The People of #ajsHappyHour

We are fast approaching the end of the year. It feels like this week flew by in an instant. My daily morning walks have turned into this sacred space where I lose myself with an audiobook come rain or shine. Afternoons are closed out with a sweat induced workout, keeping the crazies at bay. Between work, getting ready for Christmas, and of course, partaking in the enjoyment of grape juice, there hasn’t been much time for reflection.

If you remember, a few weeks back, I mentioned a reflection workbook I dig into each year, surfacing with a word for the next year replacing the typical goals. This week Susannah Conway released her yearly free workbook. This marks the 8th year I have participated in this ritual. Finding a word to live by for the year feels so much more invigorating over goals where we go to the gym for the first 3 weeks of the year and never go back. In the past, my words have included: Focus, Extraordinary, Live, Do, Morph, and Ruckus. For the past couple of weeks, I have been living with Vision for my word of 2021. It felt too simple and lacked a certain amount of character. After some digging, I came up with prospicience as in foresight. So far, the word fits, and maybe it will be my word next year. If you decide to go through the workbook and find a word, let me know. I find it fun to hold others accountable throughout the year.

I am taking a different approach this week, and instead of sharing a winery, I want to share #ajsHappyHour from this past week. The Pandemic did not stop this group from constantly showing up and being there for one another since March. We had so much fun on Tuesday, and instead of doing the Instagram, these are 10 great accounts to follow with a link to each account. I want to call out why these people are freakin fantastic!

Amy has a huge heart of gold. She knows the places to go for wine and food. Because of Amy, I hopped on the Hungry Hero train and belong to the Secret Cheesecake Society. Amy is also a member of Domaine Serene. We often text back and forth about who is working and how we are often spoiled out of gourds. Amy may or may not enjoy Rose just the teeniest bit. Her cats remind me of mini-leopards. I felt bad for her when lockdown 1.0 occurred. She was working a metric crap-ton of overtime. I hope work has let up a bit for her. She is also the mastermind behind a couple of gatherings this year, which blew my mind!

Jim, I met via another Zoom meetup earlier in the year. Somehow the conversation swayed onto the topic of Veterans. Jim and I both spoke up. Come to find out, both of us were in Kuwait at the same time in 95. Jim was a pilot for the A-10 Warthogs while I was on the ground supporting the base with communications (phone and internet). Jim lives in Texas, and when he visits Oregon, it is on like Donkey Kong! Also, Jim is the reason we all have our Adult Sippy Cups, aka Carivino Wine Tumblers (https://amzn.to/3qRFgMK). You can use Jim’s discount code of winepilot for a 15% discount. I promise you these are fan-freakin-tastic!

Eric is all about Chardonnay and pours at Colene Clemens on the weekends. One thing about wine that amazes and frustrates me at the same time is the interpretation of wine. There is a term Eric uses to describe wine, slutty. It’s a great descriptor and definitely catches your attention. The amount of debate the group had this past week surrounding this one word was great. Never in my wildest imagination would there have been so much passion about one word with wine being the center of the conversation. Here’s the kicker, both sides were right. I have been to one tasting with Eric, and next year I am hoping to visit Archery Summit with him. He adores Archery Summit, and I need an education.

Elisama is the Real House Wives of Yamhill County. She is a hoot and a half! I will not forget the first time we met. I was coordinating bottles of wine for a meetup. We decided to meet in the parking lot of Domaine Divio, it was raining, and all we wanted to do was talk because everyone was in “real” lockdown at the time. The rain kept us from chatting, and I had to move on to getting the next bottle delivered. She was also a little surprised when we had our tasting in the yurt at Ridgecrest. Walking through the vineyard to the yurt in heels wasn't what she expected. Elisama has a heart of gold and is a blast to go tasting with!

John or Juan, and there is another nickname involving a Big Wheel and fire from his youth I can’t remember. John will have you rolling over with laughter in an instant with his intelligent, sharp-witted humor. There is an excellent chance when a bottle of wine is brought up in conversation; the chances he has at least one Magnum of the wine is greater than 50%!

Jason is the King of Old Oregon Pinot. His knowledge of Oregon wine is out of this world, and the people he knows in the wine world is mind-blowing. I am always a little intimidated when talking with Jason, and I realize it is my own insecurity of sounding stupid. Outside of Old Pinot and knowledge, Jason is an extremely generous guy. I have been to a few events with Jason, and his philosophy surrounding wine is to share with those around him. I first met Jason in January at a blind Champagne event. To taste through thirteen different types of bubbles plus pulling bottles from his cellar was out of this world! Amy, Eric, and John were also at the event. I can’t thank Amy and Jason enough for an amazing night!

Steven is from Arizona and creates some great IGTV videos surrounding wine. Over the summer, Steven would be making dinner during the calls and has great knowledge surrounding wine. Outside of wine, his knowledge of weapons and sci-fi is out of this world! He is looking forward to Dune coming out next year along with other people in the group. Maybe we need to have a Dune watching party?

Rachel, I have known for a few years. Our daughters go to the same ballet studio, and we are both members of Domaine Serene. Rachel currently has her WSET 3, and sitting down with her at a tasting blows my mind. She can smell a wine while rattling off all sorts of aromas, leaving me wondering why I got such a poor sniffer. She is also a huge hugger, and this whole pandemic is getting to her a bit without having the ability to dish out hugs.

Jim and Traci, during the summer, attended every week in their backyard with palm trees swaying back and forth. Yes, they are in Oregon and have this fabulous backyard. Before the pandemic, you could find them at Domaine Serene’s Wine Lounge in LO, where the Pinot burgers were fabulous. The takeout Pizza during lockdown 1.0 was out of this world. They need to bring those back seriously! It has been a blast watching Jim and Tracy join clubs this year since their travel plans have been canceled. I also think Jim finally finished their cellar…..

Maria is a walking encyclopedia of wine and food. She holds a WSET 2 certification and is another person when I sit with for a tasting blows me away. She enjoys her Italian varietals along with Oregon and all over the place. She pours at Atticus on the weekends keeping her skills sharp. I was shocked when we had a conversation surrounding books. She knew who Neil Strauss was and his subject matter. The conversation following this discovery was fascinating!

Jaz flies under the radar with a wealth of knowledge surrounding wine with an amazing memory taking her hospitality game to an easy 11. She is the tasting room lead at Alexana and helps Mo at Ayoub with his wines. Jaz is a person I am curious to see where wine takes her in the years to come!

Monica, there are two words to describe her, and Jaz took the words from my mouth on Tuesday “Bad Ass”! Not only is Monica a fan of Oregon Pinot, and she sways a little towards Oregon Chard. She is also a gun advocate educating those around us about conceal carry, situational awareness, and of course, safety. But wait, it doesn’t stop there! She took a huge honkin’ slap of wood, made a dining room table and benches. Like I said, “Bad Ass!”

Maya and Luke joined the group late summer, and I am very much looking forward to getting to know them more. When I dropped off wine at their house a couple of weeks back, I was lucky enough to meet their adorable puppy! During one of the group chats, Maya brought up PM Dawn, and wow, that took me back. I had to crank up some PM Dawn and reminisce a little. I can’t wait to sit down and enjoy a tasting with them!

Lars is a fabulous and amazing human being who always carries a smile. She knows the inner workings of Oregon Wine like the back of her hand. Her husband Dave, I have yet to meet. They were supposed to meet up with the group at a Domaine Serene tasting Thanksgiving week before everything got shut down again. I will never forget the first time I met Lars. Maybe one day, when you see me face to face, I might tell you the story. We were both a little red-faced when I said, “Are you Lars?” at a winery this summer with our face masks on.

Janie is the mastermind at Brooks. I had the pleasure of meeting her a couple of times in person this summer. Her graciousness is amazing while being very approachable. I will not forget the first time Janie joined. I was on cloud nine with excitement. When she left, a person in the group said, “I was star struck and was speechless.”

Dina is our Vancouver ambassador! Her current love affair is Syrah, and I need to pick her brain on what labels to explore. She joined the group for a tasting at Mad Violets at the Tiny Taster, Ridgecrest in the yurt, and the amazing views Resonance. I could be 100% wrong about this statement, and if I am wrong, my apologies. Once Dina gets comfortable with a group, she opens up quite a bit and is a blast to be around!

Andrew flys way more under the radar than Jaz. This past summer, I was lucky enough to attend an event with Andrew in downtown Mac. Talking with Andrew, he has been all over wine country, has helped Hazelfern with harvest, and helped assist in the tasting room. He is also wine club member #1 at Arlyn. If there is a place Andrew hasn’t been, I would be shocked.

Juliana, over the summer, moved from Oregon to California with her husband, Phillip. There were multiple times where Juliana would join #ajsHappyHour in California, and Philip would join in Oregon. Eventually, Philip joined Juliana, and in the heat of the summer, they came back to Oregon to get their boat. The trek from Oregon to California with the boat was an adventure beyond belief. If you have any questions surrounding wine, Juliana is very knowledgeable, and one of her favorite wineries is Fullerton.

Renae and Aaron almost need separate stories. Renae is the PassThePinot on Insta and is the gold standard for running a great account. I met Renae and Aaron for the first time in person at Hazelfern for a group tasting. Renae is amazing and told me I should post more pictures with my face. Sigh, I am trying. Aaron and I have a backstory, apparently. During one of the calls, we got on the topic of where we are from. Renae and Aaron and from Georgia, and I chimed in the fact I was from Tennessee. Renae asked me, “Oh, where in Tennessee?” My reply was, “A little town outside of Chattanooga called Soddy Daisy.” Renae just about lost her wine. Aaron went to High School in Soddy Daisy and come to find out he was two grades behind me. Aaron and I caught up a little at the Hazelfern tasting, and we knew many of the same people. While we were there, I took a picture of the two of us, sent it to a person back in Soddy Daisy, and texted, “Now you know two people in Oregon. You need to visit seriously.”

I started the newsletter to recap #ajsHappyHour this past week, but it morphed into many memories over the last 9 months. It also felt wrong not to include many of the people who attended. There is a huge likelihood I left off some people, and let me know if I left you off. I will buy you a glass of wine, or heck, let’s share a bottle. These memories have been incredible, and I can’t thank everyone enough for the light, laughter, and good times over the year. Next year, fingers crossed, we can meet in person at someone’s house and not have to worry as much about the pandemic. Cheers!

With Gratitude,

A.J.

PS - The next #ajsHappyHour is January 12th. I am working on a theme/activity. Stay tuned!

PPS - Did you really think you would get away without a YouTube link this week? Here is Sheryl Crow playing tribute to Tom Petty.