From the Winery
We just love a good party!
May 25, 2010 by Maria · 2 Comments
One of the great things about being in the wine business is that there are so many opportunities to have parties – and we just love them, all shapes and sizes. From intimate winemaker dinners for 8 to Open Houses for a couple of hundred we love connecting with our friends and customers over wine and food – no surprise there!
Last Saturday was our annual Spring Open House, or the Thank You Event, as we like to call it. Lots of folks came by and a fine time was had by all.
One of the best parts of this event are the legendary lamb lollies we serve. Legendary is no understatement either. I think if we ever decided to serve something else, there would be a stampede. Al Whitaker – insurance salesman by day and fanatical cook in his spare time – grills the lamb and does all the rest of the great food too, with tons of support from his fabulous wife Megan.
Of course the wine is not too bad either! Some of the comments I heard from folks included descriptors like luscious and outrageous. One friend said this to me “When I go into your beautiful Wine Bar and sit down with a glass of your wine, it makes me whole.” Wow – I was humbled and honored by his profound praise.
Hats off too, to the Rendezvous String Band. They’re just such a fun and quirky group and it was great to welcome them back to the winery. I have fond memories of them playing at Rob’s 50th birthday party with Trish sitting in. Yeah, that was another great party.
So thanks again to all of our friends and customers – without you where would we be? And lest you forget, the party may be over, but the Thank You sale continues through May 31st. Just jump on over to the Wine Shop to check it out.
See you at the next party!
To any website visitors who have yet to discover R. Stuart the Entity…the Organism…I leave these comments. Funny words to use, no? Entity, Organism…and yet the alternative words pale in comparison for they do not capture the essence of life, community, and family that are the white-hot core at the center of this beautiful venture. How can one reduce it to “bussiness” or “capital venture”, or other such words of sterility and impersonalness?
We have lived in the area for 30 years, and have watched many things come and go, and have watched the Oregon Wine industry grow and become. We have seen entrants onto the scene that are starry-eyed and glory-addled…tasted wines that were more full of ego and ambition than they were of life and spirit…
…and we have seen the ones who found their roots they never knew they already had, the ones who come and find their hearts claimed like swains who are smitten by a fair Lady, and these begin to dedicate their time and talent to the pursuit of somehow capturing the spiritual, emotional, and geographical terroir of our home region and our times, and preserving it in bottles and readying it to be poured out for the infusion of life into life.
Many winemakers, many wineries, and a few masters of the craft.
We consider R. Stuarts “winery/winebar/family/community” to be exemplary of what Oregon is all about, and what Oregon Wine is all about. The strength and vision Rob demonstrates year after year as a winemaker is infused and sustained by the heart and service and generous passion that Maria pours out daily to be sure that each person who encounters R. Stuart Wines knows that they are welcomed as a friend and depart with the opportunity to become family.
The Wine Bar is an oasis of calm and peace that is simultaneously full of life and energy, energy that renews and doesn’t drain. The staff goes out of their way to treat each person like the most important person they have met. They know when to suggest and guide someone into something new, but they never push or give you a hard sell, because they know that sometimes the old and familiar is becoming the signposts and hallmarks and touchstones on an everchanging journey, and these things sustain and maintain.
I find the most delightful mix in all things “R Stuart”: from the wine, to all the other aspects, I see at work the heart of a sprinter sustained by the legs of a marathoner. And the beautiful package that ties it all together is joy. Pure and simple…joy! What a precious and rare commodity! There is joy in the wine, whether it be quick and jubilant, or be restrained and sophisticated (read Temperance Hill! Ah, now THAT is a wine!!)…there is joy in the wine bar, stopping in on a dreary, rain-swept grey early evening and entering into a warm and toasty gently lit room to be touched by the flames of good humor and life…there is joy in the giving when they hold Thank You events, and you can see the genuine appreciation that of all the options available you would choose them to surf the wine waves with…
We have many favorite wines, fewer favorite haunts, and a very few Old Faithfuls, who have touched our hearts and become part of our lives over the years, joining us at holiday feasts, at romantic moments, on summer days or winter nights…they know who they are…Sokol Blosser, Et Fille, Ancient Cellars…and R. Stuart, who through sheer consistency and open heartedness have claimed our heart!
I would encourage anyone who is sort of casting around across the many waters of Wine Country, looking for a port to call home and drop anchor into, to seriously consider giving R. Stuart a shot…dabble if you must, but throw in for the long haul! It will only redound for the good, as do they every day!
There is NO way Rob is 50.