Let’s Get Right Into It

Updates that apply to everyone are specific to no one. As owners of our land, we live the Willamette Valley wine growing season day by day. Our mission is to share, educate and entertain you with the trials, tribulations and overall agrarian endeavor of growing 35 acres of wine. We are living the dream, so you don’t have to.

The world of wine and winegrowing is often shrouded in mystery and obfuscation. In a word, byzantine. We endeavor to apply as much sunshine as any given topic will allow to answer the question, “What does that mean, and why should I care?”

Just What Exactly is a FLOG

We begin with the original term BLOG, which in old computer science parlance is a weB LOG, a BLOG. Then we applied that construct to farming, and created the Farming bLOG, the FLOG. And then there is a Cluster Pluck, but we are getting ahead of ourselves.

You Are Not Alone

“I strongly encourage readers to benefit from the delightfully scripted insights into viticulture and winemaking that form the "climate update" blog on Amalie Robert's website, charting the entire winery year.”
                          - ​David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate

"Dena Drews and Ernie Pink are in no hurry to release their wines. If you know the wines and how they age, it makes great sense for the buyer, but it’s a pretty amazing sacrifice on the part of the winery. The vineyard is located just outside of Dallas, at the western end of the Willamette Valley. Their 35 acres directly abut the legendary Freedom Hill vineyard, which should give an idea of the quality of this location. This is a very low-profile operation, by design, but the consistently high quality of its wines has earned it a loyal, almost secret-handshake following that goes back to when Drews and Pink set up shop in 1999. The winemaking here is decidedly low-impact, and the resulting wines are elegant, focused and understated, with the balance to age gracefully (hence the late release policy) and positively. There aren’t many “insider” wineries left in this increasingly popular and well-traveled region, but Amalie Robert definitely qualifies.”
                          - ​ Josh Raynolds, Vinous Media

Know Thyself

We discovered that you don't have to be crazy to grow Pinot Noir, but it helps. Rarely, if ever, in viniculture are things clearly organized by causation. Sometimes correlation, but more likely random events “block chained” together creating a specific outcome.

Do you want to learn more about this agrarian phrase: “Unfortunate yes, but not uncommon”? Do you have at least some vicarious desires? Did you know that the highly acclaimed film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was filmed in Oregon? Do you know the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

If you responded in the affirmative to any of these questions, then you may just be one of us. Subscribe to find out, it’s tongue firmly in cheek vinicultural literature. (Cancel anytime).