Ciao Amici,
Harvest is still going, slow and steady, and it’s turning into one of the loveliest vintages we’ve had in a while. We’re bringing fruit in small lots this year, which means more attention on every single bin. One of the highlights for me personally: we harvested our own estate-grown Pinot Gris for the first time. In 2024, I grafted over our two lower blocks at Three Wives Vineyard, and this vintage, the Three Wives Fischerman’s Pinot Gris, is entirely estate fruit for the first time, grown right here in Dayton, Oregon. Our red wines got a long, slow hang time this year for complexity and flavor development. Vinifera loves these cool fall nights, and the extra time on the vine builds the kind of maturity you can’t rush.
I’m not flying totally solo in the cellar this year, even though I’m still the only full-time person here day to day. I’ve got a great couple working alongside me, one with wine industry experience and one without—an artist and a beekeeper outside of the cellar. Through September, I also had an intern with us through a business development program at Unidos Bridging Community. He headed off to college at the end of the month, but he wants to keep popping in as his class schedule allows through the rest of harvest, a sign of a good internship.
Not all the news this season is easy news. We didn’t get the grant funding we applied for to continue our packaging material research with the OSU Food Innovation Center, the project turning vine byproducts like prunings, stems, seeds, and marc into usable packaging material. We made it as far as a working prototype, and now what we need is funding to keep going. If you know of a grant, a fund, or an organization that might want to help us take this the rest of the way, I would love to hear from you. Sustainability is an ecosystem, not a single act, and this is one of those places where the ecosystem needs a few more layers.
It’s also gala season, and this girl loves a gala. Remy Wines is always proud to contribute auction items and show up for organizations doing work we believe in, and this September and October we’re supporting four of them. I’m serving as a table host for Chehalem Cultural Center’s Night of the Moon, where I’ll get to share some special wines with guests and help honor two of the legendary founding winemakers of the Oregon wine industry, Harry Peterson-Nedry and David Adelsheim. Gretchen’s partner, Andrea, and I are hosting a night at the winery with a food and wine pairing to benefit the Human Access Project, a non-profit that works to transform Portland’s relationship with the Willamette River. I’ve been volunteering regularly with Unidos Bridging Community, the only immigration advocacy nonprofit in our area, and I’m deeply grateful for the work they do. This year I rushed straight from our own club parties to their gala, which felt like exactly the right kind of busy.
And then there’s IGNITE, my favorite gala of the year, benefiting Basic Rights Oregon. Last year my auction item, a dinner for six that I designed and prepared myself, was the Golden Ticket winner AND the highest-yielding item of the entire auction. Not only did it go twice, but it also went for $7,250. Yes, rub your eyes and read that again. No pressure this year. Last year’s theme was Wild and Free, and I went as a peacock, which I like to think unofficially won the costume contest, too. This year IGNITE is celebrating Basic Rights Oregon’s 30th birthday, and our auction item marries that milestone with a hosted birthday party right here at Remy Wines. As for my costume this year, let’s just say you’ll be able to make a wish.
Last thing, and it’s a good one: we’re expanding our wine club benefits this season with a reciprocal arrangement with Profile Theatre, as we sponsor their production of SPAIN, itself a collaboration with Portland Opera. Remy Wines Club members will get one free ticket to one play per season, plus a 25% discount on a second ticket, a Remy Wines Club theatre night with a pre-party and 15% discount (date to be announced), and inclusion in Profile Theatre’s members-only events. We keep adding to what club membership means at Remy Wines, and pairing wine with live theatre and opera felt like an easy “yes”.
Come on by, come to a gala with us, or come raise a glass before curtain. There’s a lot happening this season, and I’d love for you to be part of it.
Remy
