We started WSET2 today at Wine & Spirit Archive in Portland to be able to better taste wines and ultimately become better winemakers. We already learned a lot and tasted some great wines.

Candice started classes in the Winemaking program at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon today. After the 2023 Harvest crash course into winemaking, she got the winemaking bug and wants to get the foundational knowledge and skills she needs to succeed.

We learned that our Syrah has smoke taint, and we used various techniques to mitigate the damage.

We had the opportunity to harvest some wild Merlot at Freed Estate for free. We decided to use it for a Pét-Nat, which we named ‘Fools Rush In.’

We harvested Syrah from Freed Estate Vineyard and Melrose Vineyard in Umpqua Valley, Oregon. It was a tough experience, to say the least.

We did it. Our first harvest. Tempranillo from Freed Estate Vineyard, Umpqua Valley, Oregon.

We found out recently that we are not likely to get our permits and licenses in place in time for harvest, but we found a place to make our wine.

We’re gathering everything we need to prepare for harvest—grape orders, barrels, barrel racks, a new sink, and a lot of legal paperwork.

We did a thing! Every great adventure begins with an outlandish idea. How we started Química Winery.