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ON TOUR WITH THE WIZ
By Jim Gullo
He answers to Wayne. And Wayne the Wine Wizard. And The Wiz. Mostly to Wayne; no last names needed. He has a picture of himself in a crazy wizard's outfit brandishing an absolutely enormous glass of wine. He makes videos about wine that appear on WineUpTV.com, his own channel, and he is about to open a wine shop in a hip Portland neighborhood.
Wayne has more energy than any two of us. He's kind of an idea man.
But that isn't the best thing that Wayne does. The best thing comes late in our tour -Wayne also gives fabulous Oregon wine country tours - when we're driving down a backroad outside of Carlton. There are six people in the van - a couple from Chicago, a couple from Salem, The Wiz and me - all having a good time and well-lubed with wine samples when Wayne turns to us, says, "You'd never find this on your own," and makes a hard right. The best thing that Wayne does is drive us straight up an unmarked, gravel road to a winery that we didn't know existed.
The couple from Chicago are Joe and Antonine. He uses a wheelchair and was worried that he couldn't find a tour operator to accommodate him, but Wayne promptly answered all of his e-mails and he can't wait for the tour. Wayne meets us at 10 a.m. at the Allison Inn in Newberg (he also picks people up in Portland, and drops them off there, too, he's quick to point out), and fifteen minutes later we're sitting on the patio of The Four Graces in Dundee sipping Pinot Gris. Everyone can tell how the day will go when they comp our tasting fees and pull out some limited-production Pinot Noirs. The couples go inside and buy their first bottles of the day.
Joe from Chicago sighs as we pull up to the second stop, Archery Summit. "Look at this. Could it be more beautiful?" he asks. He's relieved because the wheelchair pops in and out of the van easily, Wayne handles all of the transfers cheerfully and the places we're visiting are all wheelchair-accessible. Archery is no different: They open the door to the underground caves, and we're suddenly out of the sunlight and into long, cool corridors lined with barrels. Everyone oohs and aahs over the dark barrel rooms. The couples love Archery's rich, lush pinots and buy more wine.
Back in the sunlight, on the patio with sweeping views of the valley below, Wayne runs to the van and comes back with his trademark appetizer platters: Bread, cheese, smoked salmon, figs, dates, berries, nuts and banana bread that he baked himself. More oohing and aahing ensues as we dive into the food; Wayne sits with us and rattles off stats and historical info on the Valley and the Oregon wine industry. And he lets the people talk about themselves and just sit quietly to enjoy the views.
We make a quick side trip to DePonte Cellars because I know the winemaker, Isabelle, and you have to try their Melon white. Everybody gets tastes of her 1789 Pinot Noir. By 12:45 we're at Domaine Serene, our fourth winery, for a private tour and tasting that Wayne arranged.
"My job is to be an educator of people," says Wayne as we sit on the back patio and admire the green lawns and views from DS. "Look at this, it's beautiful. This is my office."
Then he leans closer and shares a confidence. "I want to buy a Winnebago, paint it purple and call it the Wine-a-Bago," he confides. "Drive it around. Won't that be incredible?"
I smack my head in exasperation. Why didn't I think of that?
Several samples later, the group is now beyond congenial, bordering on outright chummy. "This is exactly what I hoped for," gushes Joe from Chicago. "Great wines and beautiful places." He thanks Wayne again for setting the whole thing up.
There is some time to kill before the next appointment, so Wayne says, "Anyone want to see the Spruce Goose?" And we turn down Highway 18 headed for McMinnville and the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, which is the permanent home of Howard Hughes's massive Spruce Goose plane, the largest propeller-driven aircraft ever built. The couples scatter to buy lunch at the museum snack bar or climb up to the mezzanine for better photo ops of The Goose.
At 3 p.m., right on schedule, we're back in the van and Wayne makes that mysterious right turn up the gravel road. Sheep are grazing on the hillside and we see the flop of wings of turkey vultures chewing on something in the field. We are at Soter Vineyards, where Tony Soter has built a gorgeous tasting room that looks like a Shaker barn with floor-to-ceiling windows that slide open on cool days, and a long, wooden table for a dozen people. Two dogs greet us with balls in mouth, wanting to play fetch, but instead, we go inside and fetch samples of Soter's Mineral Springs Ranch Pinot Noirs, Brut Rose and a big red blend from California grapes. All delicious, and a true find in so many ways.
But there's more. Wayne has an appointment for us at Cana's Feast in Carlton. We head there, take over another patio, and at 5:30 at night we're still there, finishing off the appetizer platters on the patio that overlooks olive trees, playing bocce on the winery's courts and sipping their Sangiovese Reserve and Syrah. If anyone is keeping score, and by now none of us are, that makes six wineries on a tour that is going on eight hours.
When Wayne drives us back to Newberg he blasts a tape of Cake covering "I Will Survive." Hums along and beats time on the steering wheel.
That would make great background music for the Wine-a-Bago, I figure.
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TOURS
Wayne the Wine Wizard's Oregon Wine Tours and Tasting (503-616-1918) are available most days of the year and can accommodate up to 13 passengers. Wayne will tailor tours to meet guests' wishes if there are specific wineries or types of wine to try. Tours begin in either Portland or a central spot in wine country and generally last from six to eight hours. The tour described above costs $125/passenger and includes appetizers; although Wayne doesn't guarantee that tasting fees at the wineries are included, many wineries waive tasting fees for tour guests.
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