Melissa and Jeff Lawson, wine writers and reviewers at Drink the Bottles. All photos courtesy of drinkthebottles.com
Melissa and Jeff Lawson describe their Drink the Bottles website as “gathering place for wine and whiskey lovers without all of the snooty bullsh*t.”
If that sounds familiar, well, they’re kind of like our spirit animals. Maybe it’s our shared Midwestern backgrounds? In any case, we just love wine reviewers, writers, and bloggers with an unpretentious and down-to-earth approach similar to our own!
The Lawsons have tasted our wines before, and said incredibly kind things about the 2020 Jupiter Pinot Noir, the 2021 Prelude Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir, and the 2021 Rhapsody Pinot Blanc. This spring, we shipped them six bottles to sample and review (more on those reviews in a second post), and invited them to host Dave in their home via Zoom. Jeff and Melissa also welcomed some wine loving friends to sample with them. Instant party!
A Taste of a Bells Up Tasting Experience
As part of the tasting, Dave shared a bit of our backstory. Here’s what Melissa and Jeff shared about it:
Like every winery, there is a good story behind this one. We guess “good” may not be the best way to describe how the winery came to fruition, but it does have a happy ending. Dave and Sara began making wine in their basement in 2006. Dave was a corporate tax attorney who was not enjoying (to put it lightly) his profession and wanted to pursue a passion of not only becoming a winemaker but eventually owning and operating his own winery with Sara. While visiting the Willamette Valley in 2008 on vacation, they both fell in love with the area and there was, as they say, no looking back.
Fun, Musical Connections Made
In addition to our shared Midwestern backgrounds, Melissa and Jeff’s friends had musical backgrounds that tied into Dave’s own history with French horn. They wrote:
One really interesting connection we had during our virtual tasting was the musical relationship between our tasting crew and Dave. Dave was a French Horn player in high school and college and has been virtuoso of sorts for 20 years. The name “Bells Up” refers to a maestro’s instruction for French Horn players to lift their bells in order to project maximum sound. And that’s what Bells Up is for Dave and Sara. Two members of our tasting crew, composer Richard Saucedo and Scott McCormick, former CEO of Bands of America, enjoyed going down memory lane and comparing notes/names of the music world almost as much as they did the wines.
Drink the Bottles Tasters Loved the Wines & Experience
Of course, part of the fun of tasting with us is getting to meet our entire team — all two of us. The Drink the Bottles crew was surprised to learn we do it all, saying:
When asked about their employees, Dave told us about the grower, winemaker, barrel filler, tour guide, tractor driver, taster, marketing director, social media/public relations lead, cashier, banker and welcoming committee they have. And it is ALL done with two people – Sara and Dave. You have to understand that with 600 cases produced annually on 7 planted of their 10 acres, they are considered a micro-boutique winery and the fact that they do all of this and produce such a high quality of wines is really mind blowing. Normally when you have such a small operation, something is going to suffer. 99% of the time it is the website that will suffer and be out-of-date, the tour/tasting will be unmemorable or (God forbid) the wine will be sub par. Not here. Not by a long shot!
Because they wrote extensively about each of the six wines, we’re sharing their reviews under a separate post.
Book Your Own Winemaker Dave Experience
For the Lawsons and their guests, the tasting with Dave made quite the impression. They summed it up as follows:
We could have spent all night listening to Dave talk about his passion, his story and what lies ahead for Bells Up Winery. It’s abundantly clear that Dave and Sara strive to make a connection with every customer. With over 1,000 wineries in Oregon, Team Specter knows that creating memorable wines and intimate experiences will result in lifelong fans and ultimately friends. One of the biggest compliments Bells Up Winery can receive, according to Dave, is when someone simply says, “Wow, that’s nice” or “Yummy”. As an UN-domaine winery, you receive a very personal experience from Dave and Sara, making you feel as if you are the only people on the planet. And, at that moment, you are to them.
YES! We still offer virtual tasting appointments for buyers of 1 or more cases of wine. Contact us or call the winery at 503.537.1328 to learn more and book your private tasting with Winemaker Dave, either in person or online.
