|
M
AR
CH
(^2)
(^01)
9
M
A
K
ER
S
(^) /
(^) C
O
M
M
U
N
IT
Y
90
2017 ABBEY CREEK
CHARDONNAY
BEST OF BOTH
($25)
This rich Chardonnay
has a honeysuckle
scent and balanced
acidity. A blend of oak
and stainless, it can
please both camps of
Chardonnay drinkers.2014 ABBEY
CREEK PINOT
NOIR CUVÉE
($45)
Faustin sources the
fruit for this elegant
Pinot from his top
block of estate vines
for a wine with hints
of blackberries and
a silky mouthfeel.2017 ABBEY CREEK
GEWÜRZTRAMINER
($29)
Only available on
tap at the Abbey
Creek tasting room,
this slightly efferves-
cent Gewürztraminer
is refreshingly bone-
dry and reminiscent
of cider.THREE TO TRY
To purchase Faustin’s wines or plan a trip to the tasting
room, visit abbeycreekvineyard.com.TAKE IT
WHEN BERTONY FAUSTIN OPENED his Abbey Creek Vineyard
tasting room in 2012, he’d regularly greet customers who’d
then ask, “Who’s the winemaker?”
“When I’d say, ‘It’s me,’ they’d have this look of disbelief,”
Faustin says. Faustin, who is black and hails from Brooklyn,
knew he was the first recorded black winemaker in Oregon,
but, he adds, he didn’t want to own it. At least, not until 2015,
when Oregon was celebrating 50 years of winemaking. “All
they were talking about was legacies, pedigree, the past,” says
Faustin. “No one was talking about the future.”
So Faustin—with the help of his filmmaker friend Jerry
Bell Jr.—decided to make a documentary about Oregon’s
minority winemakers. The film, called Red, White & Black:
An Oregon Wine Story, tells the stories of Faustin and sev-
eral of his winemaking colleagues. Among them are Jesus
Guillén, the Mexican-American winemaker at White Rose
Estate who passed away in November 2018, but in just his
second year as head winemaker, earned a 96 from the Wine
Advocate for his “whole cluster” Pinot Noir; Jarod Sleet, now
the assistant winemaker at ROCO Winery, who in the film
was a cellar assistant at Argyle; Remy Drabkin of Remy Wines
in McMinnville, Oregon, who worked her first crush in 1995
(at Ponzi) and is gay; and André Mack, a former sommelier
at Per Se who now makes wines in Oregon under the Maison
Noir label. A disparate crew, they have in common a desire to
reach non–wine drinkers by making wine more accessible
and less pretentious than how it is often perceived; the film
vividly documents their ambitions and achievements.
Faustin himself could be called a maverick winemaker,
though not because he’s a minority. His 15-acre vineyard is
located in the urban West Hills of Portland, Oregon. When
he decided to take over his in-laws’ vineyard in 2007, he had
never had so much as a sip of wine. “I was like, worst case:
I’ll make raisins!” he says, laughing. Now, after 10 years of
winemaking, he’s got a sure hand. He works with six grape
varieties: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewürztra-
miner, Albariño, and Gamay Noir. Several of these wines sell
out quickly. But Faustin is not much interested in chattingABBEY CREEK VINEYARD
BERTONY FAUSTIN COM NORTH PLAINS, OREGON
PANY
NAMETHE
FUTURIST
“I MAY BE THE FIRST BLACK
WINEMAKER [IN OREGON], BUT NOW
IT’S MY JOB TO LET YOU KNOW I’M
NOT THE LAST.” —BERTONY FAUSTINabout terroir or skin contact. Geeky wine talk along those
lines, he says, alienates the very people he hopes to bring into
the wine-drinking fold. Instead, at his tasting room, hip-hop
and R & B are the backdrop, creating a mellow, comfortable
atmosphere for drinking wine—one where everybody feels
welcome. HANNAH WALLACECLICK IT For more information on where to watch Red,
White & Black, visit redwhite-black.com.PHOTOGRAPHY:^
COURTESYDIEGO^
G.
DIAZ