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Some of the most random things happen at the most unexpected of times. Monday night, I was driving home after picking up my daughter from ballet, and there was a bit of traffic. I was sitting at the stoplight doing one of my quirky things and reading the car's license plate in front of me. It was the standard Oregon license plate with three numbers and three letters. The three letters read LVB, and I was instantly flooded with a ton of memories.

I started a computer repair business when I moved to Oregon from Tennessee in 2001. There was a woman that worked at one of my first clients whose name was Lauren Van Bishler. She was always full of life and a joy to work with.

Over time the client changed companies, and I lost contact with Lauren until one day, out of the blue, when I visited The Real Mother Goose at the airport. Lauren was now working there! We had a great talk and caught up a little. After that, I stopped by every time I went on a flight to see if she was working. Sometimes she was, and other times not so much.

The last time I stepped foot inside The Real Mother Goose, I asked if Lauren was working. I was given a weird look followed by the words, “You don’t know, do you?” I shook my head no and was told Lauren had suffered a massive heart attack and passed away about a month prior.

After my trip, I visited her Facebook page and mourned her loss. She was one hell of a lady and will be forever missed. You never know what life will bring you. Cherish every single day and tell everyone close to you how much you mean to them.

There is no soft transition onto the random links of the week.

I already have too many words for this week's newsletter to dive into this year's McMinnville Wine Competition, but if you want to know who won, check out this great article from Great Northwest Wine!​

I am intrigued by coming from a technology background and reading how wine writers talk about Chat GPT. Personally, I think the additional tool in the toolbox will elevate the end result, while others, such as Jane Anson, think differently.

I have been a Tom Hanks fan since I was eight-ish watching Bosum Buddies, but I might have to rethink it a little after his Diet Coke and Champagne creation.

Last year when I sat down with Janie Brooks Heuck for the podcast, it was such a treat, and I am thrilled to hear she is getting recognized for all of her hard work!​

If you are looking for a special tasting next weekend, Iterum is doing a Pop-Up tasting at Bryn Mawr. You have to check out Joe’s Sauv Blanc and tell him A.J. said hi when you see him!​

February is shaping up to be quite the stellar month for Oregon Bubbles. There is an event called the Best of the Oregon Bubbles Trail occurring and I have to say I couldn't be happier! So many Bubbles, so little time.

I have moved all of the events to its own newsletter, but there is an upcoming event correlating with today's winery. The event is the Van Duzer Corridor Pouring Event on February 4th. Somewhere on the interwebs, I read a list of wineries participating, but I am unable to find the list now. Some of the wineries in attendance are Left Coast, Van Duzer Vineyards, and today’s focus, Andante Vineyard.

There will be more than three wineries at the event, which will be great! I have been to the three wineries I listed above at separate times, and the ability to taste wines from multiple producers in the Van Duzer Corridor is quite unique.

If you need to learn why the Van Duzer Corridor is unique, let me give you the teeniest hint with one word, wind. Every afternoon, the winds pick up considerably, which does a couple of things. First, the skins on the grapes thicken to help protect the fruit from the wind. Also, the temperature in the area tends to be cooler because of the wind causing longer hang times for a reduction in acidity levels. So I am telling you, mark February 4th on your calendar to taste some stellar wines and nerd out on the Van Duzer Corridor!

Getting back to today's focus, Andante. My journey to this winery, which is a musical term for a moderate, slow tempo, isn’t exactly the straightest of paths.

Over the summer, Sara at Domaine Divio poured me a wine I had never had before. It was an Aligote. If you are unaware, Aligote is a white wine mainly produced in Burgundy. I have heard it referred to as, “It's the wine you drink after a long day working in the vineyards.” I might have fallen in love with the wine and started seeking out other Oregon producers of Aligote.

I had some help finding other Aligote when I posted the Divio on IG, and of course, I made note. One note, in particular, was from NWWineCoach, aka Barb, bringing to my attention that Andante’s 2020 vintage of Aligote was rated 91 points by James Sucking. There was also an invitation to come out and visit. Mind you, this was late July.

Fast forward to October, I posted Walter Scott’s version of Aligote, which I also adored on IG. Barb gently reminded me about Andante’s Aligote and told me Stoller made a small lot in 2021. I still had the note from July, and I let Barb know Andante was on my list to visit.

November and Thanksgiving weekend plans needed to happen. One of the reasons I hadn’t been to Andante yet was trying to be efficient in traveling. It is a bit of a drive from my house, and when I finally decided to visit Antiquum, I noticed Andante was on the way back home from Antiquum.

I emailed Barb and immediately got an auto-reply saying she was out on vacation. I was super bummed because she had sent me the invite five months prior, and I wouldn’t get to thank her in person for the invite. However, in the email, there was another contact. So, in sending the second email, reservations were set up, and my trip to the Andante was good to go!

A few days before the tasting, my sadness about not meeting Barb dissipated when I got her email informing me that she would be at the tasting room during my visit.

If you remember my newsletter a couple of weeks back when I talked about Antiquum, you might remember I was running late. Unfortunately, there was also no cell service at Antiquum, meaning I couldn’t immediately call Andante, and I could not have Siri pull up directions.

Remembering my way back to some resemblance of civilization and cell service, I pulled off the side of the road, pulled up Andante’s phone number, and let them know I was running late. I always feel bad when I am late for a reservation, but there hasn’t been one time when I was courteous in communicating my situation where the winery wasn’t appreciative of the information and jumped through flaming hoops to ensure my visit was over the top! When I got off the phone with Andante, they were no different.

After an hour or so of driving, I was surprised to see Andante was a long stone’s throw away from Van Duzer Vineyards. I will never forget when I walked into that appointment and was greeted by Drew Voit. You can read all about it here.

Anyway, the Holy Toledo, I am a fanboy of Drew Voit terror, was not present when I walked into Andante’s tasting room. Instead, I was shocked by the beauty and newness of the facility.

Not every day do you get the opportunity to check out a new tasting room. I had double-checked to ensure my socks were still on my feet because they had been blown off when I walked in. After regaining my balance, I apologized again for being late while walking to the table. I was assured it was okay, and the tasting started with a 2020 Sauv Blanc. It was pretty refreshing with all sorts of fruit on the mid-palate, killer acidity, and a vibrant finish!

Finishing up the Sauv Blanc, Barb came over and introduced herself. It was wonderful to put a name to a face. I also thanked her for letting me know about the Aligote. As we were talking, a gorgeous charcuterie board magically appeared. Everything on the board looked delicious!

I was munching on some goodies from the charcuterie board and sipping on the 2017 Chardonnay I was taking in the view. It was apparent to me how much fun they have in the warm summer months outside. With Andante’s roots in music, I can only imagine how many music events they have. In looking at their events page, they just had a Winter Jazz Concert on the 19th.

Finishing up the 2017 Chard, Barb brought over a pour of the 2018 Chardonnay. Comparing the two side by side, both were solid expressions of the grape. However, I felt like the 2018 had a little more neutral oak toning down the fruit, allowing you to experience the soil and what the Van Duzer winds bring to the table, aka terroir.

Next up was the main reason for my visit, the Aligote! Barb told me it is France's worker/table white wine. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I describe the body on an Aligote as heavier compared to a Chardonnay, with high acidity, great subtle fruit on the mid-palate, and a lighter but pleasant finish again compared to a Chardonnay.

It was getting dark outside. I needed to capture a few pictures before the sun drifted away into the night’s slumber. Can you imagine spending a summer evening out here? I suppose the wood-fired pizza oven will be cranking out some fantastic pies! Coming back inside, I noticed people were eating more than charcuterie boards. There was some severe, delicious food being dished out. I dared not to take any pictures, but trust me, it all looked delicious!

The following two wines were the 2016 and 2017 Estate Pinot Noir. Both of these were great, and again comparing the two side by side. The 2016 was brighter, showing off the fruit's red side and a nice spicy finish. For the 2017, its body was a little lighter and still had an excellent tannin structure!

I should have asked Barb about the winemaking team, but I did not. In looking at the website, the winemaker is Erin Percheron. Another team member who is also a winemaker and viticulturist is Laurent Percheron. I have a feeling they are a husband-and-wife team kicking it out of the ballpark! I am also making a mental note to dive further into the backstory of how they ended up at Andante.

The next Pinot Noir was the 2018 Estate Reserve. We all know 2018 was a hot vintage, and these wines are a little bigger and bolder. This wine was no exception, but it was great. It will probably be off the charts killer in 7+ years!

If you have noticed from one of the pictures outside and the other one of the tasting room, there is an egret which is part of Andante’s logo. Of course, we all adore the heck out of these birds, but that is not why it is on the logo. Andante is next to a wildlife refuge. Sometimes, there are over 150 egrets on site. I would love to see that many egrets at one time!

My time at Andante was coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t time for one more story! As I mentioned earlier, Barb’s IG handle is NWWineCoach. In her previous life, she was involved with college athletics, hence the coach part. She told me people used to say she raised more money in the tasting room than on the gold course. She retired in 2017 and has been part of the wine industry ever since. Her passion is helping people find wines that match their tastes.

As I left, I gave Barb the biggest of hugs and thanked her so much for her time. You have to make some time to visit Andante, try some Aligote, say hi to Barb for me, and let her know, “A.J. sent me!”

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With Gratitude,

A.J.

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PS - If you want to take a trip down memory lane check out this week's episode of the podcast where I talk about my visit to Potter's Vineyard (Apple Podcast and Spotify).

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