We stand at the western part of the vineyard, immersed in the oldest block, 27 years deep—the same vines that entranced Chambers during his first visit 19 years ago. What we’re looking at is old vine Gewurztraminer, with trunks so knurly, you can’t resist lightly tracing wood to tangled tendrils, aware of time. “These certainly have personality,” states Chambers.

While Resonance fruit has filled wine bottles for years, in 2006, Chambers took the leap into vintage wine making. True to his adventurous and cutting-edge spirit, he decided to co-ferment his old-vine Gewurztraminer with his Pinot Noir Clusters at the Carlton Winemakers Studio, which opened its doors with the explicit goal of providing a creative, state-of-the-art facility for artisan producers crafting boutique wines (it was also the first winery registered with the U.S. Green Building Council).

When fellow vintners at the studio saw what Chambers was doing, they were sure it was a mistake and shouted to stop the sorting table before his clusters married. Chambers quickly assured them that that was, indeed, what he wanted to do. “Are you sure about that?” they asked incredulously. “No,” he calmly replied. “Are we ever certain about anything?”

And it is precisely this ability to forge ahead with a kind of uncertainty that has enabled Chambers to successfully navigate such an uncertain path.

Beguiled by grape vines, Kerry Newberry writes about wine and food for regional publications. She swirls, sips and lives in Portland, Oregon.

Wine Tasting

We live in the perfect place to indulge and explore the nuances of wine. First stop, your local wine shop. That’s what David Dowler did when he befriended wine merchant John Kennedy of Great Wine Buys.

Dowler’s wine-loving cadre of friends meets once a month at the wine shop. Kennedy and Dowler cruise the walls of wine together, deep in discourse before each tasting, selecting bottles and a theme. Tasting nights vary from Passion for Pinot to Zealous for Zinfandel. Friends bring dishes for pairing—meats and barbecue sauce for the Zins, braised lamb for the Pinots.

The front of the shop hums minutes before each tasting: sparkling glassware, baskets of bread, piles of corks, bottles bagged and numbered. After Dowler shares history of the varietal and place, conversation bustles, noses dive into glasses, wine swirls, and pencils scrawl. Tasters score each wine, then discuss. Invariably exclamations of surprise and delight follow as each bottle is unveiled one by one.

Murray Koodish, a resident denizen of Great Wine Buys, offers three tips for taking up tasting:
1. Dive in. Be curious. Taste to travel and explore unusual regions and varietals—take a side trip to Sicily or Slovenia through wine.

2. Dish and sip by season. Wine and food pair perfectly, seasonally. In autumn, go local with an Oregon Pinot Noir; for winter holidays, savor sparkling.

3. Delegate a doyen. Find that friend, the one who alphabetizes their spice rack, and recruit. Each tasting group needs someone to take charge.