We Harvest at Dawn 🍷

It’s been a whirlwind week. The final fruit came in on what was a very early harvest, we shot B-roll for Her Way (yay!) and How to Speak Wine officially closed enrollment. I’m so excited about the amazing group who signed up. Class begins November 11th, and I’m beyond excited get started. I’ve been busy picking out the perfect wines and getting them ready to ship

We intentionally kept this inaugural class small — just 12 spots — so it would feel really personal and connected. But as fate would have it, as of today, there’s one single spot left. I was holding it for someone trying to make the schedule work, but timing just didn’t fit. So as of this email being sent, there’s one seat open… if you were thinking about joining, it’s going to the first taker!

On Tuesday, I got to head out to wine country at dawn to capture B-roll harvest footage for Her Way. We have been on a filming break during harvest season but we wanted some great shots of vineyards heavy with grapes, those grapes being picked, and then being processed into our favorite beverage. 

And boy did we get that… We drove out in the early morning darkness, waaaayyy down to the southern Eola Amity Hills (Rickreall to be exact) and arrived at the vineyard as the sun was rising. The harvest crew had been there since 4 am(!) and were calmly and cheerfully clipping clusters of Grenache and Riesling (two of the later grapes to ripen, hence still being on the vine) and tossing them into picking bins.

The lovely Kate Norris of Division Winemaking Co. is the one who made this possible. When harvest started (earlier than anticipated), our production team was out of town and I was deep in the run of a play. Then it rained last week so no one was picking. All this to say, by this week rolled around, virtually all fruit was already picked! But Kate had one final day of harvest, so she invited us to come along.

After the grapes were tucked safely in their bins and loaded onto the back of a truck, we followed them back to town, to watch them be processed at Divison. There, we watched Chenin Blanc get destemmed and put whole into tanks to become an orange wine. We saw Aligote get gently pressed to make an elegant, traditional white. We watched punchdowns of already fermenting Gamay and bin after bin of Grenache get forklifted into the air and poured onto the sorting table to become a lean, fresh red.

Since harvest both started and finished early this year — nearly two and a half weeks ahead of last year– it will be really interesting to taste the finished wines. The late-summer heat spikes accelerated ripening quickly, and winemakers picked early to keep balance and freshness. Whereas 2024 was a long cool ripening season, this was shorter and warmer. Both vintages should have balance, but it will be fun to taste them side by side.

I also took two dear friends visiting from LA out to wine country for some tastings, which I hadn’t done in a minute. We visited the historic Ponzi estate, where we got to taste still-fermenting wines in varying stages of dryness, as well as hear about the first vines planted in the Willamette Valley. If you’re ever looking for an elegant, storied stop in wine country, that’s equal parts class and quality, Ponzi is a go-to! 

And then we hit a brand new destination: LucidWild. If you haven’t heard of it, it is the most decadent, over-the-top (in the best way) experience in Oregon wine country right now. It’s hard to even describe, but suffice it to say: if you’re looking for a luxury tasting that comes complete with a nautical-themed speakeasy, bioluminescent jellyfish aquarium, and occasional Ferrari test-driving events, look no further. To find out more you’ll just have to visit yourself 😉

So, all in all it was a fun and busy week (aka my happy place). And if you want that final How to Speak Wine seat… it’s going to the first taker!

Cheers,
Kelsey