• Ponzi Chardonnay captured by Polara Studios

    Oregon Chardonnay Celebration 2019

    Time in a Bottle: The Evolution of Chardonnay

    Saturday, February 23, 2019
    at The Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg, Oregon

SEMINAR  2019
Time in a Bottle:
The Evolution of Chardonnay

Saturday, February 23, 2019 | 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Four-highly acclaimed Oregon winemakers with decades of Chardonnay winemaking experience guide you through a tasting of what happens when Oregon Chardonnay ages. What goes into a Chardonnay that is designed to age? How do ageable wines differ from other Chardonnays when they are young? How can you tell the difference? What makes Chardonnay from Oregon particularly age-worthy? Explore what we look for in an aged Chardonnay, and why it might be worth the wait.

GRAND TASTING 2019
Exploring Oregon Chardonnay

Saturday, February 23, 2019 | 3:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Join us for a walk-around tasting of more than 50 Oregon Chardonnays from our 2019 Featured Wineries, making it one of the region’s largest varietal specific tastings. Sample the breadth and depth of Oregon Chardonnay, and enjoy light Chardonnay-friendly hors d’œuvres, all in the warm atmosphere of The Allison Inn & Spa.

2019 GRAND SEMINAR
MODERATOR

Jason Lett

Winemaker | The Eyrie Vineyards

Jason Lett is the second-generation president, winemaker, vineyard manager, (and self-proclaimed curator) of The Eyrie Vineyards. As the son of vanguard producers David and Diana Lett, Jason has had almost 50 years of experience with Oregon vineyards and winemaking, and has worked in Europe and New Zealand as well. He, and before him his father, has created a legacy of famously age-worthy vintages of Chardonnay going back to 1970. He combines hands-on experience with a background in research ecology. Jason often takes part in seminars on Oregon wine both here and internationally, and has a recurring role offering the introductory address at Oregon Pinot Camp. When he’s not participating in panels or making wine, Jason and his wife tend a small farm of their own with livestock, including goats, sheep, chickens, and three growing children.

2019 GRAND SEMINAR
PANELISTS

  • Robert Brittan

    Robert Brittan

    Brittan Vineyards

    Brittan Vineyards is a rocky, exposed hillside on the edge of the Van  Duzer Corridor in the McMinnville AVA, planted to a total of 30 acres of Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. With 45 years of experience growing grapes and making wine, Robert Brittan brings a significant amount of viticultural and winemaking knowledge to his Oregon venture.  After completing his degree at UC Davis, Robert moved to Napa Valley, where he made wines for Far Niente, Saint Andrews and Stags’ Leap Winery. Following his passion for cool-climate Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Syrah, he purchased his 128-acre property in the North Willamette Valley in December 2004.  With this unique vineyard site, along with his extensive knowledge and expertise of winemaking and viticulture, Robert is helping define the unique characteristics of the McMinnville AVA wines. In addition to making Brittan Wines, Robert is the consulting winemaker for Winderlea, Ayoub, Fairsing and deLancellotti.

  • Ben Casteel

    Ben Casteel

    Bethel Heights Vineyard

    Ben is the oldest son of Terry Casteel and Marilyn Webb, co-founders of Bethel Heights Vineyard. Ben spent his summers working for his uncle Ted in the vineyard, alongside his brother and cousins. Though he left for college a declared English major, a trip to Burgundy to work the 1999 harvest at Domaine de Perdrix changed everything. After an exhilarating experience overseas, Ben returned to work in the Oregon wine industry before graduate school. He took a position with Rex Hill under Lynn Penner-Ash and spent five years working his way up from cellar assistant, to assistant winemaker under Aaron Hess. In January 2005,  Ben accepted from his father the position of winemaker at Bethel Heights. Ben strives to continue the model established by his father and family in crafting wines that reflect vintage and terroir. It is a vision born of thoughtful experimentation, patience, and restraint, and one that he believes can only reach fulfillment at the small winery level. The closer the winegrower’s hands are to their wines and vines, the clearer the voice of the place and time will be expressed in the cask and bottle. It is with this vision and passion that Ben hopes to carry Bethel Heights on into the future.

  • Michael Etzel

    Michael Etzel

    Beaux Frères

    While on vacation in 1986, Michael Etzel came upon an 88-acre pig farm for sale located on Ribbon Ridge in the Northern Willamette Valley, Yamhill County, Oregon. After some deliberation, Michael purchased the farm with his brother-in-law (the French idiom is “beaux frères”), Robert Parker, Jr.  Michael uprooted his young family from Colorado and moved to the farm the following summer. He began his focused pursuit as a vineyard manager by planting only Pinot noir and slowly transforming the old pig and dairy farm into his jewel. While planting his own vineyard, Michael worked four harvests at Ponzi Winery. In 1990, Michael harvested his first crop and sold the grapes, except enough to make one barrel, to winemakers Ken Wright and Dick Ponzi. In 1991, a renovation of one of the barns led to the creation of Beaux Frères Winery. With each new vintage, Michael’s efforts further unveil his pursuit of Pinot noir that is the purest expression of the vineyard.

  • Kate Payne-Brown

    Kate Payne-Brown

    Stoller Family Estate

    Raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, Kate received her Bachelor’s degree in Science from the University of Oregon with the intent to work in the optometry field. Shortly after graduation, however, the allure of the wine industry changed the course of her career. Kate moved to Australia to study at the University of Adelaide, where she completed her Master’s degree in Oenology and made Shiraz and Cabernet for a couple of vintages. Oregon eventually called her home. Kate spent six years as assistant winemaker at Archery Summit, followed by a stint working for a French winemaking consultancy. In 2015, Kate joined Stoller Family Estate. In her role, she oversees production for its Reserve and Legacy tier wines. She enjoys the intimate nature of crafting small lot cuvées that express the unique microclimates of Stoller’s 399-acre property.

2019 GRAND TASTING
FEATURED WINERIES

00 Wines

A to Z Wineworks

Adelsheim Vineyard

Antica Terra

Argyle Winery

Aubichon Cellars

Beaux Frères Winery

Bergström Wines

Bethel Heights

big table farm

Brick House Wines

Brittan Vineyards

Bryn Mawr Vineyards

Carabella Vineyard

Day Wines

Del Rio Vineyards

Dobbes Family Estate

Domaine Divio

Domaine Drouhin Oregon

Domaine Serene

Drouhin Oregon Roserock

Dukes Family Vineyards

Durant Vineyards

EIEIO

Elk Cove Vineyards

Erath Winery

The Eyrie Vineyards

Flâneur Wines

FORIS

Goodfellow Family Cellars

Gran Moraine Winery

Grochau Cellars

Johan Vineyards

King Estate

LAVINEA

Lemelson Vineyards

Lingua Franca

Ponzi Vineyards

REX HILL

Saffron Fields

Soter Vineyards

Stoller Family Estate

Torii Mor

Trathen Hall

twill cellars

VIDON Vineyard

Vincent Wine Company

Westmount Wine

Winderlea Vineyard & Winery

Youngberg Hill

Background

Ticket Options:

Two ticket options are available:

Seminar & Grand Tasting
Join us for Time in a Bottle: The Evolution of Chardonnay – a seminar exploring aged Chardonnay. Afterwards, explore the diversity of Oregon Chardonnay while sampling over 50 wines from our 2019 Featured Wineries at our Grand Tasting.

Grand Tasting
Explore the diversity of Oregon Chardonnay while sampling over 50 wines from our 2019 Featured Wineries at our Grand Tasting.

Admit One
$170.00

Seminar & Grand Tasting Package

Purchase Tickets

Saturday, February 23, 2019
1:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Questions?
Contact Us.

Admit One
$85.00

Grand Tasting

Purchase Tickets

Saturday, February 23, 2019
3:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Questions?
Contact Us.

MAKE IT A WEEKEND
Stay at The Allison Inn & Spa

Enjoy an extended wine country experience. The Allison Inn & Spa offers a special rate of $295.00 plus tax per night for guests of the Oregon Chardonnay Celebration. Offer based on availability. Please contact the hotel directly by telephone at 503 – 554 – 2525 to make your reservations.

Background

ABOUT THE OREGON CHARDONNAY CELEBRATION 

The eighth annual Oregon Chardonnay Celebration takes place Saturday, February 23, 2019 at The Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg, Oregon. The Celebration educates both industry members and consumers about the varietal in a non-competitive environment. The event begins with a seated topical seminar and tasting followed by the Grand Tasting, a walkaround sampling of over 50 Oregon producers, one of the region’s largest varietal-specific tastings. Attendees have a choice of participating in both the seminar and Grand Tasting or the Grand Tasting only.

Formerly known as The Oregon Chardonnay Symposium, the Oregon Chardonnay Celebration delves deep into what makes Oregon Chardonnay unique, each year focusing on different aspects of the varietal and its place in the state. Bringing together pioneers and the current generation of Oregon producers, the Oregon Chardonnay Celebration provides a lens through which we can view the past, present, and future of Oregon Chardonnay.

CHARDONNAY IN THE NEWS

“Although each wine was an undeniably individual expression of the Chardonnay grape, they all shared a connective thread that was decidedly Oregonian: an intensity of fruit, coupled with a firm mineral thread.” ~ Lettie Teague, These Oregon Winemakers are Making Chardonnay Cool Again

November 4, 2016 The Wall Street Journal

Tickets for Oregon Chardonnay Celebration 2019 On-Sale Now

Purchase Tickets