Talk Wine with Me: Rebecca Pittock-Shouldis of Ghost Hill Cellars

In this on-going interview series, I will introduce you to a different Oregon winemaker in the hopes that as you learn more about them, you'll also be interested in learning more about their wines. You might discover how and why they came to make wine, you may gain a better understanding of their palate and how it influences the wines they craft, you might get some great new ideas for what and where to eat, what to drink, or you might get a glimpse of the future. Whatever you take away, I hope includes a deeper appreciation for the notion that behind every bottle, behind every brand, behind every decorated or undecorated label, stands a person with a unique vision and a personality all their own. Let's step back and discover how those characteristics intertwine with and become that memorable wine in your glass.

Q. What was the first wine you ever drank?
A. This horrible little bottle of something red on the British Airways flight from San Francisco to France (via Heathrow) as I departed for my Junior year of High School as an exchange student. They asked if we wanted wine with our meal… so of course we all said yes…it was terrible! Thank goodness my host father in Arcachon, Gilbert, insisted on changing my mind about wine!

Q. What was the first wine you ever enjoyed?
A. I think it was a gradual process. Gilbert would put a little of red Bordeaux in my glass at dinner and then water it down. Each night he put a little more wine and a little less water until I was able to enjoy a small glass of wine with the family at the evening meal. It was important to him that I was able to understand and appreciate the role that wine played in their culture and their lives. I think the first night I had a glass of wine with no water was a life changing moment; even though I didn’t realize it at the time and wouldn’t see the impact of it until more than a decade later. Today I am so grateful for that experience and how it helped lead me to where I am today.

Q. Tell me about your aha wine moment. Either when you realized you wanted to make wine, or when you gained an understanding of the beauty and complexity wine offers.
A. See above… Other than that… maybe the night at a Rotary International dinner in a winery outside of Bordeaux when I realized that the wine I was drinking and that everyone was floored by was older than I was!  I wish I could remember what the wine was. But I do know that it was from 1973 and it was 1992 when we were drinking it

Q. What's your favorite part about being a winemaker?
A. Creating something that makes people happy. 

Q. What's your harvest kickoff soundtrack?
A. Changes every year… but I love to blast classical violin in the winery when there alone late at night.  The acoustics at Scott Paul Wines where I make the wines for Ghost Hill and Gypsy Dancer (and my own) are incredible. It is really a sanctuary; Kelley Fox (of Scott Paul Wines) and I often refer to it as "the Cathedral." 

Q. What is your favorite food and wine pairing?
A. Ghost Hill Cellars Pinot Noir Blanc or WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Blanc and fresh oysters either from OR or WA – favorites are the little Kumomotos or Shigokus from Washington or extra smalls from Netarts Bay in Oregon.

Q. You're celebrating the end of a busy week, what's your go-to drink?
A. BUBBLES!  Even better if it’s a rosé champagne. One of my favorite go-to is the Rosé Champagne from Marc Chauvet imported by Scott Paul Imports.

Q. Full fridge or empty fridge?
A. It fluctuates a lot. This time of year it is pretty full with the great stuff coming out of my garden!  J  During harvest… you might find condiments. LOL

Q. Is there a wine you hate to love?
A. Barolo – Because great ones are so darn expensive!

Q. Is there a wine you love to hate?
A.  California Cabs – There is always an exception to the rule… but high alcohol, over extracted and over-oaked Cabernet Sauvignon is not something I enjoy at all; that and over-oaked Chardonnay are two things I can’t stand.

Q. What's your guilty pleasure?
A.  Scotch – neat, and the older the better.

Q. What are you working on right now that excites you?
A. Finally releasing my own brand! I'll be releasing a Syrah from the North Willamette Valley and a Viognier from the Applegate Valley. The brand is “A La Main” (pronounced “a la man” – which means “to be done by hand”). It should be available for purchase in July.

Q. Favorite wine - variety, region or brand.
A. This is tough! It depends on SO many factors and variables. I have always loved the Alliette Pinot Noir from Willakenzie, and that started way BEFORE Thibaud.  ;)  I have a strong adoration for the lovely Rosés from the south of France and am inspired by true cool climate Syrah, such as the incredible ones from the N. Rhone Valley. In truth, my favorite wine is the one I am drinking at any given moment with family and friends that will forever be cherished for both the memories it will leave imprinted on my heart and then brought back each time that wine is enjoyed again.

Ghost Hill Cellars, in the Yamhill Carlton AVA is owned by the Bayliss-Bower family. 15 acres of Pinot Noir is planted on Willakenzie soil to produce in what is my opinion to be some of the region's finest and most elegant estate wines. In 2005, Rebecca Pittock-Shouldis, winemaker for Ghost Hill Cellars, Gypsy Dancer and now her own label A La Main, left a career as an F-15 aviation technician with the National Guard, to pursue a her passion for making wine. According to Rebecca, "Pinot Noir should be listened to  and gently encouraged to reveal its beautiful, haunting and ethereal flavors." A busy mother and winemaker, read more about Rebecca here in 1859 Magazine.

Talk Wine with Me: Jason Brumley of Xylem Wines

This new series of articles will expose a side of the winemaker you don't often see—their up-close and personal side. The purpose is for you to learn a little more about each winemaker's philosophy.You might discover how and why they came to make wine, you may gain a better understanding of their palates and how it influences the wines the make, you might just get some great new ideas for what to eat and what to drink or you might get a glimpse of the future. Whatever you do take away, I hope it includes further developing an appreciation for the notion that behind every bottle, behind every brand, behind every decorated and undecorated label, stands a person with a unique vision and a personality all their own, and how these individual characteristics intertwine with and become the wine in your glass. 

Q. What was your "Aha moment"?
A. I had worked in restaurants for 15 years and had been the wine steward for a French bistro in Oklahoma City (yes, there's a French bistro in Oklahoma City) for a few of those years when my girlfriend (now wife), Cokie Anderson, and I took a trip through the Willamette Valley and then over to the coast. I had already been playing around with the notion of finding a spot in Oklahoma that might be suitable for growing a few grapevines and making a little wine (nothing commercial mind you), so that seed was sort of already planted. The beauty of the Willamette Valley itself, the wines produced here, and the communal spirit of those involved in the winemaking industry in northwest Oregon spoke to my soul in a way that nothing ever really had. I knew that I had finally found a calling. As we sat in a hotel room looking out at the Pacific Ocean and listening to the sound of the crashing waves come through the open window, I turned to Cokie and said, "I'm moving out here to make wine and you can come with me if you would like." We flew back out 3 weeks later and began looking for a house to buy in McMinnville. 

That's about as "Aha!" as it gets. 

Q. What is your favorite part about being a winemaker? 
A. I've always liked telling and reading stories and each bottle of wine that we make tells a story of vineyard, varietal, and vintage if you listen to it. 

Q. What is your harvest kickoff soundtrack? 
A. I'm a Grateful Dead fan and my best friend and business partner in the vineyard and winery, Forrest Schaad, and I began a little project a few years ago of listening to every live Grateful Dead show in chronological order that is available on archive.org (no repeats of the same show). So, whatever show is next in line when harvest begins will be the kickoff soundtrack. It will likely be a show somewhere in the winter of 1970 or 1971.

Q. What is your favorite food and wine pairing?
A. I love rich shellfish and a good acid-driven Chardonnay. Chardonnay is always the wine that I choose when asked the "You're on a desert island..." question. I figure that a desert island should have plenty of seafood around and there's nothing better than Chardonnay to pair with varying types of seafood.

Q. Right now: Eempty or full fridge?
A. My fridge is currently full of fresh local berries, veggies, and mushrooms. We try to eat locally and support as many small farmers in the area as possible. The communal spirit of the area extends out, not only in the wine industry, but in so many other facets of our life. It's such a privilege to have such diversity available withing such a small radius of where we live.  

Q. What wine do you hate to love?
A. I may get berated for this, but I actually like certain wines with a bit of brettanomyces. Not all wines play well with brett, but some are quite intriguing with it. I believe that we have moved into a realm of such clean and pure wines that many of them are technically great, but lack that "je ne sais quoi" that I often enjoy.

Q. What wine do you love to hate?
A. White Zinfandel...'nuff said.

Q. What is your guilty pleasure (one you'll admit here)?
A. I'm a hedonist, so guilt and pleasure don't exist in the same realm. If I feel guilty about it, then it's not pleasurable. 

Q. What are working on right now that truly excites you? 
A. The vineyard is absolute excitement for me. Forrest and I have been working together on this piece of property in the Chehalem Mountains since 2009 and the young vines are just now coming online. More blocks will be coming on in future years and I cannot wait to taste the fruit and wines from those vines. 

Q. What is your favorite varietal? 
A. Chardonnay!!! Some day, I hope to establish a vineyard and a label that is nothing but Chardonnay. I want to buy an old church and have it moved, re-built, and converted into a winery on top of a hill that overlooks the vines. I will call it 'The First Church of the Eternal Chardonnay'. I will wash the sinful red stains of Pinot Noir from your soul and ye shall be pure again. 

Xylem Wines is a fully functioning, residence-based winery located in McMinnville, Oregon - in the heart of Oregon's wine country. It is the result of two friends sharing a passion for viticulture and winemaking, Jason Brumley and Forrest Schaad. The vineyards are located on Schaad's family estate in the Chehalem Mountain AVA, which was originally planted to fruits and nuts in the 1950's and then to vinifer in 1980. The winery is located in the Brumley residence. In 2012, Brumley and Schaad ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the winery and expansion of their vineyards. They are excitedly preparing for their second annual release at the end of June.