EST 2014
Bluebird Hill Cellars
NEWS
Great Northwest Wine January 18,2022
More than 70 Oregon wineries combined to enter 200 wines in the single-day judging. A public tasting featuring the top wines from the 29th annual wine competition is scheduled for March 11-13 at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville. Proceeds from the McMinnville Wine and Food Classic are presented to St. James Catholic School in downtown McMinnville. Admission to the festival is priced from $20 to $45, and tickets are non-refundable. Read more...
Double Gold McMinnville Wine Classic
Gold 2020 Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir
Sip Magazine is thrilled to announce the medalists of its tenth annual Best of the Northwest awards competition!
With the complete results releasing in the print issue in December, this collector’s edition showcases the winners of the grand tasting competition from wine, beer, spirits, cider and seltzer along with top Northwest beverage trends, locally focused restaurant and bars, libation destinations to visit plus much more.
Put out across the Pacific Northwest, from Montana to Southern Oregon, an open call for submissions brought in over 1200 submissions across all categories this year, an amazing showing again this year.
The submissions were sampled blind and judged by leading beverage industry experts, from master sommeliers and cicerones to certified spirit judges and cider buyers, who determined the top four medalists in each respective beverage category. Read more...
Bluebird Hill Cellars 2018 South Block Reserve Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
Intoxicating rose perfume, cinnamon spice, cherry and herbal notes on the nose. A darkly savory palate reveals oregano, white pepper, dark plum, spice, notes of Dr Pepper, minerality and a lingering citrus-flavored finish. $49; 75 cases
Hit The Beach, Valley And Desert In A Single Week With An Oregon Road Trip Forbes April 30, 2021
Further south in Monroe, one of the valley’s most inspiring successes is Bluebird Hill Cellars. The relatively small family-run operation started as a hobby vineyard less than a decade ago and, contrary to the accepted wisdom that older vines grow better grapes, is already producing a number of award-winning bottles with some scoring up to 94 points from Wine Enthusiast. Read more...
Monroe winery wins award for Pinot February 8, 2021
Results of the Wine Press Northwest Platinum Award competition were recently announced. Read more...
Northwest Pinot Noirs That Crossed the Bar in 2020 February 7, 2021
It's not always easy to get consensus on Pinot Noirs, but more than 20 crossed the 90-point bar for us in 2020. There were some surprises and some expected names that found themselves on top of our blind review. Our top ten included some expected names like Archery Summit and Panther Creek, but smaller operations also tasted their way to the top. South Willamette Valley's Bluebird Hill Cellars placed two wines in our top ten and two more that crossed the 90-point bar. Read more...
A Web of Buys
Oregon Wine Press December 1, 2020
Virtual tastings spin new avenues
By Paul Omundson
Before COVID-19 reared its head early this year the interesting novelty of virtual wine tastings was already an intriguing blip on Oregon’s wine scene. With Zoom and other audio- and web-conferencing platforms providing easy, real-time communications, it didn’t take long for wineries to realize a great tool to reward wine club members, entice new customers and empower wine sales reps with a new way to introduce new releases to out-of-state and international clients. Read more...
The Hedonistic Taster by L.M. Archer
November 24, 2020
A few Willamette Valley wines to help us all get through this surreal 2020 holiday season! Read More
Northwest Wine: Success stories continue to emerge for Pinot Noir
BY ERIC DEGERMAN GREAT NORTHWEST WINE
NOVEMBER 24, 2020
In the world of wine, Pinot Noir might be the most cherished, celebrated and debated.
There’s a charm and a siren’s call surrounding it. It presents myriad challenges for viticulturists and winemakers who will use polite terms such as “finicky” in public when they would rather use the coarse and colorful language of the vineyard and the cellar. Read More
SIP Magazine's ninth annual Best of the Northwest issue!
Out in November 2020, this issue will feature the top picks for wine, beer, spirits and cider the region has to offer. The top four winning submissions of each category will be awarded medals and the issue will also cover industry leaders, trends and products.
The beverages will be tasted blind, with a panel comprised of the Northwest’s top palates, judges and professionals, whose verdict we will relay onto the pages of the issue. Our goal is to provide our readers with unique and original content pertaining to the best of Northwest beverages and create an overall greater consumer awareness and appreciation of our area’s liquid assets. Read more...
Eugene Register Guard April 7, 2020
Oregon wineries adapt to social distancing
A taste of wine in the oddest places
Deep discounts, home deliveries, and virtual wine tastings. These are some of the ways that Oregon wineries are trying to keep their sales afloat in this era of sudden social distancing. It’s a transformative time, especially for the approximately 500 small, family-owned, artisan wineries in the state, which until now have relied almost entirely on the power of person-to-person encounters for marketing success.
Bluebird Hill Cellars 2018 Pinot Gris and Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir were Judges Picks in this years SIP NW Magazine "Best of the NW" competition. You can view the Awards issue by clicking here.
Oregon Wine Press November 1, 2019
Cellar Selects: November 2019
Pinot Noir: Vintage 2017
Bluebird Hill Cellars 2017 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
Subtly savory with earthy black tea, rustic wheat bread, anise and rose petal aromas. An enticingly bitter palate of tart cranberry, orange pith and black licorice is followed by a mouthwatering wash of refreshing acidity.
Capital Press September 12, 2019
ALPINE, Ore. — As wine hobbyists, Sue and Neil Shay were not originally planning to create a commercial vineyard when they bought their 6-acre property in 2010.
“We bought it for the view,” Sue said. “We were already wine hobbyists before we moved here, we have been making wine together since the early 2000s. We thought it would be a hobby vineyard and we’d grow wine from that, and sometime over the summer we knocked our heads together and decided to become a commercial winery.” Read more here...
Albany Democrat-Herald May 14, 2018
ALPINE – Neil and Sue Shay’s property in the foothills of the Coast Range seems straight out of a pastoral painting. The spread sits on a ridge, with views almost all around, and bluebirds and other feathered critters frequent the area.
Plus, it’s the perfect site for growing grapes, the couple said, and they’ve planted three acres of the fruit for pinot noir, chardonnay and other varieties of wine. Read more here...
The SavorNW Wine Awards are designed to showcase Northwest wines and promote awareness of Pacific Northwest wine regions. All wines are evaluated in a single-blind judging by some of the top wine professionals in the Northwest including wine writers, buyers and experts. Wines are scored under controlled conditions and are awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze awards based on judging consensus. Double Gold is awarded for a unanimous consensus of Gold among the judges and all Double Gold and Gold medal wines are eligible for Best of Class. Bluebird Hill Cellars was awarded the following medals in the 2018 competition:
-
Gold: 2016 Chardonnay
-
Silver: 2015 Pinot Noir
-
Silver: 2016 Walnut Ridge Pinot Gris
-
Bronze: 2016 Riesling (dessert wine)
(Newport, Oregon) – One of the state's most high profile wine competitions is centered not in wine country but on the Oregon coast. The 2018 Newport Seafood & Wine Festival Commercial Wine Competition took place early in February, in advance of the festival which is happening right now. The winners list is out...Also noteworthy was that Bluebird Hills Cellars out of the Willamette Valley came very close to winning with a stellar Chardonnay. Read the entire article here.
Pacific Northwest wineries won 213 gold medals in the 37th annual San Francisco International Wine Competition. This year's competition featured 6935 wines. Northwest states Oregon, Washington and Idaho combined for 793 entries, accounting for nearly 12 percent of the near-record field. Oregon entered more wines (407) than Washington (353), with 33 from Idaho. The Beaver State also earned the most medals (376). Bluebird Hill Cellars’ 2016 Chardonnay was awarded a gold medal and the Bluebird Hill Cellars 2015 Pinot Noir was awarded a bronze. PNW wine results from the 2018 San Francisco Chronicle judging can be found here.
Register Guard May 24, 2017
Boutique winemakers alight in Monroe hills
Neil and Sue Shay, longtime home winemakers, cultivate a quaint new local wine destination at Bluebird Hill Farm, B&B and Cellars
Click here to read the article.
Oregon Wine Press Cellar Selects November 1, 2016
Bluebird Hill Cellars 2014 Zenith Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
A classic Willamette Valley Pinot with notes of cherry and white pepper. Tart, savory and spicy notes blend beautifully with a hint of salinity, creating a light, bright wine with a long, flavorful finish.
Oregon Wine Press October 1, 2016
Feathering a new nest
The rich, dusty smell of pine needles warmed by a midday sun filled the air outside the white farmhouse, its high-peaked roof with three trim dormers standing against a massive blue sky. The view extends for miles, with two new vineyards on either side of the house —
Register Guard August 24, 2016
Now Tasting at Bluebird Hill Cellars
Local wine fans have a new stop to add to the northern Lane County tasting circuit — even if, technically, Bluebird Hill Cellarsand several Monroe-area winery neighbors are just over the line in Benton County.
The new winery, operated by Neil and Sue Shay in conjunction with their Bluebird Hill Farm bed and breakfast, sits on a hilltop near Alpine with sweeping forest and farmland views.
Click here to read the article.
Oregon Wines Fly Free on Alaska Airlines!
Did you know that Bluebird Hill Cellars wines fly free on Alaska Airlines? Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members may check one case of wine (6 or 12 bottles) for free on Alaska Airlines flights from Eugene, Medford, Portland, Redmond or Walla Walla, WA. To sweeten the deal, we invite you to enjoy a complimentary tasting when you show your in-bound boarding pass (paper or digital) and proof of your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan membership when you visit our tasting room.
Not an Alaska Airlines Mileage Member? It’s free and easy to sign up! Click here for more information on the Oregon Wines Fly Free program.
