LucidWild, and a Heartbreaking Month for Arlyn

I normally start the newsletter off with me rambling on about something that doesn’t have much significance. I am going to ramble like I always do, but this story has incredible significance.

I am not one to dive into the topic of politics at all. I don’t like it one bit. I would much prefer to dive deep into the topic of what is the flavor profile of Oregon Chardonnay. Anyway, there are way too many people getting deported, and if you are not aware, the stewards of the vineyards we very much love to visit are getting affected. There are way more than 23 different emotions I have right this very second as I type this. The main emotion is sadness. My heart is broken.

I had a discussion with a winery owner back on January 10th. He wondered then what the effect of deportation would have on this year’s harvest. I was naive and thought there is no way it would happen. His reply was, “I have seen it in Texas.”

And now it is occurring in our own backyards. Do you remember me talking about Janis at Arlyn? If you don’t remember or haven’t been, you gotta go. Last week Janis posted this on the gram: “Friends, our beloved Ulises, Arlyn’s only employee of nearly 8 years, had his last appeal declined and we have been told to expect a deportation date in early August.” If you know Arlyn or have been to Arlyn, you know Ulises. He is constantly helping Janis in the vineyard, at pickup parties, and anywhere else he has been needed.

I don’t even have the words to continue rambling.

There is a GoFundMe campaign for Ulises. Any donation will go a long way.

​Willamette Week has a nice Oregon Wine feature will a callout on Arabilis!

Slate talks about the smokey 2020 vintage​

Washington's first $800 bottle of wine​

It's not everyday you see Vincent getting a write up!

I need to check out Ravissant Cellars!​

Some great callouts from Travel and Leisure on the Valley​

Kenny from Arabilis on a podcast​

​Fire destroying a winery, so incedibly sad

Remember Pray Tell Wines going to Philly? They are getting some great attention!

​Gruner in Oregon, yup!

James Suckling giving some Oregon love​

​Rogue Valley named #2 wine region in the Nation

​Sokol Blosser named wine sponsor for the 2025 Oregon State Fair

Last month I promised a special surprise, but first I have to share a quick story with you. A few weeks ago I was on my bike and I got a phone call. I looked at the caller ID and it was Tony Rynders. I had to immediately stop, because holy Toledo, this is Tony calling me. This has to be important!

I don’t know how many people Tony personally called, but he wanted to let everyone know Andrew, the absolutely over the top person doing hospitality at Tendril, was taking a new position at Anacreon. Andrew is very much a food person, and when he heard Anacreon was opening a new tasting room with elaborate food to go along with the wine, he couldn’t pass it up. Side note, the new Anacreon tasting room is pretty darn spectacular!

Tony also let me know the person taking Andrew’s place was Pao. I had to ask Tony a couple of questions to see if this was the same Pao that I know. Tony’s response was, “There is only one Pao!” Holy Toledo, what an amazing fit. I am over the top happy for Andrew, Tony, and Pao.

In case you didn’t know, Tendril is almost done with some construction to have an official tasting room as well. Big things are happening at Tendril and all over!

Thank you for allowing me to share a quick story. Shall we get started with why this month’s newsletter is super special?

July 2019 is when I started this newsletter, and here we are six years later. I can’t even begin to comprehend it’s been six years. I still very vividly remember driving up the winding road to Bella Vida. I remember thinking, “Wow, this would not be a fun road to travel in the rainy season.” I also remember thinking about how incredible the view was. Wow!!

So many things happen in six years, including the ownership of the Bella Vida property. Do you know who bought the property? Well, it just so happens I do know, and the owners Blair and LJ are the talk of the valley with their new winery called LucidWild.

When I say the talk of the Valley, this past weekend was “IPNC weekend” with Method Oregon stepping up to the plate. More to come on Method Oregon in October. Yes, I know that is a long way away. I ended up going to Chardy Party on Thursday night, wine tasting and dinner on Friday, and Method Oregon on Saturday. Every place I went, LucidWild was mentioned over and over with all sorts of questions. So, please join me this morning with another cup of coffee on a tour of LucidWild.

For me, LucidWild started popping up on my radar in late 2023. I started DM’ing back and forth with Blair. We tried to set some times for me to come out and visit, but the stars didn’t align, fortunately. I say fortunately because my visit on July 1st wouldn’t have been the same. It is like going to a movie and not knowing much about it. If you have watched all of the trailers, you pretty much know the whole movie.

The reason for my visit on July 1st is after RSVPing to a media event on July 19th, I was asked about having Blair and LJ on the podcast. How could I say no?

Driving up the same road on July 1st to the new LucidWild facility, I was immediately brought back to my feeling about the bad roads in the winter. There was a huge difference this time though. The road was completely paved all the way up. So very much needed!

Once at the top of the hill, there is a new building across from the old Bella Vida tasting room. The old tasting room is now Blair and LJ’s house, while the new building is LucidWild’s tasting room. There were construction people all over the place getting everything set up and ready.

After parking, I had no clue where to go, but I was directed to Blair and LJ. We started off at their house, on the deck overlooking the vineyard. Blair’s enthusiasm on IG is amazing, and standing there talking with him, all of his body language was showing enthusiasm all over the place!

As we walked out of the house and toward the tasting room, Blair showed me the touring van. I am not sure if that is the correct term, but he worked on customizing this incredible Mercedes van to have a good time. His plan is to pick up people from the airport and to drive them around to other wineries in the Valley. I mean, check out this van!

At one point, Blair introduced me to Chef Mason for LucidWild. There is only one thing you need to know, he came from Okta. Do I need to say more?

Walking in the front door of the tasting room is breathtaking. The view of the vineyard in front of you, noticing the bottom level of the tasting room, a huge boulder, a room full of floor to ceiling windows, and another room that looks cozy. Where does one go? Lucky for me, LJ and Blair started with a tour.

LJ walked me into the “Living Room” with seating indoors and outdoors. Most tasting rooms aren’t this big, and this is only one room. Easily over 50 people could sit in this room. I was trying to count the number of tables, but I couldn’t count that quickly. I mean, look at this room!

Next up was the SkyTerraces room, and again, most tasting rooms are the size of this room by itself. Indoor and outdoor seating with a huge screen on the wall. My first thought walking into this room was, “I would love to have a private Super Bowl party in this room!” The game on the screen, food aplenty on the bar, while everyone is just chilling, having a good time. Did I just say “chilling”? I think my 16 year old is rubbing off on me…

I could go on and on about every detail here, but you’d need three pots of coffee. Speaking of lots of coffee, let’s talk bathrooms for a moment. LJ and I bonded a little about the need to check out bathrooms when visiting a restaurant. There are two women’s bathrooms along with two for the men, and each is designed differently to create the perfect, picture-perfect moments. I mean, how many selfies have we seen on the socials of the bathroom? I am just going to let these pictures speak for themselves.

Downstairs is something else as well. I don’t have many pictures to share from this visit, but keep reading to see more pictures from my second visit. LJ and Blair had a great plan when we were downstairs. As LJ was showing me one of the bathrooms, Blair snuck into the Speakeasy so when we exited the bathroom, she knocked on the door to the Speakeasy, Blair slid open the little access panel, and let us in. I didn’t notice there was a door there at all until it was opened. This room was still heavily under construction when I was there, but again, keep reading for more pictures.

The other rooms downstairs include a game room, a board-type room for business meetings, and of course, the wine caves. Check out these pictures of the wine caves. There are so many places to go in this building and an endless number of different types of experiences to enjoy.

It took a solid hour to tour every room of the building, and now it was time to do the podcast. Wow! Sitting in the living room, the three of us had an amazing conversation, and I highly suggest you listen after reading this monster of a newsletter. I remember the reason I started the podcast. I wanted the voices and personalities behind the label to speak for themselves. Blair and LJ do a fantastic job of expressing their joy over this shared project.

You can watch on YouTube, listen on Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

The podcast interview happened on July 1st, and the media invite was on the 19th. Walking in the front door for the second time, there was a little chuckle from the person handing out sparkling. I let out one of the biggest sighs of life. I was overwhelmed, and even though I knew the place, I was unsure of where to begin. There was a DJ pumping out the tunes downstairs, and people everywhere.

Walking into the living room, I decided to grab a table outside in the far corner to just sit, process, and take in everything. I mean, what is there not to love about this view?

Outside of sitting in a corner to process, this is the first time I am also sitting with any wine from LucidWild. It is difficult to focus on the wine when there is so much happening in the tasting room, but it is time, don’t you think?

First, let’s start with the person directing the decisions for the winemaking process. It is Isabelle Meunier. If you are not familiar with her, please reply to this email and I will tell you all the things! She is fabulous and wonderful as a human and as a person to oversee how the wine should be made. Her husband, Andrew Davis, is also a rock star, and without him, the Oregon sparkling scene wouldn’t be where it’s at. The 2021 Blanc de Blanc called The Lust is the first time Isabelle and Andrew have collaborated on a wine together. How was the wine? I am all about Blanc de Blanc, and I adored this wine.

I didn’t get to stay in my corner long. Some friends came over and we started talking about everything we were noticing. I am glad I wasn’t the only one who was overwhelmed when walking into the tasting room.

It was time to move on to the SkyTerraces room where they were pouring the 2021 Hidden Chardonnay. I grabbed a pour, proceeded to find a corner to dive into the wine, and then ran into another friend. We caught up a little, and I moved into my corner. I noticed the wine was colder than I would like for a Chardonnay, but it was ok. As I started to dive in, LJ came over and we started talking. I then made eye contact with the friend I was talking with because the two of them needed to know one another. What an amazing conversation these two had, and by the time I got back to the Chardonnay, it was room temperature. I was a very happy boy!

I have to revisit the concept of what is the signature of an Oregon Chardonnay, and I still don’t have an answer here. I had Approachment’s Chardonnay the other week, and I have to tell you it doesn’t fit the mold at all. I freaking adored the ever-loving freak out of it, but in a blind setting, I would have said, “No, this is not Oregon Chardonnay.”

I am sure at this point, you are wondering what I thought of the 2021 Hidden Chardonnay. At room temperature, I was able to taste a wild streak, which I extremely enjoy, but it was overpowering. The acidity level was there, but not over the top either. I enjoyed it. The cork on the bottle was a DIAM 10.

I had already been at the tasting room for an hour and only tasted two wines. It was time to move downstairs, but before I dive into the downstairs, I have to tell you the music is popping big time when you walk in. I don’t hear it in the living room or the SkyTerraces. There are a lot of people. I would venture to say over 100, and I don’t feel crowded at all. Things are chill.

I walk quickly down the stairs and into the wine caves. I am too much of an old man, I guess, and don’t appreciate the loud music when I am trying to hold a conversation. In the caves, they are pouring the 2021 Beast Pinot Noir. When I got a pour, I ran into another friend and we talked for a good long while. During our conversation, I found out there was another Pinot in the SkyTerrace I missed. I tried to make some mental notes about the wine, but failed. When we finished, I got another pour, found a corner in the caves, and dove in.

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Out of all of the wines for the day, this was my favorite. It was the darker fruit that I really appreciate for Pinot. The entry was silky and smooth, giving a transition to the mid-palate all that much more pleasant. The tannins were oh so very slight, but there was enough to grab your attention. The cork on this one was also a DIAM 10.

The magnum room is inside the caves, and a relative of Blair’s, I want to say brother or cousin (sorry, I can’t remember), handwaxed all of the bottles. Blair offered to help, but there was determination on the relative’s side to do them all himself. I have to say, the room looks amazing!

As I am looking through my pictures for the day, I haven’t even mentioned the food. Do you remember me telling you about Chef Mason? I ran into him when I first walked in and we talked. I think he was a little surprised I knew of his background and was extremely grateful for the hard work he has done.

There was so much food throughout the event. Here are a few pictures of the food. I know I am not doing the food aspect of this justice, but I am already at 3,000 words and there is so much more!

I ducked into the Speakeasy because I didn’t get to see it finished 18 days ago, and wow, what a transformation! It looks like a true Speakeasy. You can choose from an assortment of vinyl to play while enjoying watching the jellyfish swim around.

I had yet to have the 2021 Fusion Pinot Noir, so I quickly escaped the Speakeasy, ran upstairs, and grabbed a pour. I have now been onsite for two hours and only had three wines. There is so much to take in. I wonder how long I will be here.

I found a quick seat in the SkyTerrace as I dove into this wine. It is definitely lighter than the Beast. It’s a solid wine through and through. The acidity is there with very little tannin structure. I have zero complaints. This wine also has a DIAM 10 cork.

I caught back up with the first group of friends. We compared notes and chatted a little. Blair was close by, and I walked over and asked if they were pouring any of the Chosen, the barrel-select, super high-end wine. Blair immediately, without hesitation, went to grab a bottle for the table. I was expecting him to give us some pours but was incredibly generous by leaving the whole bottle on the table. Everyone was crazy excited, and it is a great wine. I wasn’t able to sneak away and write any notes on it, but I wasn’t disappointed one bit. This bottle also has a DIAM 10 cork.

The group was leaving, and it was about time for me to leave as well. I had been there for three hours! I needed some time to reflect. I grabbed another pour of the Beast and went to the Speakeasy for a little bit. While I was there, I talked with the guy who did all of the lighting for the building. He was fabulous, and if I remember correctly, his son is taking over most of the business now.

I have been thinking for a very long time about how to wrap all of this up. My normal “you gotta go out to visit” short paragraph doesn’t feel right for this massive newsletter you have been reading all morning.

There is absolutely nothing like LucidWild in the Valley. Heck, I don’t think there is anything like it in Oregon, and probably not in Washington either. In the interview with Blair and LJ, we talk about the nasty word to me, retirement. Blair worked his patootski off as a big-time lawyer. He is ready to have some fun, and LucidWild is a direct reflection of his desire to have lots of fun in his second chapter of life. This amount of fun comes with a price tag. Looking on the website, Lust is $155, Hidden is $95, Fusion is $95, Beast is $155, and Chosen is $310. I promise beyond a shadow of a doubt you will be blown away when you visit, and you will have to pick your jaw up off the floor multiple times.

Here is another side of the coin outside of the mind-blowing experiences you will encounter during your visit, and there is no way to truly understand this without watching or listening to the interview. At one point, Blair talks about the book The Boys Up North. We also talk about him planting 300 vines in California, which was inspired by a trip to Tuscany. He has gotten his hands dirty. He knows about viticulture. He has sat down and read a LOT about wine. We all know the more we know about wine, the more we know how much we don’t know. Blair will never stop learning about wine. He also talks about community. I cannot wait to see how deep into the community LucidWild goes. They have the space to hold ¡Salud! and WVWA auctions. The possibilities are endless, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Outside of the promise of your jaw dropping, I have one more promise for you. When you see Blair walking around the tasting room, because he is very much hands on, and when you tell him, “A.J. sent me,” he will get the biggest smile on his face, shake your hand, look you in the eye, and say, “Thank you so much for coming!”

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With Gratitude,

A.J.