Fall Release - history & craft
Fall release 2023!
Greetings from western Oregon! Sadly shorter days are here but thankfully cooler weather too! We are thrilled with the 2021’s and have a few more to share with you today – our AVA chards, single vineyard pinots and the just bottled 2022 pinot gris! And of course we meter out the 2021 wild bee chardonnay, Willamette valley pinot noir and laughing pig rose to the general marketplace, so they are still available too! We have been busy this summer on the farm – vineyard, studio, and winery – just bottled the 2022’s (delicious!) and getting ready to make 2023 – so far so good, fingers crossed!
When I meet people I am often asked how I got started making wine? I will try to keep it short – but basically I have always liked to cook and use tools and make things with my hands. My parents both cooked at home and encouraged us to help in the kitchen ( I have a younger brother who cooks for his family and makes wine in his basement). We always ate as a family sans TV, and more often than not my parents would drink wine, nothing fancy but it was present. As I grew up I would cook for myself, meals for our small family and and for friends as I got older. I eventually realized that making things and being around food was important to me and I had started making beer at home. In and aha moment I decided to pursue brewing and ended up studying at UC Davis and working professionally as a brewer. Along the way I worked my first harvest at a winery in 1996 outside of Calistoga – and I loved it! But I had started the pathway towards brewing so continued that way – while remaining in Calistoga. A few years later the brewery closed and I loved where I was living and had begun to drink wine, so I decided to give winemaking a try. It meant starting over, but it was similar enough to beer with many of the same skills that I quickly made the transition and found that I loved the challenge of making the best possible wine from each vintage with the variable input of each growing season. I also loved the seasonality and the easy compatibility of wine with food. I looked to learn from those around me who were highly regarded and traveled to south Australia to learn more, 80-90% of winemaking happens in the moments after the grapes are picked, so experiencing another harvest was important.
By 2006 – after 10 years of working and learning from others – I decided it was time to do on my own. Clare and I took advantage of the real estate bubble, sold our small house in downtown Napa for a handsome profit and placed a sizable downpayment on what is now big table farm! We moved to Oregon that summer and began making wine with purchased fruit that first year – 150 cases! In that moment It was a huge commitment that took all we had – time, energy and money. We rented space from another winery and as we could afford we slowly increased production – to the point when it made sense to build our own winery – 2014 was our inaugural vintage in our own winery – making 2023 our tenth vintage under our own roof! We have leveled our production and now make about 4 to 5 thousand cases a year – about 70% pinot noir, 25% chardonnay and a little syrah and pinot gris! We still purchase all our grapes from a steady group of fabulous growers – and yet we have begun the process of establishing our own vineyard here at BTF – that is another story for another day! As I often joke but in earnest – this is a first career, not a second. We have put all the pieces together-over time as we could afford to do so. I still tread on every fermentor and taste every barrel, and we drink what we make!
I turned 27 in the summer of 1996 – and started working at sterling vineyard shortly thereafter as part of the winery harvest crew. I don’t really remember the volume of grapes that we processed, but there was about 6-8 full time cellar guys and a dozen or so of us temporary staff, some with experience, and some like me with none. I loved it, I asked questions and went form task to task as quickly as I could so I could learn more. One of the more unusual (I thought at the time) was to foot trod on a dozen or so bins of whole cluster pinot noir. I was given a new pair of rubber boots and instructed to only wear them while crushing the grapes. At the time I thought it was odd that I was surrounded by tanks and equipment and technology, and yet here I was stomping on the grapes. It only took me 15-20 min each day for about a week, and since my tenure there was short I never really followed what happened to the resulting wine. I think It was experimental and most likely was blended away. Regardless – I have been stomping on grapes since the beginning! As well as for others along the way – and now here at BTF I have made wine using 100% whole cluster since 2014 (another story).
I love the simplicity of it – the grapes are picked brought to the winery, and dumped into the fermenters. Using feet – we wash them first! To break up some of the berries is the best way – this usually happens several times on the way to becoming wine. It is a little more work, but the human connection is important – you can feel the temperature, the ripeness and how the ferment is progressing. There is a limit to how large a ferment can be using whole cluster – so it lends itself to small hands on production. We of course a use technology to measure and guide each ferment, but smell and taste are also extremely important tools implemented. I am lucky in that I get to make what I want to drink – I love the spiciness the stems bring, their own tannin and the idea that as varieties were adapted over millennia to each geographic and culture – stems were surely part of it. As alcoholic beverages go – wine is as connected to the earth as possible – no heating, cooking, drying boiling needed. Pick, ferment, drink. Pick, let the microbes do their work, then drink!
Wow that was a lot! I will try to keep the rest short…
The Farm
We started this summer with 21 cows – we sold six as beef – feeding 12 families (our household included) and sold two as breeding stock to Brenda at tabula rasa farm who has a similar program to ours, leaving us with 13 – a much more manageable number to carry through the winter esp. given the size of our barn and girl-power aka clare! We also brought in 8 more lambs for the summer in addition to the 8 ewes from last year for grazing in the vineyard – they are doing a great job, and the lambs will available for eating this fall – let clare know if you are interested! The kid goats are still the cutest and still devouring the black berry, and yes let clare know on these too!
We have had a really dry summer, so the rain water I collected throughout the winter in all of my fermenters, bottling tanks and yes and above ground swimming pool, has been put to good use on the baby vines – we will definitely let you know when it starts to produce, but don’t hold your breath – it is a challenge (another story) but we will get there!
Levi keeps his tail wagging but also spends a lot of time napping – bob and stanley are the two best cats ever and clare’s horses keep on pooping – which I have recently been using the garden to make a ‘hot bed’ for supplemental heat so things can grow throughout the winter. Who knew I could come to appreciate more than just the smile they put on clare’s face!
Clare had a successful art show in June- I am so proud of her- and has only been able to spend a limited amount of time in her new studio since – it has been a BUSY summer, but I am sure that will change as we shift into the slower days of late fall to winter and early spring.
All in all we are busy as ever, but doing great! thanks to all you for your continued enjoyment of all that we make!
The wines!
2021 has become a favorite of many and I think the wines we have released so far fall into that category. I treat all with an equal hand so I think our fall release will continue the trend!
2021 eola amity chardonnay – the longer I work with Willamette valley chardonnay the more I am impressed with what comes from the eola amity hills- warm days, cool nights and newer plantings with clones suited consistently produce delicious wines of unctuousness and yet still crisp. Some new oak is used but not too much – balance is the key – and hopefully what is balanced for me works for you too!
Clare’s honey bee on the label – 92 cases made - $48 per bottle and yes – purchase six or more and shipping included!
2021 yamhill carlton chardonnay – as I often say pinot from YC has a core of power and strength that the fruit, tannin revolve around – I would say similar for the chardonnay – ripeness and richness work with the fruit oak and yes a little bit of tannin that will make your mouth want more, and a bite to go with it!
Blossoms from BTF - 92 cases made – 48per bottle- buy three yc and 3 ea
2021 yamhill carlton pinot noir – yc is our home turf – and as I alluded to regarding the chard – the ava tends to make wine with a boldness and power to it – 2021 is no exception! Ripe fruit along with supple tannins a sweet mid pallet some oak to round out make this a delicious wine now and for a few years to come.
Label is hancox family barn - $72 per bottle – 233 cases produced – and yes we will send on the house if you order 6 or more!
2021 cattrall brothers vineyard – bill and tom continue to be dedicated organic grape growers and have sold us pinot noir since 2009! For those of you who like the earthier side of pinot this wine is for you – it ripens a little slower that everything else we work with so it has a delicacy to it – but amazingly this vineyard is one that always impresses me and surprises me at how well it holds up to time – we just opened a 2010 – delicious and still delicious two days later! I typically prefer young wines, that is what I am surrounded by, but if you find an older CBV give it a try!
Yes tom delivers the grapes in their old flatbed truck as is on the label – only 125 cases, the deer and the birds thought the fruit was good too! $72 per bottle order 6 or 12 or more…
2021 sunnyside vineyard – luci and tom are the owners and farmers of sunnyside vineyard – their dedication to growing grapes, their sense of anticipation and wonder about the details and sensitivity to plant responses to growing conditions and the dedication to delivering the very best they can is inspiring – we have been buying from them since 2011 – and as a testament to their belief in us - they are ‘founders’ – what is this you ask? When it came time to build our winery the first question was – with what money? We were putting everything we had into building our wine business – we had very little to put towards a down payment for a construction loan. Clare put together a ‘crowd funding’ package of a dinner here at the farm, a case of magnums, and donors name on the winery. I thought we would have a few family members and some close friends step up – wow was I surprised when over 90 people contributed – including luci and tom as well as 5 other growers! - yes family members, but customers and friends and even people we had never met – it was over whelming and meant we really had to build the damn thing! The dinner was super fun and the plaque with all the names still hangs in the winery – and the mags were delicious! Thank you to luci and tom and everyone else who believed in us and helped with our winery build project. We continue to do our best with sunnyside grapes and every year it is a stand out in my opinion, and many others as well! 2021 is no exception!
photos of the founders fest - thanks to all that helped us build our winery 10 years ago!
Clare’s drawing of one of her roosters is on the label – 250 cases produced - $72 per bottle and shipping included with purchase of 6 or more!
Last but not least is the just bottled - 2022 Pinot Gris – Orange as always! We have been buying Pinot Gris from Brian and Jill O’Donnel at Belle Ponte for 6 years now and really enjoy working with this fruit! They are also in the Yamhill Carlton AVA. We fermented with skins and stems per BTF normal, giving this wine it’s color and more importantly red fruited flavors and more texture and tannin than if we pressed and just used the juice to make white wine. This wine is exceptionally seafood friendly!
Clare’s drawing of blackberries the goats favorite treat! – 140 cases produced - $38 per bottle and shipping included with purchase of 6 or more!
Just as a reminder for those of you who enjoy magnums – we will release the 2021’s in another month or so when the weather is most appropriate for shipping the larger bottles – they are more sensitive to fluctuations in temperature.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and hopefully buy some wine! We are so thankful we get to do what we do, and your continued patronage is encouraging and essential! It is humbling to know that what we make (art, wine) in our little corner ends up all over the world and contributes to joy in some small way.
saying thank you to founders
that ‘awesome’ day
Brian’s toast at the founders feast - July of 2014
Cheers, from all at big table farm, and clare and brian
After the ups and downs of 2020 here in the Willamette Valley the ‘21 vintage wines are coming off the block bold and beautiful-turns out we aren’t the only ones who think so! Please check out our press page for the latest scores, articles and tasting notes.
** a note on ordering wine - 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 - We are available to make sure you get the wines you love! Send an email to admin@bigtablefarm.com or call Laura at 503-457-5726 or Text Clare Directly! 503-922-3540 and we'll follow up with YOU and get your order.
You can also Click here to go right to the buy wine page
Special thanks to Laura Lillebo who came out of retirement to man the phone during release week - so be sure to say ‘hello’ when you call.
If you don't follow me on Instagram you might enjoy doing so. As all the development projects and baby animals all continue to grow on the farm, I will continue to post all the spring farm happenings, recipes and what’s happing in the winery @bigtablefarm
ps - you can also follow new paintings @clarecarver and www.clarecarver.com
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