I drink the night air from my window, sipping stars, double-pained moon, glittered constellation of dreams

A few summers ago, I attended a blind wine tasting at the edge of a vineyard in the Applegate Valley. It was a casual gathering of friends, and we wrote descriptions as we tasted—things like: “this wine is a banana-seat bicycle with hot pink streamers flying down the road.” There was plenty of metaphor and plenty of laughter.

That evening, I declared that one of my dream jobs as a poet was to write labels for wine. Maluhia Ose was at that gathering, and she later began working in the tasting room at Plaisance Ranch Winery. One day, Plaisance owner Joe Ginet said he wanted to rewrite the labels for his wine. Malu said she knew a poet…and the rest is wine-label history. Over the last year, I wrote labels for twenty of Plaisance’s bottlings.

Today, I’ve returned to the Plaisance tasting room to talk with Joe, his wife Suzi, and Malu about how the idea began. I ask Joe what he thought when Malu first suggested poetic descriptions for the labels.

Joe says, “I went for it in a hot second.”

Joe’s wife Suzi smiles. “Did you know he used to send me poems when he was working the Alaska pipeline?”

Though Joe demurs, I’m not surprised. As I began writing the labels, he showed a savvy for the words as well as the varietals they described. In fact, he helped me understand the wine not just on my usual metaphorical level, but on a literal one, too.

If I veered too far into story, Joe would suggest specific tasting notes, which grounded the descriptions.

He also had a few story ideas of his own. For the Carménère, he wanted a label that included the phrase, “your favorite redheaded stepchild.” A most original writing prompt!

For each description, I blended certain elements into the “story,” working toward a winning mix—a bit like blending varietals to make the Plaisance Ranch Red, whose label is a play on a math formula—a favorite with teachers visiting the tasting room.

Sometimes, a label grew from an impression at first taste, like an image of cherry pie (Pinot Noir). Other times, the description took a bit of research, as for the Durif grape (Petite Sirah).

When I began the labels, I only worked on three at a time because I’m a fan of the fairy-tale affinity for cycles of three. Even that decision made its way onto the Monduese label, which begins, “Once upon a time….”

Now, Joe tells me that when visitors come to Plaisance they enjoy reading the labels to each other. In fact, it became difficult to keep bottles on hand to pour tastings for multiple visitors since they would get passed around among friends. To keep the bottles accessible to pour for those tastings, the Ginet’s printed out all the labels onto a double-sided sheet. If you go for a tasting, you can read along as you sip. I also hear that when groups of friends arrive together, there is often one in the group who likes to read the poetry aloud with flair. Poetry readings in wineries—another dream come true.

Joe’s favorite labels are for the Cabernet Franc, Syrah, and Carménère. Malu’s is the Malbec. In fact, she was pouring the Malbec the day I sampled it. We commented on the wine’s deep color, and while we were talking, Homer’s Odyssey came up. I remembered the text’s oft-repeated “wine-dark sea,” and that became part of the label.

One of the last labels I wrote was for the 2017 Eclipse Pinot Noir. Joe watched the eclipse through a bottle of it. In fact, when you visit the tasting room, you can see that same bottle on a shelf behind the counter.

In a way, the labels give people permission to express what they taste without fearing they’ll “get it wrong.” Joe says, “The labels make the wine a bit more approachable.”

They did for me, too. When I started writing them, I confess I felt a bit intimidated by the wine wheel and all its official nomenclature. But working with Joe, I came to appreciate the sensory details such resources provide. Now I feel free to spin a story and pin down notes of vanilla, blackberry, or coffee.

When you enjoy a bottle of Plaisance wine, I hope you’ll enjoy the labels, too. Maybe you’ll be inspired to write your own descriptions. If you do, I’d love to hear them. Drop me a line…or a poem.

©Southern Oregon Wine Scene – from the Spring 2019 issue