The Grande Dalles

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For Doing Things Differently, We’re the Wine of the Week

March 14, 2011 in The Word Spreads, Wine Culture | No comments

The Grande Dalles made Bottle Notes’ Wine of the Week (see below), the news hitting the internet while we were in transit to New York and our James Beard event. So it’s been almost 2 weeks ago, but I’ve only just now had the chance to pop it in The Uncultivated Life.

While being chosen from all the wines I’m sure they receive was indeed quite an honor, even more so was what was written about us, like:

–Referring to The Grande Dalles as “That winemaker who goes the extra mile to defy convention and produce wines that are different from everything else in the immediate surroundings.”

–“For doing things just a little bit differently, The Grande Dalles is our Wine of the Week.”

“The Grande Dalles is…a contrarian in the massive Columbia Valley, producing unique, small-batch wines…”

“…Use The Grande Dalles as inspiration to seek out other wines that diverge from the regional norm.”

YEAH!

Thank you, THANK YOU Bottle Notes — for recognizing our wine and the spot-on words about our endeavor.

 

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James Beard Event, What a Feeling

March 10, 2011 in Moving Along, Our Wine, Wine Marketing | No comments

With some days now between our return from the Empire State (my home state) and our James Beard Foundation “Columbia Valley Terroir” event, we’ve had a chance to actually think about how good it all was — the weather — not too cold, not too warm; our hotel, the Affinia Shelburne in Murray Hill fresh and comfortable; the Flower District and our hunt for table decorations a good jaunt and fun peek into the day-to-day of that busy city; Sarge’s Deli on 3rd Ave now Scott’s #2 for best sandwich ever (the first is a sandwich shop in Brooklyn, near Flatbush Ave, I believe) ; fresh bagels with whitefish spread for breakfast; an outing to Central Park and to the American Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaur bones recently discovered by Sam in a Curious George book; but most importantly, our James Beard Event. Up until we showed up that evening, we wondered, “How would people like our wines and their food pairings?” We found out: They LOVED them!
The two things that we heard the most, specifically about our wines were:

1.  “I never liked Riesling until now.”
We’ve heard this many times before. Seems like people we’ve run into have an aversion to the sweet sweet, because with no residual sugar, Leroy’s Finest is far from it. Still fruity, but bone dry.

2. “We can’t believe wine like this is already coming from a young vineyard.”
People were amazed at the how such interesting/complex wines (THEIR words) could come from a first harvest/vintage. Most memorable was when Scott spoke to one avid drinker/collector of First/Premier Growth Bordeaux/Burgundy at length, and after dinner he came up to us, looked Scott in the eye, and with some astonishment told him he couldn’t believe this wine was just our first vintage, adding that our future potential was tremendous. He said it two or three times.

All in all, a great evening, a refreshing weekend, even if it was mostly business.

I posted some pictures on facebook (don’t need to be member for this link) on The Grande Dalles page (need to be member for this link), if you’re interested –I didn’t get too many, since Scott and I were “working the room.”

Thank you everyone who attended — it was a great evening. We love New York!

 

 

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Blessings

February 28, 2011 in Life of a Start-Up, Moving Along | No comments

Went to a James John Cafe fundraiser dinner last week for our upcoming joint The Grande Dalles – James John Cafe James Beard Foundation dinner, and weren’t we overwhelmed by the outpouring of support — not just for James John, but from the people I spoke to attending the event, their enthusiasm and well wishes for ALL of us just about brought tears to my eyes. Ever since we planted the vineyard, the reception we’ve received has been chilly, putting it nicely: felt like the local wine community was rolling their eyes at us newcomers who had our own ideas about how to do things; the local farming community was not happy to have a vineyard in their midst; even felt like many in our family couldn’t grasp the enormity of our undertaking; and we couldn’t find a soul interested in investing a plug nickel — well, OK, except one, and that didn’t pan out. Bottom line,  it felt like the only people intent on, or, should I say, who cared about our success was us, and wasn’t it the loneliest feeling in the world, especially out on that hilltop. Until that evening at the James John. And wasn’t it refreshing.

A friend of ours in NY, Dave S., reminded us when we were lamenting some “influentials” who declined our invite to our wine opening some weeks ago, that we ought to focus on those who would attend instead. Bullseye. I got it. Quit griping and embrace the people who DO care. I don’t know how that will change the tone of my blog, I know I have been at many times a big old whiney arse, and I at times cannot help myself when I point out the hilarity that abounds. But with these community blessings out there — one couple even told us they would open a bottle of our wine the time of the NYC event, and think of us, and send good thoughts in real time — it really lifts the heart and soul.

Soon we’re off to NYC, with the blessings of many in the St. Johns Community. And THAT’s a great feeling. Thank you.

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Success

February 12, 2011 in Moving Along, Our Wine, Wine Marketing | No comments

At least that’s what we’d like to think it was, The Grande Dalles’ Inaugural Release Party at the James John Cafe. People came, people stayed, no-one tasted our wines and then nervously hustled out, and no-one was spitting, except Scott, who had been “tasting” all afternoon/eve.

First on our tasting list was Leroy’s Finest, our riesling; which many people first declined, imagining it to be sweet, until we told them it was bone-dry. And weren’t they pleasantly surprised by it! Many imagined how Leroy’s Finest would do with oysters and seafood (excellent, of course -just ask David Rosengarten!). Moving along to our reds, there were camps that preferred one over the other, but we expected that. Both have their own qualities and flavours, Home Place maybe more robust, Gampo not so much, but critic/journalist feedback reinforced the wines’ integrity: structured, well-made, fine wines. And with the food that evening: roasted pig and some good home fixins to go with it, everyone seemed to be rather happy.

A big THANK YOU goes out to Joe and Lana: Joe was our pourer, and Lana, his wife, got rounded up for the “Welcome” table. And of course a big THANK YOU to everyone else, for making the event a lively time, and for all the kind words and sales (!). Your support is absolutely priceless.

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Our Inaugural Release Party, Today from 4-7

February 7, 2011 in The Word Spreads, Wine Marketing | No comments

At the James John Cafe, 8527 North Lombard Street Portland, OR 97203 – (503) 285-4930. If you’d like to swing by, please do — tell us at the door who you are and la voila. Or if you can’t make it, at least sign up for The Grande Dalles news and updates, so you’ll have more than a few hours’ heads up; we sent out this invite to that crowd weeks ago. Either way, tonight or another time, we’d love to see you.

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How We Got to the James Beard House

February 2, 2011 in Moving Along, The Word Spreads, Wine Marketing | No comments

Ok, granted we’re not there yet, we have yet to get on the airplane and have our Columbia Valley Terroir event, but we are officially on their March 2011 lineup, and that’s pretty darn good. How did we do it, you ask? With only our  inaugural wines, and even more so as an unknown from a state that only really touts its pinot noir? BECAUSE WE’RE ON TO SOMETHING. And the James Beard Foundation recognized that when we visited them last Spring and invited us to pour at a dinner.

So, we went out and found suitable partners who share the same ideals–it’s not about the show, but what gets shown in the wines, or in their case, the food–and will create the dishes to highlight our wines, and our wines their dishes. It was rather serendipitous, I only asking if our neighborhood’s James John Cafe rented out their space, so captivated was I by its high, tin ceilings and quirky decor, out here where we live in what feels like the outpost of St. Johns in North Portland, Oregon. But after talking to them during our wine tasting, I stepped out and asked if they might be interested in joining us at The James Beard House. And there you go. Of course their training and expertise helped with selling them in to the James Beard House, these two gems of chefs, Suzanne Bozarth and Aaron Solley; each has worked directly with James Beard Foundation Award Winning Chefs.

I know it’s a slow process, getting The Grande Dalles’ wine out and about. And its difficulty becomes compounded by all the surprising number of people who don’t value the new and different, so god bless New York. If you, dear reader, happen to know of any individuals who don’t follow the herd, send them our way, please. Or at least to The James Beard House in New York on March 3.

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2010 Top Ten

January 4, 2011 in Moving Along, The Nuts and Bolts of It, Wine Marketing | 1 comment

How golden the sun on December’s last day,
Not rainy like last year’s —now faraway.
A brisk winter’s afternoon light fills the sky
And the colored bulbs wait for the moment when night
Descends all around us, a new year’s fresh start
As we all celebrate in the bright of this dark.

Happy New Year, One and All – Stephanie, Scott, Samuel, and Jack

*******

2010 Top Ten Highlights (in no particular order)

  1. Sold some wine!
  2. The Grande Dalles’ wine and story are getting out.
  3. David Rosengarten told us he found Leroy’s Finest the best American Riesling he’s ever tasted.
  4. Proper sleeping arrangements are now in order.
  5. Sea turtles.
  6. We got an up close look inside The Machine.
  7. Thankfully, our grapes ripened just right.
  8. Our third harvest, and Sam turned two!
  9. Samuel started asking for his own glass of wine at dinner.
  10. Little House on the Hill Project takes a shape.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Ridge, Tulocay, and The Grande Dalles, by Scott

December 13, 2010 in Scott Speaks | No comments

I was just talking with my buddy Josh, who I’ve mentioned in a previous blog or two, and he asked how wine sales were going. I told him not great, but we’re working on a number of things to get the word out. He said his wife is quite enamored with Gampo and Home Place, and they’ve added us to their fine wine regulars list – Ridge, Tulocay, and The Grande Dalles. Not bad company to be in.

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Cultivating Complexity

December 1, 2010 in A Sense of Place, The Straight Dirt, Our Story, The Word Spreads, Wine Marketing | No comments

A spot-on article by Oregon Wine Press. Thank you, Stu Watson.  You’ll have to enlarge to read, hold down apple key and + key  for a mac, control key and + key for a PC.

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Holiday Chat Pack

November 29, 2010 in Moving Along, Wine Marketing | No comments

We thought it would be great fun to meet the people buying our wine. Since The Grande Dalles does not (yet) have a tasting facility and we can’t sit eye-to-eye with you adventurous people interested in our wine, what better way than to do it face-to-face digitally?

Here’s the skinny: through December 31st, 2010, with each purchase of our Holiday Chat Pack, you not only get one bottle each of our inaugural wines, but a 10-minute or so video chat with us. Yeah! You can choose from Scott, myself (Stephanie), Sam or Jack, or any combination thereof, although best bets would be with Scott for the vineyard and wine part of it, me for the girlie emotional aspect, Sam for the fun of it all (although he’s still hard to understand and has only been around for 2.5 years of the adventure), and Jack for well, dog things.

So if you or someone you know would like to get in on the wine adventure that is The Grande Dalles, out in the wilds of Wasco County, Oregon, in the Columbia Valley AVA, we’ve got the perfect way. It’s the Holiday Chat Pack. Hip hip, hooray!

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