Published September 3, 2026
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The Team You Never See
For the past few weeks, we have been working on two big projects – getting the wines from the 2025 vintage finished and bottled AND getting the winery ready for the 2026 harvest season. This week, those two efforts jostled with each other at the finish line as we received and pressed our first fruit on Sunday and Monday; then bottled on Tuesday!
From the outside, it might seem like our small winery is independent, but we rely on a network of vendors and specialists to help us be successful. They range from “Solopreneurs” to large businesses with multiple locations, and we have worked with many of them for decades, building trust and workflows. Some are specialized in the wine industry, while for others, wine is just a small part of their business.
Here is a partial list of the “behind the scenes” businesses that we have worked with in the past few weeks:
- Nice Electric, McMinnville: Electrical upgrades and repairs
- DCS Trucking, Clatskanie: Refrigerated container rental and delivery
- Euro-machine, Fairfield CA: Annual maintenance of wine-press
- Buzz Seeds, Philomath: Cover crop seeds
- Yamhill Soil & Water Conservation District: Rental of seeder equipment
- NW Lift Truck, Portland: Forklift and attachment rental
- CCL Label, Portland: Label printing for bottles and pouches
- Pioneer Packaging, Portland: Revino bottles
- Pacific Winemaking, Tualatin: Corks
- West Coast Paper, Portland: Shipping supplies and kegs
- Industrial Welding Supply, Albany: Compressed gas
- NowDesign, Salem: Graphic design for Bootcut wine
- Eurostampa, Napa: Label printing for Bootcut wine
- Willamette Crossflow, McMinnville: Wine filtration
- Pacific Bottling, Dayton: Mobile Bottling service
- Studio 237, McMinnville: Marketing and design
- DLP Services, McMinnville: Mobile tractor repair
- WineMech, CA: Equipment repair and maintenance
- Les Schwab, McMinnville: Mobile tractor tire repair
- Precision Metal and Fabrication, Yamhill: Custom fabrication for harvest equipment
- Crush 2 Cellar, Newberg: Winemaking supplies and equipment
- Oliver Compliance, McMinnville: Alcohol Compliance and tax reporting
- Anthem Strategies, Salem: Accounting and tax reporting
- ETS Labs, Newberg: Wine chemistry and analysis
- Davison Winery Supplies, McMinnville: Winemaking supplies and equipment
The multi-year relationships that we have developed is one of my favorite things about managing a small winery. Their skill and dedication is critical to our success. The next time you enjoy a glass of our wine, I hope you’ll pause for a moment to think of the many people and businesses “behind the bottle”.
Cheers!
Russell
P.S. The tasting room is closed this Monday, September 7th. We hope you enjoy a safe holiday!
