September 2021 Blog Post
We’re publishing this blog post to coincide with our ‘Play It Forward’ 2021 charity event. We’ve first offered this event in 2017 as a golf tournament and auction. As we’ve mentioned before, the event supports our local United Way with an emphasis on charitable organizations local to us here in south Benton County, such as the new Relief Nursery in Monroe which was organized by one of our favorite charitable organizations, the Old Mill Center of Corvallis. The online auction will run for nearly a full week, September 7-12. You can find the auction and register as a participant and bidder at www.32auctions.com/PlayItForward2021
VINEYARD UPDATE:
As we enter September, SO CLOSE to harvest!! No kidding, on August 31, we went out into the vineyard and collected our first sets of grapes for the analysis of sugar (which is increasing) and acidity (which is decreasing). These readings are showing us the grapes are still a few percentage points low in sugars, and a bit too tart. We are now predicting September 11 and 12 as our first pick dates of the season. If you are interested in being a harvest volunteer at Bluebird Hill, please contact us at the winery ASAP (email: info@bluebirdhillcellars.wine or 541-424-2478). As our ‘veteran’ volunteers are aware, we try to schedule most or all of our picks for weekend dates and start early in the morning to pick the grapes while they are still cool from the overnight low temperatures. Then, we all break, and lunch and a glass or two of wine is offered to all, before the wine staff take on the task of crushing the grapes in the afternoon. Usually, most volunteers leave after lunch, but occasionally, a few stay for the afternoon as well.
For those of you who do not know, the picking and crushing of fruit illustrates one of the first principles of winemaking. When we are making white or rosé wines, we destem and crush the fruit, and then press the fruit to make grape juice. What happens to the skin and seeds? We truck them out to the compost pile. The juices produced on the first day are then fermented, in either tanks or barrels, depending on the style of wine we are shooting for. For the case of red wines, the first day is just one step simpler: we destem and crush the fruit and drop this crushed red fruit into our one-ton fermentation bins. This mixture of juice, skin, and seeds is then fermented, usually for about 10-14 days, before pressing the newly-fermented wine off the skin and seeds.
Regarding the upcoming harvest, it is looking like we are perhaps a week or so ahead of the past few years. Despite those really hot days we had this summer, we believe the earlier harvest is more a function of the earlier bud break we had in the spring, rather than those few hot days we suffered through.
WINERY UPDATE:
About two weeks ago, we received a shipment of over 500 cases of wine bottles from our supplier, Pioneer Packaging. These bottles are earmarked for our 2019 red wines: all of our 2019 pinot noir, and our Syrah and Red Blend. So far, we have bottled the Syrah, and the Zenith Vineyard Reserve Pinot Noir. And we’re thrilled to be reporting to you, that based on what everyone has said after tasting them, these 2019 reds are going to be exceptional! We have been really pleased with our 2017 and 2018 Pinots, and right now we’re confident that our 2019s will be their equal, if not superior to them!! The Zenith PN we bottled last weekend is going to be an exceptional wine. We are planning to release the 2019s during the fall holidays of this year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but good news, we are planning to offer pre-release tastings of the 2019 Pinots over Labor Day weekend (see September Specials).
We are planning to offer outdoor tasting throughout the fall, either on the patio, with a warm firepit nearby, or on our porch where we can offer a cozy spot, protected from the wind, again with the heat provided by a propane space heater. So put a visit, or regular visits on your fall calendar, come out to Bluebird Hill and enjoy a flight or a glass, take in the view, and talk wine with Neil and Sue.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Pint Size Performance tickets on sale NOW for Sunday, September 12, 2021 from 12-3pm!
Bluebird Hill Cellars, OMP and Estrin & Eggers! Enjoy the gorgeous views and outstanding award winning 90+ points wines with the music of OMP violinist Jenny Estrin on violin/vocals, and guest musician Stephen Eggers on guitar/vocals Sunday, September 12 from 12-3pm in beautiful Alpine, Oregon just west of downtown Monroe! [must be 21+ to purchase and consume alcohol] Enjoy a Sunday afternoon of blues, old country, jazz, folk, originals, and a bit of bluegrass along with a few covers by the Beatles, Tom Waits, Neil Young and more! Every glass, bottle and case purchase of Bluebird Hill Cellars outstanding wines supports the mission, education and community programs of Oregon Mozart Players, thanks to Bluebird Hill Cellars!
Don't be shy in showing your support! OMP will receive $2/glass and $5/bottle from Bluebird Hill Cellars, benefiting OMP free youth education and community programming!
Enjoy food for purchase or pack your picnic basket! Bluebird Hill Cellars menu options (https://www.bluebirdhillcellars.wine/tasting-room-menu) for purchase. Patrons are welcome to bring their own food, whether it’s food form your favorite restaurant or a picnic basket to pair with the outstanding Bluebird Hill wines! [must be 21+ to purchase and consume alcohol]
12:00pm - 1:00pm | Check-in, purchase your Bluebird Hill Cellars 90 + points outstanding wines and enjoy the view! 1:00pm - 2:00pm | OMP Performance by Jenny Estrin and Stephen Eggers and “Drop-the-Needle!” for a chance to win wine tastings, OMP swag and more! 2:00pm - 3:00pm | Enjoy the view, order your wines to take with you and mix and mingle with the musicians and guests!
Tickets to this event will be sold by table with a set party total at $17.50/seat:
Two-Top Tables: $35 (4 Available)
Four-Top Tables: $70 (10 Available)
Six-Top Tables: $105 (3 Available)
**You must purchase a table for the listed amount of people due to limited capacity.
Unless tables are available for purchase at the time of the event, OMP will be unable to accommodate walk-up purchases for guaranteed seating.
Tickets for this event can be purchased here: https://oregonmozartplayers.us12.list-manage.com/.../clic...
Should you have questions, please contact the OMP Ticket Office at tickets@oregonmozartplayers.org
Labor Day Weekend 2021 September 3-6
Bluebird Hill Cellars will be open for Labor Day Weekend from 3-7 pm Friday and noon to 5 pm Saturday through Monday. Pack a picnic and unwind in the shade, Gus and Willie are waiting for you- - we have plenty of shady spots with vineyard and valley views and nice cold summer whites and rosés along with our award winning Chardonnays and Pinots.
We will also be offering two special wine flights for the holiday weekend-a flight of 6 pre-release reds and a flight of 4 library wines.
Downtown Corvallis Wine Walk November 6, 2021 3 to 7 pm
Presented by the Downtown Corvallis Association in collaboration with Downtown Corvallis Retailers and some of Oregon's premier wineries. Retailers throughout Downtown Corvallis will host Oregon wineries with representatives from each winery on hand to discuss their wines while offering samples of their finest vintages. Downtown businesses will provide delicious appetizers along with music and/or artwork by local artisans. Wine is also available for purchase by the bottle or case. Bluebird Hill Cellars will be pouring at Second Glance 312 SW 3rd St, Corvallis, OR 97333.
RECENT ACCOLADES
Our 2019 Chardonnay is rocking it!
Wine & Spirits Magazine/October 2021
Bluebird Hill Cellars 2019 Chardonnay, Willamette Valley
Truly fruity aromas offer pineapple, apricot, Meyer lemon, fresh lime and a note of spice. Meyer lemon encores alongside flavors of white pepper, minerality, salinity and a lengthy spiced orange finish. $32; 93 cases
September 2021 Sales and Specials:
-Rosé and Blanc de Pinot Noir: 20% off cases
-For the month of September only (except for our 2017 Willamette Valley Reserve Pinot Noir): Library Wines: 10% off
-2017 Willamette Valley Reserve Pinot Noir (Rated #1 out of 40 gold medal Pinots at the 2020 WinePress NW Platinum Competition): Was $69, now $59 for the month of September – (limit 3 bottles)
- 2018 Birdhouse Dessert Wine (Pinot Gris/Rainier Cherry Blend): 25% off six (Sale Price $90); 50% off twelve (Sale Price $120).
- 2018 Pinot Noir Sampler: 3 Each Flagship; and Mom’s, So. Block, and Zenith Reserve: (Retail $537 – now 15% off ($456)
We hope you make some plans to come out, if it is a bit of a trip to get to our place, make it worth your while, put together a picnic, organize your friends, and enjoy a couple of hours with us out in the south valley foothills. We’ll talk some wine talk and whatever else is on our minds!
Also, for those who live at a distance or those who still want to keep that social distance, we will continue to offer private and corporate group virtual tastings. We provide a fun and relaxed atmosphere to our virtual tastings and focus on tailoring the events to the needs and prior wine tasting experience of the group. Tastings may include a virtual tour of the vineyard and winery, with a focus on understanding the qualities and attributes of wines included in the experience. Interested? Just give us a call at (541) 424-2478 to discuss.
We know that we have a lot to be thankful for. It's all of you that make it possible for us to live our dreams every day. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Stay safe and healthy, and we hope to see you on the Hill in the near future!
Best always, Neil and Sue
