After King Estate Winery was attacked by Goal One Coalition for the approval to operate their full-service restaurant and host special events, King Estate decided it was time to find a permanent solution to allow their restaurant and winery to co-exist. With this came the creation of House Bill 3280 and Senate Bill 829, sponsored by local representatives, Representative Paul Holvey and Senator Floyd Prozanski. Here is a letter from Mr. Ed King, founder of King Estate Winery that we would like to share with you about House Bill 3280 and Senate Bill 829. At the end, if you agree with Mr. King there is a link to a petition that you can sign to show your support.

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Ed King

To show your support of King Estate Winery, House Bill 3280 and Senate Bill 829, and to local farmers in Lane County, Oregon, please sign this petition.

25 April 2011 – Bend, Oregon– Deschutes Brewery and Boulevard Brewing Company today announced that they will release two versions of a new collaboration beer later this summer. The style, which is described by brewmasters Steven Pauwels of Boulevard and Larry Sidor of Deschutes as a White I.P.A., combines Boulevard’s expertise in making Belgian-style witbiers with Deschutes’ mastery in brewing hop-forward ales. The ale will be made at both breweries and released simultaneously throughout each of their distribution territories.

“To say we’re excited about working with Deschutes on this project would be an understatement,” said Pauwels. “We have a lot of respect for Larry and his team, and we look forward to sharing our knowledge with them through the collaborative process.”

Pauwels and Sidor began exploring the idea of brewing together after crossing paths several times at craft beer events around the country. The brewers discovered they had much in common in their brewing philosophies, both pushing the envelope whenever possible, yet remaining dedicated to the time-honored traditions that keep them consistent and grounded.

“It will be interesting to see how similar the brews turn out despite being brewed more than 1,600 miles apart,” said Sidor. “That’s part of the fun of working together with a brewery like Boulevard. We both use the latest technologies but also stay true to traditional brewing ingredients and methods.”

Despite both beers being characterized as White I.P.A.s, there will be differences in packaging and in how they will ultimately taste. Brewed at their Bend, Oregon facility, Deschutes’ version will be the second beer in their new Conflux collaboration series and will be distributed throughout their 18-state region in kegs and 22-ounce bottles. Their first collaboration, brewed with Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, is still aging in wood barrels.

Boulevard’s version, christened Collaboration No. 2, will be distributed throughout their 20-state region as part of the Smokestack Series seasonal lineup in kegs and 750ml bottles. The brewery’s first collaboration, a partnership with distinguished Belgian brewer Jean-Marie Rock, was released in January of 2010.

Ed King of King Estate Winery with a raptor from their raptor program. Photo by Mutineer Photog Ian Andreae

By Michael Reeder as seen in the The Register-Guard

Lane County boasts Oregon’s largest winery and the nation’s largest contiguous certified organic vineyard: King Estate Winery. Visitors from around the world visit King Estate to taste Oregon food and King Estate wine, pouring much-needed tourist dollars into the local and state economy.

However, the Goal One Coalition, a special interest group with headquarters outside Lane County, recently appealed Lane County’s decision authorizing King Estate to operate a full-service restaurant and host various special events such as weddings.

If successful, Goal One’s appeal would eliminate more than 100 restaurant and hospitality jobs, wiping out an annual payroll of $1.7 million. It would also hamstring King Estate’s efforts to sell its wine to national and international markets.

The restaurant and special events are critical components of an effective marketing platform that creates a unique experience for out-of-state visitors who often become loyal customers of King Estate wine. Reversing Lane County’s decision would put King Estate at a competitive disadvantage with California and Washington winemakers who also market their wines through restaurants and special events.

Goal One’s stated mission “is to engage Oregon citizens in the project of rising to the twin challenges of peak oil and climate change.” It is difficult to understand how it serves Goal One’s purposes to oppose a restaurant that serves locally grown, organic food and wine.

Apparently not satisfied with its appeal of Lane County’s approval of King Estate’s restaurant and special events, Goal One board member, Bob Emmons launched a vitriolic attack on King Estate’s owner Ed King in The Register-Guard’s March 20 Commentary section. For example, Emmons made the ridiculous assertion that King Estate was getting a “free ride” from Lane County. What was Emmons’ support for this unfounded statement? Emmons claimed that Lane County has not collected any land use fees from Ed King, thereby foregoing “thousand of dollars.”

Emmons unsupported comments are simply wrong. In 2009, King Estate paid Lane County the customary $2,610 filing fee for its special use permit application. Had King Estate been required to apply for a special use permit back in 1991, as seems to be Emmons’ position, the cost to apply to Lane County for the permit would not have been “thousands of dollars,” but $480.

To be sure, King Estate is not seeking to avoid paying its fair share or looking for a “free ride.” In 2010 alone, King Estate paid $122,000 in property taxes, $494,000 in state and federal excise taxes, and donated $80,000 to more than 200 charitable organizations.

Emmons goes on to suggest that the restaurant and special events, if permitted to continue, would somehow harm farmland and Oregon’s wine industry. Emmons’ comments are reflective of a myopic vision of Oregon agriculture held by a small and extreme group of ideologues bent on keeping Oregon farms stuck in 1973 (the year Oregon lawmakers adopted the statewide planning system).

To the contrary, King Estate has been a major boon to local agriculture. Prior to 1991, the King Estate property was a hay field outside of Lorane. Today, King Estate employs more than 200 people (excluding seasonal workers) with an annual payroll of about $5 million. As much as possible, King Estate purchases locally grown produce, meat and dairy products from mostly organic farms and vendors, supporting Oregon’s agricultural economy.

Neither Goal One nor the Oregon Department of Agriculture has identified a single instance where the restaurant or special events have conflicted with farming or forest practices. No neighbor has complained to either King Estate or Lane County. King Estate has received all required health and safety permits for the winery and the restaurant.

Emmons suggests that King Estate is required to seek a special use permit for the winery itself and that King Estate has knowingly evaded this alleged requirement. However, Lane County approved the winery in 1991, and has since approved additional building permits for the winery. At no time has Lane County suggested that King Estate must apply for a land use permit for the winery. Emmons’ theory rests on a tortured view of current law regarding wineries. Emmons has not pointed to any Oregon county, state agency or court that has taken such a position.

Immediately following The Register-Guard’s reporting of Goal One’s appeal, there was an outpouring of support for King Estate and outrage directed at Goal One. This is not surprising, since King Estate was named the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce 2010 Business of the Year, according to Chamber President Dave Hauser, “because of its focus on the triple bottom line of sustainability — financial, social and the environment.”

King Estate is an asset to our community that neither asks for nor receives special consideration from Lane County government. I am proud to represent King Estate, one of Lane County’s thriving, ethical and environmentally sensitive businesses and Oregon’s flagship winery.

Michael Reeder is a shareholder with the Eugene law firm Arnold Gallagher Percell Roberts & Potter, P.C.

King Estate Winery’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made from 100% recycled tin foils from their Signature Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Muscat, and Chardonnay.

These most mutinous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were made by Marcus L., the Lab Manager who runs the quality control and quality assurance programs at King Estate. Rumor has it there is one of SpongeBob Square Pants floating around as well.

From left to right: Donatello (Don), Raphael (Raph), Michaelangelo (Mikey), Leonardo (Leo)

I’m a huge fan of Deschutes Brewery from Bend, Oregon and as a craft beer addict, I am thankful for having always had a plentiful supply of their spectacular brews since I was of legal drinking age. I’ve also been fortunate enough to meet the extraordinary people behind their award winning brews and it’s a simple case of great people making great beer. As mentioned, they are from Oregon and one of the really cool things I continually see with Deschutes is their connection with Oregon and it’s more than just the place they are from. You can see Oregon in the names of their beers, in their labels, in the inspiration of each of their unique and exciting beers.

Below is a video for Deschutes that was created by their advertising agency that I really liked and I wanted to share with you. I must point out, however, that there is a very brief moment (one second) of partial female nudity around 3:15, so please be mindful of that. I think it’s a very cool video that captures a lot of the soul that is Deschutes and it also shows some of the inspirations behind their very cool labels. With that said, enjoy.

That’s right! For the longest time we all thought it was impossible to have affordable Pinot Noir, but it seems there are just a few people out there looking to defy the very laws of physics. I remember, less than a year ago, meeting an Oregon Pinot producer and having a quick chat about how I was looking for inexpensive Pinot Noir; ones under $15. She quickly responded to me “Yeah, but would you actually want to drink them?”

I think this statement pretty well demonstrats the mindset of a lot of Pinot Noir producers everywhere, that they’re doing something so difficult that it’s impossible to producer an affordable bottle of Pinot Noir that’s drinkable. I’m not trying to say it’s easy to make Pinot, but why should it be be that you can find $5-$15 bottlings of virtually every grape in the world but not Pinot Noir; is it in fact the most special grape in the world?

Pinot is special indeed, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be affordable, and I’ve recently discovered a line-up of wines from Union Wine Company of Oregon that are out to prove it. Continue Reading »

As reported today on Deschutes Brewery’s Facebook page, the always merry crew at Deschutes is in the process of hand waxing bottles of The Dissident, their barrel aged sour brown ale. After having spent almost two years in barrels with the addition of brettanomyces and lactobacillus, as well as whole western Washington cherries, Deschutes’ “most expensively pampered” beer is just eight days from being released. Their only wild yeast beer, The Dissident will be released on November 19th at both the Bend and Portland Deschutes locations after 11am with a limit of six 22 ounce bottles per person before being distributed through most all of Deschutes’ distribution channels. Continue Reading »

Pelican Pub and Brewery, a wonderfully hidden gem on the Pacific coast in Oregon’s beautiful Pacific City, is making waves of their own with the release of Mother of All Storms. The third release of this beer, it was known as The Perfect Storm for its inaugural release in 2008 and the following release in 2009 before changing its name to Mother of All Storms for the 2010 vintage. Continue Reading »