David vs.Goliath

Written By: Davis Picklesimer - Highlands Wine Shoppe | Issue: 2018/09 - September

In May of this year, I was speaking to the House Hosts for The Bascom’s

Collective Spirits.

The hosts were kind enough to open up their homes to guest chefs and winemakers to raise funds for The Bascom.

I intentionally served a small production wine and made the following statement, “Each year there is a wine discovered at Collective Spirits and this year I believe it will be this wine you are drinking now, Reference Point.”  The Oregon pinot noir did not fail me; feedback and orders were impressive for a wine no one had heard of the day before.

What is a small production wine? For Reference Point and Owner/Winemaker Mike Bell, 560 cases a year.  In comparison, Rombauer Chardonnay is close to 100,000 cases a year and Meiomi Pinot Noir is approaching 700,000 cases a year.

How can a small producer compete?  By making great wine and wearing all the hats needed to “find a way to survive.”

Mike stated, “It’s just me and friends with pick-up trucks who are willing to get dirty and help pick grapes.  My neighbors help and give guidance as well when I’m not in Oregon.”  Reference Point consists of almost two acres and produces both a Pinot Noir and a Pinot Noir Rose.

How did Mike decide to start such a challenging adventure?

“As a child, we lived in Washington State and on weekends traveled to the 15-acre vineyard my parents owned,” he said. “They would call this ‘family time’ but we worked both Saturday and Sunday and never received a paycheck.  We would laugh and say it was ‘slave labor.’”

Later in life, Mike and his father had a strained relationship.  Mike thought if he could make wine, they would reconcile over a bottle of wine.  Unfortunately, his father died within weeks of the first bottle being released.  Fortunately, Mike connected with his daughter through this process and the label is a joint painting the two of them created.

Being small, there is no marketing department, sales team, legal team or winemaking staff; Mike does it all.  This actually works to the wine’s advantage.  Mike has to keep the wine “natural” because he doesn’t have the funds or staffing to manipulate the wine.  Reference Point illustrates the characteristics of the region, climate that year and the property itself.  There is hazelnut farm nearby and you get a hint of hazelnut in the wine.  Each vintage is unique.  One could even say “it has a soul.”

What are the risks?

“You can spend a lot of money to make a little wine,” he said. “One bad year, I could be done.”

So, when you are enjoying a small production wine, it is the “blood, toil, tears and sweat” of someone who risks it all each year.  Let’s do our part and support them by trying their wine in a restaurant or local wine shop.

May our next glass of wine be together.