When Kevin Breck picked up a book called “The Game of Wine” in the 1990s, he had no idea it would change the course of his life—nor that he would have to wait a quarter-century to fulfill his dream of becoming a winemaker. After 25 years of working as an attorney, Kevin was ready to realize that vision. He completed the Southern Oregon Wine Institute (SOWI) viticulture and enology program and worked harvests in both Southern Oregon and Spain before founding North Bar Cellars in 2017.
In 1939, seven-year-old Traute Moore fled to St. Louis from her hometown of Vienna, Austria, with her mother following the Anschluss. Before her father was able to join them, Hitler banned travel by boat. Five years later, they were reunited, and Traute’s life was to become marked by a series of happy coincidences that would lead to her and her husband, retired physician Don Moore, embarking on a viticultural adventure at Quail Run Vineyards.
When you hear “historical destination winery in Medford,” RoxyAnn Winery probably comes to mind immediately. With 11 spots on the National Register of Historic Places and a farming heritage dating back four generations, RoxyAnn Winery’s stunning grounds carry a fascinating history that makes an unbeatable backdrop for wine-tasting, weddings, and their Wine + Music Series.
This continues our fascinating conversation with Tim Hanni, MW, a dear friend and collaborator of Capiche. See Part 1 if you missed the first segment.
America’s first Master of Wine and one of fewer than 500 in the world, Tim Hanni has collected epithets ranging from the wine anti-snob (The Wall Street Journal) to the Swami of Umami (memorialized by Pug Ostling, who awarded Tim the official Swami of Umami t-shirt in 1990) to flavor maven (Oregon Wine Press) to the King of Digressions (self-applied 😉) over his five-decade career in the wine industry.
When Whitman Parker and his wife, Jo, moved from Denver to Jacksonville, Oregon, they harnessed their backgrounds in real estate to embark on new career trajectories. Whit purchased the Jacksonville Review, and Jo set up WillowCreek Gifts in downtown historic Jacksonville.
Following is the inaugural edition of a new series of interviews featuring Capiche clients. We are delighted to introduce Terry Brandborg of Brandborg Vineyard & Winery, based in Elkton, Oregon.
Last October, I wrote a blog post called “Hire Nice, and Teach Wine,” and last week, I saw this principle work beautifully in action. In a time when every single guest to your tasting room will either help make or break you, it’s even more important to hire nice, teach wine—AND teach hospitality!
Are you suffering from bad news fatigue like I am? It’s one thing after another—COVID-19 hitting us in March. Now, the fires. And the constantly changing rules and regulations for restaurants, bars and tasting rooms.… With so many moving parts, how do we plan for OND—October, November, December—the biggest annual boon to all retailers?
Now’s the time to plan for the new normal when we’re back in business. Things are different now and will be different then. Expectations are different. And your modus operandi had better be different if you want to retain, recapture, and attract customers.
It was bound to happen. Southern Oregon’s pioneering wineries are passing from their founding fathers and mothers to the next generation. If you haven’t visited these featured Southern Oregon wineries, autumn is a lovely time to make the trip! Here’s your travel guide.