Tag: Jade Helm

Talking with Gretchen Boock is like listening to a podcast at the 2x speed. “Rapid fire” is a term used repeatedly to describe this young CEO who motivates with compassionate leadership and “hammer in hand” collaborative work ethic.

As auctioneer Fritz Hatton, pointed his finger and called “Sold!” for the last lot of Pinot Noir, the crowd at the Willamette Valley Barrel Auction responded with jubilation. The fund raising event broke the $1 million goal in a rather dramatic final act.

“I was once like the Indiana Jones of Himalayan geology,” said Kevin Pogue PhD. He explains the cultural, political and topographical setting of his research sites in northwestern Pakistan would have made the famous fictional explorer feel right at home. World changes caused this Washington based geologist to turn his attentions from ancient lands across the globe to those under the vines. The vineyards of the Pacific Northwest have never been the same.

Anyone who knows Wayne Bailey knows how important farming is to him. It is where his life began, the son of an Iowa sharecropper. And it is where his life has lead him. Through years of business success as an engineer and a consultant to high profile companies like McDonald’s, Bailey’s work eventually lead him to the vineyards of Burgundy. This was a turning point for Bailey and what began as a three month consultancy expanded into two years in the vineyards of Beaune. “The vignerons there consider themselves farmers,” he remembers, “and so do I. I gravitated toward that. I spent time in the vineyards there and my mind was imagining growing grapes and making wine.” Bailey returned to farming life making Youngberg Hill in Willamette Valley home and livelihood to the Bailey family.

Wayne Bailey, a vintner known for sustainable farming practices advises, “The best fertilizer is the farmer’s footprint.” Bailey’s footprint has far exceeded the 50 acres of his Youngberg Hill estate in Willamette Valley to play a vital role in the Oregon wine industry. But Bailey’s feet took a long circuitous career path to Youngberg Hill. Along the way Bailey left his mark and gained experiences and business acumen that prepared him to design a business model that is unique among his wine industry neighbors.

If your winery sells 10,000 gallons of wine, you are saving $11,000 a year and you may not even know why: WineAmerica.

On the 40th anniversary of the ‘Judgement of Paris,’ the United States has once again proven the best place to grow classic French varietals is not always in France. Oregon Pinot Noir has shaken expectations with the announcement that Domaine Serene’s 2012 Winery Hill Vineyard grabbed the coveted Platinum Best of Show for Pinot Noir over £15 at the 2016 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). The wine from the Dundee Hills AVA in Oregon’s Willamette Valley beat out 6 grand cru and 26 premier cru Burgundian Pinot Noir.