End of summer, beginning of fall 2019

August 28, 2019

Howdy from western Oregon! 

We hope this finds you well, we have had a fantastic summer here with all kinds of things to report.  We also have three more 2017 Pinot noirs for you and for the Oregon chardonnay lovers we have 2 new chardonnays, one from Yamhill Carlton and other from the Eola Amity hills, both are delicious! And of course the 2018 version of our skin fermented Pinot Gris

Our 2019 has been amazingly busy with so many things to tell – goats and a donkey! Fencing! Vineyard progress! A bull! And maybe the most amazing – biochar! Biochar? What the hell is biochar?   Basically charcoal, but when produced in a specific way it has amazing properties that can have all sorts of applications, including agricultural.  Last spring we began preparing ten or so acres for vineyard which produced about 200 piles of biomass.  Conventional practice is to push these piles into larger piles and then light on fire.  Clare and I sought a different approach that would create a product from the harvested biomass, chipping and composting was a potential solution but would have been energy, time and space intensive.  I had read about biochar and even made some on a very small scale, this is the direction we wanted to go.  It took us over a year to find the right people and machine, but with the help of Blackwood solutions we turned all 200+ piles of scotch broom, blackberry and immature douglas fir into 100+ 2 yard totes of biochar, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sequestering carbon in the form of biochar that will be with us for centuries.  Clare and our friend Jeremy Fenske created a video that is on the front page of our website (the second now down) that explains the project in greater detail.  Regardless, we consider our biochar project as the first step in establishing our vineyard in a thoughtful and environmentally low impact way.  Stay tuned, more wackiness to come!

In the meantime the vineyard site is being prepped and seeded with cover crop in anticipation of planting in the fall of next year or spring of 2021.

Thanks to Dan Hoecker and his crew at Results Partners, perimeter fencing for vineyard (think elk!) has been completed as well as some livestock fencing.  This has allowed us to get back into the goat game and made managing our cows A LOT easier.  We have about a 3 acre part of our property that is really steep and severely overgrown with blackberry (invasive species).  We have put 6 Boer goats (a meat breed) and a guard donkey in the area and let them go to town.  Yes I did say guard donkey, his name is Sal, and from my perspective he is still very suspicious, but Clare is thrilled by his addition to the menagerie.  The goats have thrived on this otherwise unusable parcel, they LOVE to eat the blackberry and we will enjoy eating them this fall and winter.  Don’t worry Goateo is still around and won’t be on the menu!

Our attempts at artificial insemination with the cows has been a dismal failure, despite the handling equipment and our best efforts.  One for six for the past 2 years doesn’t cut it, so we are now the proud owners of a red Devon bull, named Red Fred.  We hope Fred will produce a few more calves for us than the turkey baster did.  

In other farm news, American guinea hogs Sam and Rick are happy and thriving under Clare’s care, layers are mostly contained  and another year of broilers have made it from post office (as chicks) to pasture to freezer. Bees are thriving and Bob the cat continues to charm everyone along with Clementine and Levi who advise us to the comings and goings of the life here at BTF.

I spent the month of July tasting the 2018’s and preparing for bottling mid august.  Everything went like clockwork and I am really happy with the wines.  We look forward to sharing them with you next year.  2019 harvest is right around the corner, it has been a delightful summer, I call it a good sleeping summer, only one hot spell early on that was uncomfortable and more rain in July and August than most years.  Keep your fingers crossed for more great weather as the grapes ripen in the coming weeks.

The wines!

2018 Pinot Gris – this is our second year working with fruit grown by Brian O’Donnell of Belle Ponte.  We were super happy with the 2017 and are equally delighted with the 2018.  Fermented on the skins per usual, with just the right amount of tannins and acid and sweet fruit.  I can’t wait to have this wine with a seafood meal, oysters on the half shell and Dungeness crab immediately come to mind! Bottled without fining or filtration, just like all the other wines I make.  Theses are maybe some of my favorite labels that Clare draws, this year thimbleberry and fescue. 133 cases produced, 32 dollars a bottle, and don’t forget, complimentary shipping on case orders!

Attention! All Oregon chardonnay lovers!  We have 2 new bottlings for you!

2017 Yamhill Carlton chardonnay – we realized last year that we work with 7 different chardonnay sites and that after we make the elusive queen there was still an opportunity to make some regionally focused wines, hence this wine and a second from the Eola Amity hills.  Several sites in each AVA comprise both wines.  The YC is mineral driven, some fruit of course, very dry with some tannin – delicious now but will also reward if cellared.  I hope you love these chardonnays as much as we do!  Blossoms on the label, 91 cases produced, 48 dollars a bottle.

2017 Eola Amity hills chardonnay – companion to the YC – slightly more fruit forward and generous, same winemaking but clearly very different fruit sources make distinctly different wine.   We hope you enjoy them both for their individuality and reflection of time and place.  This wine has a nice sweetness on the palate (although completely dry) and a finish that lingers and lingers.  We look forward to enjoying this wine this fall, and watching it develop in the coming years.  We just had a 2014 BTF chardonnay at a wine dinner (thank you Q!) and it was a standout for the evening.  

2017 Cattrall Brothers vineyard – spicy, earthy and a healthy dollop of fruit thrown in – Bill and Tom work together to farm their neighboring vineyards, certified organic since the beginning in the 70’s and 80’s.  700’ elevation and direct exposure to the Van Duzer corridor winds make this our most restrained and delicate pinot noir year in and year out.  Vineyard runabout on the label, 136 cases produced, 62 dollars a bottle.

2017 Sunnyside vineyard Pinot noir – It is important to me to be present during the growing season to understand what and how the conditions the grapes have been created in.  I spent a great deal of time visiting each site as the grapes ripen to access and evaluate what will eventually come into the winery and decide when to pick, the most important decision I make.  For this reason I choose vineyards that are close by.  Sunnyside is my furthest flung, just south of Salem and takes me about 45 minutes to get there.  Lucy and Tom’s fruit and resulting wine is so compelling that the extra time to get there is well worth it.  Elegant and yet still muscular, this vineyard produces amazing wine year in and year out.  Label is one of Clare’s laying hens, 245 cases, 62 dollars per bottle.  Shipping is on us when you buy a case!

2017 Yamhill Carlton Pinot noir – Now comprised of 4 vineyards here in the YC AVA – where Big Table Farm resides – each brings a slightly different element to create a wine with the power the area is known for, but also the finesse that makes Pinot noir so beautiful.  I visit these sites as often as all the others, but their proximity makes it just a little bit easier.  Three are early ripening (warmer) and the fourth is one of the last to be picked.  Clare has chosen to honor the area’s history by drawing local barns for the labels.  239 cases produced, 62 dollars per bottle, and yes of course we will cover the shipping when you order a case!  

A general note on these wines, we opened them to inspire us to write you several days ago, because they are young and energetic they have continued to develop and become more expressive with time open.  Gentle winemaking, youth and vivaciousness give them the ability to be enjoyed over several days time, if possible.  Decanting may be another option, but we have not tried this recently.

Our Magnum release is end of September and we still have 2017 Willamette valley Pinot noir and a little bit of the 2017 Pelos Sandberg vineyard left.  And please remember – complimentary shipping on all case orders!

Cheers! From Brian and Clare and the whole team at BTF

nobility, simplicity, pigs and art

Greetings from ALL at Big Table Farm!

We just bottled our 2018 Laughing Pig Rose and and we are excited to share it with you!   The rose bottling has happened this year just as the fruit trees around the house have started to bloom and despite the rain this past week it is really feeling like spring around here! Also part of this release are the eagerly anticipated, Elusive Queen (Chardonnay) and Earth (Pinot noir).  These two wines represent less than 5% of our production but hopefully capture not only the most beautiful expression of the vintage but a little magic too.  Brian tastes all the barrels and narrows things down and then he includes me to help select the final barrels that end up in Earth and the Elusive Queen. They truly represent our taste, and our very best!

So far since our last letter to you we’ve had a cool and rainy spring. Although the grass is starting to really grow and we are still only getting the animals out on the pasture in short increments as not to take too much too early and therefore effect our summer pasture. We have some new baby goats and pigs and chicks all due to arrive in the coming weeks! My Instagram feed will soon be flooded with babies! Brian has a new greenhouse and has started lots seeds for the summer garden and I’ve been totally enjoying all his asparagus and last of the winter greens the past week or so! Bob the cat continues to keep him self completely ingratiated. The dogs and horses and bees are all thriving and the farm is just teaming with joy and excitement this time of year!

a little time for art….

My art show is next Saturday here at the farm if you would like to come to the farm to see the paintings we’d be happy to see you from 1 -5pm 4/20/2019 - parking will be VERY limited so we ask that you please rsvp so we can plan accordingly. You can also visit my web site www.clarecarver.com.

Happy Spring 2019

Happy almost spring from wet western Oregon! and Happy ‘March Forth’!

thanks to Doug Wilder for this cover shot of PDWR

We are doing great here, a little soggy but happy the days are getting longer and spring is around the corner. We took some time off this winter but are back to work now and have some great wines to share with you!  Not only a new vintage but two new wines as well that we are really excited about!  All the animals are good, the garden feeds us (barely this year) and we are taking steps forward on the vineyard project.

The 2017 vintage was warm with large clusters and berries, much like 2015.  Thankfully September cooled with a little rain and allowed grapes to finish ripening at a slower pace, giving us a harvest that was relatively relaxed, despite the size.  I was even able to give people days off at the height of busyness, a first for me.  I am really happy with the resulting wines.  This was our fourth vintage in our own winery and I feel like we have settled in nicely, with a good flow and understanding of how the building contributes to the winemaking.

Today we have the 2017 version of our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and Pelos Sandberg vineyard Pinot Noir on offer and two new wines!  The Wild Bee will take the place of our Willamette Valley chardonnay in name only, with a very different label and a price that will convince you to drink more Oregon chardonnay – I am sipping some now as I write!  We also have a new syrah to offer as well, we started purchasing fruit from Rich Funk’s vineyard in the Rocks District of Milton Freewater, part of the Walla Walla AVA , but in Oregon.  We have had an affinity for syrah for a long time, so we are excited to have it back in our line up again!

The farm, garden, and vineyard project

All the graziers are in the barn this time of year eating grass hay from the neighborhood, we think the AI missed a couple of the cows but we are think we are still ahead of last year.  During the wet months the pastures are too fragile for grazing, the regrowth is slow  - and they all – cows horses and Goateo seem really happy in the dry and warm barn.  Clare got a new flock of laying hens in the fall who have just started laying – so we are back in eggs! We have moved the chicken bus more times in the last two months than the previous two years  and have been diligent with the electric fence so have thwarted whoever took out the last flock.  Henrietta and Reina were dispatched end of December  and are enjoyed now as sausage, chops, bacon with prosciutto hanging.  Their replacements should arrive early spring.  Bob has continued to endear himself and is probably more house cat than barn, we’ll see what happens when it warms up.  Despite the amount of time he seems to spend sleeping in front of the fire with the dogs he leaves us regular gifts to demonstrate his worthiness.

On the vineyard front Dan, Jesus and crew have nearly completed vineyard and livestock fencing – both will dramatically change how we will be able to manage and utilize our pastures and property.  This is something we have long dreamed of and barely accomplished, until now.  The moratorium of no new species (goats/sheep) will be lifted once the fence is complete.  I expect Clare to quickly add to the menagerie. 

Yours truly suffers from analysis paralysis and has not ordered any vines, so planting date is still TBD, but we still have prep work and layout to do once the fencing is complete.  More fun news is this year is that the truffles seem to be prolific and very fragrant this year – we have foraged a few times these past weeks and filled our pockets in only a short while.  I was so busy last august that I didn’t have much time to get things planted in the garden, so we are eating leeks, mustard greens and some turnip raab at the moment, of course fortified by trips to the grocery store.  Hopefully I will find a few more moments this year to get a few more things in the ground.

Our friend and videographer Jeremy Fenski  put together a remarkable video that makes both Clare and me seem much more suave than we really are – the reality of all of this is that we could not do even half of what we have accomplished without the amazing community of people around us that make what we, and we all do possible, from the guys in the vineyards, the people we hire in the cellar, office, cleaners, our garbage and recycling drivers, the drivers who bravely bounce down our gravel road, the restaurant people who frame the moments surrounding our wine, both in the kitchen and on the floor, and of course you, our customers who make it all of it possible with the purchase and enjoyment of our wine. Thank you!

In early December Clare took a short sabbatical in eastern Oregon to paint, she is so amazingly able to plan and then implement and get things done.  She created some great paintings and still has some more work to do, but plans to show all of them here April 20, I hope you can join us. 

The amount of press we have received in the past year has been nothing short of amazing, I am honored and humbled.  So many nice reviews, photographs, 4 top 100 lists! Two features in Wine Spectator, The Prince of Pinots all American 2x’s over and Winery of the year by PWDR.  It is all on our website for when you have a moment. - see press here-

Ok – the wines!

2017 Chardonnay – The Wild Bee! The Wild Bee represents a shift in our chardonnay program. As I alluded earlier, this wine will take the place of our Willamette Valley chardonnay – only in name, label and price!  Same vineyard sources, same winemaking, same barrels.  We love chardonnay, both making and drinking it, but the reality of the moment says that we needed a more accessible wine (lower price) to allow us to continue making our current production – in addition to the Wild Bee we have added two AVA blends, Eola Amity and Yamhill Carlton, that will be released in the fall, exploring what more specific place does for chardonnay.  The Wild Bee is a combination of all 6 sites of chardonnay that we work with and is a fantastic representation of Willamette Valley chardonnay for 2017.  We hope you enjoy it, lots of it!  For the first time we have chosen another artist’s drawing to dress The Wild Bee, someone whose work both Clare and I have admired for quite a while.  Thank you April Coppini!

525 cases produced, 28 dollars/bottle and of course if you buy a case the shipping is included!

2017 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir –
I know that our pigs always adorn our Willamette Valley pinot but this wine feels like the tail that wags the dog – it has taken on a life of its own with each vintage and I feel like 2017 is no different in that regard.  It is quaffable if that is what you want, but if you slow down and take a step back, it has most everything wine should have, fruit, acid, tannin, sweetness all in harmony and balance.  When delicious is the first word that comes to mind. I smile, bow my head and say thank you and know that I have done my job well.

Henrietta and Reina eating BTF windfall pears grace the label. 2509 cases produced, 45 dollars/bottle, and shipping is on the house when you buy a case 

2017 Pelos Sandberg Pinot Noir – I met Don Sandberg when we first moved here in 2006 and we quickly became good friends.  He began selling us fruit in 2010 and we look forward to working with him and our friendship for many years to come.  He is an amazing farmer, so diligent, attentive and intuitive, that year in and year out he delivers the most amazing fruit, which as long as I don’t fuck it up, makes some pretty good wine.  2017 is no different.  Over the years I have gotten to know the blocks we buy pretty well too and when I taste the wine I feel the sense of place that comes through.  On your next visit to the Willamette Valley I recommend giving Don a call/email to set up an appointment to try the wine he makes from his own vineyard – Iota Cellars, and you will begin to understand what I mean by sense of place.  The 2017 label is Clare’s drawing of Don’s work boots, honoring the long hours he spends growing some of the best fruit in the Willamette Valley.

242 cases, 62 dollars/bottle.  Complimentary shipping on cases orders!

2016 Syrah - the Rocks District of Milton Freewater – I think the ability of power and finesse in the same glass has allured me to syrah since my first introduction over 20 years ago.  I also remember the photograph in Barbara Neyers’ office of Vieux Telegraphe vines growing seemingly out of just rock being mesmerizing and profound.  So when the opportunity arose to work with fruit from the Rocks District of Milton Freewater, I jumped.  Rich Funk of Saviah Cellars agreed to sell us some fruit from his meticulously farmed estate vineyard.  He has continued to trust us in 2017 and 18 and I hope beyond.  I have done my best to capture both the power and the finesse, plus a little fruit and some spice.  The knife, fork and spoon have been replaced by an iconic vine surrounded by stones.

196 cases, 48 dollars a bottle.  Shipping included when you buy a case!

We are scheduled to bottle the 2017 Laughing Pig Rose on April 12.. 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 for continuing to buy, drink and share our wines.  From the Big Table to your table, cheers!  Brian and Clare   

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To read more on the wines, click here!

If your 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 are 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 towards the end of March early April, when temperatures across the country are a little more consistent.