beast, is available by the glass at Metrovino and Park Kitchen in Portland and most of the close-in New Seasons, Whole Foods and Fred Meyer stores.

The summer is starting to fill up with vinous and gastronomical events. I will be pouring for five courses at Plate & Pitchfork with Gruner and St. Jack in July. Sadly (for you), the night sold out in 24 hours. Save May 6th, Noble Rot’s 10-year Anniversary, as that is going to be a great party. Stay tuned as other chances to hang out and drink with me are announced.

Lastly, links to some recent mentions in local and national pubs.

Good Stuff NW (wherein your winemaker butchers a half of a pig)

Travel and Leisure (wherein Kir Wine Bar is picked as one of the nation’s top)

WineJulia (who really likes Fancy Pants Riesling paired with spicy Thai food)