Remembering Dick Erath, and Bubbles at Roco

There is no room for me to ramble this week, which is good. I only talk about the weather anyway in my ramblings. Who wants to read about the weather?

The news about Dick Erath trumps anything I would talk about. I find it difficult to fathom a wine region as young as Oregon losing a founder, but at 87 years young, he has left quite an impression on the wine world. There is so much more I could say. Sean Sullivan over at NW Wine Report wrote a beautiful piece. My favorite part was at the very end when David Adelsheim asked Dick in 2021 about his thoughts on Willamette Valley’s transformation from a vinous dream into a full-fledged, world-class wine region since he first planted his first vineyard in 1969.

Sean also did a piece in response to Time Magazine calling the Willamette Valley the next Napa. I found the last four paragraphs interesting and something to ponder upon.

It looks like the wine division of the Silicon Valley Bank is safe and secure.

Are you aware of what whole cluster is? Here’s an excellent piece diving into the beauty of Whole Cluster.

Willamette Valley Vineyards Posts Results for 2022.

Congrats to Chevonne Ball and working with OPB on Season 2 Episode 3 of Superabundant titled “How Oregon chardonnay gained worldwide acclaim.” I talked with Chevonne while at Hifi, but a bald, middle-aged guy who talked about the Van Duzer Corridor winds and its effect on the grapes ended up on the cutting room. It’s a great segment with features from Martin Wood, Wynn Peterson-Nedry, and others. It’s only 13 minutes long and worth checking out!​

Do you like concerts? Chateau Ste Michelle has released their 2023 Summer Concert Lineup!​

The Oregon Wine Community got a nice shoutout from Jancis Robinson’s newsletter on Friday. Here's what she had to say!

Do you remember back in February, there was the Best Oregon Bubbles Trail, aka the BOB Trail happening? Believe it or not, I have yet to have all of the Bubbles on the list, and there was one winery, in particular, I wanted to explore more in-depth. How can I call myself a fan of Oregon Sparkling without diving deeper into the Bubbles of Rollin Soles from Roco?

Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed the 2016 RMS Brut when I did the Sparkling Report and remember sipping it for the first time on my back deck, taking in how Pinot Noir and Chardonnay intermingled with one another, creating a beautiful balance. The thing is, I never went dove any deeper. Shame on me!

It was time, and a friend Renee was the driving force behind the BOB Trail, who also works at Roco. I made the appointment. I told nobody I was going and looking forward to checking out some Bubbles!

Walking into the tasting room, I ran into Jenna from The Dundee Hotel. Before that week, the last time we saw one another was Summer of 2021. This particular week was two times, the first being at the Oregon Wine Symposium. We chatted briefly and got an invite to talk more once I had wine. I thanked her and proceeded to the bar for some Bubbles, only to see Rollin talking with another person on the other side of the bar.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Renee pop out and say hi. The last time I saw Renee was around the same time the previous year when a small group went to Brickhouse and King's North. It’s incredible how quickly time passes. I was enjoying the 2019 RMS Brut along with the 2018 RMS Brut during our conversation when none other than the king of Oregon Bubbles came over to join in!

The three of us talked and talked and talked a little more! There were so many stories, and at one point, Rollin asked me what I was drinking, looked at my glasses, said, “Let’s have some Pinot,” and proceeded to pour a Pinot here and a Pinot there. I have no idea how long the conversation lasted, but it was at least an hour.

Having a conversation with a legend of Oregon Wine and being able to ask any question was right there. I couldn’t help myself and tried my level best to be as respectful as possible by preferencing my question with, “I have a question, and if you don’t want to answer or choose to pass, I totally understand.” His quick comeback was something like, “Oh, don’t worry, I won’t answer if I don’t want to.” So I asked, “Why did you sell a majority stake in Roco to Santa Margherita?”

Now, this is where you, the reader, might unsubscribe or get a little flustered with what is coming next. Know that I was in the moment, enjoying the conversation, and wasn’t there to get all the nitty gritty gossip. I was genuinely curious and had zero knowledge I would be talking with Rollin. I was going with the flow of life's current and flow at this point. As you can see, I wrote nothing down in my wine journal.

I don’t remember his answer at all. I remember it was a genuine answer and wasn’t jaw-dropping. I am sure he has answered this question over and over again in the past year. I am happy for Rolin and Roco! Renee mentioned that the day-to-day operations hadn’t changed much, and it is nice to have the Italians being part of the family (that’s not what she said exactly, but that was the general gist).

So, now you are sitting here and wondering what in the Holy Wide World of Sports were you thinking, not remembering his answer? Sometimes in life, the path you set to move on diverges, and you have to go with the flow. Rolin came from Australia and significantly contributed to Argyle’s success, which was started in 1987. He stayed there until 2013. Roco began in 2001 and is a massive success.

There are so many bunny holes to traverse in Rollin's story, but I have to say Oregon Wine Country is so small. Rollin is married to Corby Soles, who was married to Ken Wright, and is the mother to Cody Wright, the winemaker at Purple Hands. Allen Holstein was also one of the first employees at Argyle who managed the vineyards. Cody does a single vineyard Pinot from the Holstein Vineyard. Today the Holstein vineyard is overseen by Jackson Holstein, the winemaker at Granville, and will be on the podcast in May.

I know today’s newsletter is short, but it’s worth taking a step back to observe the landscape of Oregon Wine Country, what we see now, and the possible future. We will see examples of large corporations buying the lovely wineries we love. Oregon Wine Country will not look the same in 10 ten years. So much has changed in the last ten years. Some people are already saying Oregon has lost its way. There are many arguments, both pro and con, but there is one certainty in life: change.

I mentioned letting Oregon Wine Country grow up like my 14-year-old daughter the other week. Holy Toledo, it’s more complicated than climbing a four-hour hill on the bike in 95-degree weather with the sun beating you. We don’t want to see what we know and what feels comfortable changing. We all like our security blankets, including myself. I feel pretty dagnabbit confident I will always be able to find a winery I can walk into that is a husband and wife team or some person who has hand planted the vineyard or is living the dream of wine.

With all that being said, please visit Roco Winery and try all of the Sparkling Pinot! You might also get lucky as I did to have Rollin pour you a tasting or two. If he is not there, please tell them, “A.J. sent me!”

​

With Gratitude,

A.J.

​

​

PS - Thank you to everyone who replied with a “Yes” for another Sparkling Report. I am getting the foundation put in place for another this year!