The Dirt

It’s March 2001. Steve is nearly finished with the winemaking program at Fresno State and has an intriguing email exchange with Mike Etzel, Beaux Freres winery’s winemaker, who is hiring for an Assistant Winemaker. A month later, Steve and I, Laura (then fiancé, now wife to Steve), are on an airplane to Portland, Oregon for a weekend long interview with Mike Etzel.

If you know Mike Etzel and can imagine a 2 day long interview, you know it was epic. (I’m also telling this first person because I was along for Steve’s entire interview.) As the story goes, that fateful trip landed Steve his first job out of the winemaking program at Fresno State and so began our life in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.

Now to the epic part of the interview. If watching the teenage Etzel boys riding their dirt bikes through the property wasn’t the most original and stunning way to start an interview, you knew we were in for a wild ride: Tours of the winery, barrel tastings with young upstarts in the wine business stopping through like Josh Bergstrom and Ryan Harms, walking and driving around the vineyards with pop quizzes about clones, varietals, fruit trees and flora surrounding the vineyard and at the neighboring properties, appetizers prepared communally at Mike’s house on the property and all the negotiations that go into finding your perfect fit job, employee, employer, etc. It was a full, fun and exciting weekend!

From that interview, in addition to the dirt bikes, one of the things that stood out to me was the dirt. Whatever vineyard we were walking through, Mike would pick up a handful of dirt, smell it and wax on about all that went into having the best dirt. Huh? Dirt? Being that I knew very little about winemaking and growing at the time, I thought it was silly and Mike was just being a character.

I came to understand and Steve tried to explain, Mike is a character (in the best possible way) AND the character of this dirt was everything to winemaking. I’m still not sure I could smell the difference in the dirt, but without a doubt, I could see the difference and I especially see huge differences in the dirt at the Shea and Weber vineyards where Steve sources fruit. Now I know the dirt is what terroir and AVAs are all about and one of the many reasons why people make vineyard designated bottlings. All those reasons hold true for why Steve chose such distinctive vineyards so that you could truly taste the character of that precious dirt.

As I continue to be along for the ride on Steve’s winemaking adventure I see not only the character of Steve, his impeccable attention to detail, refined elegance, his big laugh and warm embrace, AND I see the character of the dirt in the grapes he sources. All of this character and the many experiences that went into developing said character translate so epically and beautifully into the wines that Steve makes today. I know you’ll agree, it’s all about the dirt…

Photos of the dirt by Shawn Linehan:
1. Shea Vineyard (Yamhill Carlton, Marine Sedimentary)
2. Weber Vineyard (Dundee Hills, Volcanic)