Who writes the Weinnotes newsletter?

The Weinnotes newsletter is written by A.J. Weinzettel, a wine journalist and podcaster who has written about Oregon wine country since 2019. Each issue tells the story of a winery and the people behind it, mostly in the Willamette Valley.

Where can I read more Weinnotes stories?

Every issue is in the Weinnotes newsletter archive at https://weinnotes.com/newsletter, and new issues are free by email at https://weinnotes.com/subscribe.

Dispatch · Saturday, March 13, 2021

Dick Erath, Page Knudsen Cowles, and Too Much Sunshine

Oregon wine history videos worth your 36 minutes, and why the Alloro deep dive got pushed back a couple of weeks.

It’s been absolutely fabulous outside this week! I’ve taken many bike rides, and it feels so good to get outside, sweat, and be out of breath. This weekend is full of sun as well. I hope you are getting outside to enjoy Spring to the fullest extent possible!

On Tuesday before #ajsHappyHour there was a webinar/zoom call/virtual happy hour/interview with Dick Erath and Page Knudsen Cowles. It was 36 minutes filled with some good ole-time stories. I am personally soaking it up like a dry biscuit you eat with fried chicken to soak up the gravy from the mashed taters. The last couple of months have been filled with reading books on Oregon Wine history. Hearing these stories from these 50th Anniversary celebrations feels like I am reliving Oregon Wine Country's birth. I am sure you have 36 minutes in your covid busy schedule to listen/watch this interview.

If you want to dive a little deeper and want something to watch instead of binge-watching something on Netflix, take about 90 minutes to watch a conversation between David Adelsheim and Diana Lett. Over the next ten months, a new video will be released every month. I have to tell you this is worse than waiting for the next episode of a binge-worthy show every week. If you want a glimpse into the overall project, KOIN released a 2-minute segment.I am sure I will blabber every month when a new one is released, or you can subscribe via YouTube. On a totally different side tangent, in iOS 14.5, Apple is changing the text “Subscribe” to “Follow” in their podcast App. It makes me wonder if YouTube will follow suit. Doubtful, but still fun to ponder.

I have a confession, besides that of being overly obsessed with wine with a touch of technology. Have you seen the movie Up? A dog constantly gets distracted and says “Squirrel!!” in the middle of a sentence. The sun has been a major distraction for me this week. I didn’t start the newsletter until 12:00 on Friday, and there was a teeny part of me that felt I could pull off a full-blown newsletter this week concentrating on Alloro and their new tasting room. I probably could have, but once I started down the rabbit hole of their winemaker Tom Fitzpatrick, who is also the winemaker / owns Elevee, I seriously couldn’t do the newsletter justice this week. I made a promise to myself this year, and that is not to do something half-ass just to put a big fat checkmark on it to call it done. So, instead of doing a piss pour obligation, I am putting this week’s newsletter on the back burner for a couple of weeks. I have a different story to tell next week. The following week will be all about Alloro, Tom, and everything in between.

I am getting ready to leave the house, soak up some sun, and have some wine. Have an amazing weekend and see you next Saturday!

With Gratitude,

A.J.

PS - The next #ajsHappyHour is April 13th! The theme is an obscure Pinot, meaning a Pinot from some place other than Oregon or California.

PPS - The Wine World lost an amazing person this week at the age of 79. Here's a look back upon the life of Steve Spurrier.

A.J. Weinzettel

Wine journalist & podcaster covering Oregon wine country