Ste. Michelle Becomes Oregon's Biggest Producer

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When you wake up on Thursday and are happy the week is almost over is a sign someone hasn’t touched the weekly newsletter yet. Eleven hours later, that certain someone is sitting in the car working on the newsletter during ballet practice.

Last week, the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert was far from anything wine-related but still impactful to me. So many moments, including Dave Grohl getting emotional on stage, Nandi Bushell playing the drums, and Shane Hawkins (Taylor’s son) smashing the ever-loving crud out of the drums.

Did you know Portland is on pace for setting a record for alcohol shoplifting? Neither did I. I wonder if Portland, the strip club capital, has anything to do with it?

November 13th is the Second Annual Taste of Umpqua in Eugene. Tickets are $65. There will be over 15 wineries with appetizers.

On November 30th, the Joel Palmer House is doing a five-course Oregon Chardonnay and Maine Lobster dinner. Tickets are $285, but dang, it will be good!

The Kitchen at Middleground Farms released their upcoming winemaker dinners and holy smokes! September 29 is White Walnut, October 8th is Hazelfern, and October 27th is David Paige Wines. I am on the fence and might see you at the White Walnut dinner. Chris is out of this world, and his Chards are mind-blowing.

Karen MacNeil had a great shout to Oregon Wine this week featuring Jason Lett, Chris Herman, Maggie Harrison, Thomas Savre, and others.

The big news this week is all about Chateau Ste. Michelle buying A to Z Wineworks and Rex Hill. With a previous acquisition of Erath, Chateau Ste. Michelle is now the largest producer in Oregon. I could talk quite a bit about this, but here is another link from Sean Sullivan at the Wa Wine Report.

At this point in the newsletter, I usually find some transition from my rambling to the main attraction. I have a decent outline in place, but it wasn’t enough to beat back the time suck of code changes for iOS 16 on Monday and the iPhone 14 on Friday. I am not going to mention the incredible Friday traffic at all. At any rate, It is 7:30 on Friday night, and there are still code changes getting merged.

All of this means I am breaking my promise to you about a fantastic under-the-radar winery named “De la boue.” In two weeks, I will give you all the details about Travis Todd, the winemaker, Chris Andrew, assistant to the winemaker, and their wines. In the meantime, grab a ticket to their upcoming dinner.

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With Gratitude,

A.J.

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PS - 8:29 on Friday night. Time to pop a cork!