end of summer - begining of fall 2018 release

Howdy from the Willamette valley!

Clare and I have had a great summer with so many things going on and buoyed by all of your support and enthusiasm for what we do and make.  Thank you to all of you who enjoy our wines and Clare’s art, we are truly grateful and all of what we do would be impossible without you.

We have many longtime and fabulous customers, but there are two in particular I would like to recognize today because they gave us a couple gems of wisdom that Clare and I repeat regularly as we try to steer our lives and business in the best direction.  We are not trained or by nature business people, I spent ten years in Napa learning how to make wine before we moved to Oregon in 2006 to start our crazy project, and Clare has been painting since she was a little girl and studied graphic design and worked at that for 20 years until the winery began to pay for itself.  Winemaking and art we know, running the business that goes with those, well, by the seat of our pants might best describe.

Ewen McKechnie lives in the San Francisco bay area as he likes to say and is originally from Scotland.  He is a rugby teammate of my uncle, and as soon as he heard what we were up to he began calling us asking to buy wine – before we even had any to sell!  He still calls us regularly to order wine and has been with us every step of the way, always encouraging.  During a moment of difficult decision making he proclaimed that we needed to continue “onward through the fog”.  This idea of pushing ahead into the unknown is a daily act of courage, but as Clare and I make big and small decisions, we decide and then move “onward though the fog”.  “Onward through the fog” is repeated often by Clare and me as a way of breathing confidence into our plotted course as we venture into the unknown of each day.  Thank you Ewen!

“Just get started” is the second phrase that we often repeat as a motivation for both big and seemingly small projects and challenges.  This came from Peggy Dark, a successful entrepreneur, we met her briefly a number of years ago and as we were desperately trying to make our business work.  Clare asked her what advice she could give us, and the three words of “just get started” have become part of our lexicon.  We quickly realized that taking the first steps toward anything can be the most challenging, but once you have some momentum it is easier to keep going.  “Just get started” is our regular motivational cheer, whether it is cleaning up the kitchen after a busy day of hosting or preparing to embark on a new project – like planting a vineyard.  Thank you Peggy!

So yes! That is our exciting news – we have broken ground on planting vineyard on our property, behind the winery.  This has been part of our vision from the very beginning.  It is a big project for us, a little daunting on top of everything else, and expensive.  We have chosen a great team of people to help us as we ‘just get started’.  The process will take at least three years before we see any fruit and then at another year to 18 months to wine in a bottle.  We look forward to the day we can share those efforts with you.  Onward through the fog!

Other farm news

We just had our one and only calf of the year last week, so our initial attempt at artificial insemination was only 17% successful but at lest we avoided the rodeo scenario of the first attempt, and we have learned and made some changes that will hopefully make this year’s attempt in the coming weeks more fruitful.  Clare is now quite the beekeeper with currently 5 hives, some of which are stronger than others, and she is definitely able to take some honey, which is great.  Unfortunately she is still trying to figure out how to extract the honey from the comb efficiently, which to my chagrin means the kitchen is a perpetual state of sticky – the floor, doorknobs, utensils etc.  So I look forward to the process being completed.  With all the busyness of spring and summer my garden suffered a little bit.  I still have lots growing but not as much as I would like.   Hopefully I will find a moment to put in all the brassicas that we enjoy throughout the winter.  Of course we have a couple pigs to help us clean up all the leftovers and windfall fruit – Henrietta and Reyna.  They are hugely entertaining, both as pigs and as the labels they will adorn, and of course as all the deliciousness the will provide.  Our laying flock has been reduced in numbers significantly by a coyote, plans are in the works to get a new flock and to fortify their living quarters.  Clementine, Levi, Goatio and Bob the cat still consider themselves as greeters although both Clementine and Goatio are slowing down as they age, leaving Levi and Bob to pick up the slack.

The Wines!

We have some great wines to offer today!  These wines represent my very best effort that each vineyard can produce.  They all have their own quirks and characteristics that make them unique and delicious in their own way.  I handle all the fruit that comes into the winery with equal diligence.  I spend a great deal of time tasting the fruit and the resulting wine from each vineyard, and each barrel so that I can put together what I think are the best and most delicious representation each site can offer.  Please enjoy, and remember, Case shipping is on us!

2016 Wirtz Vineyard Pinot noir. Sadly this is our last vintage of pinot from the Wirtz vineyard.  The economic realities of leasing and farming an old vineyard and the time spent managing it no longer made sense.  The bright side is this last wine is delicious and the void created has allowed us to focus on our own vineyard project.  I will miss having a piece of history in our cellar and the wine that it produced, please enjoy this last effort. 203 cases produced, wild cherries on the label, 62 dollars per bottle.

2016 Sunnyside Vineyard Pinot noir,  this is 50 minutes from big table farm making it our farthest flung site, but the great fruit that Luci and Tom coax out of their old Wadensville vines is amazing and I do my best to capture that in the bottle.  326 cases produced, hen and chick on the label, 62 dollars per bottle, Case shipping is on us!

2016 Cattrall Brothers Vineyard Pinot noir, also Wadensville clone planted in their old vineyard, but very different aspect and elevation make for a very distinct wine year in and year out. 184 cases, vineyard truck on the label, 62 dollars per bottle.

2016 Yamhill-Carlton District Pinot noir – the same two vineyards as the last two years, Kalita and Coats and Whitney make up this AVA blend, combining to show the best our neighbor hood can produce.  Big Table Farm is one step closer to being able to make a contribution to this wine! 315 cases produced, Bernard’s barn on the label, 62 dollars per bottle, and of course, case shipping is on us!

2017 Pinot Gris, also sourced from here in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, and made in the same style I have always done, fermented on the skins to create a wine that is copper colored and more importantly has structure and body to make it stand up to food, particularily seafood. 135 cases produced, ancient and invasive on the label, 32 dollars a bottle.  And yes, case shipping is still on us!

As I write we are in the midst of preparing to bottle the 2017 vintage and anticipating 2018.  We have had a warm growing season and I look forward to making more wine! It has been great to see so many of you at all the events we have participated in over the summer, and we look forward to seeing more of you in the fall, at Farralon for Pinotfest and Clare will be traveling to New York for the WS NY wine experience.

Clare and I consider ourselves so fortunate to have so many great customers, and love knowing that our work is cherished, shared and enjoyed all across the country and even in a few places around the world.  Thank you again for all your enthusiasm for our wines, and of course, don’t forget, free shipping on Case orders!


From our table to yours, cheers! Brian and Clare



To get right to the wines, click here!
 
Note on ordering wine: we respect YOUR time.

If you're super busy - please let us help you order wine in whatever way is EASIEST for YOU! We are happy to assist. Call, email - Clare and Laura (the newest member of our team!) are always available to make sure you get the wines you love! If you want to reach out please just send an email to admin(at)bigtablefarm.com or call 503.662.3129 - and we'll follow up with YOU and get your order!

Wine orders will be shipped end of September or early October, when temperatures across the country are a little more consistent, we will follow up with your order's shipping details.

thank you all for being part of this adventure with us!

Royalty, Dirt and Joy from the farm

Greetings from ALL at Big Table Farm!

We bottled our 2017 Laughing Pig Rose last week and are thrilled to have a little more to go around than last year.  Our rose bottling and release has been happening since 2007 (although not every year) and is an annual marker in time for us, a mid spring ritual that promises the warmth of summer while still in the midst of what this year seems to be a perpetually rainy spring.  Also on offer are our two barrel select wines, the Elusive Queen (Chardonnay) and Earth (Pinot noir).  I continue to joke, but in all seriousness if you don’t buy these wines we will (and we do) drink them ourselves.  They represent less than 5% of our production but hopefully capture all of the best magic possible from the vintage.  I do the heavy lifting of tasting all the barrels and narrowing, then clare helps me select the final barrels that end up in Earth and the Elusive Queen, so they truly do represent our taste, and our very best! Please remember ground shipping is included on case orders.

Since our last missive in early March only a little has changed here on the farm.  We have had a cool and rainy spring so the cows are still in the barn, and noisy as hell, as they are ready to be outside.  Although the grass is starting to grow, the pastures are still too wet to let them out.  Clare has ordered her chicks, both layers and broilers, scheduled to arrive April 19, via US post… for real!  The post office will call us at 6AM to tell us the chicks have arrived, many of our neighbors do this too because when you go into the post office the noise of all the chirping day old chicks is deafening!  I have started some of my seeds for the summer garden and still have more on the docket, once I get my greenhouse fixed.  Levi and Clementine chased a squirrel into it and blew out the whole back end – huzza – there is always something!  Bob the cat is still with us and has started to leave us “gifts” on the front porch.  Goateo is also still with us and Clare’s horses are good too, although apparently Hummer is almost 30 and only has three teeth, so now gets special mushy senior horse feed. I only know this because Clare has been traveling quite a bit and their care (read scooping poop) falls to me when she is gone.  New pigs are chosen and should be here any day now.  We have had several suggestions for names but it seems only fair that we should meet them before they are christened.

We are still amazed and so grateful for the success of our Oregon adventure.  Thank you so much for buying, drinking and sharing our wines. 

We are humbled and honored to be part of your daily meals and celebrations alike.  

Cheers! Brian and Clare

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Don’t forget – ground CASE shipping is on us!

For our Friends in the  Chicago area we will be in Chicago May 14-15 for Pinot in the city  http://willamettewines.com/pinot-in-the-city-chicago/

Happy Spring from big table farm

Happy almost spring!  I hope this finds you and yours well – we are doing great here in western Oregon, the winter has been relatively mild and we were able to take a vacation in January.  Thank you ALL for your continued

support and enthusiasm and most importantly - buying, drinking and sharing our wines!

When Clare and I started this in 2006 we could not imagine having such great customers and all the great press that we continue to receive, with two standouts being the New York Times last fall and the current March issue of the Wine Spectator. Our business is doing well but we have decided to make a significant change and offer complimentary Ground shipping on CASE orders. In the era of Amazon prime we cannot ignore the reality of “free shipping” becoming the norm.  We have heard you and CASE shipping is now included!  Everything else stays the same though and we will leave allocations, clubs, coupons, discounts, etc. to our competitors.  Buy what you want, and when it is gone that means it is really gone- no games here at BTF.  To that end we still have a few of our 15’s left, but what I really want to tell you about are the 16’s that are here today and yet to come.

I am really happy with all the wines we have to offer today – and those to come in early April and then again at the end of August.  The 2016 vintage was warm like 14 and 15 and the 16 Pinots seem to have some of both vintages in them, the structure is similar to the 14’s but the juiciness of the 15’s is there to balance.  Very approachable now but will continue to reward with time.  The Chardonnays are just delightful – vibrant and brimming with stone fruit and richness framed by minerality and acidity.

I continue to make my wine in the same manner as previous vintages, although I do continue to make small adjustments and experiment and learn as any true professional does.  I believe that my skills as a winemaker continue to improve with experience, and my goal of making the best wine that I can is still true.

All the animals are good, we seem to have gone through a few cats though, but we have ended up with Bob, a big orange cat who is very friendly and curious and loves to sneak into the house.  He will most likely say hi if you visit, along with Goatio who is still with us (she is 12 now!).  Despite all her freedom to eat whatever she wants,  she decided this year that the holiday wreathes on the house and winery were tasty snacks.  Levi and Clementine are also good, except they have learned how to open the fridge.  I jury rigged up a lock that we have to use when we leave, otherwise we come home to a mess and no cheese or salami or bacon left cause that is what they go for first.  Clare of course still has her horses that she mostly just rides at the moment because she is busy training for her third degree black belt (the household no hitting rule is firmly in effect).  The cows are happy in the barn this time of year, hopefully 6 are pregnant through our second attempt at artificial insemination.  We bought some cattle handling equipment that made the process a lot smoother, avoiding the rodeo action of the year before.  My garden looks a little beleaguered this time of year but is still giving us kale, brussel sprouts, leeks and celery, and the favas and garlic planted last fall have popped up and hopefully will be good this spring. Also, I am hoping we can take a little bit of asparagus from the crowns that I planted a couple years ago.  Apparently if the beds are properly established they can produce for 20 years or more, fingers crossed!

2016 Willamette Valley Chardonnay – even if this wine is terrible you will still want to buy some because the label is sooo cool – Clare continues to tend her bees which inspires this label – a bee crawling across comb.  I think the wine is pretty good too though.. barrel fermented with just enough new oak to make it interesting, malolactic complete and bottled end of August without any filtration or fining.  2 new vineyards add to the mix this year, Kindred, in the Eola Amity Hills and Arlyn, in the Chehelam mountian AVA,  continuing to make it a true Willamette valley blend.  901 cases, label bee and comb, 45 per bottle - Buy a CASE and the Ground shipping is included!!!

2016 Willamette Valley Pinot noir - some of all 8 of the Pinot vineyards we work with end up in this bottling, making it too a good representation of the Willamette Valley at large.  I think this wine will be as pleasing as past vintages and as I said earlier I think I am getting better at what I do, but I will let you be the judge of that.  Buttercup graces the label – an American Guinea Hog.  They are a super practical pig for us, not too big, do well on kitchen scraps, windfall fruit and just a little grain.  Clare finished Buttercup and Hibiscus on hazelnuts, so we are eagerly looking forward to trying the prosciutto in another 8-9 months.  In the meantime we have lots of other porkyness to keep us fed.  So you might ask does this Pinot go with pork?  You bet! And a whole host of other things – cheese, salmon, kale chips, chicken. Potatoes gratin – etc. etc – the versatility of Pinot Noir is amazing…. This is our largest production wine at 1835 cases, but we do sell it all.  The 15 has been sold out for a few months – so get this one while you can!  Buttercup on the label, 45 per bottle.  Buy a CASE and the Ground shipping is included!!!

2016 Pelos Sandberg Vineyard Pinot noir - Clare found a 2013 version of this wine the other day and brought it out for a Saturday lunch.  It was vibrant, still fresh and full of fruit.  I was quite pleased.  Was it my winemaking or my good friend Don Sandberg’s good farming?  The 2016 is also a solid wine that is pleasing now and will reward in a year or two, if you can resist.  I am pretty sure it is my superior winemaking…. A pair of Don’s vineyard clippers on the label to honor his farming diligence.  285 cases produced, 62 dollars per bottle.  Buy a CASE and the Ground shipping is included!!!

2014 Syrah, Rogue Valley - the warmth of the 2014 vintage is evident in this bottling.  Picked just before the rains came in mid October – there is plenty of dark fruit and richness to complement hearty fare, but enough lithe and zest that it isn’t overpowering.  Syrah has always held a special place in our hearts and this wine holds true. Per usual silverware on the label.  192 cases, 48 dollars per bottle. Buy a CASE and the Ground shipping is included!!!

Don’t forget – CASE shipping is now on us!!

We will be out and about in the next little bit, pouring at the High Museum wine auction in Atlanta March 22-24, then in Chicago for Pinot in the City on May 15, and on July 27-29 we'll be attending IPNC as guests (this is a great event!).

We are scheduled to bottle the 2017 Laughing Pig Rose on April 3 and initial tastings show great promise. We will let you know ASAP when it is ready to go, along with the house favorites, Earth and the Elusive Queen.

 Thank you again, we are so glad you enjoy our wines!  Cheers! Brian and Clare.

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