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 Wine meets Wonka

Anna Sweet is a new face on the Oregon wine scene, and I confess I met her socially before I ever knew anything about her new winery Artist’s Block. Blonde, petite and painfully chic, Anna might at first appear to be just a pretty face. But within seconds of conversation, you realize you’re in the presence of a deeply insightful and eloquent artist. Anna is an accomplished fine art photographer-turned-sculptor, whose Manhattan-to-Miami career has also spanned fashion and gallery curation. She left her life in Key West in 2020 and moved to the Willamette Valley to found Artist’s Block - the trendiest new winery in town.

Artist’s Block is part gallery, part tasting room, and I can promise you there’s no place like it in the Pacific Northwest. Filled with brightly-colored, whimsical art (some made by Anna and the rest curated by her), the space evokes childhood and a vivid sense of play. The red velvet entry curtains open to reveal a Wonka-esque sitting room filled with sculpture donuts, cub-sized gummy bears, wine-tone palette paintings, and Madonna ‘strike a pose’ mirrors. And did I mention it’s home to two silver bengal kitties?? Andy and Jean-Michel (Warhol and Basquiat, obviously).

Wonderland tasting room aside, the wines are damn good! Since Anna herself isn’t a winemaker (yet), she “hired the most badass female winemaker she could find.” And that badass is Bree Stock - Oregon’s first Master of Wine and the only female MW in the Pacific Northwest! Bree’s wines are expressive and refined, ranging from quirky (rosé of Dolcetto and Pinot Blanc) to classic (Chardonnay that’s a dead ringer for Puligny Montrachet). 

I sat down for a conversation with Anna on art and wine and the parallels she sees in these two worlds. I love what she’s building out in Dundee, and her mission of de-snoot-ifying wine is very much aligned with my own. Watch our conversation here and then go visit Artist’s Block for yourself! (And please give Andy and Jean-Michel a smooch for me…)

 A Vertical from a Visionary

I got invited to a very special tasting this week with one of my favorite winemakers… John Paul Cameron planted his vineyard Clos Electrique in 1984 and it has come to be regarded as a true ‘Grand Cru’ of the Willamette Valley. With only 3 acres of Pinot Noir and 2 acres of Chardonnay (and now 1 acre of Nebbiolo), Clos Electrique sits right in the heart of the Dundee Hills and was planted in the ancient selection massale style of Burgundy - where multiple cuttings from different vineyards are planted in each row.

John Paul consistently produces incredible wines, and his Chardonnay (lovingly dubbed ‘Clos Blanc’) is my favorite in Oregon.

So when he invited me to taste an 18 year vertical of magnums of Clos Electrique Blanc, I nearly died. A small (very lucky) group of us gathered at John Paul’s vineyard home on a sunny afternoon and were treated to a trip through Willamette Valley history. We tasted every vintage of Clos Blanc from 2005 to 2018 and John Paul provided a detailed vintage and winemaking report articulating the growing conditions of the season and all the stats on how the wine was made.

My biggest takeaways were that…

• John Paul is clearly an incredible winemaker because his wines have consistently been delicious for a very long time.
• Oregon Chardonnay (or at least Clos Electrique Chardonnay) reaches its peak around 15 years. It was around this age that the wine’s primary aromas (fresh apple, pear, lemon etc.) gave way to savory, umami notes of mushroom, brioche and earth.
• I really enjoyed the wines from warmer vintages. Normally my favorite Pinot Noirs come from very cool, wet vintages but I was surprised to find that I loved the Chardonnays from slightly warmer years. This gives me hope for Oregon’s future Chardonnay!
• One single vineyard can produce such different wines! And since John Paul’s winemaking style has stayed consistent, the differences truly come from the growing conditions of that particular year. Pretty neat!

I truly think that, in a decade, Chardonnay is going to be Oregon’s calling card. Yes, we make great Pinot Noir, but I think our Chardonnay is just off the charts.

Watch some clips from the tasting here. And then go find a bottle of Oregon Chardonnay to enjoy for yourself. If you can’t find a bottle of Cameron (or can’t currently splurge on Clos Electrique), some other favorite Oregon Chardonnay producers are:

• Bergstrom
• Hundred Suns
• Walter Scott
• Artist’s Block! 

Countdown to Pairing Prowess is ON!