Wine Down With Bells Up: Virtual Tasting + Community Conversation
Join Winemaker Dave and Money Honey Sara as we chat with some of our favorite wine people, near and far, on our Facebook Live series, “Wine Down with Bells Up: Virtual Tasting + Community Conversation.” More than just a virtual tasting where you sit and watch other people drink wine (boring), we’re taking the opportunity to drink wine AND introduce you to some of our favorite wine lovers on Saturdays for roughly a half hour or so. We’ve been blessed to have made some terrific friends in the industry, and we can’t wait to share their fabulosity with you! We’ve gathered all of our episodes here for you to enjoy. Cheers!
Episode 1 | April 11, 2020 | Guest: Hannah Swan, Weekday Wine Club
Hannah Swan of Weekday Wine Club is all about introducing folks to the unknown wines of the world. Packing a powerful palate and a penchant for tiaras, we literally laughed our way through this entire first episode. Hannah walks through her career and how she found her way into wine. She also graciously tastes our VERY YOUNG and newly released 2018 Firebird Summit View Vineyard Syrah from the Milton-Freewater, Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley AVA.
Episode 2 | April 18, 2020 | Guest: Kerry McDaniel Boenisch, DirtVineWine Communications
Dundee author and wine educator Kerry McDaniel Boenisch of DirtVineWine Communications grew up in the Red Hills of Dundee, Oregon in the 1970s. There, she worked alongside her parents who started the vineyards that now are Torii Mor winery. In this episode, Kerry talks about her “misspent” youth, and how she puts her nose and palate to work as a judge for several wine competitions. She explains the wine judging process as she tastes our newly released 2017 Titan Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.
Episode 3 | April 25, 2020 | Guest: Stephanie Hofmann, Willamette Valley Activist & Storyteller
Local activist, storyteller and Linfield College grad, Stephanie Hofmann is a passionate Willamette Valley storyteller focused on improving the wine industry through greater diversity, inclusion, and wellness. She’s collected oral histories for the Oregon Wine History Archive, managed marketing and hospitality for several area wineries, and volunteers with multiple, local diversity and inclusion groups. Vivacious and energetic, Stephanie shares some current developments in the Willamette Valley equality movement, as well as quaffs 2019 Rhapsody Pinot Blanc.
Episode 4 | May 2, 2020 | Guest: Joe Knox, Sommelier, of Oregon Central Terroir and The Portland Wine Bar
Sommelier Joe Knox, of wine consultancy Oregon Central Terroir and general manager of The Portland Wine Bar, curates a select list of wines from the region’s small producers — including ours — for both operations. Retired from the military, Joe brings that same degree of discipline to tasting and picking wines. A keen observer of the Willamette Valley, we have an “unfiltered” chat with Joe about trends in the most recent vintages, plus he samples and discusses 2017 Villanelle Tonnelier Vineyard Reserve Pinot Noir.
Episode 5 | May 9, 2020 | Guests: Instagram Influencers and Wine Bloggers Hayley of Hayley’s Cellar and Kristin of WinoKristin
Instagram wine influencers and bloggers Hayley of @HayleysCellar and Kristin of @WinoKristin rejoin us to catch up; we were thrilled to host this dynamic duo a couple of years ago for an in-person tasting at our place. They were huge fans of the Prelude Rosé, so in addition to chatting about how they each got into wine — and what it’s like to publicly document your wine consumption for the masses — they joined us in sipping the newly released 2019 Prelude Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir.
Episode 6 | May 16, 2020 | Guest: Chelsey Nelson, Wino On A Budget
Wine blogger Chelsey Nelson, aka @WinoOnABudget, has been sipping our wines for a couple of years now. Chelsey’s featured our 2017 Prelude Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir and our 2018 Prelude as well. She also paid us a visit last summer and is every bit as fun and delightful in person as she is online. Watch as we chat about how she got into wine, how she manages to find such incredible bargain bottles, and her thoughts as she sips our 2019 Helios Estate Seyval Blanc. (She also sweet talks us into sharing our backstory.)
Episode 7 | May 30, 2020 | Guest: Madam Ambassador Duska Jensen, Willamette Valley Vineyards
Willamette Valley Vineyards Senior Winery Ambassador Duska Jensen (aka “Madam Ambassador” per ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser) connected with us shortly after emails from both her and Winemaker Dave were read on The Tony Kornheiser Show podcast no fewer than five times in May, 2020. Fun and passionate about the wines of the Willamette Valley, Duska chats with us about how she got into wine, what her official duties involve, and what she thinks of the 2017 Candide Nemarniki Reserve Pinot Noir.