Join us for an enthralling journey through the world of wine as we sit down with the insightful and talented Aaron Lieberman, the driving force behind Oregon’s acclaimed Iris Vineyards. In this illuminating episode, we explore Aaron’s rich experiences, from viticulture to the Peace Corps, and how they’ve shaped his remarkable career in winemaking.
Episode Highlights with Aaron Liebermann of Iris Vineyards
The 2023 Vintage: Dive into the fast-paced world of winemaking in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Aaron shares the exhilarating rollercoaster of the 2023 vintage, from bud break to Harvest.
Roots and Influence: Discover how Aaron’s father’s wine journeys during the ’60s and ’70s at UC Berkeley and in Napa Valley ignited his own passion for wine and influenced his career path.
Teaching Genetics for Change: Aaron takes us on a fascinating journey during his time in the Peace Corps, where he empowered individuals with limited literacy to use genetics for improving their lives.
Cottonwood Winery Era: Explore the legacy of Cottonwood Winery, where Aaron worked alongside his father. Learn about the fate of Cottonwood wine and the current custodians of its grapes.
The Isabelle Influence: Uncover the profound impact of winemaker Isabelle Dutartre during Aaron’s tenure at Deponte Winery.
Awards and Aspirations: Celebrate Iris Vineyards‘ recent triumphs, including their Pinot Gris winning Best in Show and Best White Varietal at the 2022
McMinnville Wine Classic. Aaron shares his thoughts on Oregon’s burgeoning reputation for sparkling wines.
Winemaking Wisdom: Aaron imparts sage advice to budding winemakers and recounts a pivotal moment when he should have picked up the phone.
In our rapid-fire round, discover Aaron’s favorite artist during harvest, his ultimate indulgent food, his choice of superpower, and whether he leans towards digital or handwritten harvest notes. Find out who his favorite superhero is and the latest book that has left a mark.
This episode promises to be a delightful and enlightening experience for wine enthusiasts and curious minds alike. Whether you’re a seasoned oenophile or just embarking on your wine journey, Aaron Lieberman’s insights and stories will leave you inspired and craving a glass of Oregon’s finest.
Be sure to check out our other interviews.
Transcription of winemaker interview with Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards in Oregon’s Willamette Valley
[00:00:00] A.J. Weinzettel: Cheers to another episode of the wine notes podcast. I’m your guide, DJ wine settle 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. Please enjoy this episode of the wine notes podcast. [00:00:25] A.J. Weinzettel: Aaron, thank you so much for taking the time to be on the podcast today. I really appreciate it. [00:00:30] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: You’re quite welcome. I’m glad to be here. Thank you. [00:00:32] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah. You’re, you’re welcome. Uh, you know, right before we started recording, I talked about the, uh, fall, you know, harvest just being right around the corner and you know, the 2023 vintage to me has felt like it’s just been a crazy fast vintage, right? [00:00:47] A.J. Weinzettel: I mean, we had a late spring, uh, in the, you know, once we got like bud break and you know, the, the time once we got the bud break, it was like, Poof flowering happened and then we’ve had, you know, some hot temperatures and like, we’re, you know, at the end of August and, you know, I saw that people are already picking sparkly, you know, this week and I’m like, holy cow. [00:01:10] A.J. Weinzettel: Oh, I’m curious. How is the 23 vintage looking for you? [00:01:15] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: We, uh, at this point are sourcing about a third of our grapes from our estate and, uh, the other two thirds from other parts of the Willamette Valley and also Rogue Valley. We do a few warm climate varietals and I think our experience kind of mirrors what’s going on in the rest of the valley. [00:01:39] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: So, late. But break, I think we were, we’re high elevation. So we’re kind of a week or two later than most other parts of the valley or most other vineyards in the valley. I should say. Um, so at this point, I would say we might be average or up to a week ahead of average in terms of what what grapes will come first off of our vineyard. [00:02:09] A.J. Weinzettel: Okay. Well, that’s, that’s, that’s great. It’s, I’m curious to see, you know, how, how things turn, turn about, you know, it’s always this, this part of the, the time of year where everybody just kind of holds their breath a little bit and make sure that, you know, we’ve had great weather. It’s been great. Let’s, let’s continue. [00:02:25] A.J. Weinzettel: Right? [00:02:27] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Yeah. And so we, um, we do have a sparkling program and those would be the first grapes that we pick. And, uh, that’s usually the second week of September for us. So. We could be a little earlier than that. I hope not, because we’re actually bottling through September 6. So, we’d like to get bottling done and before we bring any grapes in, ideally. [00:02:56] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah. Yeah, no, I can imagine. Uh, you know, kind of starting off early in your timeline, uh, if I understand your, understand correctly, your dad went to UC Berkeley in, you know, 68 to 71. Did he study viticulture there? Or, you know, what? I couldn’t get that information. Economics. Economics. Okay. And so then, you know, his, you know, traveling to Napa and and whatnot. [00:03:25] A.J. Weinzettel: Is that kind of what got him into the rabbit hole of [00:03:28] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: wine? That’s right. Yeah. Yeah, he and my mother would, uh, go to Napa. I don’t know how frequently, but on some weekends that they had time and, uh, I guess some extra money to spend online. There you go. [00:03:46] A.J. Weinzettel: That, that, that is awesome. It’s, and did that kind of help influence your career to become a winemaker? [00:03:53] A.J. Weinzettel: I mean, I know that there has to be some influence there. [00:03:57] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Yeah, definitely. My dad was a big part of that. And I went to Oregon State for crop and soil science, uh, AKA agronomy. And at the time I was there, they did not have a bit of culture or analogy program. Otherwise, I may have ended up there. I started out as a pre vet major and then changed my major at the beginning of my junior year to, uh, the crop and soil science. [00:04:28] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: There was a lot. It was a, it was a good time. I mean, I suppose anytime that you’re in, in college, it should be a good time. But in terms of my field, it was a good and interesting time to be there with the excitement that was evident in the different departments about trying to get medical journey knowledge programs going at Oregon State, even though they didn’t have them at the time. [00:04:58] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: So it was fun. [00:05:01] A.J. Weinzettel: Right. No, I, I can imagine. And you also spent some time in the Peace Corps. And, you know, one of the things that you said, you know, you were often teaching someone that could not read and how to use genetics to improve their livelihood. [00:05:19] A.J. Weinzettel: How, how did that feel? I mean, to be able to provide that level of influence on a person’s livelihood and their life, you know, when, you know, it’s, you know, when reading was, you know, a difficult thing. [00:05:37] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Yes, so the genetics. involved is really basic. Uh, so it’s called nasal selection. And essentially what you’re doing is looking at, in this case, corn. [00:05:55] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: It’s mostly what I work with. So the native varieties of corn. So you’re simply looking at your crop and identifying individual corn plants that are performing well. And So there’s some various, uh, kinds of performance we’re looking at, so disease resistance, and how much crop is on the plant, so is it three cobs of corn, four, six, and, and how big are they? [00:06:31] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: And so we’re looking for, Or we were looking for those kinds of things in the plants that we would select for, uh, keeping the seed from. So we’d mark those plants, say with a piece of string or something, and then come back to them at harvest time and And look again at their performance, you know, are they still showing good disease resistance and good production? [00:07:00] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: And so then we’d pick those, uh, cobs of corn to hold aside for seed for the next planting. And it was that basic. It’s just, you know, no, no need to be able to write or, or read to understand those concepts. Yeah, [00:07:20] A.J. Weinzettel: and I get that, but still, it’s, uh, it’s got to feel good and, you know, how much difference you actually made in people’s lives and, you know, was able to [00:07:30] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: share that knowledge. [00:07:32] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Yeah, we did make a difference. It was, um, it was really satisfying. I was the third volunteer. In that program, so, uh, you know, most people know Peace Corps assignments go for two years and so they’re, the program had been going for four years before I, before I started, and by the end of my program, so in year, at the end of year five or six, excuse me, um. [00:08:03] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: We had seen an increase of like 60 to 70 percent in yields, uh, compared to year zero of the program, so I think it was quite successful. [00:08:19] A.J. Weinzettel: That, it does sound very successful. Uh, so you did, you know, you were at, at Oregon State, did some time in the Peace Corps, and then did you work with your dad at Cottonwood first, or did you work with, uh, Isabel at, at DuPont [00:08:35] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: first? [00:08:36] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: I started Cottonwood before I worked at the [00:08:41] A.J. Weinzettel: Pompidou. Okay. Okay. Uh, so just your dad’s passion for wine just kind of got him in the mood to, you know, buy a vineyard and plant it, you know, with that being like his, his little side hustle, you know, fun gig is, is that [00:08:58] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: kind of how that started? So, in addition to wine, my dad was always passionate about anything having to do with agriculture, especially, uh, beef cattle was his, his main passion, so he and his partner had a property in the Eola Hills that they bought in, I think, 91, 92, and about 20 acres, and most recently, A lot of it pasture and a little bit of forest. [00:09:34] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Um, so we did have a little two acre plot that we decided to develop into a vineyard on that property. Um, so, yeah, I think the reason behind Cottonwood had more to do with the wine passion than. Then actually, you know, wanting to grow grapes. So that was the growing grapes was more of the side hustle, I guess. [00:10:03] A.J. Weinzettel: Right. No, that, that, that, that is, that is great. And you know, you did that project with your dad for quite some time. Did he, how did he, uh, you know, did he get you out in the field and, you know, uh, tie you up with a bunch of rope and said, you will make wine for me. Or how, how did that happen? [00:10:21] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: No, uh, no, it’s more my idea. [00:10:24] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: So when I got back from Peace Corps in 96, I started into the industry on the vineyard management and development side of things. And I did that for five years, uh, until 01, when I did the, um, internship with Isabel. But in, let’s see, 99, we planted our little vineyard. And we did our first, um, Cottonwood wine in the O2 vintage. [00:11:00] A.J. Weinzettel: Wow, very nice. So it looks like Cottonwood isn’t around anymore? [00:11:08] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Yeah, we quit doing that in, uh, with the 2015 vintage, I [00:11:12] A.J. Weinzettel: believe. Wow, it’s… Can I ask why you decided to kind of shut that down? [00:11:21] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Um, well, as it is, I, I feel like I have two or three jobs already. And that was the third or fourth one to do. So I just, I think, you know, my dad was, was getting older and, uh, and he wanted to sort of begin to back out of it and retire if you will. [00:11:43] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Um, so, so there was, if I had. Continued with Cottonwood. It would have been all me. So, uh, you know, an additional job. My dad was doing all of the farming and accounting and I was doing the winemaking and marketing and sales. So I think you could understand what that would be. [00:12:11] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah, most, most definitely. So is that vineyard still around? Is, is it within the, you know, does it belong within the family or people sourcing grapes from that vineyard or anything of that nature? We [00:12:24] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: went ahead and removed the vineyard. [00:12:29] A.J. Weinzettel: Well, that had to be sad, I’m sure in some respects, [00:12:35] A.J. Weinzettel: uh, you talked about, uh, working with Isabel, uh, from DuPonte, uh, that I I’ve heard of her name quite a bit. She seems to be quite the influence and, you know, make some absolutely amazing wines. Uh, what was, what was that experience like for you to, to work, to work with Isabel? [00:12:59] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Well, it was really great. I mean, she continues. The things I learned for during that vintage continue to have a big influence on the way I think about making Pinot Noir and the, the practices that we employ in wine making at Iris Vineyards. And I don’t have a frequent contact with Isabelle anymore, but I, I’ve seen her, you know, here and there. [00:13:28] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Over the years since working with her and, um, and it’s always a pleasure to see her and talk to her. Um, you know, I really, I like her, not only her winemaking style, but just the way that she goes about making, making things happen at the winery and teaching and very inspirational person. [00:13:55] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah. Yeah. The, uh, I visited, uh, a vineyard called Lonesome Rock earlier this year. [00:14:02] A.J. Weinzettel: Um, And from my understanding, it used to be owned, you know, uh, uh, so the person, the, the couple who bought it, uh, the husband was telling me Danny was that he, you know, he bought the vineyard from the owner of the pot day and that Isabel makes lonesome rocks, uh, wine, you know, today. So are you familiar at all with that lonesome rock vineyard or anything? [00:14:27] A.J. Weinzettel: I’ve never worked with those grapes. Okay, I was just curious. I mean, it seems like a very interesting vineyard itself and I was just curious if you had any, any thoughts or anything about it. [00:14:38] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: So I was just curious. No, I don’t know enough about it. I think it’s, uh, I want to say it’s located west of Carlton. [00:14:48] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: A little bit. [00:14:50] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah. That’s about all I know about it. No, that’s fair. Um, I have to tell you, I was at the, um, I was at the 2022, uh, McMinnville Wine Classic. And, you know, it came down to, it was, it was a long day in the, you know, we’re trying to come through and figure out the best of show. And so it, you know, it came down to a sparkling wine and, and your Pinot Gris. [00:15:20] A.J. Weinzettel: And I have to say, I was, uh, I was pulling for the sparkling cause I’m, one, I’m a big sparkling fan and two, you know, sparkling is just, uh, to me it’s up and coming, it’s up and rising. Uh, and first, let me just say, congratulations on, you know, on your Pinot Gris getting Best of Show. That was quite something. [00:15:43] A.J. Weinzettel: Thank you. Yeah, you’re, you’re welcome. Uh, you know, you mentioned your, your sparkling program and, uh, you know, you agreed how it’s up and coming. What, uh, I’m just, I’m just curious. How long has Iris been making a sparkling? [00:16:05] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: We started our sparking program with the 2015 vintage, um, and so I started at Iris in 2008, and I think after, after the 08 vintage, I started to think about our estate vineyard and the fact that it was much later in ripening than most of the parts of the valley, and I’ve yeah, Always had a passion for sparkling wine up until that time, mainly in drinking it, but I had made some before at home, um, just to try it out and see, see what I could do. [00:16:50] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: And so I began to suggest to the owners that we think about, you know, starting a small traditional method sparkling program. Um, in 2011, we had a very cool vintage late Bud break, late bloom, cool summer, um, and we, this still amazes me, we saw that we weren’t going to get our grapes ripe enough to make much of it into red Pinot Noir wine, and um, the president of the company at the time. [00:17:35] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Had some ties, previous relationship with people working at Wacken Riddle in California, it’s a big custom wine winery. So we made a deal with them to make baked wine, most of our Pinot Noir. [00:17:58] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: It pays for sparkling wine. Yes. And even at that, we didn’t pick, uh, the bulk of our quinoa until after the 1st of November. Yeah. And I think they requested, um, some MTA of 10 grams per liter. We were just, [00:18:27] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: yeah, that was a, an interesting vintage. So following the 11 vintage, I, I started to push a little harder, you know, making some sparkling, at least in years like that, where it was really cool. And we’re getting great for the red wine. Finally, in 15, I went ahead and I made it. Using on my own time and money using chalice fruit. [00:18:59] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: I made a rose and they, they like the wine and they, they program from me. So, here we are. [00:19:12] A.J. Weinzettel: Congratulations. Yeah, [00:19:14] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: thank you. [00:19:15] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah, no, you’re welcome. Um, so today are you, you know, doing everything in, in house? Because I know a lot of people use, you know, uh, radiant sparkling, you know, to, to outsource it. [00:19:26] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: I’m just, I’m just kind of curious. [00:19:28] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Yeah, so we do everything in house, uh, and you know, we built our own riddling bins, our own T Roc bins, excuse me, and uh, riddling racks for, for using here in house. So we do. Make all the base wine and we do the triage bottling here and, uh, aging, uh, on triage of all the wines. And then we, we do the scourging as well. [00:19:57] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: So, you know, we don’t send anything out. [00:20:01] A.J. Weinzettel: Well, that’s, I imagine that hand riddling is, uh, that gets to be fun at times. It is. [00:20:08] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Quotation marks. We did buy a, a, um, a gyro palette. Yeah. So we do have. Very nice. Yeah, most of it goes on the auto riddler. There’s a miscellaneous small lots or, um, and, and lately just because of the supply chain issues that seem to be alleviating now, we do have some sparkling entourage in bottles that don’t fit in our cages for the auto riddler, so we have to hand riddle those, but it’s, it’s not a, not a whole lot of wine to do. [00:20:50] A.J. Weinzettel: Well, that’s, that’s good. Uh, getting back to your best of show, Pinot Gris, uh, Iris itself seems to be pretty, uh, you and Iris, you know, you all like your Pinot Gris and you’ve heavily have invested in it, if I understand correctly. [00:21:09] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Yes, yeah, it’s a big, a big part of what we do. I think, uh, that it kind of makes us unique, uh, amongst Oregon wineries to have such a big focus on Pinot Gris. [00:21:23] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Now, obviously, there’s King of State. And, um, there are some other big Pinot Gris producers in the state, but, um, I think there are just a few of us that, uh, I think at this point we’re, say, 55 percent Pinot Noir and maybe 40, 35, 40 percent Pinot Gris and Then a mix of other things to fill that out. And, uh, I would guess there are very few wineries that have that high a percentage of reproduction. [00:22:02] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: I would [00:22:03] A.J. Weinzettel: completely agree. I haven’t heard of many people that, you know, that have that much pinot gris on on, uh. After making that much, uh, and I’m curious, uh, so I know Michael Lundin has a method, traditional, uh, Pinot Gris sparkling. Have you given any thought to doing a sparkling Pinot Gris [00:22:23] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: that we do for different sparkling wines and three of them under Erica label. [00:22:32] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: So it’s a black label and sort of, you can think of it as a reserve label and. We’re trying to promote that label now. It’s mostly a sparkling label. Then our fourth sparkling wine is under the Iris label. And it’s a non vintage Brut. Um, and it is at least a third Pinot Gris. So we’re Pinot Noir, Gris. [00:23:01] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Those are all three varietals we grow at our vineyard. And, um, to this point. Uh, the vast majority of our sparkling wines are made from a state fruit. Uh, so we’re pretty much understood to be a state, uh, but the brute kind of reserving the, the right to source some fruit for that if I need to, um, and the exact percentages of the different varietals in that wine can vary from year to year, but the kind of target is, uh, a third, a third, a third on those. [00:23:41] A.J. Weinzettel: Very cool. I need to check that out. I haven’t I haven’t yet to try that. [00:23:48] A.J. Weinzettel: Um, so I, I’ve read that you mentioned some advice that you’d give, uh, some young winemakers would be, you know, if you’re about to do something with wine and, uh, you think you know what you’re doing, but you’ve never done it before to, to make a phone call, right? You, uh, what, what have you done in your career or, you know, can, can you remember a time in your career where you, where you should have made a phone call? [00:24:17] A.J. Weinzettel: Oh, yeah. Yeah. [00:24:21] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Yeah. You want an [00:24:22] A.J. Weinzettel: example. Well, I mean, if you’re willing, if you’re willing to share one, I would love to, to hear, [00:24:29] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: well, the first thing that pops to mind is, uh, when I was assistant winemaker at Owen Rowe, um, there was, we had this lot of Pinot Noir that, um, was pretty high in pH. I think it was approaching four in pH. [00:24:51] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: And so there’s, yeah. That high of a pH you can have some issues with microbiological stability and things like that. And so that was what I was thinking about, uh, when I decided to adjust the acid on that wine and probably took it a little too far. Um, and it wasn’t within stylistically, within what the winemaker’s goals were for that wine. [00:25:23] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: So, Um, yeah, definitely would have been a good time to, to make a phone call on that one. Yeah, [00:25:32] A.J. Weinzettel: I can imagine. Oh, you know, we always hear stories of the Oregon wine community, how they kind of come together and help each other out. You know, is there, it’s, you know, a time that you can remember in your career where the Oregon wine community has like stepped up and, you know, bailed you out and helped you out in a big way. [00:25:56] A.J. Weinzettel: Hmm. [00:25:57] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: I think it happens in little ways all the time. I, I can’t say that I’ve had, I guess it depends how you look at it, like how big it is. Um, but, you know, just in terms of finding the grapes that I need each year, you know, the connections that I have within the industry, whether it’s on the viticultural side, or that I developed in the first part of my career, or later on, Uh, you know, just knowing people, uh, who are growing the grapes and knowing other winemakers who, uh, you know, finding out where they’re sourcing or if they know of, uh, a vineyard that has grapes available. [00:26:44] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Uh, it’s just always really useful to have those connections to. To be able to put everything together for the coming harvest in terms of fruit sourcing. Uh, there’s always, you know, we’re talking about making the phone call. Um, despite my years of experience in winemaking, every once in a while there’s a situation you haven’t dealt with before. [00:27:12] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: A little wrinkle you didn’t expect. And, um, you know, so there’s resources out there for all of us. [00:27:21] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah, most definitely. It’s there. There are some definitely some great stories and everybody helps one another, which is always, always good to see. [00:27:29] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Yeah. And it’s, it’s important to do. Not only is it, does it encourage more of a sense of community, but I think most winemakers in Oregon, um, or Willamette Valley, if you want to talk about the Willamette, understand that, it’s It’s in our interest that everyone in the region is making good wine, because it just makes everyone who’s buying our wine and drinking our wine, uh, more likely to continue to do so. [00:28:05] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: So, you know, if Winery X over here isn’t getting any advice from anybody and they’re making wine that’s subpar. Um, that reflects on all of us. [00:28:17] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah, that is so very true. Uh, so I have some rapid fire questions for you. Then I can, I can get you out of here. All right. All right. Um, what is your, who is your favorite artist to listen to during harvest? [00:28:37] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Boy, uh, we do listen to music. Uh, my, my tastes are kind of varied and, and I, you know, gosh, artists. I love, I love classic rock. I love funk and hip hop and things like that. Um, if you’re gonna make me mention a name, I’ll just say Aretha Franklin. That that’s [00:29:04] A.J. Weinzettel: that. No, that’s that’s cool. That’s great. Uh, so just a quick sidebar question on the classic rock question, you know, on the classic rock. [00:29:15] A.J. Weinzettel: I had a discussion this past weekend with somebody and, uh, you know, we played, we were playing some classic rock and, uh, late 1980s band, you know, came into that. To that mix, you know, it was, it was one of the hair bands, so would [00:29:34] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: I, I was having a, [00:29:38] A.J. Weinzettel: oh, no, no, no, no. That’s okay. Oh, so the, the question is, you know, would you consider the, like, the late 1980s, you know, hair bands to be part of the big umbrella for classic [00:29:50] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: rock? [00:29:54] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: I’m gonna say me. I would agree. [00:29:58] A.J. Weinzettel: Uh, yes, no, I, I would agree as well, but when you look at it in terms of today, it probably is classic rock and that’s just, that’s hard. That’s hard for me to get [00:30:07] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: around. Oh, sure. And I love eighties rock too, but I don’t really consider it to be classic. [00:30:17] A.J. Weinzettel: Yeah, no, I would agree. [00:30:19] A.J. Weinzettel: Uh, what is your favorite indulgent food? [00:30:26] A.J. Weinzettel: Lasagna. Nice. Yeah, my [00:30:30] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: mom, my mom was always, uh, um, she, she loved to make, uh, lasagna for special occasions. So I always got that, you know, for my birthday or, uh, things like that. And so it’s, it’s a strong kind of childhood memory and so I make it myself now, but. Nice. It still feels special. [00:30:54] A.J. Weinzettel: It is. There is very something. [00:30:56] A.J. Weinzettel: There’s something special about lasagna. I love it [00:30:58] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: through and through. Yeah. [00:31:01] A.J. Weinzettel: If you could choose a superpower, what would it be? [00:31:09] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Super, like, like, um, flying and stuff like that. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, boy. Um, how about being able to talk to the animals? Ooh, that would be [00:31:27] A.J. Weinzettel: nice. That would be amazing. Your harvest, yeah, your harvest notes, are they digital or handwritten? Digital. And then, last book you read, it could be on Audible, or even like a podcast or something. [00:31:47] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: It’s called Ice, and it’s about how to make clear cocktail ice by a guy named Camper English. Ooh, [00:32:00] A.J. Weinzettel: that sounds fun. [00:32:02] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: I know that they’re short read, and I have people over for cocktails all the time, so it’s a nice little touch. [00:32:13] A.J. Weinzettel: It is. I know that there’s a… There’s a company in downtown Portland, I believe that, you know, that’s all that they do is provide clear cubes of ice [00:32:23] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: to restaurants. [00:32:24] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Yep. Yeah, a lot of bars buy the ice. Yeah, [00:32:28] A.J. Weinzettel: that is very cool. Well, that’s all the questions that I have, you know, for you today. Do you have any questions or anything for me? I don’t think so. Okay. Well, Aaron, I really appreciate you taking the time. This has been a pleasure and wonderful, uh, you know, thank [00:32:46] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: you again for taking the time. [00:32:48] Aaron Lieberman of Iris Vineyards: Yeah, thank you for the opportunity. Really appreciate it. Thank you for joining [00:32:54] A.J. Weinzettel: me on this flavorful voyage through the world of wine on The Wine Notes Podcast. I’ve been your host and guide, A. J. Weinzettel, 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. [00:33:11] A.J. Weinzettel: But don’t fret, my wine loving friend. 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. Before you go, hit that subscribe button on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify, and don’t forget to leave a sparkly 5 star review to help spread the word. [00:33:35] A.J. Weinzettel: Until our glasses clink again, remember to savor life’s moments and let the spirit of wine and camaraderie linger on your palate. Cheers! And as always, may your wine glass be full, your heart be light, and your journey.