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❤
