Andy Lytle, the Nicest Man in Oregon Wine

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Is it wrong to have 20,000 items on your want-to-do list in a week, and you are lucky to get to 5 of them? I wanted to do so much this week, but not even close to getting to all 20k. Don’t get me wrong. I got a lot done but ran out of time.

Have you checked out the wineries in Woodinville? It sounds like I need another visit with some new wineries opening up.

Samantha Cole Johnson did a great piece on the Willamette Valley for Jancis Robinson.

It’s funny how the number of events has been next to nothing in the last few weeks. Yet, this week, Holy Toledo Batman has so many to list!

​Corvallis Spirits Festival​

Flaneur has a lovely listing of different events!​

Chosen Family Wines is doing an event in The Secret Wine Room. I'm not sure what The Secret Wine Room is, but I feel it will be nice!

Walla Walla has a ton of events for the Walla Walla Fall Release Weekend​

Some tickets are still available for Salud, and the same weekend is Raising The Temp where Oregon Tempranillo wineries will be in one place to enjoy this grape varietal. I already have my ticket. I will be at both events. Please don't hesitate to say hi!

Do you remember me mentioning the Palm Springs Pinot Fest in January last week? Well, I have a promo code to share for the event, WEINNOTES. It will give you $25 off the Early Entry Ticket, $15 off the General Admission Ticket, and $15 off the Santa Lucia Highland Lunch. I plan to escape the Oregon rain in January and find the sun in sunny Palm Springs. Shall we do a live and in-person #ajsHappyHour while we are there?

In a little over a month, Thanksgiving will be here. I am not sure how 2022 went by in a blaze of glory, but here we are. Around this time of the year, I start reflecting on the past ten months. What was good? What could have been better? Where did I find inspiration? Who inspired me? There are way too many questions I ask myself, but when it comes to inspiration over this past year, one person’s name has come up repeatedly, even after my podcast in February.

The next question of why this person inspired me seems logical, and there are two reasons. My first reason is pretty darn selfish. I have a growth mentality surrounding life. There are many things about life I don’t know, but there is one fact I know beyond a shadow of a doubt. I will not be working a corporate job for the remainder of my working days. Every time I run into this person, there is a sparkle in his eye accompanied by a passion for fully living his life. He is living the second chapter of his life and kicking ever-loving patootski while having an absolute blast.

The second reason this person inspires is that every time his name comes up in conversation, the words “He is the nicest man” are repeated over and over. Even earlier this week, his name came up in conversation, and the same sentiment surfaced.

Who is this masked man of inspiration? It is none other than Andy Lytle. I will never forget my first interaction with Andy via email, asking about his Sparkling program Lytle-Barnett for my Sparkling Report. He answered my questions in a matter of minutes and helped out faster than you can open a bottle of Sparkling.

Over the next several months, he would reply to a newsletter here and there. I found out he is a Dave Grohl fan. I ran into him for the first time last November. We shook hands, talked, and all nervous like I asked, “I am going to start a podcast next year. Would you be willing to be interviewed?” Zero hesitation in his “Of course” response.

In prepping for the interview, I dove deep into research, as I do for all of the interviews, and the very first tidbit I came upon blew me away. He worked for Jackson Family and took a business trip to San Francisco in December 2018. During the trip, he was told a couple of precious life stories where the theme was, “life is too short.” Then, in January 2019, Andy left to embark upon his second chapter fully.

While at Jackson Family, he met and became friends with Antony Beck from Graham Beck. Andy kept telling Antony he needed to start a Sparkling label in Oregon. It took some time, but eventually, Antony said, “Ok, I will do it only if you do it with me 50/50.” Today, you know this label as Lytle-Barnett. The winemaker is Andrew Davis, the man behind making Sparkling programs happen for at least 90% of the Valley.

Also, during his time with Jackson Family, Andy was looking at buying property in Walla Walla, and one day he was out and about giving a tour. During the tour, he was asked, “When are you going to buy some property?” Andy replied with the thought of Walla Walla, and the person asking the question answered, “You should think about the Willamette Valley.” At about that same time, they drove past a property with land and a house. Andy commented, “Now that’s a nice property.” Long story short, the property was for sale and is now home to At The Joy and the Anahata vineyard.

Now that you know about the Lytle-Barnett and At The Joy, there is a story where Andy was sending out Lytle-Barnett samples to high-end restaurants in California during COVID, basically saying, “I know times are tough. I hope you enjoy this bottle of Lytle-Barnett.” Andy gets a call from a guy named Matthew Kaner saying, “Be by your phone in 10 minutes!” The next phone call was from Jason Wise, the person behind the SOMM movies, asking if Andy was open to the idea of filming a reality cooking / Sparkling show at At The Joy for a show called Sparklers. Long story short, it happened. Earlier this year, the show was nominated for a James Beard award.

Another project Andy has is a Pinot and Chardonnay label called Aubaine. The fruit comes from the Anahata vineyard. As he was bringing the vineyard online, the wife of Andrew Davis came to Andy in 2018 and said, “I think it is time to do a single vineyard estate project from Anahata.” Andy was floored, honored, and humbled because the person who remarked and is the winemaker for Aubaine is the infamous Isabell Meunier. I have many people on the bucket list to interview for 2023, and Isabelle is at the top.

If Lytle-Barnett, At The Joy, and Aubaine aren’t enough. Andy bought another vineyard called Windfall. The property sellers had three other offers on the table, and they took Andy’s offer because Andy already owned property in the valley. There are some big plans for this vineyard for yet another project called Domaine Meriwether. Think Sparkling! Another tidbit about Windfall, Aubaine, translates to Windfall.

I adore the heck out of Andy, and I adore the wines from Lytle-Barnett and Aubaine. Recently, I tried the 2020 Athas Chardonnay from Aubaine, and here is what I had to say about it.

There is something special when the people and wine mingle, creating a space of harmonious gratitude. Last year the 2014 Lytle Barnett Brut tied in first place with the 2017 Corollary Momtazi Brut Rose in my top ten list. I must start thinking about what the list will look like this year. I have yet to try the 2017 Lytle-Barnett Blanc de Blanc, but I am sure there will be at least one Aubaine wine in the top ten list.

I am sure most of you haven’t listened to Andy's podcast interview, so here are the links just in case you would like to know more.

• ​Spotify​
• ​Apple Podcasts​
• ​YouTube​

The easiest way to taste both wines (Lytle-Barnet and Aubaine) is to visit the Carlton Winemaker’s Studio. The website says, “No reservations required,” and there is a good chance when you can say, “A.J. sent me!” they know who I am! Also, with Thanksgiving coming up, I promise you can’t go wrong with Lytle-Barnett or Aubaine. Visit the websites and order online right to your doorstep!

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With Gratitude,

A.J.