Experience

understanding the why

I have never been interested in selling a product. I am not a maker of things to be peddled.

I am not interested in buying products from other peddlers of things, be they small businesses or large corporations.

I did not decide to grow grapes and make wine because I think the world needs more stuff.

I did not develop a love of wine, nor do I drink it, because I was or am thirsty.

I grow wine because I love the experience of watching vines wake up after a long winter’s dormancy. The successive cycle of life, growth, death, and rebirth in the vineyard is a thrilling and consecutive reminder that our lives are full of struggles, successes, failures, and rebirths. I love the near magical transformation of somewhat one-dimensional grape juice that, through the natural action of some enterprising yeasts, creates a multidimensional culinary experience. I love the sound of cork as it leaves the bottle. I love the sound and sight of the wine as it pours into my wife’s glass, and I love sitting with her, appreciating the moment, while we watch the sunset over the vines together. These are not things that can be bought and consumed. They are experiences, laden with emotion, that will exist in memory for years to come.

Now, I realize not everyone has the experience or the life of a winegrower. But, my hope is to translate at least some of that experience into the wine itself. My hope is that when you have a bottle of RR Poet wine in your hands, that you feel something while appreciating the look and feel of the label, the sound of the cork coming out of the bottle, the sight and sound of the wine pouring out into your or your loved one’s glass, the multi-dimensional aromas and flavors as you drink. My hope is that your experience with the wine, and also whatever you are doing at the time - your experience apart from the wine - adds to your catalog of memorable moments in your life. If I contributed to a part of that for you, then I have succeeded in what I set out to do.

 
RR Poet Cork and Corkscrew
 

Aspect

ingredients of greatness

Great wines can be transcendent… capable of forging emotions that are filled with a deep sense of romance, joy, and even awe. These wines are experiences among themselves, and ones that those of us who love the craft aim to replicate over and over with each vintage and bottle. Great wines are formed not just of one thing, but many.

 

01.
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A distinctive site. Many vineyards can tell a story. But only a few have something distinctive to say that is compelling to listen to. PineBrake Vineyard, with its distinctive soils and location, tells a truly riveting tale. The selection of a great vineyard site is almost certainly the #1 factor in any great wine.

02.
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Control of the fruit. The basic ingredient of wine - grapes - can be highly variable in quality from grower to grower, even from within the same region. Without direct control of the vineyard, one has little control of the quality of fruit. At RR Poet, we control 100% of the fruit that goes into our wines from our estate vineyard.

03.
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Focus. Our offerings are limited, but they have received the scrutiny of our unending focus. We have limited our wines so that each of them can receive the attention needed for wines of distinction and greatness. This is our singular vision - to focus on what our vineyard does best, and from that, create the very best wines.

04.
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Control the process. From the first pruning in the vineyard, to the harvest, through the many months of barrel aging, through the blending and bottling, and finally to the packaging and delivery of every bottle to our customers… we are there. Everything that makes up the bottle that ends up in your hands was truly hand-made, 100%, by us: a true, Estate wine.