How the First Weinnotes Wine Dinner Went

{{ snippet.ovc-forward }}

It’s Thursday night. I am in the car with all the windows down in the parking lot of the ballet studio. I am ready for more days and evenings when the birds are chirping, there is a slight breeze, and I am not freezing by patootski off.

Speaking of freezing, the winemakers in Burgundy are lighting candles in the vineyard again this year, fighting off frost. Take a second to look at the pictures, they are gorgeous to see, but also sad in many respects.

Did you know April is Walla Walla Wine Month? I should know this, but sadly I was a bit blindsided. Next year I need to plan a visit during April and partake in the festivities. If you are thinking about Walla Walla, check out a lovely listing of events.

Do you know what else is in May besides it being Oregon Wine Month? It’s Mother’s Day, and wouldn’t you be the best person in the whole wide world if you booked an event for your wife or mom in Wine Country? Of course, if the event happened to be centered around some Bubbles, you might get superhero status! It just so happens that Corollary is putting together a Mother’s Day event, and it will be spectacular. Also, when you go let Dan and Jeanne know, “A.J. sent me!”

If you didn’t hear the HUGE news that dropped earlier today (Thursday). Constellation Brand bought Lingua Franca. If you remember, I hinted about a big buyout in the works. This is it. Other wineries under the Constellation umbrella include Robert Mondavi Winery, The Prisoner Wine Company, Schrader Cellars, Booker Vineyard, To Kalon Vineyard Company, and Mount Veeder Winery. The team is staying in place, and Lingua Franca will kick major patootski in the Wine World!

Reflecting a bit on the sale of Lingua Franca, I have to tell you I have mixed feelings. I am super excited for the team at Lingua Franca to take their vision and dream to the next level! It is also validating to see Oregon being recognized for all the hard work and effort. However, it is also sad to see Seth Morgen Long, Arlyn, and Audeant no longer making wine at Lingua Franca. I don’t know where Seth is moving. Audeant is currently doing tastings in McMinnville at A’ Tuscan Estate. Arlyn now has a powerhouse of a winemaker with Wynn Peterson Nedry. New chapters for everyone, which is exciting, but also we all enjoy our comfy warm security blankets.

Let’s talk about last Friday night, shall we?

It all started earlier this year, and the idea of putting together an in-person dinner sounded terrific! When COVID cases were on the decline, it looked like the world was getting back to a sense of normalcy. So I inquired at a few places, including Tavern on Kruse in Lake Oswego. The prices they quoted seemed reasonable, and after doing some math, all looked pretty good.

The original plan was to put on a winemaker dinner where I am not in the spotlight much, and the winemaker does all the talking. Sounds great for the introvert that I am. Omnicron decided to come out of nowhere, and my plans were immediately postponed. Fast forward a bit, and numbers get back to being reasonable. I start to move forward, but the idea of having multiple producers at the dinner sound way more appealing while giving a better sense of the Oregon wine. Unfortunately, there is a downfall to this plan. I am in the spotlight and have to talk. Gulp!

I picked April 1st and started to move forward. My original list of wines included the 2018 Corollary X-Omni Sparkling, 2019 Aubaine Anahata Chardonnay, 2019 Audeant Luminous Hills, and the Lafore Syrah from Bledsoe Family Winery. Unfortunately, the Lafore Syrah was sold out (thank goodness I have one or two bottles for myself), and I needed to find a replacement. I don’t remember how I concluded the 2016 Harper Voit Antiquum Pinot, but it was a great fit!

With the pressure of being in the spotlight and entertaining a group of people for a wine dinner, I needed to figure out how one throws a wine dinner in the world. I am not a superstar winemaker. Although, I am a storyteller with some great stories to share! I felt I needed something more, though. At about this same time, I watched Derek Delgaudio’s special on Hulu called “In and of Itself.” ​

I was mesmerized by how he had guests pick a card that stated, “I am,” and ended with a profession or a word each person related to. For example, “I am an actor,” “I am a magician,” or “I am a computer genius.” I wanted to do this for the dinner, but it had to relate to wine. How does one do this? Months I spent racking my brain on what to do. Nothing like having the pressure of the week of the dinner come bearing down on your shoulders to figure out precisely what to do.

When you know a producer, you have a certain level of blind trust. I picked four wines. I had only tasted one of the four. I had faith beyond a shadow of a doubt, but I needed solace. A couple of weeks before the event, I already had the Harper Voit and Aubaine wines. I tried both of them, and boom, solid as all get out! I needed to pick up the Corollary and Audeant still.

The X-Omni from Corollary was a new release, and to go full steam ahead says something about the quality Dan and Jeanne consistently bring to the table. I was also excited about the vineyard this Sparkling was coming from for this particular label. Walter Scott gets fruit from the X-Novo vineyard and is a stand-out chard. The X-Omni vineyard is a sister vineyard to X-Novo. About Claim also has an X-Omni that is outstanding. So many factors were building up the hype for this bottle for me. When I opened a bottle for a few friends, I was pleased and got some external validation.

One more bottle was left to try, and I wasn’t worried. The 2016, 2017, and the 2018 Luminous Hills Pinot from Audeant have stood out to me. Part of me wanted not even to open it. I was loving the heck out of the 2019 vintage, and come on, I am the self-proclaimed Official Audeant Fanboy. The Luminous Hills was the main course wine, and self-doubt needed to disappear. One week before the dinner, I opened the 2019, poured a glass, and took the first sip expecting to be immediately swept away into my Audeant Happy Place. A little shocked, I was still in reality after my first taste. What was going on? I took another sip, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with the wine. The flavor profile was different than the silkiness pleasure intertwined with a bit of spice. I was experiencing a glass of wine with an incredible structure and grippy tannins.

Before I go much further, I want to clarify something. The 2019 Luminous Hills Pinot is great. Every variable points to a wine that will blow your socks off with a bit of time. I had different expectations, which is the main point I want to make sure you understand. With my expectations not matching up with reality, I did panic. Over the next couple of days, I opened a couple of other 2019s. I was getting grippy tannins on those as well instead of the pleasant dark fruit silkiness I have come to enjoy. Talk about some enormous self-doubt clouding my judgment. I needed a backup plan, and I had still yet to figure out how I was going to integrate something like “In and Of Itself” into the dinner.

On the day of the dinner, everything was going smoothly. The newsletter was done. The backup plan was in place, and I decided to have everyone write down their answer to the question, “What do you like about wine?” when they walked through the door.

After picking up my daughter from school, I dropped off the Sparkling and the Chard at Tavern to chill. Emily from Tavern on Kruse pretty much had everything ready to go. I was amazed at how fantastic the private room was taking shape. Inside, my nerves started to kick in, but I was also happy as all got out.

Dinner started at 6:00, and people started showing up a little early. As everyone arrived, there were hugs given out and instructions to answer the question about wine onto a notecard and then come back to get Bubbles. Appetizers arrived. Everyone found a place to sit, and it was time to introduce the first wine.

Talking about how Dan and Jeanne met in San Fran and doing dinner parties together was only the story's start. Diving a bit more into trying to find grapes in California was next to impossible. Instead, they were coming to Oregon, where Jeanne grew up, and the experiment with cider was second nature to me. I also had to mention the vineyard, Walter Scott and Abbott Claim. Going around the room asking what everyone thought, I sensed everyone was delighted!

After the salads came out, I poured the 2019 Aubaine Anahata Chardonnay. After recently interviewing Andy Lytle for the podcast, I had so many stories at the tip of my tongue. So I had to stop myself a little, and right now, I wish I would have mentioned how Andy told Antony Beck multiple times to start an Oregon Sparkling program ending up with Andy going in 50/50 on Lytle Barnett with Antony. I could have talked 20 minutes nonstop about Andy Lytle and how he has provided some perspective for myself.

So many people gave feedback on how enjoyable the Aubaine chard was, and a few different people said, “I don’t like Chardonnay, but this was incredible!”

Before the main course came out, I asked for a couple of brave volunteers, not knowing what they were volunteering for. Immediately, three people offered help. As I poured the 2019 Audeant Luminous Hills Pinot into the glasses of the volunteers, I let everyone know about my experience the previous week. The ask was to decide if this wine should be served for the main course.

How many wine dinners have you attended where the host opens his or herself to the possibility of a bottle of wine not being suitable for the evening? I have never been to an invite where this has occurred. Talk about being vulnerable and a little nerve-racking. What if these three people decide it’s ok to serve, and I don’t think it is? Is my palate off? Would people think less of me for not everything in place and perfect? For some reason, the temperature in the room got extremely hot suddenly.

I asked the three volunteers what they thought, and it was a great debate, in my opinion. One volunteer asked, “What if we decide not to serve it?” My response was, “I have a backup just in case.” The counterpoint was great, “Oh, looks like you have another wine already open and ready to go!” She wasn’t aware that wine was the 2016 Harper Voit. There was no way I would have the backup in plain sight. Finally, after a few minutes of debate, it was decided to let the 2019 Audeant Luminous Hills take a back seat. When I announced the backup was the 2017 Audeant Luminous Hills, several group members let out shrills of delight!

Dessert came out after a great conversation, and I poured the final wine. The 2016 Harper Voit Antiquum vineyard was out of this world when I tasted it with Drew Voit over the summer. The original plan was to talk about Drew and how he is all over the place in the Willamette Valley. But, plans are made to be broken! I attended Heidi Moore’s event, Pair It Up, for her Winecrush Podcast the previous evening.

One of the speakers at the event was Stephen Hagen from Antiquum Farm winery. He started his talk with, “I don’t care about wine.” I was sucked in and took two pages of notes from his 15-ish minute talk. In a nutshell, terroir is more profound than the vines. Everything in the vineyard is about the animals starting with pigs, sheep, geese, and chickens, to naturally fertilize the land. His use of dogs to help with the animals is also fascinating. Here’s a short article from the Oregonian talking about it. I have to get out there and taste!

Dinner was done, and it was time to answer the question, “What do you like about wine?” I grabbed the bag and told everyone about Derek Delgaudio’s “In and Of Itself.” My spin was going to read aloud everyone’s card and predict who wrote it. Now, who in the world does this? I let three volunteers decide the fate of the main course wine, and now I am doing what? Yes, I am taking another chance of being vulnerable to uncertainty. Why would I do this? It all relates to knowing the stories and people behind the wine and those who attended the dinner. I have repeatedly said, “I am a sucker for stories!”

So, how did I do? The first two or three notecards were knocked out of the park. There were a few I completely messed up 100%. It was so fun for me connecting to everyone, but if I were asked what the favorite part of the evening was, hands down, it was greeting everyone at the door with a hug.

​

I plan to hold more dinners in the future. It was a blast on so many levels. So stay tuned for more details in the future about the next A.J.’s Wine Dinner!

​

With Gratitude,

A.J.

​

PS - Alanis many years later with You Oughta Know

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​