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The Weinnotes newsletter is written by A.J. Weinzettel, a wine journalist and podcaster who has written about Oregon wine country since 2019. Each issue tells the story of a winery and the people behind it, mostly in the Willamette Valley.

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Dispatch · Saturday, January 28, 2023

Chase Renton on Wine and Being a New Dad

A novel worth pairing with bubbles, a trip to chase the sun at Palm Springs Pinot Fest, and a podcast with Chase Renton of L'Angolo and Chosen Family.

I finished a book this week that you might be interested in. The underlying subject matter is food, a little wine, and some great stories surrounding a food journey. I was hooked early on when one character left her husband and daughter forever to chase wine and a sommelier. The book's name is "Great Kitchens of the Midwest". It is 336 pages and can be knocked out quickly in a weekend. I highly suggest pairing it with some Oregon Bubbles, maybe Lytle-Barnett.

There aren't many links this week, but I did run across another quick interview with David Adelsheim titled "Stories of Passion and Pinot."

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Today's newsletter will be shorter than usual for a couple of reasons. First, it is a podcast week, and second I am doing what I can to finish the newsletter on Wednesday this week. While it is raining in Oregon today, I decided to chase some sun in Palm Springs for Pinot Fest. If you remember, I asked a while back if anyone wanted to meet up, and nobody took me up on it. Don't sweat it. I will tell you all about it in a few weeks, sun and all.

Something I am trying to accomplish this year for the podcast is to interview multiple people surrounding one theme. For example, today's podcast interview is with Chase Renton. He is the winemaker for L'Angolo Estate and Chosen Family Wines. In that same group are Jacob Gray and Channing Frye. Fingers crossed, I can get them on the podcast so you can get multiple viewpoints around one subject. Stay tuned for more details!

A few months back, someone recommended I interview Chase, and there was no way I could disagree. So I asked, "What is one question I should ask?" He replied, "What do you enjoy most about being a new dad?" I wrote down the question, and yes, I asked the question. I am so glad I did. In the interview video, I have different photos of the topics we covered. When I asked this question, I stole one of his IG photos of him holding his baby with the biggest of smiles on his face. When he saw the photo, the response I got was priceless.

Wine is this magical conduit to friends, family, and life. Chase lives a charmed life surrounded by friends and family, and I hope you enjoy this week's podcast!

All of the links:

With Gratitude,

A.J.

PS - Tell me someone you would like me to interview for the podcast.

A.J. Weinzettel

Wine journalist & podcaster covering Oregon wine country