History Of Willamette Wine Tasters
The Willamette Wine Tasters organization was formed out of memorable dining experiences at Woodburn’s restaurant Des Champs, where wine was paired with great food. Chef Emile DeShaw and Matre’d Paul DeShaw hosted wine and food pairing educational classes in the early 1970’s. A desire to taste and understand wine had been unveiled.
In January 1974, Ron Blodgett invited a group of friends and colleagues to participate in a wine tasting event at his home. Invitations to the event were sent to Ron’s work colleagues Warren Deal and Chuck Martin; restaurant owner Paul DeShaw and his son/headwaiter Steve DeShaw; and acquaintances from the classes, Larry Davis and Jack Myers. The first official tasting together occurred on January 21, 1974. Steve DeShaw and Jack Myers were unable to attend the first event. Wayne Strohecker joined the group for its second meeting, as did Steve and Jack. Many of the early gatherings began with a group dinner including spouses, followed by the wine tasting. The first group By-Laws were adopted in January 1975, and remain almost unchanged from the original version. One of the main goals was to explore wines currently available in order to purchase those of the greatest value.
In early 1976, Ernie Millen and Harley Piper were invited to full membership. John Schmidt was elected an alternate member. Neal Bell was a guest on November 12, 1978, and later became a member in 1982. Jim Susee, Rich Gorman and Loren Bunnell were frequent alternates from 1974-1985 before becoming full members. Tom McAllister joined the group in 1994.
In 1996, membership looked to a second generation, when Greg Bunnell, son of Loren, and Brant Blodgett, son of Ron were added. Paul Bonar, son-in-law of Tom McAllister, and Brad Courtney, friend of Brant Blodgett, were invited to membership in 1999 after being alternates for a year or more. In 2001, Howard Johnson and Michael Webb were introduced to the group by Steve’s son Levi. Invitations to join were accepted by them in 2003.
Throughout the years, the group always tasted wine from all over the world. Wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Chianti, Napa, and the Willamette Valley were commonplace. Memorable tastings like Larry Davis’ 1934 birth year Burgundy and Bordeaux, Neal Bell’s 1959 Bordeaux, and 1982 Chateau Gloria from all different sized bottles, a field trip to Clear Creek Distillery to taste brandy’s and eau-de-vie, and infamously Jack Myers’ “jug” wines have been recorded with distinction. Another, an Italian tasting in 1980, resulted in a decree: “No longer will members and certainly not non-members be allowed to even refer to a certain tasting of unspecified wines of an unnamed southern European country shaped like a boot. From this day henceforth, any such mention shall be fined in a manner appropriate to the occasion”. The group was also introduced to the Limerick style of Larry Davis: “A vice, both obscene and unsavory, Holds the mayor of Southampton in slavery, With bloodcurdling howls; He deflowers young owls, Which he keeps in an underground aviary.”
On the first W.W.T. organized trip to the California wine country, many of the wines were unavailable here in Oregon. Paul DeShaw organized the trip and the group visited many wineries whose wine they had not tasted before.
Ron Blodgett recalls:
"We took a large touring bus and there were about 25 of us. My first recollection was a stop near Medford at noon-time, the sun was out and we ate and drank some wine and then got back into the bus to continue. We counted noses and one was missing! We searched around and found Larry sound asleep under a tree, blissfully unaware that we were on our way. We got into the Napa area and stayed at a lovely facility that Paul had arranged. The next day we were to visit previously unheard-of wineries. We purchased so much wine that on the way home, (remember, we had only about 25 people with limited baggage), that we were running on the axles and had to shift down climbing to the Oregon border. It was a wonderful experience and we drank that wine for many years as it matured and got even better."
Sometime in 2008, the group expects to hold its 300th tasting.