Stewart Boedecker & Athena Pappas - Boedecker Cellars
“He Said, She Said”

This is a tale of two. Stewart and Athena. Long, long ago, or what seemed like long ago, they used to stare at computers, making widgets. Until one day nine years ago, Stewart befriended a local winemaker. In exchange for free labor (a hot commodity during harvest time) he moonlighted with grapes, vines, sorters and tractors late into the evenings of autumn.

Amid the hours between harvest and widgets, he dove into wine seminars, devoured books on winemaking and deftly crafted batches for Athena at home.

The wine tasted good. So Stewart and Athena leapt away from their widgets and computers and into wine. "When we decided to make wine it wasn't a decision to start a business, it was a decision to change our way of life," said she.

"During crush and harvest time we live with the grapes, touching, tasting, monitoring constantly. It's not just a business, it's us," said we.

For these winemakers times two, it's about being in touch with the wines through all stages of its lifecycle: from tasting grapes in the vineyard to putting wine in the bottle, from racking wines to cleaning barrels and from blending to bottling.

Two different palates par two different bottles. Stewart likes one style of pinot, Athena likes another. So, when the time came to blend their first vintage, the 'we' couldn't agree which 'style' of Pinot noir they liked and being equally ornery, "We finally agreed compromising was not an option."

Yes, two bottlings of one wine. Their first releases in 2003, aptly named: Willamette Valley Stewart Pinot Noir and Willamette Valley Athena Pinot Noir. When asked for two words to describe their wines: reflective, said he and transparent, said she.

Since their first vintage in 2003 these two Indies have expanded case production from 500 to 1800 in 2006. Yet, it's Indie and Artisan these two will stay. From he: it's a cool, complicated puzzle, every time it's different, it's raw. And from she: it's the aromas, the flavors, and the feel...of the tannins, acids, fruit and earth as they develop in the palate. And from we: the freedom of doing something we really enjoy.