Sitting Down with Drew Voit at Harper Voit

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On Tuesday I got a book I have been waiting for months to read! The book was Dave Grohl’s memoir “The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music.” It is Thursday night as I am writing this, and I am about halfway through the 384 pages of memories told through the lens of the former drummer of Nirvana. I remember when “Smells like Teen Spirit” came out. I was not too fond of the song, and I am not the biggest fan to this day. However, I could listen to “Something In The Way” over and over without ever getting sick of it.

Getting back to Dave Grohl a little. Hearing about his childhood and the struggles he went through is fascinating. Hearing about his first check of $400 with Nirvana meant the world to him makes me step back and ponder a bit. I worked my patootski to get where I am in life. My daughter doesn’t have life handed to her on a silver platter, but she has it pretty well. Where will the fire in her belly come from? What kind of adult will she grow up to be? I know she will be kind, but will she grow up thinking life will be super easy? Will she ever know what it is like to live life on a super tight budget, and will she understand what hard work is? Bottom line, I wonder if she will appreciate her life when so many people struggle daily to put food on the table.

Enough of my endless parenting ponderings. I could go on and on, but that is not what you are here for.

Have you watched any of the Somm movies? If you haven’t, you should. They are freakin spectacular! An upcoming Somm Sparkling is coming out next month, and none other than Oregon’s Lytle Barnett is in the movie. Check out the trailer. If you decide not to watch, don’t worry, I will let you know what I think.

Last November, my newsletter was about Cramoisi. As I rambled on, I mentioned the winemaker was Drew Voit, and I also said how I wanted to sit down with him. Earlier this year, when I went out to Van Duzer Vineyards, I was T-Boned, in a great way, by the fact Drew was there during the visit. I got the chance to sit down and chat, but I wasn't ready in any way, shape, fashion, or form. I was fortunate enough to have the introduction and build the teeniest bit of rapport with Drew during my time at Van Duzer Vineyards. Intertwined into our conversation, there was the mention of making some time to connect.

One morning, I was deep in prep for the Sparkling Report when I received an email from Harper Voit announcing their Sparkling. I replied and set up a time to come out and visit. We settled on August 27th. I usually don’t mention dates when I visit wineries, but I want to call out it this week for a couple of reasons. The first reason is, it was only two weeks out from me releasing the Sparkling Report. I wanted to showcase Harper Voit’s Sparkling in the report. Drew is one heck of a hard-working man. He knows the value of hard work, and there is a small joke about Drew’s exit strategy. It’s super simple, somewhat of a joke, but probably not too far from the truth. Drew’s exit strategy is keeling over in the vineyard. The other reason I mention August 27th is that he was deep into the final preps for Harvest when I sat across from Drew. Taking time away from Harvest prep didn't go unnoticed at all.

I was sitting there almost a year after I said I wanted to sit down with the winemaker who has worked at Shea, Domaine Serene, and so many other wineries throughout the valley was thrilling. He has so much knowledge about Oregon and beyond. He currently consults for countless wineries to include: Cramoisi, Elizabeth Chambers, Eminent Domaine, and at least five others. I look back on my notes, and it’s a reflection of how quickly Drew gives you information. It’s so easy to tell how passionate he is about wine.

He proceeded to tell how Elizabeth Chambers and Eminent Domaine started their Sparkling program in 2021. He notices how more and more wineries need to create a Sparkling program to compete in the Oregon market. I couldn’t agree more. I can’t wait to see how many more wineries have Bubbles when I create next year’s Sparkling report.

As Drew got more and more into Sparkling, he started to geek out about Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay in Champagne. Typically, it is thought that Blanc de Blanc is 100% Chardonnay, when in fact, it could be Pinot Blanc. Pinot Blanc is a prominent grape in Champagne, and there are 100% Pinot Blanc Champagnes. Harper Voit produces a 100% Pinot Blanc Sparkling and Drew was a little surprised to hear Corollary also produces a 100% Pinot Blanc Sparkling.

Drew tells me that Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Blanc are all in the same family going down the varietal rabbit hole. With Pinot Blanc looking like Chardonnay, it took some time in Champagne to realize it was Chardonnay, which is a super distant cousin to Pinot Noir. I had to do a little research, and if you want to read more, here is a link for you. Drew was shooting more information at me, and I missed writing down a solid 85% of it. I adored how much data he was giving me!

We tasted through some outstanding wines starting with the 2016 Blanc de Blancs from the Eola Amity Hills. It is fun to try a Sparkling that is not Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, or a blend of the two. The Pinot Blanc Sparkling had a nice minerality grabbing your attention in a good way. I would have a sneaking suspicion if you poured this for friends, they wouldn’t even know what hit ‘em. It’s always a blast to pour a bottle to catch friends and family off guard!

The 2019 Surlie Pinot Blanc comes from the Meredith Mitchell Vineyard in the McMinnville AVA. Did you know this vineyard was for sale? Does anyone want to give me 3.2 million dollars to buy it? I’ll give you free wine for life! These Pinot Blanc vines were planted in 1990 and are considered a cold site. Another winery, Elevee, gets grapes from here. Surlie is a $25 bottle of wine and is worth every single penny.

The 2017 Elevage Pinot Blanc came from the same block as the bubbles, spent one year in barrel with a total of 21 months of aging!

The 2017 Terrarossa Vineyard Pinot Noir comes from a block near Lange right off a gravel road. 2015 was its first vintage.

The 2017 Bieze Vineyard Pinot Noir is sourced from the Eola Amity Hills practically right there at Seven Springs. Drew described this block as a rocky ridge top. The crop is super low yield with lots of hens and chicks fruit. Big Table Farm also sources fruit from this vineyard.

Rounding out the tasting was the 2017 Antiquum Vineyard Pinot Noir. This vineyard is just right outside of Eugene and has gorgeous fruit. People who know this vineyard rave about it. I know the teeniest bit about it, but it is definitely on my list to visit in the near future.

If you are currently out and about in Wine Country, most wineries are pouring their 2019s, some are pouring 2020s, a handful are pouring 2018s, but very very few are pouring 2017s. Drew believes in letting his wine age a bit longer than most providing a different experience over younger wines. All of his wines are spectacular, and my favorite was the Antiquum.

As we were tasting the wines, I don’t remember how this particular tidbit came up, but I found it fascinating. I am sure most of us have heard the term whole cluster. I wasn’t aware that the cluster of the grapes ended up in a separate bin, all by their lonesome. Drew told me he likes to get 100 pounds of stems in a container, grab two big handfuls and take in a big sniff. Depending on the aromas depends on how much whole cluster goes into the wine. For example, if the clusters smell like green beans, no thank you. Unfortunately, I don’t know what the aroma of a good bunch of clusters smells like in my notes. I found it interesting to see making wine is very similar to cooking a kick-patootski dinner by scent.

After tasting through six wines, I finally got the courage to try and connect with Drew. Part of me wishes I would start recording these sessions to get the full context and transition, but we ended up talking about Drew’s dad, who worked in chemistry ( I suck at not writing down the details, but hopefully, you will get the point). Drew’s dad's job was a combination of working in the lab and one who puts on the boot to do the “dirty” work. So Drew knew he wanted to be a bridge between desk work and getting your hands dirty type of work at a very early age.

When Drew and I sat across from one another at Van Duzer Vineyards, he mentioned how he would be on vacation for some time with his son. I asked him how his vacation was with his son as we were wrapping up. Something magical happened. Drew seemed to relax a bit, and the words per second decreased from when he was talking about Chardonnay being a distant cousin from Pinot Noir. I don’t have this written in my journal, but I don't think I will ever forget this story. Drew recalled a tale of scent with his son. Somehow the two of them were talking about the differences between a violet and a rose. His son couldn’t describe the difference. So, they went into a flower shop picking up the different nuances between the two. I look at this experience from the outside. I see the love, passion, and attention Drew wants to share with his son, which warms my heart. It is the bond we create and share with our children that is unexplainable. The hoops we jump through to give them a better life at the expense of our happiness is what we live for. Dave Grohl’s mom worked as a public school teacher and worked two other jobs to provide for her family. I cannot wait to see the path of life Drew’s son chooses in the years ahead!

Making reservations through Harper Voit’s website is super easy. Take a few minutes and schedule some time. When you visit, be sure to let them know, “A.J. sent me!”

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With Gratitude,

A.J.

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