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Jackalope Wine Cellars 2021 Cabernet Franc
The Craigslist Winemaker
There’s a way you’re supposed to become a winemaker. You’re expected to apprentice in France or Italy, get a graduate degree in oenology, and find a millionaire investor.
Or, if you’re Corey Schuster, you answer an ad on Craigslist for a winery assistant to work on the harvest crew and pour wine in the tasting room. It’s not as if Corey had nothing better to do. After all, he was making a good living as a civil engineer. But looking for a change, he promised himself that he’d try any job for one day.
When he answered that Craigslist ad, the winery manager asked him what he knew about wine. Corey’s answer: “Not much. But I like drinking it!” His honesty won him the job that day. And his hard work ensured he kept it.
Starting at the famed Southeast Wine Collective in Portland, Corey’s bounced around various shared winemaking facilities in the region. Next up? He’s joining Carrie Wynkoop at her new winery project, the AVP Wine Collective, as its founding winery director.
The winemaker from Craigslist has found his place. Says Corey, “The wine industry is about community, and a love of the work, something I’d not experienced before.”
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Jackalope Wine Cellars, Portland, Oregon
2021 Cabernet Franc
Like the viola in a string quartet alongside a violin, a cello, and a bass, Cabernet Franc is rarely heard from alone. It is traditionally grown in the Bordeaux region in France and used as a blending grape to soften Cabernet Sauvignon and provide complexity to Merlot. It’s a treat to taste unadulterated Cabernet Franc and even more rare to find it here in Oregon.
This 2021 offering from Jackalope gives you a fun opportunity to taste this distinctive grape all by itself. And it’s not just unusual; it’s also really tasty.
80% of the grapes are from the renowned Quady North vineyard in Southern Oregon and 20% comes from Sunnyside, WA. The warm, dry weather creates very ripe fruit, imparting a rich, fruity character in the wine. This Jackalope displays the vegetal, green bell pepper and herbaceous flavors we expect while also shining with red fruits, spices, and a little pepper. One of the very first small-producer wines we discovered, we included it in our very first “friends and family” shipment — and we’re thrilled to finally bring it back for all our members!
A Cellar 503 selection in June 2023, Past, Present, Future Applegate Valley | Cabernet Franc
