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October 3, 2022

The Camaraderie of the Parking Lot

A few weeks ago, our team was standing in the cellar making final plans for our Wine Club Pick Up Party. We were focused on logistics, such as moving barrels to make room for the event, making plans for a winery bathroom makeover, as well as sharing our hopes for this year’s harvest. There was a collective pause as we looked around at each other, only to say, “This job we do is wild.”

In the shortest summation, that sentiment is incredibly true. Winemaking is a year round effort which showcases a passion for not only the final product, but also for the process which requires constant attention to the details. We’d be remiss to not acknowledge how challenging harvest can be. The day-to-day hours are unpredictable and inconsistent; picking times and dates are dependent on weather, a fault in equipment can set a project back hours, and there’s the added toll of every aspect of the job being physical. If you are like us and like to throw a dinner party, you’re all too familiar with knowing that there will be dishes after the party ends – and the same goes for the winery during harvest. An all too familiar sensation during this season is sticky, and plenty of our crew’s time is spent sanitizing and cleaning the cellar. 

When our team is in the thick of the work, the immensity of the task makes it easy to become short-sighted and forget that in two years time, people will be savoring the very things their hands are working on. 

One of the most effective snaps back to reality is when our team is sitting around a harvest dinner table. Our team is notorious for bringing a variety of wines to the table, whether they are R. Stuart wines or from producers we admire. As we begin opening bottles, the stories begin flowing as much as the wine. 

“Do you remember this vintage?! The winery was so cold that year!” 

“When we tasted this last, we talked about how great it would be in a few years – let’s open it next.”

“2013 was my first vintage in the cellar – I wonder how this tastes now…”

Jordan, production winemaker, holds a bottle of the 2013 Vignette – a wine from his first vintage at R. Stuart. Photo by Camille LaRocca-Carrillo.

As our team tastes wines which all of our hands have handled at some point, it grounds us back into our personal why. At R. Stuart, we consistently talk about how we are making “wines for life.” In those moments at dinner, we are living and breathing the very credo we share with our customers. When good food, good wine, and good people are put in combination with one another, magical moments come to existence. The depth of enjoyment we gain from those moments around a dinner table reinvigorates and solidifies our understanding of how important our work can be.

Left: R. Stuart’s first fruit seen sitting in the glow of the morning sun peeking over Buchanan Cellars.
Right: Each harvest, the “crush gates” go up to create a safe traffic flow for forklifts and delivery trucks.

The value of our work is also echoed by the physical location of our winery. Located only 6 blocks from our tasting room on Historic Third Street, our winery’s warehouse (formerly used by Buchanan Cellars for grain storage), sits right in the heart of the Historic Granary District. We are surrounded by other notorious wine producers, such as Brittan, Winderlea, Lumos, and Goodfellow. We thank goodness on a long day that our favorite local coffee shops, Flag & Wire and Mac Market, are mere steps away from our winery. And with equal gratitude, we’re next door Grain Station Brew Works and down the street from Heater Allen Brewing – where you can often find the Stu Crew enjoying a few pints of Pilsner after the press loads finish.

Rob, Casee, and Karen take a moment to celebrate a successful party.

Being right next door to wineries who are in the thick of harvest as we are builds an undeniable bond among our parking lot. There have been late nights when another winery’s crew member saw our lights still on, and then offered to help us with our final punchdowns of the night – just so we could all go home at a decent hour. This was, of course, after they had already completed a tiresome day themselves. When a forklift breaks down in the middle of the parking lot, crews come out like ants to sugar to get it out of the way and then offer up their machines for loan. We keep each other excited as we watch the first lots of fruits roll into each other’s facilities, plucking grapes out of each others’ bins to see the quality of the fruit. The Brittan team regularly eats lunch outside as a crew and we love being able to wave hello right from our front door.

We are often asked the question, “Is there competition between wineries in the Willamette Valley?” To which our response is: there is more camaraderie than competition. We are all creating a product which we are passionate about, personally enjoy, and want to see each other succeed with. By creating a community between wineries, we have opportunities to collaborate and get to know each others’ products – which is always mutually beneficial. 

Many visitors to our area desire a sweeping vista and the beautiful vineyard views (which we also highly recommend), but we happen to be biased toward our plot of paradise right in downtown McMinnville. We invite you to feel the joy of our winery’s neighborhood through a private Taste of Place seated tasting, or a cellar tour and tasting with our team. We can’t wait to see you!

 
 
July 26, 2022

A Preview of Harvest 2022

If you’ve caught our most recent newsletters, you know that our anticipation for this year’s harvest has been steadily building. One of the wildest parts of winemaking is that there is no tried and true “start date” to harvest. In 2011, our harvest motto was, “November is the new October,” alluding to the later-than-normal start time to that year’s harvest. In a different year, the first fruit we received came through the winery mid-September. Year to year, our timeline is dictated by forces out of our control – keeping us on our toes for when our busiest season will begin.

At this point in the growing season, there are several indicators which determine the quality and timing of harvesting the grapes. Among them include visual cues, technical specifications, and weather. While each of these factors and their impacts will vary by grape varietal, they are all crucial to pay attention to in order to create beautiful, compelling wines.

The most discussed factor in regard to vineyard growth and quality is weather. Earlier this year, winemakers and viticulturists around the valley were concerned with the late bout of frost we faced in April. Some winemakers anticipated losing up to 50% of their crops. Fortunately, R. Stuart has been relieved to see that our partnering vineyards were not largely affected, and we do not foresee any major repercussions to our crop yields. The one exception we are considering is with our white wine varietals, like chardonnay. Budbreak, the beginning of new shoots and vines, happens earlier on varietals like chardonnay; being hit by frost in the early stages of development can affect the overall quality of the plant.

When asking our Production Winemaker, Jordan Rosenberry, why white wines are affected by frost more than reds, he said that it comes down to elevation. “We have to pay attention to locale when considering the effects of frost. Lower elevations are warmer climates and have faster growing seasons, while higher elevations are colder and take longer to mature. Our Pinot noirs are grown at lower elevations, while our whites, like chardonnay, are grown at higher elevations.” Frost at a low elevation site can be stressful, but not as stressful as when at a high elevation site. Putting an already cold site with slower maturation time through a frost would make a quick turn to there being little to zero yield of fruit.

Rob chooses to source white wine grapes from high elevation vineyards because it creates the ideal palette for the white wines he likes to make, which are off dry. Both cooler temperatures and high elevation slow sugar development in the grapes and can lend to a higher acidity in their profile. This makes for our favorite, incredibly food friendly white wines. Some of the “chosen grapes,” like chardonnay, are turned into our sparkling wines.

Looking ahead to this harvest, our team overwhelmingly feels that our Pinot crops are in good shape. The Hirschy vineyard, located in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, produced only 13 tons of fruit in 2021; this year, we are anticipating upwards of 35 tons. Similarly, Courting Hill vineyard produced 35 tons last year, and crop estimates are currently sitting at almost 90 tons.

The transformation of grapes in the vineyard happens quickly. Both photos above were taken at Daffodil Hill Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills. The left was taken August 15th, while the right – showcasing the process of veraison – was taken August 24th.

As we take time looking at the vines in this season, we are keeping a close eye on the progress of veraison. This is one indicator of the vines that is most exciting to us – it’s the proof of the grape’s strength and potential. Veraison, or the changing of the grape’s color, is the first opportunity for vineyard stewards to get a crop estimate. If you were to take the weight of a cluster of grapes in veraison and double that number, that is what you anticipate the weight of the clusters at the time of harvest to be. Between seeing how many clusters are on each vine, and the number of vines to the acre, we have a decently accurate gauge of our crop yields. The intel we gather at the veraison stage influences everything in our production – whether that’s how much fruit we should anticipate coming into our facility, all the way to how much glass we will need to order for bottling the wine two years down the line.

Cellar Manager, Nick Gates, also manages a personal vineyard outside of his time with R. Stuart. Beyond veraison, he is also looking for other visual cues of a healthy canopy. As the weather continues to warm each year, he mentions that he keeps an eye out for yellowing leaves, which indicates drought stress. Don’t worry, though – Nick also shared that, “Right now, water is not a concern and everything looks healthy.” Nick also considers the compactness of clusters, which can create prime environments for disease. When the grapes are tight in the cluster, it prevents air flow and creates a breeding ground for unhealthy powdery mildew.

Rob takes a look at a vine at Daffodil Hill, noting the length between the nodes. The shorter the distance between the nodes, the colder it was during that growing period. Toward the end of the vine, longer lengths show the influence of warm weather, as the vines stretch toward the sun.

Preventative measures, such as spraying sulfur in the vineyards, will mitigate such diseases. If you have ever been out for a wine tasting on a summer day and smelled something akin to rotten eggs, you might actually be smelling disease prevention! The spraying of sulfur is a method to prevent powdery mildew, as it is a fungal disease that infects green plant tissue. This means that grapes are most susceptible to this disease starting at budbreak until veraison.

Among the best indicators of the quality of grapes and vines is also the most simple: we taste a lot of grapes. “We are constantly tasting the grapes in the vineyard because, ultimately, we are looking at the grape in its entirety – not just for its technical specifications,” says Casee Clark, our Sales and Club Manager. “The bottom line is that if the fruit isn’t good simply as fruit, then it won’t make for good wine.”

We have been making frequent trips out to our vineyards to keep close eyes on the progress of the vines. As of now, we are anticipating our first fruit – white varietals that will turn into sparkling wines – at the end of September. Wine Club members will be invited to join us on September 24th for a return to events at the winery. At this Pick Up Party, club members will have the opportunity to share well wishes for the harvest season, learn the ins and outs of how the heck it all happens in our space, and taste some of our newest projects in the R. Stuart family of wines (can you say Gamay?). Our team is eager to see everyone back together. If you want to join in on events like these, we invite you to explore our wine clubs. Join one of our clubs by September 13th, and you’ll be able to pick up your first shipment at this very party!

And then? Well, Rob’s projection of harvest being in full swing is sometime in early October. Of course, only time will tell. Over the next few weeks, we will be busy with bottling projects and cleaning to ensure there is plenty of floor space for the many fruit bins that will soon fill the winery. While it may be two years until you taste the 2022 vintage, the time we are taking now in the vineyard is ensuring that you will enjoy incredible wines for years to come.

July 1, 2022

IPNC’s Return and the Progress of the Wine Industry

R. Stuart would not exist without IPNC, so let’s look back to where it started and where it’s all going.

McMinnville, Oregon is home to a variety of festivals and celebrations which bring thousands of people from across the country to our town. Whether we are celebrating extraterrestrials at the Alien Days Festival or the history of turkey farming during Turkey Rama, our town knows the value of creating experiences based on our rich history and offerings. As we sit in the middle of some of the most prestigious wine country in the world, it seemed inevitable that a wine festival would also be an institution in our valley.

Enter the International Pinot Noir Celebration, or IPNC, to the picture. It was first conceived in 1985 and first executed in 1987; the goal of IPNC has always been to create an intimate setting in which winemakers and consumers from around the world can come together to enjoy a weekend full of world class Pinot Noirs, food, and company. Wines and the people behind them come flocking to Oregon each summer from New Zealand to California, Switzerland to South Africa, making McMinnville the place for Pinot Noir each July.

IPNC holds a dear spot in our hearts, as it is foundational to the R. Stuart Winery story and family. In the inaugural year of IPNC, our late co-founder, Maria Stuart, won a trip to the celebration as a prize for her savvy wine selling skills in Chicago. Also in the crowd that year? The one and only Rob Stuart! They met on the Friday of that IPNC weekend, and committed to love each other and this industry – proven as Maria moved to Oregon to be with Rob and continue her career in wine. She quickly became the assistant to the Executive Director of IPNC, and later served in the role herself. The Stuart’s oldest son, Joe, was actually born in the middle of an IPNC weekend (a story told every July with gusto in the Stuart family). It is ingrained in the R. Stuart story, and we are thrilled to see its return to Linfield University’s campus here in McMinnville.

Located at the back right of this photo are our co-founders, Rob and Maria Stuart. This photo is taken outside of Nick’s Italian Cafe, a culinary institution in McMinnville which is still in operation today, in IPNC’s inaugural year.

It is exciting to reflect on the work that IPNC has done to truly grow as an organization since its inception in 1985. With each year, we see adaptations to better serve the experiences of the partnering wineries, chefs, consumers, distributors, and more. The IPNC board and staff have been incredibly responsive to the cultural shifts we have experienced in recent years. Intention and attention to inclusivity have become an obvious focus, and the event is modeling what the wine industry should look like in 2022 – both in winery and consumer representation.

As a whole, the Willamette Valley has become astutely aware of the individuals whose labor we rely on to make the product we all love so much. Additional efforts have sprung up across the valley to create opportunities to engage with populations who are the backbone of our industry, yet are often overlooked and undervalued.

Just a few weeks ago, the first ever Queer Wine Festival took place in celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community in wine, spearheaded by local winemaker and interim mayor of McMinnville, Remy Drabkin of Remy Wines. Young industry movers and shakers have organized the Women in Wine Conference and the Assemblage Symposium which draw industry folx from far and wide to engage in collaborative education and conversations with the goal of promoting women and historically underrepresented populations in the wine industry to the top of their game. Additional groups, such as AHIVOY and ¡Salud! are providing crucial support to our vineyard stewards – the true champions of each and every winery operation – by connecting individuals with educational opportunities as well as health access.

Photo provided by AHIVOY

At R. Stuart, we feel extremely lucky to be immersed in a community that is actively doing the hard work to create a genuinely inclusive space for individuals in our field. The Willamette Valley continues to expand in boundaries and skill sets, and it is because of the hard work of the aforementioned organizations that we have the opportunity to celebrate the stories behind each step of the process, from vine to bottle. Rob has declared his wines as “wines for life,” and we are proud to share our product and story with the lives of everyone who works so hard to turn our dreams into reality. We raise a glass to IPNC, to our fellow industry comrades, and to you for being a part of our story – cheers!

May 26, 2021

A Tribute to Jimmy Leyden of Courting Hill Vineyard

Jimmy Leyden, June 1921-May 25, 2021

Owner, Courting Hill Vineyard

Today we lost a dear friend. Jimmy Leyden was the owner of Courting Hill Vineyard, one of the vineyards with whom we have a very long-standing relationship. Rob has been working with Jimmy since 1994 when he started as the winemaker at Erath Vineyards. When we started R. Stuart in 2001, Jimmy was one of the growers who happily came with us. Over the years we, but especially Rob, developed a warm and wonderful friendship. Jimmy was an incredible man who led a rich and fascinating life. One day, several years ago, in advance of an event we did where he was the featured grower, I sat down and asked him some questions about his life. We talked for hours. Here’s the abridged version – really just the tip of the iceberg. It doesn’t do Jimmy or his life justice, but it’s a start.  

Yesterday Rob and I drove up to Courting Hill Vineyard to have breakfast with Jimmy, the owner. The dining room, well every room, was full of photographs. You could tell it was a lifelong collection of the people he loves and the places he’s been. While Jimmy and Rob scrambled eggs and made bacon, I perused some of them. I came across one of Jimmy and Helen that I found particularly charming. It looked as though they were dancing but when I asked Jimmy about it he said “she was propositioning me”.

We’ve worked with Jimmy a long time. We first met he and Helen when Rob began making wine at Erath Vineyards in the mid 1990’s. Jimmy is sweet and gentle, with a twinkle in his eye. Helen was a hoot, an absolute spitfire of a woman. And they adored each other.

I asked Jimmy how they met and he told me it was in a thespian group at Penn State in 1941. She was in a vocal trio and got a part in the show. “They were pretty good,” Jimmy said “and she was cute.”

The more questions I asked the more Jimmy told me about their life – Jimmy was a year older than Helen and upon graduation he went off and trained fighter pilots for the navy, eventually landing in Corpus Christi, Texas. Always very musical, Jimmy played piano for fun in the Officer’s club (The O Club) and this turned out to be fortuitous because it ingratiated him to his superior and when he asked for leave to go get married he got just what he wanted.

The story of how Jimmy got back to New York for the wedding reminded me of the movie “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” but he made it! And when the festivities were over, he and Helen took an equally circuitous route, via New Orleans, back to Texas. Which is where they stayed until Jimmy got orders to go to Japan. At this point Helen was pregnant with their first child so he took her back to stay with her family, again crisscrossing the country and turned right back around to get himself to Hawaii, by hook or by crook, from where he shipped out.

Fast forward a few years and Jimmy and Helen moved to New York City where Jimmy, courtesy of his great musical talents and his well-connected brother (Norman Leyden who eventually became the conductor of the Oregon Symphony Pops Orchestra), was offered a spot in the vocal group for Glenn Miller’s orchestra. For this gig he was on tour a lot. Jimmy says he made about $125 per week, and he could get by on the road for about $50 a week. He’d send the rest of the money home to Helen. Eventually Helen was pregnant again and it was time for Jimmy to go home.

It’s about this time that Jimmy started working in New York City. He got lots of jobs arranging music, writing jingles and singing for shows and in studios. He and his brother Norm worked together a lot. We’ve had the chance to listen to some recordings of Jimmy’s work – it’s so terrific!

Jimmy says that when the Beatles came to this country, music started to change. People were more interested in rock and roll and less in the jazz and big band sound. Gigs started to dry up. By now I think there were four children and Jimmy and Helen lived in suburban New York. After spending lots of time volunteering in the schools there, the principal came and asked Jimmy if he’d be the music director at the High School. He did that for several years, while continuing to go into the City for shows and gigs on nights and weekends. All the while, Jimmy and a friend were making wine at home in their basements.

In 1970 Jimmy’s brother moved out to Portland, Oregon to conduct the Portland Youth Symphony. Eventually he was discovered by the Oregon Symphony and offered a position with them. He called Jimmy and said “Hey, why don’t you come out here and take over this Youth Symphony for me.”

Helen and Jimmy got on a plane to come and check things out. They landed in Portland and it was pouring rain. They spent about five days here, touring around and it never once stopped raining. They came anyway. Before making this exploratory trip west, Jimmy did some research about what might be going on with wine scene in Oregon. He wrote to Charles Coury, Richard Somers, and a few other of the pioneers. When he got out here he went looking for those men and their vineyards. He didn’t meet many on the first trip, but in time he got to know these grape growing pioneers.

After Jimmy, Helen and their family drove from New York to Oregon in a VW bus, and set up camp in the home of doctor Norman knew who was taking a one year sabbatical to Europe, Jimmy got started both making music and looking for vineyard land to buy. I’m not sure about this but I think Jimmy also started teaching music at Portland State, though I may be confusing that with Norman’s story.

After searching for some time for the right piece of property, with the help of a couple of “realtor fellows”. They were starting to get a bit discouraged. Finally one of the realtors said he knew of something and he’d “go talk to Mary”. Mary was an elderly widow who was living on this farm in Banks – good proximity to Portland it seemed – and she agreed to sell part of her property to Jimmy and Helen. It was 1981 when they first planted grapes. Jimmy shakes his head and says “If we’d only known….”I said, “Yeah, you were taking a big risk, weren’t you? Why’d you do it?” He shrugs his shoulders and holds his hands up, palms toward the ceiling “Eh, we were young then, what did we know?”

Jimmy and Helen were trendsetters I guess. Not only in the grape growing trend, but also in the “60 is the new 40” trend.

Godspeed Jimmy. With much love from the whole R. Stuart family. 

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