Who's Buying Oregon Wine Country?

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Do your social batteries ever wear down? I have taken this past week to recharge, and I am pretty sure outside of the people I talk to in the morning at Starbucks, I have communicated with three people face to face all week. The weather has been perfect Fall time bike riding. The pressure of the Sparkling Report is gone allowing room for new ideas to sprout up. The last week I “played” around with some new tech for a possible fresh project while toying around with the idea of doing a podcast. If you listen to podcasts, reply to this email. I would like to run my idea by you to see what you think. I feel it is a little different compared to other wine podcasts, but maybe “I’m just stoned at the nail salon again.”

It seems lately I am verging off-topic more and more. So I am going off a bit of tangent again this week. I am taking a deep dive into some events from this year and within the last couple of weeks in Oregon Wine Country, particularly people buying wineries/vineyards.

If you remember, last week, I briefly mentioned CJ McCollum buying 318 acres of land bordering the Resonance vineyard. The plan is to plant a vineyard starting in the Spring of 2022. Unfortunately, there are no details I can find as to how much the deal was and who owned the property, and in the big picture of life, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is noticing a trend.

Earlier this year, in April, the French Bollinger family bought Ponzi Vineyards. A teeny bit of background about the Bollinger Family. They have been producing Champagne since 1829. There is a very long legacy of producing world-class Champagne and for an establishment to notice what we are doing here speaks enormous volumes for Oregon wine. An establishment operating for almost 200 years isn’t something to take lightly.

Late August of this year, Hampton Lumber purchased Carlton Winemaker’s Studio. In 2016, Hampton Lumber planted their first vineyard, Tall Tree, and acquired the Fennwood vineyard two years later (one of my favorite vineyards). So when the fourth-generation Hampton family purchased the CWS from Eric Hamacher and his wife Luisa Ponzi, along with Ned and Kirsten Lumpkin, it is yet another tick in the trend we are witnessing.

I am sure you are aware of Willamette Valley Vineyards. Purchasing their wine is super easy while being affordable. Many moons ago, my go-to was to buy a case at Costco for $13-$15/bottle. If I were lucky, it would be on sale for $10/bottle. I enjoyed it, but something changed. It was probably me and what I wanted out of a wine. I fell out of love and moved on. Outside of my opinion of a particular bottle from WVV, they are taking on a massive expansion effort with a substantial Sparkling facility off of 99, a wine bar/restaurant in Lake Oswego and Bend.

Do you see the trend yet? There is a massive amount of money flooding into Oregon Wine country!

Another favorite vineyard of mine, Meredith Mitchell, recently went on the market. For a measly $3.2 million, you could own almost 105 acres of land with a 3,800 square foot house. Twenty-two acres are under vine, and the ability to expand to 25 acres under vine is absurdly appealing. Once you start looking at the numbers and the payment for a loan, reality sets in a bit. People like me can't afford to even dream about owning Meredith Mitchell. Whoever ends up buying this property will be crazy lucky to own a symbol of Oregon Wine Country.

You may or may not know Mimi Castell, but I am sure you are aware of Bethel Heights. On July 9th, Mimi sent an email out to her mailing list letting everyone know she was selling the Hopewell vineyard. It was sad to read, and I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it was to compose the email on the one hand, but I am sure there was a certain amount of relief as well. Here is a short passage from the email.

Have you heard of a Walla Walla winery producing Cab Sauv called Doubleback? If you haven’t, very short tangent. Former New England Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe teamed up with former New England Patriots coach Josh McDaniels to create Doubleback. I first had Doubleback over the summer, and holy Toledo batman, I fell in love! I don’t know all the details, but the “brand” has expanded to Bledsoe Family Winery.

The Bledsoe Family Winery has a wine lounge in Walla Walla and in Bend. The offering of wines is a bit more abundant compared to the cab from Doubleback. BFW has a Cab, Chardonnay, Syrah, White Wine Blend, Red Wine Blend, Cab Franc, Merlot, and a Rose offering. I want to dive deeper into why there are two wineries instead of one, and I might have an “in” for the answer.

In October 2019, I went to a “soft” opening of the Domaine Serene Wine Lounge in Lake Oswego. The soft opening was in downtown Portland and was meant to run through the food options at the Lake Oswego location. One of the people sitting across from me that night was Julie. She ended up being the assistant manager for the Lake Oswego location, and earlier this year, she got married in Bend, where she now works for Bledsoe Wine Family in Bend.

At this point, I am sure you are asking how BFW fits into the newsletter this week, and I couldn’t say I blame you. Well, Bledsoe Family Winery bought Mimi’s Hopewell vineyard. So here’s an excerpt from the email announcement.

Are you seeing what I am seeing? People with money are investing in Oregon Wine Country time and time again. Oregon is also getting recognized as a top-notch wine region. It’s exciting on the one hand, but also a bit troubling on the other.

I want Oregon to thrive like something fierce in the world of wine, but fame and fortune come at a cost. I don’t know when the tipping point will occur, but everyone flocks to the big wineries because of the popularity. When this tipping point occurs, I think we will have a decent idea of the Bollinger roadmap for Ponzi. Willamette Valley Vineyards will be in full force at that point as well. Let’s not forget what CJ McCollum is working on as well. Are there others at play as well? There sure are, and there will be a constant influx of other new players to the scene.

We know the Oregon Wine Country today will not exist in 20 years, and what we know today didn’t exist 20 years ago. Everything changes. We get comfortable with what we know, and there is resistance growing with change. Take a look back on the late 80s. Hairbands were a thing, and guitar solos rocked our world. I don’t miss the hair, but I do miss a solid guitar riff. Today’s music ain’t got the same soul, but there is some new music out there I appreciate immensely. The same is going to happen for our little wine community. There will always be stories to dive into and share.

Overall, the recognition Oregon is getting is suburb! Being part of this community, we will always have the inside scoop on the precious gemstone wineries we adore. I am looking forward to what CJ, the Bollinger family, and the Bledsoe team bring to the table. I am also looking forward to other wineries such as Audeant, Hazelfern, Arlyn, Elevee, Corollary, Lytle Barnett, Kings North, and so many more to see what they bring to the table. It is because of the grassroots wineries that got Oregon where it is today. So let’s continue the journey through Oregon Wine Country and see where it takes us!

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With Gratitude,

A.J.

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