At Home with Left Coast
To commemorate the first day of the 2023 vintage we stopped into the winery to check in with winegrower and winemaker Joe Wright. This year will be Joe’s 28th harvest in the Willamette Valley. His first vintage was at Willamette Valley Vineyards in 1996 and he went on from there to start his own winery, Belle Vallé. Joe made a full transition over here to Left Coast in 2011 and he’s been here ever since.
We all need some good news, and we are counting on Oregon's Wine Month to bring us some! As many of you are aware, beginning on FRIDAY, APRIL 30TH, a number of Oregon counties will no longer be allowed to offer indoor service. Those include the state's most populous Multnomah County and, unfortunately, our own Polk County, among others. May these restrictions again revert soon.
The blossoms of the Yoshino Cherry trees, of which I wrote in late March, are now but a lovely, photographic memory. The GOOD NEWS is what you see here, beyond the branches, the expansive lay of the land of our nearly 500 acre Estate. The warm spring into summer weather awaits us all, and we eagerly look forward to YOU, spreading across our Oak Savanna, relaxing at our outdoor tables, and basking in the sunshine with your loved ones. If you can't do that, just call or email, we are ready and able to get wine to you!
We continue to offer seated tastings on our patio areas, with culinary offerings that vary with the season. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO RESERVE FOR THIS TABLE SERVICE BY CALLING US AT (503) 831-4916 or email hospitality@leftcoastwine.com. Gardener Bob and the Patriarch of our family farm is just now completing the planting of our on-site greenhouse. It is full of the promise of heirloom tomatoes, lettuces of all kinds, bok choy, basil, peppers, carrots, early, mid summer, and late potatoes and more. We can hardly wait to begin those daily harvests.
Bringing such fresh, Left Coast ingredients into Chef Mike's imaginative hands is a special pleasure. He has recently added a surprising and wonderfully delicious beet pizza to our FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY PIZZA ONLY food menu. Another favorite has been the addition of sweet peppers to his Seasonal Margarita pie, and you will find the mushroom with made in-house sausage pizza a more traditional and very popular choice as well. All, of course, to be paired beautifully with our family's wines. A weekday menu is also available.
We have ducks and chickens on property for our egg needs. We call this building, photographed from the front of the Greenhouse, our Chick (and Duck) Mahal that replaced the lesser homes the flocks earlier occupied. Our multitalented Winemaker, Joe Wright, did the design, and the Vineyard and Winery Crews joined him in the construction process. Never have we seen our ducks and chickens so happy! We do not eat our feathered friends and seek to source other protein and cheeses locally.
We have three gardens at Left Coast that supply our Tasting Room Kitchen, the smallest, of herbs, to the back of the Tasting Room. Behind the Greenhouse, you will find a series of raised beds where our earlier, Founding Winemaker, Luke McCollom, experimented with propagating self rooted stock. One of our Wine Club members, among others, purchased enough of those vines from us to plant a lovely vineyard on his family's property. We look forward, especially, to tasting his successive vintages. Cheers to the Hay clan❤
This season the raised beds will be devoted largely to a collection of berries. Along with a cutting garden, we are refocusing this area in honor of my mother, Marcella Larson, and the Girard Berry Estate where she grew up, north of Seattle. My mother was born in 1918, the year of the Great or Spanish, despite that misnomer, Influenza. I learned recently that two of five children, born in that year, did not survive to the age of five. Mother Larson beat those odds significantly. She left us two years ago on May Day, spunky and spirited to an otherwise unexpected close of a life at 101. She was spared this second pandemic by less than a year. She loved the Zinnias my father planted for her, in abundance last summer in these raised beds.
Like many, in 1939, my Grandparents lost everything except the farm. I found this newspaper clipping in with my mother's things and another, inadvertently tossed, that spoke of the farm feeding the town of Stanwood, Washington, during those trying times. The joys and challenges of farming are perennial, the "fair" years and the truly memorable ones, in our world, of great vintages. I will be in Stanwood, this May Day, where my parents were married, in 1944, on land that my Grandfather gifted to the Lutheran Church, remembering Mom’s life well, and very long lived.
Being a welcoming gathering place has been, from our beginnings, a central part of our vision for Left Coast. We regard ourselves as grateful Stewards of this land. The entire Left Coast Team contributes mightily and daily, in their combined passions, to care for our special spot in the Willamette Valley, to coax the best possible results from what nature gives to us in each vintage. Then, to present those wines to you, here on property, or wherever you might find them. Ever, we are thankful for your support of our wines.
I close today with a special tribute to our Vineyard Crew and, also, to Joe who wears at least a double hat for Left Coast of Winemaker and Viticulturist. The Vineyard Team, now with the second generation of the Garcia Family in its lead, not only meticulously cares for the vines but for the overall property and gardens as well.The unexpected ice storm in February added extra weeks of unanticipated needed attention. As Cinco de Mayo approaches, may we all raise a glass to the hardworking agricultural workers, here, to our own of the Willamette Valley and across this nation, to their talent, dedication, and hard, hard work. They keep us fed AND supplied with the grapes for this toast!
Drink Wine! May is Oregon Wine Month!
Cheers and thanks,
❤Suzanne and All of Us at Left Coast❤
All the better photographs here are from Lisa Fahrner's wondrous eye. This writer has provided those lesser. Thank you, Lisa!
March 26th, 2021
DOUBLE HURRAH! THIS MONTH, AGAIN, FROM FRIDAY, MARCH 26TH, BRINGS A WIDER REOPENING OF OUR HOSPITALITY. MORE INDOOR SEATING ALLOWED ALTHOUGH LIMITATIONS ON NUMBERS MAKE RESERVATIONS ESSENTIALLY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY FOR THE WEEKENDS. PLEASE CALL US AT (503) 831-4916 OR EMAIL TO hospitality@leftcoastwine.com. TO MAKE YOUR RESERVATION TODAY.
We look forward to the coming of longer days of spring into summer and the warm weather pleasures of patio tastings and dining. Soon there will be picnics and families spread across the oak savanna. We can hardly wait!
At this time, our casual, bring your own blankets or chairs and glassware for oak savanna seating, for bottle sales daily and pizza orders, Friday through Sunday, is open without reservations in rain free weather.
We will do our best to accommodate walk ins, more available in the better weather across our beautifully restored oak savanna. But please remember that making a reservation is the very best way to assure your place for a sit down tasting and delivered to the table food service.
A light, changing, seasonal menu of Estate grown and locally sourced ingredients, including Estate duck and chicken eggs and honey, is offered Monday through Thursday. Our delicious wood fired pizza is available Friday through Sunday.
For spring, we are open daily, noon to 5, final food orders at 4:30. Masks continue to be required by state mandate while moving about the property. Removal when seated is welcomed.
A special treat at Left Coast, as March moves into April, is the flowering of the Yoshino cherry trees, lining the driveway, up to the winery. These are some of the same variety that contribute to the world renowned annual Cherry Festival in Washington, DC, that, unfortunately, is discouraging visitors this year.
In tribute to our country's proud and beautiful national capital city, I want to provide a history on the origin of the Festival that inspired our own Yoshino plantings here at Left Coast. Enter in 1885, Mrs. Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, a world traveler, writer, and diplomat who had recently traveled to Japan, at a time when few women enjoyed such opportunities.
She campaigned tirelessly to bring Japanese cherry trees to the city until 1909, when her idea reached the receptive ear of the new First Lady, Helen Herron Taft, who had, herself, lived in Japan. Quickly, the Japanese became involved, with a donation of 2,000 trees, arrived in early January of 1910 but found to be thoroughly infested and had to be burned in their entirety. Agriculture, as we who farm well know, can convey both cruel and triumphant outcomes.
More than two years later, through the generosity of the city of Tokyo, a donation of more than 3,000 replacement trees of 12 different varieties arrived in our nation's capital. The vast majority live to this day, a gift of friendship of the Japanese people.
Here, at Left Coast, our far fewer trees are yet to break into flower. This year's bloom is estimated to arrive sometime between March 30th and April 5th, the peak bloom lasting a matter of days.
We invite you out for this short lived beauty. However, the arrival of spring is bursting out all over the property. Bud break awakens the dormant vines to the beginnings of a new, upcoming vintage.
Today's daffodils and hyacinths will be followed by iris and then the summer cavalcade of lupine, roses, oriental poppies, Shasta daisies, black eyed Susans and more. It is a pleasure to share our special spot, here in the heart of the Willamette Valley, with you as the season of new growth and vibrant colors unfolds.
By mid May, the oak savanna will again be filled with the musical talents of our After Hours Fridays. There is a sense of, yes, a different, new normalcy returning, post a most trying year. We are ready to enjoy that with you on the expanse of our working farm.
I leave you with this family photo, taken last week by Winemaker Joe, his wonderful face in the photo above with me. Here are the three of my younger generation: Left Coast's Creative Director, Cali, your's truly, CEO Taylor, and the eldest, Karleton, who, with his Cordon Bleu training, was in the Left Coast kitchen in earlier days and is now contributing his metal fabrication and building expertise to upcoming projects.
How blessed we are, here at Left Coast. We are daily thankful for the hard working Left Coast Team that makes it all happen. A toast to their passion and devotion in bringing forth the very best from this land, from vine to wine, and to the care and thoughtfulness they bring daily to the integrity and sustainability of the Estate.
And, of course, we ABSOLUTELY couldn't do it without you!
Heartfelt thanks,
❤Suzanne and All of Us at Left Coast❤
Photos from Lisa, US Today, Suzanne, and illustrations by Cali.
NEWS FLASH! AS OF FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH, WE ARE RETURNING TO LIMITED INDOOR SERVICE. HURRAH!!
PLEASE REMEMBER TO MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS AT (503) 831-4916 FOR BOTH INDOOR AND OUTDOOR SEATING ON OUR COVERED WINE LIBRARY PATIO. WE HAVE PATIO HEATERS, BUT FOR OUTDOOR SEATING, DO DRESS WARMLY FOR THE SEASON! MASKS CONTINUE TO BE REQUIRED INDEFINITELY BY THE STATE.
February brings my birthday and, in past years, our annual Celebration of Suzanne's, featuring the special reserve line of wines that Winemaker Joe and Team craft in my name. I feel so very honored by these wines that seek to express the best of the vintage. In the light of history making storms across the country, with Oregon being no exception, my birthday has been moved to March this year!
The tentative celebratory date is SUNDAY, MARCH 28TH, but we will let you know as soon as that is finalized, both via email and posting on our website. I am really looking forward to celebrating with you then.❤
We are elated that Oregon is cautiously and carefully moving back into indoor service. As we are entering that first phase, seating is limited by law. Our Wine Library, that will expand our indoor seating, is awaiting its unveiling when the time is right. And, if more indoor allowances continue to be delayed, we will then be coming into warmer weather and cozier arrangements in our outdoor seating.
After having been without power at Left Coast for nearly a week, we have been back up and running since last Thursday. It is a delight to be on the Wine Library patio as you venture back out. Again due to the weather interruptions, we will continue our Tuesday and Wednesday closures to the beginning of March.
We have been putting primroses in the pots, and the daffodils in the gardens will be coming into bloom before we know it. The new life of spring is making itself known all across property. Enough of winter's extremes!
This month, we are featuring a Wine Club member and a good friend of more than two decades, Laurel. We met when she worked with us in the acquisition of the sculpture on the property that has become the logo for Left Coast. Laurel was with me on property to celebrate my actual birthday when this photo was taken.
The artist, Satoru Abe, has been recognized as a Living Treasure of Hawaii. We wanted something to express the power of nature and the energy of the sun, both in agriculture and in the continuing cycles and circle of life. Abe came up with a number of drawings and small models. From those, our logo was born that, we feel, is emblematic of our lives and efforts, hopes and dreams here at Left Coast.
Abe will be 95 this summer. Less than 2 years ago he was still a daily, working artist, present at a retrospective of his work in Honolulu, Satoru Abe, 72 Years of Creativity.
Laurel is also a modern day Renaissance marvel whose talents range from showing and breeding Vizslas to building herself the fanciful coop that houses a gorgeous collection of chickens. From her home in Bend, she sells eggs for your morning omelet and fertilized ones as well if you are ready for your own flock. Her artistry is expressed, in abundance, in her extensive gardens, wire sculptures, and the art of being a good friend.
It is with great sadness that we bid a fond farewell to our all-around good man, Mitch. He has worn many hats for Left Coast during his years with us from office administrator to inventory control to shipping and managing our Wine Club and much more. Your strengths are many, Mitch, but I, personally, will ever be especially grateful for your always cheerful nature, kindness, and patience. You will be greatly missed by all.
Mitch will remain in the area, crossing over to follow his passion in the whiskey business at Branch Point Distillery. We wish you all the best and look forward to seeing you two back on the patio and in the Oak Savanna for our music series as spring turns to summer.
For now, keep warm, stay healthy, and ever our thanks for raising a glass of Left Coast.
Cheers from All of Us,
Suzanne and Cali
❤Photos from Mitch, Laurel, Sue, and Suzanne. Illustrations by Cali. ❤
In less than two months, it will be a year since the battle against a worldwide pandemic began in earnest here in Oregon. As we were required to close our Tasting Room doors and move to curbside pickup and delivery, all of our lives began to change, how we live, how we protect our health, and, yes, also, how we might best continue to enjoy, appreciate, and celebrate our lives.
Schools closed. For the fortunate, working remotely proved viable, even with the added challenges of learning from home for so many. As a mother of three, I welcomed a good dinner with a nice glass of wine as my younger generation was growing up. Present-day parents, your demands have been far greater than those I ever experienced. Our hats are off to you as we toast you wholeheartedly, with a glass of Left Coast! ❤
For the less lucky, people lost their jobs. Worse, loved ones, far too many, continue to be taken from us. As a very small part of all of that, seeking to remain connected, and a part of your lives, the first episode of this blog was birthed. You can find the series thus far, in the menu, under Blog, on our website.
We were closed for ten weeks, then reopened into a lovely gift of a summer season. Our Oak Savanna filled with the sounds of talented musicians during our Friday Music Series that we shall, most certainly, continue for the coming summer. A sense of a new normal soon came about, despite the implementation of all that needed to keep everyone safe and healthy. It was such a wonderful feeling to have you, Wine Club Members and visitors from near and very far, back on property. We were and are, most certainly, blessed by your presence, your good company, and enthusiastic support.
My November message of Thanksgiving strayed somewhat from our blog format. Despite the unsettling fires, there was a sense of triumph as our vineyard and winery crews worked swiftly to bring in an impressive crop of Estate fruit and to move that into the winemaking magic. We are confident we will have some beautiful wines for you from the 2020 Harvest.
We introduced you to Mark Anderson in the October Episode. Mark was one of our 2020 Harvest Interns who also has a magnificent calling and talent in his writing. We were honored and touched to read his story in Edible Monterey Bay on his experience with us. The link to Mark's insights and adventures in the winery, vineyards, and beyond are here. A terrific article. Thank you, Mark!
It is during December and January when we all at Left Coast take advantage of a little extra time to be with our families over the holidays. I was with Cali and her fiance, Chad, in our small pod. It was a different end to a difficult year, but one, too, that also brought the simplicity and gratitude of shared times with those most important and central in our lives to the fore. We hope you too experienced such moments as we all moved towards and into the New Year.
And now, it is the time to look forward! We are busy at Left Coast in a major road redo and repair project that will extend into the spring. The vineyard crew is attending to overall property and landscape maintenance and clean up and will soon be moving on to the annual pruning of the vines. The vineyards will be awakening again before we know it!
Left Coast has a special beauty and presence this time of year, and I was delighted to be back on the covered Wine Library patio with our guests this past weekend. It was a beautiful, sun filled two days, and I am happy to say you are a hearty bunch! While we are looking forward to returning to being able to offer indoor seating again, we are also exploring options to make our allowed outdoor tastings and dining areas warmer and more comfortable. We should be able to announce that progress in the February blog when we will also return to our normal 7 days a week opening hours. Until Valentine's Day, with much to put into place, we are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
We leave you with this tribute to our, thus far, unsung hero at the Pizza Oven, Mike. We had anticipated Chef Greg being with us a year longer when, in these times of COVID, his wonderful wife Heidi, a greatly esteemed school librarian, pushed her own retirement ahead a year! No sooner had we hosted Greg's going away celebration than we welcomed Mike aboard in the very midst of our busy summer season. He has not missed a beat since and has wowed us all with his beautiful and creative presentation skills and food pairings. The son of a professional chef, he was trained at his father's side. He has also displayed his practical gifts in reorganizing both the Pizza Room and the adjacent kitchen. Thank you, Mike!
If you haven't yet experienced our DELICIOUS wood fired pizzas, available Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays on site and for pick up, you are in for a treat! Partially baked pies, to finish off at home in your oven, are available daily for pick up. Yum, all made from scratch, the dough made in house with toppings from our Estate gardens in season.
Stay safe and healthy everyone. And so many thanks for being a part of the Left Coast Family and supporting our family's wines and Estate work. We will be releasing new episodes of the blog on a monthly basis. Check your email this time next month! We are ever grateful to have you in our lives.
Cheers,
Suzanne, Cali, and All of Us at Left Coast❤
What a month it has been since we sent out September's Episode! While the wildfires forced us, sadly, to cancel our eagerly anticipated Fall Wine Club Pick Up Parties, even in such disastrous events, there were some silver linings.
Food intended for the gatherings was donated to the Salem Evacuation Center at the State Fairgrounds. Yes, it was delicious and greatly appreciated by the many volunteers and recipients.The generous donations of Wine Club Members of much needed items from handmade quilts and blankets to canned food, baby formula, and more filled two SUV loads. Sue and Bob made a feel good delivery, thankful to all.
Fortunately, the smoke did not linger long here in the Willamette Valley while fires continue tragically to burn in Oregon. Our hearts go out to all those affected and to our industry colleagues in California who have had a much tougher and more destructive time with the wildfires there. The good news is the Glass Fire, in Napa County, is now, gratefully, contained at 97%.
The above photograph was posted on Instagram, on September 22nd, as we moved into Harvest. We hope you may have followed our 2020 Harvest story, there and on Facebook.
Here you see Lisa and Emma who many of you know from the Tasting Room. Both have now also worked multiple Harvests, among the vines in bringing in the grapes and in performing various, demanding roles in the winery as well. As I am sure you agree, it is wonderful to have them bring this firsthand experience and knowledge back into the Tasting Room for the rest of the year.
Much of the documentation that you see in videos and photographs on line comes from Lisa. While her business cards identify her as Tasting Room Manager, needless to say, her interests extend to winemaking, marketing, wine education, and photography, all that just the tip of the iceberg of our multitalented Lisa.
If you have missed them, please check out the virtual wine tastings, archived on both Facebook and Instagram, that Lisa and Sue have done together. Surely, there will be more to come. Sue is our second in charge for the Tasting Room and has brought so many of you into the Wine Club. During Lisa's absence, Sue is not only fulfilling the many Tasting Room Management duties but has also been attending to the daily care and lunch and dinner feeding of our winery crew. Thank you, Superwoman Sue!
Welcome to Mike and Mark who have joined us as Harvest Interns this season. We are delighted to have them with us. Mike describes himself as a passionate and experienced sommelier. He has worked with Left Coast wines from that perspective during his almost decade long tenure in NYC. In looking to be part of the 2020 Harvest, he felt it was time to get his "hands dirty and see the production side of the wine world up close and personal". You're a great fit, Mike.
As is Mark, a journalist from Monterey, California, who has written about food and wine for fifteen years. He resigned from his position as a managing editor and food and wine columnist a couple of years ago to afford himself a more flexible schedule. Mark is now enjoying working remotely. He has recently finished a project in Washington's San Juan Islands before coming to Left Coast to explore "the art and science of winemaking".
Steven has joined us in the winery as Cellar Hand, replacing Patrick, mentioned in Episode 7, who has moved over to our neighbor, Van Duzer, part of the wonderful interrelationships in this tight knit Oregon wine community. Steven has worked for our friends at the Union Wine Company; Justin Hoffman, Union's NW Regional Manager, was one of our volunteers, part of that group photo in Episode 1 of this blog, when we opened to the public in 2007. Steven has also worked two harvests, among others, at Oregon's Antica Terra. Beyond a short wine sales stint, I was pleased to see his Bachelor's degree having been awarded in English and Creative Writing, even if it comes from the University of Southern California. So writes this rival old UCLA Bruin!
Creative Director and left handed daughter, Cali, has also been in the winery this season, getting her hands and boots dirty. Newly engaged, her future husband, Chad, has provided many of these photographs with a Harvest video to come on the website. Brother, son, Taylor, CEO of Left Coast, has, of course, been in and out of the winery and vineyards, Winemaker Joe keeping him apprised of the many directions and decisions involved in the progress of this 2020 Harvest and of the winemaking.
As the grapes have come in from the vineyards and into the hands of our winemaking team, Joe's enthusiasm for the 2020 vintage has grown day by day. The majority of the fruit, of excellent quality, is in. The Syrah and Viognier will continue to hang for a bit longer. The remaining Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc will be brought in this week and next.
Last night, Cali asked me about my favorite part of Harvest. In essence, my response echos that of our first vintage of 2004 and all those since. It is, most certainly, the patient, collaborative teamwork and the many hands and hearts of this astonishing collective of talented, creative, and ever inquiring contributors.
Together, with Joe at the helm, year after year, they bring out the very best of what the year, the vintage has given us, reflective of our very special place in the Willamette Valley. We look forward to sharing these wines, when ready for release, and our current and library vintages with all of you and you with those you love.
Cheers,
Suzanne and All of Us at Left Coast
As we move from summer to fall, we count our many blessings. The gorgeous grapes, at the very core of what we do at Left Coast, are coming along beautifully as our winery and vineyard crews ready themselves for Harvest. Despite a necessarily deferred spring season for the Tasting Room and a slow but careful start to our summer, we have come back as have you, both in person and virtually in your support, for which we are ever most grateful.
And while we had to limit the number of runners, for everyone's safety, for this year's annual Run for the Oaks, your generosity resulted in one of our best days of the summer. That has made a wonderful contribution to our ongoing Oak Restoration projects across property. Thank you, thank you, thank you❤
Now, in advance of the 2020 Harvest, here is a long awaited introduction to two key players at the Winery and in our Winemaking program and efforts. Their really busy season is just ahead!
As is true for many of us in this world of wine, Mark's deep appreciation for Willamette Valley wines developed as he was tasting and serving them in his native California and then adding them to wine lists as a part of restaurant work in Corvallis. In 2008, he entered Oregon State University's program in Food Science and Technology, with an emphasis in fermentation, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in 2011. He worked that Harvest at Left Coast and then headed to New Zealand to experience how they did it there. Mark returned to us in June of 2012, progressing from Cellar Master to Assistant Winemaker.
Mark believes "the field of winemaking to be the perfect intersection of artistic expression and science and is proud to be a helping hand in the production of exceptional wines at Left Coast Estate". Thank you, Mark, we are proud to have you with us too.
Mark brings to the Left Coast Family his lovely wife, Robyn, and beautiful daughter, Evelyn. We were delighted and honored to have celebrated their love and marriage at Left Coast the summer of 2019. It was as perfect of a day and evening as I could have imagined, bride and baby radiant, Mark the happiest of men.
You may have seen Alex in the last Episode, also archived on our website. Alex grew up in Corvallis and majored in Environmental Studies, with a focus on ecology and conservation, at Southern Oregon University in Ashland. He came to Left Coast as a Harvest intern in 2018 after having worked a first vintage in Sonoma and then moving into a position at Wente Vineyards that combined vineyard and lab work.
In Alex’s own words. “I loved spending the morning scouting the vineyards to return to the lab to run analysis on the finished wines. It was great to see every step in process. I fell in love with the hard work that was required to make wine and learning the art and care that goes into the craft.”
Alex returned to Oregon in 2016, working at Soter and Domaine Drouhin prior to his internship with us. He is now our Cellar Master, running the crush pad and managing the interns during Harvest. The remainder of the year, Alex heads the bottling and winery operations, he and Mark under the direction of Winemaker Joe Wright.
Alex's environmental concerns and background are also especially aligned with the mission and beliefs at Left Coast. We are grateful he is ever looking to improve our understanding of how we can better impact our community and ecosystem as a winery, vineyard, and big, working farm.
Wine Club Members have just received Mitch's terrific email on the Pick Up Party timing and planning. We are all looking forward to seeing you and sharing the superb wines that will be in the Fall boxes.
If you are not a member yet, consider joining today! You can explore the options on our website, and sign up for our Pickup Party in the coming weekend. Wine, food pairings, and great company; you won’t want to miss it.
Our Tasting Room staff, too, of course, will be happy to walk you through the brochure. Mitch, our ever helpful Wine Club Manager, can be reached at: mitch@leftcoastwine.com or by calling (503) 831-4916, option 3.
HERE'S TO AN EXTENDED SUMMER FOR ALL OF US! In the next episode, we will be talking more about the 2020 Harvest and Vintage. May they both be GREAT ones.
Until then,
All the best from All of Us
Here at Left Coast🌻
Incredibly, July is drawing to its end, and as our Summer Season has taken off, Cali and I have moved our blog to now monthly appearances. And a new family member, a darling black lab, has entered Cali's and Chad's household. With that, the time for Cali's artistry has been impacted. But, happily so, as you meet, here, the pup!
We are so very glad to be able to welcome visitors and our wonderful Wine Club Members, back to the Left Coast property. And ever happy to hear that you continue to follow these At Home with Left Coast installments as well. Although it does seem that life for many of us is moving towards venturing out at and to Left Coast. Thank you, from the heart, for coming in and for being in touch. So good to see you again.
We are enjoying our Fridays After Hours, in the Oak Savanna, from 4:30 to 8 PM, with a terrific offering and range, of Live Music. Here you see the fabulous DRTR Music Project who performed earlier. Thanks to Wine Club Manager, Mitch, and Tasting Room Command Central, Lisa, who have put together this terrific lineup!
Jacob Westfall will be with us, this Friday, July 31st
Hayley Lynn on August 7th
Steve Hale back on August 14th
Dead Lea Music on August 21st
Ben Rice on August 28th
And Katie Smith on September 4th
Please join us in the Oak Savanna, in front of the Tasting Room, for these relaxing evenings of great music. Bring your own chairs or blanket, or if you arrive early enough, you may be in time to check out some of our limited number of Adirondack chairs. Then, order your wine and pizza, and find your special spot to settle in.
Reservations are always recommended for food and wine table service on the patio but are NOT necessary for the Oak Savanna. Tasting flights are offered at Patio and Tasting Room seating only.
**No outside alcohol is allowed anywhere on the property.**FOR THE OAK SAVANNA: We have wine for sale by the bottle, beer, and non alcoholic offerings too, a weekly dessert special and cookies, all made in house. Bring your own glassware or purchase reusable, logoed Left Coast Go Vinos at our cost of $2 each. Our delicious wood fired, from fallen oaks from the property, pizza is available for purchase, with an order cut off of 7:30 PM.
As the Oak Savanna is such an inviting and unique place to be, as the Van Duzer Corridor breezes cool us off, I am moving the earlier promised introduction to our Winery Team to next month. Last time Winemaker Joe was featured as we explored life in the vineyards. As August comes to a close, and Harvest approaches, we will take you virtually to the Winery to meet Mark and Alex, the duo that contribute so much in their collaboration with Joe in crafting our beautiful wines.
Here at Left Coast, we regard the beautiful Oak Savanna at the core of our Estate as an extraordinary gift of nature. It is estimated that there are only 2 to 4 percent of the original live white oaks remaining today in the Willamette Valley. We are proud to be stewards to 40 acres at the center of our nearly 500 acre Estate with another 60 acres that have also been restored to their former Oak Savanna condition.
We began 5 years ago to commit to doing this work. The oaks are endangered by being crowded out by rampantly spreading blackberries and other invasive species such as shiny geranium and young Hawthorn trees. In removing and burning these, we have then reseeded the opened areas around these majestic 350 to 450 year old oaks with a mix of indigenous grasses and wildflowers.
We are grateful to have entered into such good and supportive partnerships on local, state, and national levels. Long distance runner and working on her PhD in Hydrology at Oregon State University, Daughter in law, Christina, sister in law to Cali, and wife to Taylor, all of Left Coast's Ownership Family, has been central in the development of our Run for the Oaks. This annual event provides matching funds for these efforts. All proceeds on the day of the run, from entry fees to wine, food, and everything we sell that day goes towards the Oak Savanna restoration. We are now working on additional acres to preserve the habitat of the juvenile oaks, the youthful 6o year olds!
RUN FOR THE OAKS, SATURDAY, AUGUST 29TH. REGISTRATION IS OPEN NOW. DUE TO COVID CONCERNS AND THE SAFETY OF ALL, THERE WILL BE STAGGERED START TIMES, AND NUMBERS WILL BE LIMITED. DETAILS AND REGISTRATION ARE ON OUR WEBSITE:
Daughter Cali, who like her father and older brother, is left handed and Left Coast's talented Creative Director. She is the artistic eye and hand in this continuing blog and holds a Master's Degree in Landscape Architecture. She is also founder of the landscape architecture firm, Studio Campo.
Cali divides her time increasingly equally between Denver, Colorado, and the Willamette Valley. Here she is, last week, here on property, with her little brother and Left Coast's CEO, Taylor.
Cali has cut a trail, open to our guests, Summer into early Fall, through the Oak Savanna and is working on expanding Left Coast's trail network. She is further involved in a number of related property projects. A pollination garden, around our Sparkling Cave, will be going in this fall as will another on the South Farm that faces onto Highway 99. An upcoming spring project she is working on with Winemaker Joe will introduce perennial pollinator attracting cover crops between the vineyard rows. We are all excited about what these projects will bring to growing the population of the bee colonies at Left Coast.
Please enjoy this special time of year, and savor the summer sounds, flavors, and scents. COVID-19 has taken its toll, on many levels, on all of us, and our hearts go out to those who have had to seriously battle this dreadful disease and to those, especially, who have lost loved ones.
Take care, love one another, and do your best, please, to keep your spirits high. We are thinking of you and looking forward to a memorable moment with you here at the Estate or, if need be, to toasting you from afar.
Here's to that,
Suzanne and Cali
And All of Us at Left Coast
Last Sunday, we got a glimpse of the summer that is to come in perfect, sun filled weather. The scene from the Tasting Room, out over the Patio, and onto the Oak Savanna was idyllic, friends and families gathered, enjoying the beautiful day at our special spot in the Willamette Valley. Please join us as the weather and the breezes through the Van Duzer Corridor, cutting through our flower filled property, are ever more inviting this summer through fall season.
Our newly initiated seated tastings by appointment format for the Tasting Room and Patio is working wonderfully. To make your reservation, please call us, as early as possible for weekend dates, at (503) 831-4916, or, book via email, at hospitality@leftcoastwine.com.
Also please remember to bring your masks, now required in various Oregon counties, including our own, Polk. Masks are mandated indoors, except when eating and drinking. For your safety and our own, we are carefully adhering to the protocols of the Governor's Office and those supported by the Oregon Wine Board. You can read about those on our website.
For those who prefer a picnic setting, you can bring your own chairs or blankets and glassware or purchase Go Vinos at our cost of $2 each, order a bottle or two of wine, a pizza (Friday through Sunday) or a charcuterie platter, panini or featured salad during the week, along with some of Carolynn's delicious carrot cake. Then pick your place, in the sun or shade, among some of the last remaining 350-year-old White Oaks in the Valley, fronting onto the Tasting Room. At this time, reservations are not required for the Oak Savanna.
In this and the following episode, we will be exploring the central core of our being, wine making! That all begins in the vineyards, from 30 acres in 2003 to the now 142 acres planted on the nearly 500 acre Left Coast Estate, here in Rickreall, Oregon. We are situated right off Highway 99W, 4225 N. Pacific Highway, an equidistant 15 miles from our State Capital of Salem and our wine town, McMinnville.
You have been introduced earlier in this blog (archived on our web site) to Winemaker Joe and his son, Michael. And, perhaps, you participated in our online blending seminar, featuring Joe, Tasting Room Manager, Lisa, and my son and Cali's brother, Taylor, Left Coast's CEO. In that you could make your very own blend of our three Pinot Noir single vineyard designates: all Dijon clone Latitude 45, all Pommard Right Bank, and all Wadenswil Truffle Hill. You can take a walk with Joe in those vineyards, that video accessible on our web site as is the blending package for purchase.
Our Crew Chief, Arturo and his son, Juan, were also introduced in Episode 2. Joe works hand in hand with Arturo and the Vineyard Crew. Members of Arturo's family have been with us from our very beginnings when Left Coast was largely a grape growing operation, selling our fruit to various Oregon brands you may well know and admire.
Since our inaugural Left Coast vintage of 2004, we have established our commitment to all Estate fruit for our label, our goal being all of our grapes going into Left Coast bottles. We are blessed by the continuity of the ongoing relationships with Arturo, his brother Adan, their families, and our Vineyard Crew. Collectively, they know the Left Coast vineyards intimately and care for them in an extraordinary way, living and practicing the credo that great grapes, attentively nurtured, are the essential building blocks in crafting great wines.
Joe began working with us on a fulltime basis from 2011. Prior to that time, he was Winemaker at Belle Vallee Cellars in nearby Corvallis, for nine years during which time he was recognized as making one of Wine Spectator's 100 Best Wines of the Year. His tenure in Oregon began six years before that while working with Winemaker and Owner, Jim Berneau, at Willamette Valley Vineyards, alongside Joe Dobbs there before that Joe moved on to launching his own brand. Like our founding family, our Joe spent time in Colorado, now among our strongest markets, managing a Wine Shop in Aspen for several years, a terrific early background for a then aspiring Winemaker. We are delighted to have Joe, his lovely wife, also named Suzanne, and adorable son, Michael, as an important part of the Left Coast Family. Check out the Left Coast wines bearing a J. Wright Vintner label on the web site!
As Joe nears a decade of work with Left Coast, he is ever more conversant with the strengths and possibilities of our various vineyards. Under his supervision, we have planted two of our highest elevation vineyards, including Field of Dreams where Pinot Meunier grapes are thriving. Not only are they an essential part of our Sparkling program but also produce a wondrous red still wine. From the adjacent High Acres, 37 miles from the Pacific Ocean, one can view the coastal range and feel most intensely the cooling breezes of the Van Duzer Corridor. We offer special tours to explore these areas, on the website, under Experiences.
Next Episode, we move from the vineyards into the winery to introduce you to our Winemaking crew. Please stay tuned for that!
Our weekly Friday After Hours Live Music evenings will begin on July 3rd, from 4:30 to 8:00 PM. Performers will be listed on the web site. Please make your reservations soon for these wonderfully popular evenings, reservations recommended also for the Oak Savanna area.
Come for wine, music, and our delicious wood fired pizza. No outside alcohol please.
It is SO good to be OPEN again. We trust this finds you well. We will be expanding our offerings and events as we deem it safe to do so. All such announcements will be posted on our web site, via social media, and through our weekly emailed Left Coast Newsletters.
Our All-Estate Honey is back again in the Tasting Room! Pick up a jar or two on your next visit. Supply is limited—we save enough for the dosage in our Bee Bubbly Sparkling Wine, perfect for a long summer evening.
Best Regards,
From Suzanne and All of Us at Left Coast❤
We are OPEN! Memorial Day Weekend moved us beyond curbside pickup to a limited opening of our carefully socially distanced, reconfigured Tasting Room and Patio. The weather was gorgeous, and we were elated to have such a lovely and appreciated turnout. As always, we are so very grateful for your support of our family's wines, both from a distance and when you are able to make a short or, often, very long trip to get to Rickreall. We are here to celebrate that. Thank you!
Last weekend, we also opened up our very special Oak Savanna picnic expanse where you can bring your own blankets or folding chairs, to purchase wine by the bottle and our notoriously delicious wood-fired pizza, Fridays through Sundays. You may bring your own glassware or purchase Left Coast Go Vinos, at our cost, of $2 each.
This week, we are returning to a weekday menu as well. Greens from the property will be featured in a Caprese Salad. Our panini sandwiches and charcuterie platters will also be on the menu. Beets, carrots, and tomatoes are growing in the greenhouse and will be appearing in menu selections to come as they are harvested. Come have lunch with us at Left Coast, noon to 5 daily.
Reservations are recommended, strongly encouraged for the weekends.
It's time to introduce or reintroduce you to our talented trio in the Left Coast Kitchen. In Episode 4, I told of the founding of the Tasting Room and how we began to incorporate food offerings to enjoy and pair with our wines.
Our chefs continue to be inspired by organic gardening efforts on property and in sourcing cheeses and protein from local producers and farmers. Left Coast chickens and ducks lay fresh eggs daily, the open face duck egg salad sandwich, now on the weekday menu, a palate pleasing, savory treat. I know you will come up with your favorites for that wine pairing!
By 2009, in a serendipitous meeting through the Left Coast network, we met the wonderful, now our Executive Chef, Carolynn. With a catering background that included her own business and the King Estate Winery, to whom we were selling Pinot Gris grapes at the time, Carolynn came on board, just in time for that summer season. Post a wonderful five years with us, and with the irresistible draw of her daughter's young family living outside of Madrid, Spain, those two darling grandchildren lured her into retirement and travel. But, lucky for us, she was again lured back to Left Coast with the beginnings of our Wine Club's Culinary Book Club and in focusing her talents and marvelous creativity in menu creation for special dinners, events, and Wine Club parties. We are so very glad and grateful to have her back!
You can find Carolynn's Estate Raspberry-Pinot Noir and Strawberry-Rhubarb Rose jams for sale in the Tasting Room. A nice touch of Left Coast for your at home breakfasts.
As we move from Phase One into Phase Two and beyond of Oregon's Reopening protocols, we will be allowed to welcome larger groups back for private parties, after hours. Please think of us when planning your day or evening birthday party, baby shower, wedding rehearsal dinner, or any special gathering. Carolynn, working with our Tasting Room Manager, Lisa, will make sure your celebration will be especially memorable for you. Lisa can be reached at: hospitality@leftcoastwine.com.
In this continuing saga of the evolution of the Left Coast Kitchen, Chef Greg has been a central presence at the Forno Bravo Pizza Oven since its near beginnings over the Memorial Day Weekend of 2015. Greg grew up in Napa Valley and came to us after a 35-year career as a high school math teacher and vice principal. He attended the local Chemeketa Wine Program in 2014-2015. In his work at the oven, he has perfected the dough recipe that is the central element of our pizza success. His sourdough starter for bread served at Left Coast now rivals his native Northern California's best. The salts Greg developed, available for purchase in the Tasting Room, are an apt reflection of the man who is constantly experimenting in the kitchen.
If you missed seeing Greg's recipe for Dark Chocolate Syrah Truffles, you can find that recipe in the last blog, accessible on the website. Or, you can try making Chef Carolynn's Left Coast Flagship Dessert. Her recipe for the best carrot cake of my life will soon be made available on the website. Even, better, you can enjoy a piece when you next visit, back on the Tasting Room Menu from this Friday.
A tribute to Greg's and Carolynn's mentoring strengths, Emma is our more recent addition to the Left Coast Kitchen. She grew up in nearby, little D, Dallas, Oregon, the daughter of a gardening mother. In 2017, shortly after graduation from Western Oregon University, Emma moved to New Zealand for eight months, as a participant in the Willing Workers on Organic Farms, WWOOF, program. Upon returning from that amazing experience, she began working with Left Coast. Her interests and experiences in gardening and cooking were heightened by solo travel last winter in Southeast Asia. Post her travels, we happily welcomed her back to Left Coast where she now divides her time between the Tasting Room, Pizza Oven, the Greenhouse where her mother, Wanda, is also playing a role, and even the Winery. I almost forgot that the ducks and chickens may well call her Mom in her attentive caretaking there!
We will be looking to the return of our hands-on Culinary Classes in the future. Greg's pizza making classes have been especially popular. And we offered a macaroon class in early February that merits repeating. Emma will be including a recipe in our upcoming Recipe and Wine Pairing Section on the website for truffled hazelnut brittle that was presented with a macaroon and Greg's truffles for Valentine's Day. Carolynn's very authentic and regional Paella recipe, that has been featured in a class, will also await you. Spain and Oregon, Paella and Left Coast, of course we have some wine pairing suggestions!
UPDATE: As we grow busier post reopening, the timing of LISA'S AND SUE'S WEEKLY VIRTUAL TASTINGS will be subject to change. Please check social media, Instagram or Facebook, or our website for upcoming dates and hours. It has been so much fun having you join us on those and in offering advance purchase of the featured wines for you to taste along with our Dynamic Duo from the comfort of your own homes. Cheers to that, and thanks for being a part of these informative and interactive sessions!
All the Best from All of Us at Left Coast
