We can’t even begin to wrap our heads around this. Since May 11, the words “Bells Up Winery” and “Dave Specter” have been uttered by THE Mr. Tony Kornheiser on no fewer than FIVE episodes of his eponymous podcast, “The Tony Kornheiser Show.” Really. After the second time, we really thought that would be the end of it. But then Great Northwest Wine picked it up. And then “Loyal Littles”—who had begun to reach out to us via phone and email to connect and order a bottle or two—started to write in to Tony to share THEIR connection to our tiny winery.
Like this note from Dan Goldring, who wrote to Tony to share how much fun he had chatting with Dave about all things Kornheiser. (Hear Dan’s note at the 0:04:30 mark.)
When Eric met Dave: Loyal Littles and La Cheeserie
And this note from local Eric Hunter—pictured at right with Dave—who noted that he had never met another Little in person until he discovered we Bells Up Winery was located super close to his home in Beaverton, Oregon. (Hear Mr. Tony read Eric’s note at the 0:03:00 mark.)
Finally, and perhaps what moved us the most, was a lengthy, detailed discussion between Mr. Tony and frequent guest contributor Gary Braun, who had also connected with us. In this episode, “Oregonian Oenophiles” (yes, really!), Mr. Tony notes he’s received his shipment of Bells Up Wines and he reads Dave’s personal note. (Hear their chat at the 0:35:00 mark.)
This has all been simply unbelievable, and we are so very, very grateful for all the publicity, the shout outs, the calls, the emails, the orders for wine. With the pandemic shutting down our tasting room for two months and essentially decimating tourism for the foreseeable future, the support from this community has been tremendously appreciated. Honestly, THANK GOD for Tony Kornheiser.
By the way, if you want to see hear more about how this all got started, you should definitely watch our “Wine Down with Bells Up” episode 7. Recorded on May 30, our guest is THE Duska Jensen (aka “Madam Ambassador” as Mr. Tony has taken to calling her), Senior Winery Ambassador at Willamette Valley Vineyards. It was Duska’s initial email to Mr. Tony that prompted Dave to send in his own note. Of all the possible outcomes from this situation, one of the best has been making a new friend. Duska is fantastic and we’re excited to introduce you to her via this episode.
