For the last nine years, I’ve dedicated myself to introducing people to amazing small producers of Oregon wine. At Cellar 503, we’ve featured over 425 wines from 200 wineries — and along the way, helped wine lovers and winemakers weather a pandemic and grow the Oregon wine industry. (When we started there were about 400 wineries in Oregon — now there are nearly a thousand!)

Here’s the big news: I’m taking the next step — I’m opening a winery!

More on that in a moment, but first, I want to assure you that Cellar 503 is here to stay. Every month, we’re still going to pick great Oregon wines to share with you and we’ll be shipping them out and sharing them in the tasting room as we always have.  Cellar 503’s new owner, Robert Van Wyk, and his partner, Liz Wan, are dear friends and have even more experience in Oregon wine than I do — with decades of combined experience as winemakers, cellar rats, tasting room managers, and more. With a career centered in Southern Oregon wine, they’ve got the statewide mindset that I know Cellar 503 fans love so much.

My new Portland-area winery is called AVP Wine Collective, and I’ll be working to support up-and-coming winemakers in a collective winemaking environment.  Much like Carlton Winemakers Studio, it will be a place where folks can get the support they need (and space and equipment) to launch their own wine labels.  I’m so excited to share the products of our labors with you in the next few years.

So to celebrate this big transition, we are going back to the very beginning. I have been lucky to work with hundreds of amazing winemakers over the years and I’m happy to say that this month we are featuring the four wineries that I featured in my very first shipment!

Our first red is a big, dark, luscious Mourvèdre from Portland urban winery Helioterra Wines. Our second red is a beautifully elegant Cabernet Franc from Portland’s Jackalope Wine Cellars.

Our first white is a sophisticated and delicious Pinot Blanc from Vincent Wine Company. And every celebration needs bubbles — so our second white is a sparkling Grüner Veltliner from Kramer Vineyards.

Thank you for all your support of Cellar 503 over the years. I’m thrilled that my passion for small Oregon wineries will continue under the solid leadership of Robert & Liz.

I hope you continue your exploration of Oregon wine!