Wind River Cellars

Have you ever had so much to do that you sit down to organize what you have to do and before you know it you've done nothing and then you have even more to do? That's the kind of week I've had.

This week's highlights include dinner with Rick and Jody, the nice family from North Carolina, giving a brief dog and pony show at the Columbia Gorge visitor's association meeting and a visit from my old friend Julie and her husband Eric.

Rick and Jody manage Celilo Vineyard which grows our Chardonnay, Lemberger, Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris. Rick is one of the most respected growers in the biz and his wife Jody BBQs the best steak I have ever had. Luke (from Cor Cellars) also joined us. There's something about hanging out with Rick and Jody that makes me very, very thirsty the next morning. This morning was no exception. Jody must have put extra seasoning on my steak. I'm sure it wasn't the seven bottles of wine we consumed.

The Columbia Gorge Visitors Assoc. is yet another worthy organization that Kris is involved with. It seems that the organizations that I get involved with usually meet in bars or taverns and never accomplish a thing. The CGVA is made up of Resort managers, Chamber of Commerce personnel and business owners who depend on tourism. check out their website. Once again I'm blown away by how much there is to do here!

Get your foursome together for the Wind River Cellars Golf Scramble. I have a strange superstition where I pour Wind River Cellars Merlot on my balls. I've found this to improve my game for some reason. Titlist, Dunlop and all of the other golf ball manufacturers should consider selling golf balls with Merlot already rubbed on them.

Stay classy, Husum!

Joel

Summer is here! I appreciate all of you who called or emailed me to offer congrats for our 4 medals at the state fair. Kris and I are proud of our two silver and two bronze medals. I forget which wine won which award but I do know that we entered Tempranillo, Syrah, Viognier, and Lemberger.

We had a very busy weekend that started Friday. Craig and Christina stopped by on their way to Spokane. These two swingers have already signed up for the "Wind River Cellars Holiday in Mexico" package. (Dec. 15-Dec. 30) If you are interested in joining this fun group please contact us. Saturday's visitors included a nice couple from the Tri-cities, Donny, Dana, and Tori from the Seattle area, and the retired couple from Alaska

Today I did the Washington wine industry a huge favor and went golfing. How was that a favor you ask? Well, if I wouldn't have gone I would have had to work in the vineyard. It was 100 degrees and I could have suffered from severe thirst. This thirst could have made me too weak to enjoy the Two Mountains Lemberger that Kris and I poured tonight with dinner.

Speaking of golf, we're having the first Wind River Cellars Golf Tourny in July. This will include green fees, cart and dinner at the winery. Check the website for details because I lost the memo. By the way, I'm a really crappy golfer. To me it's a way to spend time with my two boys without really doing anything. Swing the stick, sit down, drive that silly little cart to your ball. Connor kicked my ass with a very solid 45. Adam claimed to have shot a 39 but he's only 6 and full of crap.

I think we have "White Water and Wine" trips to give away on our website. If you're fun, sign up for a chance to win.

You're the man, Husum.

Joel

Another busy week. Wednesday night Kris and I went to a concert in Vancouver and ran into several of our favorite tasting room guests. Small world. Yesterday I had a return visit from Cheryl, Brittany 1, Brittany 2 and Lindsay. These girls were fun and I always enjoy their visit. If you are a single, educated or employed, 24-28 years-old and have at least half of your teeth, give me a call and I'll set you up with one of these hotties. (Like anyone that matches that description reads this piece of crap blog.)

Yesterday I also had a visit from some very nice people from Florida. I sent them down to the wine bar in Bingen and happen to run into them later. Kris and I had dinner with them at Viento Restaurant. This is my favorite part of what I do. Meeting people from all over the world. When they were using the restrooms Kris and I rifled through their belongings and got their credit card numbers. Just before the bill came Kris and I ran out the door. Another free meal at the expense of tourists.

Today I was reminded of what summertime in the gorge is like. The weather is nice and there are lots of visitors. I'm enjoying the fact that people are starting to figure out that if they read this piece of literary crap before they visit they can come up to me, give the code and recieve vast gifts and prizes. Or at least a barrel tasting.

This week's code is "Hi handsome, would you rub some sunscreen on my shoulders?"

You're sexy, Husum!

Joel
joel@windrivercellars.com

I must be brief. You haven't heard from me for a few days because I've been busy. We had a great day Saturday in the tasting room for our "Running with the bulls Tempanillo celebration". This is going to be a fun event in the future. I very much enjoyed the people from Illinois and I had an awesome time with the White Water & Wine group Saturday night. We danced to the soothing tones of Abba, Bee Gees and AC/DC. You guys call the next time you're coming out. I promise to show you an even better time.

Sunday for Father's Day I went to Portland to watch my son's baseball game. I ran into an old boss of mine from my old Gallo Winery days. His kid's team kicked our asses like red headed step-children but the kids on our team are the real winners. They get to come home to the Gorge. Bob was definitely one of the best bosses I ever had. Wind River Cellars might not be here without him. Bob, I have a confession. Do you remember that one time when I told you that I contracted a rare form of jungle fever and would be out for a few days and I wrote off an expensive lunch on my way home from the hospital? Well, I expensed drinks for two people and it was really just me. I know that you were just thankful for my recovery.

Joel has to go now. He's got wine to make and people to pleasure. Stay classy, Husum!

joel@windrivercellars.com

This is a great time to come for a visit. Put together a festive group and I'll fire up my new hot dog machine.

Friday already? This week has gone by quickly. Monday I was visited by one of my favorite wine industry people. Bob Larkowski, from Cascade Cliffs Vineyard & Winery, stopped by with his little boy, John. Bob is especially close to Kris and I because we both started about the same time ten years ago before all of the mid life crisis wineries began to pop up. We have always referred to Bob as "Cliff", as in Cascade Cliffs. "Hi, I'm Cascade Cliff." Anyway, Cliff and us have been through many ups and downs together in the last ten years. We laugh now at the times we would scrape through the ashtrays of our vehicles to try and find enough money to put in our gas tanks so that we could drive to Seattle to sell enough wine to make mortgage. I'm glad Bob is my friend. Cliff also makes some good Barbera and Nebiolo.

My kids are out of school for the summer so its back to kayaking, kite boarding and golfing. They are about to find out what the ass crack of the vineyard business looks like. Hopefully, your kids will someday be drinking the wine that Connor and Adam make.

Tonight some of the other local wine industry people are coming over for a pod cast party. I don't know what that is but I know there will be live music, hotdogs and wine. This weekend we're hosting a Tempranillo celebration that promises to be a good time. I look forward to seeing you here.

You complete me, Husum.

Once again, I feared for my life yesterday. Another bachelorette party visited the winery. I was all by myself when these eight beautiful women began tasting through the twelve wines I had available for sampling. I was scared that they would attack me so I just did what they asked. They wanted to do a barrel tasting so I took them into the cellar. This could have been very dangerous for me. Being the only man there, I could feel their eyes staring at me like I was the last piece of beefcake pie. I sensed their lust and it made me feel dirty and violated. Fortunately, they had a schedule that they had to keep and had to leave. If any of you know of a support group for victims like me I would love to hear from you.

Last evening I was treated to incredible BBQ from Marc and Robb. Hey, wouldn't it be really cool if these guys opened a BBQ restaurant right here in Husum? (wink, wink.) Robb has a BBQ restaurant in New Mexico and has a legendary reputation. Check out www.robbsribbs.com. Marc has a wine shop and restaurant in Camas. If they were to open a restaurant here in Husum it would probably open around August 1st and focus on BBQ. Also, if they were to open this restaurant, it would probably have a nice selection of local wines and great beers on tap.

Today I'm going to take it easy and get ready for a busy week. I'm still shaken up over yesterday's close call.

Have a Husum day.

Joel

The weather is back! Folks are rafting, kites are back in the air, and parking is harder to find in Hood River. Yesterday the Columbia Gorge Wine Growers Association put on some wait staff training. The first session was at Gorge Wine Merchants in Bingen. A handful of local wineries showed up to promote their wines to waitstaff servers in the area. The second session was at Celilo Restaurant in Hood River. Celilo is yet another great dining option here in the Gorge. Between the two sessions I hung out at the Kayak Shed in HR. My friend, John Hart owns this place and my kids love to go in every chance they get. On this particular day I was by myself and John wasn't really busy so we tried on women's clothes. John is an Autumn so the Earth tones really highlighted his features. John made me promise not to tell his wife, Jennifer. John's life revolves around his wife and she doesn't know about his other life. When our friend Moria walked in we were caught. Moria has the cool business called po-cards. Those are the free postcards available around town.

Today there's a very cool event here at the winery called "RiverFest". It is put on by the local river community and will have activities throughout the day centered around the most beautiful river in the world. I have to go now. They need sound for the dvd projector.

John- if she really loves you she'll understand.

Stay Classy, Husum!

Joel

What in the world happened to the weather we had a few weeks ago? I've been spending too much time working instead of being outdoors recreating.

This weekend has been busy but uneventful, with the exception of some very fun guests. Friday I had the pleasure of a visit from Luke Bradford who owns Cor Cellars, in Lyle. Luke use to work for us a few years ago until he flew the nest and started his own gig. The next time you visit Wind River Cellars save some time to pay Luke a visit. I'm excited about his vision. He's off to a great start with some very nice wines. After Luke left we got a visit from our website designer. Tonya Furman has more design talent in her trash can than I will ever have. I know that everyone has a friend that does web design but if you need some quality work give her a call. The bad thing about Tonya is that she's always trying to get me to link to these sick porn sites. She says that it will broaden our market.

We also had a bachelorette party pay us a visit yesterday. I felt very vulnerable and threatened. I was working all by myself when these ladies came in. I can almost imagine what that poor dancer felt like at the Duke Lacross party. Luckily, I didn't have to use my mace.

I you would like to be heard on my blog please email me at joel@windrivercellars.com. I've been getting hundreds of emails a day from people responding to this blog so if I don't get back to you right away, I'm sorry.

Stay classy, Husum.

Joel

I'm still pouring wine in my sleep and the Vegas girls won't leave me alone. Today, with the help of my trusty cellar master, Dan, I bottled some kick ass Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. During bottling I will sometimes pour a sample and imagine how it would taste if it was on my dinner table. While I was imagining, the Vegas show girls knocked my glass over. (If you don't understand check my previous blog.) This Pinot Noir has already won a nice award in a competition that included MANY Oregon Pinot Noirs. Speaking of awards, recently at the Northwest Wine Summit, we received four medals. Not bad considering we only entered four wines. What I'm even more excited about is that a few of the other Gorge wineries also did very well, including Maryhill who won "Best of Show". I just wish that these other wineries gave a flying crap about each other's accomplishments. For whatever it's worth, I'm proud of them, even if they don't see the big picture.

School is almost out and you really need to haul those kids to Husum for some family fun. www.haveahusumday.com has all the info you need. I'll be sure the Vegas gals are hidden.

Word to your mother,

Joel