A.J. Weinzettel

I'm A.J. Weinzettel — a wine journalist, podcaster, and the voice behind Weinnotes. For over six years, I've been driving the back roads of Oregon wine country, knocking on cellar doors, and sitting down with the people who make the wines you love.

Weinnotes started as a newsletter — a simple weekly dispatch from the Willamette Valley. It's grown into a full media operation: a podcast with dozens of episodes, a YouTube channel, and an Instagram account. But the mission has never changed: discover the hidden gems of wine country and bring them to you.

Oregon wine is special. The Willamette Valley produces some of the world's finest Pinot Noir. The winemakers here are passionate, independent, and often overlooked by the mainstream wine press. That's where I come in.

In the newsletter, I write about what I'm tasting, who I'm talking to, and what's happening in the vineyards. I interview winemakers on the podcast — from 35-year pioneers to first-generation dreamers. I film visits and tastings for YouTube. And I share the moments in between on Instagram.

All those conversations showed me how tasting rooms actually run, and how much wineries were paying for reservation software built for restaurants. So I built Block 55, reservation software made only for wineries.

If you love Oregon wine — or you want to learn — Weinnotes is your guide.