Ike Willis was a person I got to know both in person and through his time as Zappa's singer and guitarist from 1978-1988. Hearing the Joe's Garage album when I was about 16-- his voice was powerful and distinct! Amazing singer and great guitarist.
Ike lived in Portland, Oregon for a bit and you could find him at Holman's on 28th and East Burnside often. He was always fun to share a pint with.
Gonna miss you Ike! (Stratocaster with a whammy bar)
Our 2025 Sauvignon Blanc is ready to go!
Direct press SB from the Rattlesnake Hills AVA on sandy loam soils at 1100 elevaysh.
Aged in a mix of concrete eggs and larger oval oak casks.
NO green veggie or overly tropical notes here that you typically get with cold ferments. Think sea salt, umami and green pears.
#sauvignonblanc
#columbiavalleywines
#rattlesnakehillsava
#wsetlevel4
#sommlifestyle
Excited to have some more white wine to share!
Our new vintage of Sauvignon Blanc is coming in hot 🥵 and spicy. Just in time for the sunny weather to commence here in Oregon.
100% SB from a certified organic vineyard in the Rattlesnake Hills in Zillah, Washington at 1100 feet.
A mix of concrete Nomblot eggs and large oval casks on the aging.
In line with most of our whites-- think salt, lemon and hot stones. This is not a grassy or overly tropical SB. The native yeast and no temp control on ferments have a bit to do with this.
A nice view of the nw block of the (younger) old vine Pinot Noir at Medici Vineyard, where our facility is...
It's almost May and the weather is warming up here in Oregon. It's looking like a great growing season so far. We've had plenty of precipitation this year, which should help our vines transition into the warm weather ahead.
Maureen and I are busy at the winery getting new releases into bottle. Look for some special new wines coming for club members in the fall of 2026!
Our 2025 City Pop is singing right now! Check it out if you haven't yet.
The next 4 months are going to fly by for us. So much to do, so much to see (smashmouth). I'm going into my 29th harvest in wine production this year... crazy. Looking forward to some fun new vineyards and varietals. Stay tuned for more as we approach harvest 2026.
Lastly, next week will be our last market visit before harvest starts... We're going to North Carolina for a week! My first time there since 1997. (7/22/97 Raleigh Phish show to be exact). Really looking forward to this visit.
✌️ ☮️ 🍷 🎵
Seattle! Thank you for a great visit 🙏
We finished our day with an amazing meal at @tomo.seattle Everything was so good 😊
Okay! Now it's off to Rhode Island 💕
Hey Nowwwww..... Ack Ack.
Hey! Maureen and I just finished racking a NEW Sauvignon Blanc to tank for a little settling sesh before it's ready to bottle.
This SB comes from a certified organic vibeyard in the Rattlesnake Hills 🐍 planted to mostly Bordeaux varietals.
The Rattlesnake Hills benefit from heavy loads of sunshine and a lot of wind 💨, so our vines get a lot of sunshine during the day, without things getting too crispy during the summer heat. Things cool down at night and help us retain natural acids. One of our favorite things about the fruit from this area is that the Bordeaux varietals (our SB, CS, CF, PV, Malbec, Semillon) show less of the "green" character normally associated with these grapes and keep pH low with high total acidity. We're able to keep alcohols in check because of this because we don't have sugar spikes leading up to harvest. You'll find our SB is around 11.5 to 12% and our CS and CF around 13% abv normally.
For those of you who enjoyed our "One Egg" SB bottling- This next version is very similar. Some lots had some skin contact, while others were direct press. This is more of a textural SB and not an austere stainless style. Think Pouilly-Fume instead of Sancerre.
Another is thing you might notice about SB made without temperature control or commercial yeasts is that they don't show that very obvious "SB" nose that you would find from versions that are fermented cold with commercial yeasts that can ferment at cold temps.
For the aging, we used a mix of larger oval casks, concrete eggs and 500 liter barrels. So, it's a mix on the zippy concrete and the textural oak.
Maureen and I are super excited about this new SB. We're hoping to get this bottled and out to you soon--before that amazing Oregon sun starts to show up 🌞
Look for this one by the glass soon!
#sauvblanc
#sauvignonblanc
#rattlesnakehills
#bytheglass
#swickwines
ZWEIGELT!!
A new one barrel release included in our Spring wine club from Morning Mist Vibeyard in the coastal ranges near Sheridan, Oregon.
Morning Mist is planted to Zweigelt (as well as Melon de Bourgogne and gruvy Gruner Veltliner). Organically farmed and very late ripening with natural yow yields.
We're keeping this for club members and hoping to have a little left over through the website after club release.
Look for dark, peppery aromas with pure raspberry on the palate. This is one of my favorite wines from Morning Mist as it shows that "crunch" and spice that is typical from this site.
#zweigelt
#zweigeltlovers
#sommlifestyle
#sommlife
#mcminnvilleavawines
NEW WINE!! Get this new release in our Spring wine club.
2023 One One Five Pinot Noir is a Dijon clone specific bottling from Morning Mist Vibeyard, deep in the coastal ranges of Sheridan, Oregon.
For the 115 bottling, look for more concentration and riper fruit flavors and aromas--Rose petal, violet, potpourri. Also spice notes like white pepper, allspice, baking spice.
This is a nice contrast to our 667 bottling as it is more open and ready to drink now!!
#dijonclone115
#willamettevalleypinotnoir
#morningmistvineyard
#sommlife
#silkytannins
2023 "One Foudre" Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley included in our Spring club release coming up!
100% whole cluster macerated and fermented for 45 days before pressing. Aged in a 2000 liter oval oak cask for about 18 months before bottling.
This wine was made from Konnowac Vineyard in the Rattlesnake Hills AVA in Zillah, Washington from 30 year old vines.
Deep and brooding with tar, leather and black currant aromas. Palate is firm and fresh. This one needs a decant or a few years to open up.
Enjoy with aged cheeses, mushroom dishes or just on it's own!
Some of our wines aging nicely in big oval casks.
Our 2023 "One Foudre" Cabernet Sauvignon coming in the Spring club release was aged in one of these babies for a few years before bottling.
Sign up for the club to taste it 👅
#stockinger
#foudre
#ovalcasks
#sommlife🍷
#caltjader
SPRING WINE CLUB is coming!!
1st up is our 2023 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley.
50% Greyhorse Vineyard from the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Greyhorse is 2 acre vineyard on sandy loam soils planted to mostly Pommard clone Pinot Noir. This site adds the classic plum, espresso and mineral notes to our 2023 WV PN.
50% Morning Mist Vineyard from the coastal ranges in Sheridan, Oregon. MMV is planted to both Dijon and Pommard clones, but the WV PN sees mostly Pommard clone PN as well. MMV adds the acidity and backbone with a distinct spicy note.
Both lots are fermented separately with 100% whole bunches and on skins for 45 days before pressing. Aged in older French oak barrels for about 1.5 years before bottling.
2023 was a lower yielding year for us overall with Pinot Noir, so expect more tannin and tension in our 2023 WV PN
We tend to pair this with salmon, mushroom and veggie based dishes. Serve slightly chilled (if you feel like it)
#oregonpinot
#swickwineclub
#sommlife
#wsetlife
#wholecluster
📸 @daniellegadams
The new Swick Wine Club release is coming up!!
City Plop, Mourvèdre, Willamette Valley Pinot, One One Five Pinot, One Foudre Cab Sauv and Zweigelt.
Get it!
📸 @daniellegadams
#citypop
#danknugs
#mourvèdre
#swickwineclub
#zweigelt
