I know that weekends are not when most people visit WB, so we’ll keep this open through 7/15 (or until things sell out). I’m closing the contest, though, and will figure out the winners and announce them soon. Thanks for all the interest and support!
Wine Berserkers has been a very special place for me—I’ve been here since October 2009, though I don’t post often, despite Marcus’ best efforts. I’ve learned so much about wine from members of the forum and built some really awesome relationships, as well. I want to thank you all, but especially Todd and the mods+BerserkerDay team.
Who We Are:
We (my wife and I) are a very small (600 case) winery (renting space in the corner of Vincent Fritzsche’s facility in Amity). Starting in 2018, we set out to make thoroughly uncompromising white wines of impeccable quality, which reward age and are geared towards drinking with food. We’re loosely inspired by the wines of Friuli, which we think shares a vinous link with our little corner of Oregon, and our bottles have bright acidity and mineral-driven personalities.
That means we give our wines time, attention (and as a result, capital) that not a lot of bottles at our prices see, especially when we’re talking longer elevage (12-18 months for basically everything). I spent a long time in the wine-retail trenches and so I’m very aware of how much great stuff is out there–delivering exceptional value has always been a mantra of mine.
"Saul Mutchnick makes small batches of stellar white wines at a corrugated tin outpost in the Eola-Amity Hills. For me, they are among the best in Oregon.” - Michael Alberty, The Oregonian
How to Order:
Just email me at saul@championshipbottle.com with what you’d like and what state you’re shipping to.
That’s basically it. I’ll confirm your order and email you an invoice through Square (the point-of-sale people) that you pay with a credit card.
We (or a third party shipper in the WV) can ship to most states (IA, KY, MS, ND, NH, SD, and UT are out of luck at the moment).
UPS Ground shipping is still $25, flat-rate, for any size order.
You wanna buy six cases? Still just $25. Split it with friends? As long as it’s one order, and one shipping address, make my day. All orders will ship in the fall, starting in mid-October after harvest, when the weather is cool and we have time to pull and pack everything.
If you’re in the Portland metro area, delivery is offered/free on orders of four bottles or more. The plan will be to do a round of deliveries over a couple weekends in August, then after harvest in October. You’re also welcome to pickup the wines at the winery in Amity or at my house in PDX. Just indicate what you’d prefer when you order.
Any orders placed now can also be combined with Fall Release purchases under the same shipping charge
I’ve been a member of WineBerserkers since October, 2009 and this community has taught me so much and has been instrumental in getting Championship Bottle off of the ground. Today’s deals are a way to thank y’all for all of that.
We’ve got an assortment of great stuff at great prices today: Now that we’re a little further from the spring bottling, many of these wines have really started to open up, and are entering great drinking windows that should last the next half-decade (or much longer, in a few cases). Feel free to reach out if you have questions about the wines, etc.
The Deals + The Contest
Limited: Our Pickle is Your Nickel
AKA “Cases at Deep Discounts”
This is a one-off opportunity from us: One of our best distributors went under not that long ago (apparently they didn’t sell everything else like they sold our wines) and while we were already deep into talks to expand into a few more states, we have a few extra cases of a few wines that we’d like out the door. So, WineBerserkers get to be our wholesale customers, with prices basically to match.
(Quantities are limited though. These are wines that will move through our existing distributors through the year, we’re just cutting away a little extra fat ahead of harvest.)
All three of the following wines are just $274/case
2024 Hard Promises Pinot Blanc
Retail: $432/case, VinDependence Price: $274/case ($22.83/btl)
2024 History Ablaze Rosato
Retail $468, VinDependence Price: $274/case ($22.83/btl)
2023 Gravity’s Pull Chardonnay
Retail: $456, VinDependence Price: $274/case ($22.83/btl)
Plus flat-rate shipping, if applicable
The Contest
“Our Pickle is Your Nickel” is a terrible slogan for this deal. But my brain is fried this week, and so I thought it would be fun to see what y’all could come up with. So post your best alternative: The best two slogans get their orders shipped free! (If you’re local and win, we’ll figure some other prize).
Vertical Six-Packs
We love to make wines that improve in the cellar, and are finally (finally!) getting to a point where we have a few things in the library. These are a fun way to see our winemaking evolve and experience Oregon’s always-intriguing vintage variation.
Lost Coastlines Pinot Noir Vertical
Two bottles each 2021, 2022, 2023 Lost Coastlines Pinot Noir
Retail: $280, VinDependence Price: $215
Fir Crest Pinot Noir is built for the cellar by nature, and we’re thrilled with how the wines are developing. It’s also a fascinating comparison between years, and it’s easy to track how our winemaking has evolved in adapting to this great site. 2021 is a powerhouse, built for decades, 2022 is more charming and rich fruited, and the 2023 has a coiled inner strength that’s captivated us.
Hard Promises Pinot Blanc Vertical
Two bottles each 2022, 2023, 2024 Hard Promises
Retail: $225, VinDependence Price: $160
If any of our bottlings has a cult following, it’s Hard Promises, partially because of how it evolves in the cellar. The 2022 is a late-bloomer and is just starting to hit its stride, 2023 is the most approachable Hard Promises we’ve made and is just delicious now, and 2024 shows the extra gear of minerality from the switch to the own-rooted vines at Tsai Vineyard.
Sampler Packs at Great Prices
“The Far Field”
Full Case Sampler, Built for the Cellar
We love to make wines that improve over time, and this case highlights that—yes, including the rosè. Everything in this box will improve for at least a half decade, and some should age beautifully for much longer.
2x 2023 New Walk Chardonnay, 2x 2023 Gravity’s Pull Chardonnay, 2x 2024 History Ablaze Rosato, 2x 2024 Out on Love Pinot Gris, 2x 2024 Hard Promises Pinot Blanc, 2x 2023 Lost Coastlines Pinot Noir
Retail $486, VinDependence Price: $365
“On the Water”
Full Case Sampler
Never had our wines? Looking for a stress-free assortment? This is a full-case sampler (with a bit more of our higher-end wines!) to get you on board with our vision of Willamette Valley winemaking…at a nice discount. Includes:
2x 2024 Hard Promises Pinot Blanc, 2x 2024 History Ablaze Rosato, 2x 2024 Out on Love Pinot Gris, 2x 2024 A Thousand Dreams Field Blend, 2x 2023 Gravity’s Pull Chardonnay, 2x 2023 Lost Coastlines Pinot Noir
Retail $418, VinDependence Price: $315
“Singles”
Half Case Sampler
Never had our wines? Looking for a stress-free assortment? This is a half-case sampler to get you on board with our vision of Willamette Valley winemaking…at a nice discount. This includes:
1x 2024 Hard Promises Pinot Blanc, 1x 2024 History Ablaze Rosato, 1x 2024 Out on Love Pinot Gris, 1x 2024 A Thousand Dreams Field Blend, 1x 2023 Gravity’s Pull Chardonnay, 1x 2023 Lost Coastlines Pinot Noir
Retail $209 VinDependence Price: $165
Plus flat-rate shipping, if applicable
The Wines
Which, you know, you can also order on their own.
2024 Hard Promises Pinot Blanc
Tsai Vineyard, Yamhill-Carlton AVA
Retail: $36, VinDependence Price: $27
This is the first vintage to come from the own-rooted Pinot Blanc at Tsai Vineyard. What’s striking about the white wines from Tsai is that they feel crystalline without feeling hard or harsh. There’s electricity here that’s balanced with yuzu-ish citrus and delightful crunchy white-pear fruit. As with past editions, this spent 18 months in older oak barrels to build texture and ageworthiness from lees context, and should age beautifully in the cellar. We bottled just four barrels (less than 100 cases).
2024 History Ablaze Rosato
Tsai Vineyard, Yamhill-Carlton AVA
Retail: $39, VinDependence Price: $30
This is one of the most fun wines to make, and has been one of the most rewarding—there wasn’t a lot of precedent for an extended-élevage cerasuolo-style rosé (rosato) anywhere in Oregon, or made with Pinot Noir, but here we are—this now has a cult following (and was by the glass at Portland’s iconic Nostrana last summer). We first made this wine because we were frustrated at the scarcity (and cost) of rosé from Valentini, L’Anglore, et al. and decided that if we were going to try and make world-class rosé from the Willamette Valley, it needed to be from a top-shelf site and needed to see all the bells and whistles in the cellar. The 2024 has beautiful fruit, a silky texture, and a is ton of fun to drink either as a rosé or in place of a light red at the table.
2023 Gravity’s Pull Chardonnay
Dion Vineyard, Laurelwood District AVA
Retail: $38, VinDependence Price: $30
This hails from the ungrafted vines in Dion Vineyard, planted in windblown-loess soils. It’s telling that across Europe, producers who are lucky enough to have ungrafted vineyards prize them supremely for the je ne sais quoi they seem to provide Every time we taste Gravity’s Pull, we think that must be happening here, as well, and we’re grateful to get to work with the vineyard. 2023 had a warm end to the growing season, but we absolutely nailed the pick here, so it has delightful fruit plus a captivating salty edge that makes it an absolute dream with food. It reminds us of the ‘21, but with more finesse—there’s an airiness and grace here that’s charming and captivating.
2023 New Walk Chardonnay
Royer Vineyard, Eola-Amity Hills AVA
Retail: $49, VinDependence Price: $39
Royer is quickly establishing itself as one of the Great Sites for Chardonnay in the Willamette Valley. Royer is a cool, windy site, and that allows for proper flavor maturity combined with a bracing acidity and minerality. More than Gravity’s Pull, even, this reminds us of Burgundy (or at least Burgundy before modern hot vintages became the norm) with an energy that’s impossible to ignore. It’s not loud, it’s not bombastic, but there’s just something about it that touches the back of your brain and says “I am special, I am important.” When the team of our DC/MD/VA distributor visited this summer, one of them told us directly: “This is the best Chardonnay, probably the best wine, you’ve ever made.” While we don’t like to pick favorites (there are others that we’d throw in the mix), it seems to make quite an impression when we’ve poured it for visitors to the winery. Give it air or time in the cellar, though. 98 cases bottled.
2023 Lost Coastlines Pinot Noir
Fir Crest Vineyard, Yamhill-Carlton AVA
Retail: $45, VinDependence Price: $36
Lost Coastlines in 2023 is the best version we’ve released—far and away, probably. Fir Crest Vineyard has always had a strong personality and beguiling aromatics, married to a sometimes-fierce structure. In ‘23, everything fell into place: We nailed the pick, as ripeness was accelerating quickly, and our experience with the vineyard over the previous vintages allowed us to build structure while keeping a finer texture to the tannins. Fir Crest is one of Oregon’s great Pinot Noir vineyards (in terms of ownership and vision, Robert and Karin Moshier share the same attributes we talked about with Royer), with shallow soils and an energy that resonates through the site. We’ll put the 2023 Lost Coastlines up against basically anything in the Willamette Valley. We are not known for Pinot Noir, but this newest Lost Coastlines proves that we have a lot—or at least something—to say on the subject. 72 cases bottled.
2024 Out on Love Pinot Gris
Tsai Vineyard, Yamhill-Carlton AVA
Retail: $36, VinDependence Price: $30
Pinot Gris is a fascinating grape. It’s always happy to oblige, but it takes a perfect set of circumstances for it to be thrilling. This is that. We originally contracted for grapes from Tsai’s 1986-planted, own-rooted Gris with the idea of using them in You+Me+The Moon, which is Pinot Gris based. But the wine was so good that we ended up tweaking the blend so that we could bottle two barrels on their own (and bottling a little extra Hard Promises for the same reason). We made Out on Love once before, from the since-ripped-out vines at Lewman, when we had Pinot Gris that was too compelling to ignore. This has real brightness to it—there’s a pure core of mineral that the trademark Gris fruit is wrapped around. Drink it now for the electricity, drink it in five years and it’ll put on a bit more richness. This will likely not be an “every year” wine, so enjoy it while we’ve got it. Fewer than 50 cases bottled.
2024 A Thousand Dreams Field Blend Rosé
Hollow Oak Vineyard, Chehalem Mountains AVA
Retail: $30, VinDependence Price: $24
The short version is that it’s a field blend of Ribolla Gialla, Tocai Friulano, and Pinot Noir, all harvested together from the same block and pressed as a white wine. Or, at least, white was the idea: despite gentle pressing, A Thousand Dreams is very gently pink. This year’s version aged for a full year-and-a-half in a single 500L puncheon—50% longer than the first version—and that extra time allowed it to become a much more dynamic, complex version of itself. There’s not much to go around.
