The last of winter and most of spring have gone by in a whirlwind. It does give us a great deal of satisfaction, however, when friends or regular visitors will stop by and say ‘Wow – I can’t believe how much has happened since last time I was here!!”. Working our way backward, this is what has been happening out in the vineyard:
1. Our new tractor and air-blast sprayer has been out and working in the vineyard. Our first few sprays have been mainly sulfur, to ensure that powdery mildew does not become an issue in the vineyard.
2. We’ve laid out all of the wire in the north and south blocks. We have a total of 110 rows of vines and now every row has four permanent wires and two ‘catch’ wires (which are raised up gradually during the season to keep all of our grapevine shoots vertically oriented). We estimate this to be about 38 miles of wire!!
3. Another 900+ vines went into the ground mid-April, bringing our estate total to ~ 3.25 acres planted at our high density 5’ x 5’ spacing (meaning, 5’ between the rows, and 5’ between vines within the rows). This year, a bunch more Chardonnay went into the ground and an array of Pinot noir clones went in to replace the dearly departed vines that did not make it through their first few seasons. We’re hoping that next spring will leave us with fewer than 25-50 vines to plant and that will fill in every empty space and replacement on the property! We have set up a drip irrigation system to water all of our new vines for the next year or two to make sure they thrive during the dry, sunny Oregon summer.
4. All the wooden end posts are now in the ground. This includes about 100-plus posts that were pounded into the south block, and eight more posts in the north block, allowing us to plant four more rows of Chardonnay at the top, northeast corner of the property. As mentioned above, miles and miles of wire was strung out in the front to complete the main support wiring system and a bit more were added in the rear block to convert the support wiring from the 3-wire system we installed in 2015, to the 4-wire system we installed this spring in the front block.
In the winery, we’ve bottled most of the 2016 whites and the 2016 Rosé. We can’t wait for guests to sample them all. We’re offering two white wine blends this year, a 2-wine blend of Chardonnay and Viognier and a 3-wine blend of Pinot gris, Viognier and Chardonnay. We’ve gotten a lot of compliments on these already (along with the Rosé) so we encourage you to come out early and check them out, along with our Chard and Gris. They’re going to be great hot-weather summer sippers... Dessert wines are ready too: including port-style Bing Cherry, dessert Riesling, and Blueberry-Pinot. The blueberries are NOT estate, but local, coming from the Anderson Blues Blueberry Farm just north of Corvallis. Finally, and last but not least, are the Pinots: it looks like the Oregon Wine Press-Cellar Select 2014 Zenith Vineyard Pinot noir is now sold out (the 2014 Barrel Select PN sold out over the winter!). Our new PN releases include the 2015 Willamette Valley Pinot, 2015 Zenith Vineyard Reserve, and 2015 Barrel Select. We recently tasted our 2016 Zenith Vineyard PN at the annual Zenith Vineyard Winemakers’ event and the general consensus was the 2016 is maturing well and is a good representation of the special Eola Hills terroir of Zenith.
As far as the upcoming tasting room season goes, we’re looking for a great season and have lined up many great events including a Solar Eclipse Brunch party, Yoga at the Vineyard, monthly Women and Wine Wednesdays, our second annual Pinot on the Patio in August and several other events including a separate wine and food trivia night. Check out the full list of events below.
We’re also accepting appointments for a limited number of special events this summer, for friends of the winery to be able to bring their friends and enjoy a special wine tasting or sunset dinner on the grounds. Depending on the event, we can easily take care of your party, from 4 to 24 people, depending on what you have in mind. So talk to us, and let’s work to help organize a memorable event for you and your friends, relatives, or co-workers!
UPCOMING EVENTS (Check our website for further details)
JUN14 Women & Wine Wednesday BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
WED 5:30 PM · 7:30 PM
Join us for an evening of Wine, Fun & Fashion on the Hill LuLaRoe Fashion with Rosey Gording and Jewelry by Jan - Inspired by nature, Jan's designs are bold, organic and tribal, with an earthy flair. . The choice of materials influences the design so many pieces are one of a kind. Tasting fee $10
JUN17 -18 Wine Club Pickup Weekend BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
SAT & SUN 12 PM - 5 PM
Wine Club members can stop by Bluebird Hill Cellars anytime June 17 or 18 between the hours of 12 and 5 pm to pickup their Wine Club allocation. We will have a complimentary food and wine pairing prepared exclusively for wine club members. Not a member of the club? We invite you to join our inner circle by becoming a member. As a wine club member, you'll receive exclusive benefits along with selections of our delicious wine to complement your meals, or for life's special moments when you sit down, relax, enjoy friends and a great glass of wine. Visit our website to join today.
JUN24 Yoga at the Vineyard Guest instructor Susan Goldberg BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
SAT 10:30 AM · 12:00 PM
Susan Goldberg will be our guest instructor. Please join us from 10:30 to 12:00 for the workshop on the lawn overlooking the vineyard followed by wine tasting. Tickets are $20 ($25 the day of the workshop) and attendance is limited to 20 participants. Call us at (541) 424-2478 or email info@bluebirdhillcellars.wine to reserve your spot. Susan (RYT 500) leaves her ego at the door when she teaches yoga. Her classes are powerful, playful, and heartfelt. She completed her 500 hour Vinyasa Flow training with Tracey Rich and Ganga White of the White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara California. She loves connecting with people and helping them to regain that sense of freedom and aliveness in their bodies, minds and spirits!
JUN28 Bluebird Hill Cellars Wine Tasting at SIXTEEN TONS|EUGENE
WED 5:30 PM · 8:00 PM
Sue will be joining Julia at 5:30 pm for a Facebook live Sip & Chat and then, from 6 to 8 pm, she will be pouring Bluebird Hill Cellars wines for your tasting pleasure. Hope to see you there!
JUL1 - 4 4th of July Barrel Tasting Weekend BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
SAT - TUES Noon to 5 pm
July 4th weekend: Along with our regular tastings, we will also feature barrel tasting of our 2016 Pinot noirs and Reserve Chardonnay. $10 tasting fee refundable with $25 purchase
JUL7 Bluebird Hill Cellars wine tasting BO'S WINE DEPOT|EUGENE
FRI 5 PM · 7 PM
JUL8 Yoga at the Vineyard with Guest instructor Jennifer Borgen Price BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
SAT 10:30 AM · 12 PM
JUL12 Women & Wine Wednesday BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
WED 5:30 PM · 7:30 PM
JUL15 - 16 Bluebird Hill Cellars Art on the Hill BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
SAT & SUN Noon to 5 PM
JUL22 Yoga at the Vineyard with Guest instructor Jennifer Borgen Price BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
SAT 10:30 AM · Noon
JUL29 Bluebird Hill Cellars at Philomath Uncorked DOWNTOWN|PHILOMATH
SAT 3 PM · 7 PM
AUG5 Yoga at the Vineyard with Guest instructor Susan Goldberg BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
SAT 10:30 AM · Noon
AUG9 Women and Wine Wednesday PAINT AND WINE|CORVALLIS
WED 5:30 PM · 8 PM
AUG12 Bluebird Hill Cellars Pinot on the Patio BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
SAT 5 PM · 8 PM
AUG19 Yoga at the Vineyard BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
SAT 10:30 AM · Noon
AUG21 Bluebird Hill Cellars Eclipse Watch Party BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
MON 9:30 AM · Noon
AUG25 Bluebird Hill Cellars/United Way Golf Outing DIAMOND WOODS GOLF COURSE|MONROE
FRI 1 PM · 6 PM
SEP6 Women and Wine Wednesday BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
WED 5:30 PM · 7:30 PM
SEP9 Sound Healing Yoga Workshop with guest instructor Kristen Rubis BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
SAT 10 AM · 12:30 PM
SEP10 Bluebird Hill Cellars Wine Club Picnic BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
SUN 4 PM · 7 PM
SEP16 Bluebird Hill Cellars at Rhapsody in the Vineyard DOWNTOWN|CORVALLIS
SAT 3:30 PM · 7 PM
OCT4 Women and Wine Wednesday BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
WED 5:30 PM · 7:30 PM
OCT7 - 8 Wine Club Pickup Weekend BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
SAT & SUN Noon to 5 PM
NOV17 Bluebird Hill Cellars wine tasting BO'S WINE DEPOT|EUGENE
FRI 5 PM · 7 PM
NOV18 - 19 Bluebird Hill Cellars Pre Thanksgiving Open House BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
SAT & SUN Noon to 5 PM
NOV24 - 26 Bluebird Hill Cellars Thanksgiving Open House BLUEBIRD HILL CELLARS|MONROE
FRI - SUN Noon to 5 PM
The winter and early spring was relatively cool and we did not experience the early bud-break that we did the past few seasons. However, the vines are looking really great and we are anticipating a great growing season and our biggest – and best – harvest ever. We’ll be really glad to see YOU soon at Bluebird Hill!
Cheers,
Neil & Sue Shay