Episode 15 - Becky Potter - Owner & Winemaker of Meraviglioso Winery & Vineyard

In this bubbly new episode of The Realtor Who Wines Podcast, Rashelle visits the charming tasting room at Meraviglioso Winery & Vineyard, where effortless elegance meets entrepreneurial grit. Nestled right on the border of Dundee and Newberg, this picturesque estate is home to not only stunning wines but also a vibrant, creative spirit.

Becky Potter, co-founder, winemaker, and self-proclaimed lover of “all things Italian,” shares the story behind the name Meraviglioso, her transition from entrepreneur to winemaker, and how her farm girl roots help her navigate the unpredictable magic of Oregon wine country.

You’ll hear about:

• The inspiration behind their award-winning bubbles
• Why Pinot Noir is the princess of grapes
• What it’s really like owning a winery (hint: it's not all sipping rosé in the sun)
• How Meraviglioso is cultivating community with art, live music, flower fields, and wine club perks
• And yes… we talk about corks vs. screw caps

If you love all things wine, Oregon wine, small business stories, and a good laugh over a glass of bubbles, this episode is for you. Pour a glass and tune in, cheers!

Thank you for listening! Connect and collaborate with Realtor Rashelle on any of her social media platform pages > https://linktr.ee/RealtorRashelle

Transcript

0:00

Welcome to the Realtor Who Wines podcast. I'm Rashelle Newmeyer, your hostess with the most as a student of life, a connector, a passionate wine enthusiast, and your local favorite guide. Join me as we explore the vibrant Pacific Northwest. Savor the finest wines and champion the spirit of entrepreneurship. Each episode, I'll sit down with inspiring guests, supporting business ownership and uncovering the stories that make this community unique. So grab a glass of wine, settle in, and let's embark on a journey of discovery and connection together. Cheers. Hi everyone. Welcome back to the realtor who whines I'm Rachelle Neumeyer. I'm so happy you're here today with Becky from Mirabella. So Winery and Aria Newberg. We're like, okay. Yeah, we're kind of on the cusp in between, like, Newberg and Carlton actually. Literally on the line. Yeah, half of our property is Newberg and half of our property is Dundee. Oh, Dundee. Okay. Yeah. So thank you so much for having us. Cheers to you. Cheers. Oh, it's so good and refreshing. We're having bubbles today. For those of you that are listening and not watching, when you tell us a little bit about what we're drinking, this is our 2019 plunked in a bar. She is a method chef. And while so you know, we would we would say the thing if we were going to say the thing. Yeah, but we'll call it bubbles. Yeah. And she has a gold medal and I, I can't remember what her score was, but in the 90s. I always call my wine Sheen. Yeah I love it. Lovely things are feminine. Yes absolutely. And bubbles are that for sure. And we call our bubbles are the name of our bubbles is Reza Tura which means effortless elegance in Italian. Oh my gosh. You can say so many words that I cannot say. I'm sure I could just listen to you all day. I'm. I can't say that word. I can't say that word. How did you come up with the name for your winery? We literally we went to the diner downtown, with Google Translate over breakfast and thought, what are we? What do we want? This to look like? Yeah. And so we literally just pulled up. We wanted it to be Italian. And so we went through different descriptors that we liked. And it's a terrible business name. I mean phonetically it's mayor of vaguely. Oh so and it's and nobody can say it. Nobody can spell it. But it's so it is pretty when she says it. It sounds great when I say it, it sounds like I've had three bottles of wine and like, I know what I mean. Really? So it means like this or wonderful, I love that, I love that, what? Do you have an Italian background or do you just love all things Italian? We just love all things Italian. And we live in a very Tuscan, the top of our hill. It's just very Tuscan. Yeah. So absolutely, we are just embracing what we have. Did you and your husband have like a wine background or what, like led you down this journey? Sandy hills. Yeah, that's what happens to everyone. Come to me. Come to Dundee Hills, a regular person. Leave the wine owner. Leave. We totally do our properties. Is Dundee Hills friendly? Ava. And literally he said to me one time, too many sweet girls. Should we be doing wine and not trees? And then that, you know that spring day where it's been pouring and gray and horrible and then the next day the sun is out and daffodils and the birds. Oh yeah. Beautiful. And it was like yes, yeah, yeah let's do it. So the skies opened, the vines grew. What kind of trees did you have here before Doug first. Okay. Yeah, it was just in forest of Earl. So we cleared the land and planted, on the estate. We have Chardonnay and, of course, piano, because we're in piano country. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And and, did you hire a winemaker? Like, what was that whole process? Did we, had a connection to a winemaker, and, he got us started. We opened. We started making wine in 17. We officially opened in 2020. I was an aunt, and my husband is a mechanical engineer. We are serial entrepreneurs, as most entrepreneurs are. Yeah, right. Yeah. There's always the next project. Yeah, well, we either pass out because we're exhausted or we don't sleep because we have too much on our minds. Yeah, but, so we opened in 2020, as things have evolved this year, 24, I became the winemaker. I did some education, found a mentor, and how's that going? Oh, I can't wait for you to taste. Yeah. Me neither. I did not know that. That's fake news. Have you been telling people, or is that, like, kind of top secret that you're. Well, it's not top secret now. It's out in the world wide webs now. Yeah, I know, but before today. No we haven't we haven't really kept it secret. But, No, it's so fun. And so, we have of course, rosé and and I pulled the first of the first run, just one clone. And we made a white pino. And she's so good that this is a little bit of a Carmel apple pear thing going on. That sounds delicious. Oh it's so good for those I don't know like how do you. So if you know grapes red and then how do you make it a white. We took the first of the first run as we, crushed. And literally I just was so picky about where the color landed. And so, it is, it's not as golden white as this. It's got a little bit of a tint to it, but the skins are white. That's the color. And so we just took what we could without adding too much. And when will that be ready. Probably next month. Oh yeah. That's exciting. I thought you're going to say next year. And I was going to be like yeah the next one. I'm too excited next month. That's amazing. Yeah I love that. And then what about bubbles? How did you also like move from wine into bubbles? Our wine maker, he, he suggested it and he was learning. And so involved you not. Yeah, but I miss Lily Bollinger believes that bubbles should just be a part of life. Yeah, I she is. Me. Yes. Yeah. When you're happy, when you're sad, when you're angry, when you're eating, when you're not. When you're working, when you're celebrating. Yes. All of it. Well. And it's nice. You and I were talking about this earlier. We are in piano country, so a lot of times if you're doing a wine tasting or you're on a tour, you're going to get a lot of Pinot noirs, like all the different wineries you visit. So it's nice when you show up to a winery and there's other varieties on the menu, because you what did you call it earlier? Know? Blind. Yeah. Because yeah, they all start to taste the same after a while and you're just like, oh yeah, that's another good way. Okay. Okay. So it's fun to like mix it up. Yeah. So we have Chardonnay. And then of course Pino and, we actually have a cab as well, which not a lot of people are in here. Have cab. But I'll keep I'll keep doing bubbles this year. With the estate chardonnay. We'll we'll put it down as bubbles. What is the heart or why? I shouldn't say hard. What is the biggest difference between making wine and making bubbles? They just have to sit as long. How does it ferment? It's like, what's the difference? Yeah, well, we'll harvest a little earlier and then it kind of has a double ferment really. I mean, if we're going to just like, yeah, get into it and then it just kind of goes to bed in to rush and chill, just sit and wait for a while. Does it have to bubbles have to sit as long as a Pinot noir or is it short? Longer? Oh really? Yeah, it can sit longer. I have some, interests that we put down in 2022. That probably towards the end of this year, beginning of next will disgorge. Okay. And what, vines do you have outside, like, whether you're state vines, Chardonnay and Pino, and then where do you get your other grapes from? Do you sort of secret sauce? Yeah, yeah. We would sauce the, the cap and things. Know cheese sauce out of Oregon or Washington. Oh always Oregon. Where I know. But hey there are Oregon. We can't drinkers we are. Oregon has great wine, but so finicky about where things come from. There's some great grapes in California and Washington too, though. But they are. They can be a little judgy. They can be a little touchy, especially southern. I, I don't know about it. I'm like, let's just be Oregon and be who we are. So I am all about that. But like my cab is Walla Walla from the Oregon side. Oh really. Yeah. The yeah the cab. Well Walla Walla has really great cab grapes. I feel like it's just the sunshine that they get and the soil there, they just really produce some beautiful grapes out that way. That's I was saying to like I part of the reason I love wine, it's not just the wine itself. I always love supporting Oregon agriculture. Like I look at it as I'm also supporting farmers and things. Not just like like when I buy a wine that's locally made. I think I'm also supporting the Oregon farmer that helps produce it, even if they're not the winemaker in the vineyard at 6:00 this morning. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. So that's not for me. That's a I actually I used to in my previous life I was a social media marketer for larger corporations. But one of my, companies I worked for was local farmers. And so I'd meet with farmers and they'd be like, well, what time do you want to meet? And I was like, oh, I don't know, like more like 9 or 10. And they're like, no, how about six? I was like, no, I'm in marketing. I got into marketing because I don't get up at the sun. That's not my thing. I respect you a time, but that's not me. And they just be like, okay, well, that's like the day's half over for meeting at ten. Right place in in the other business out there, tween eight and nine, I'm like, dude, yeah. You're like, I've been working for three hours. It's so funny. What other business since you referenced it, do you want to talk about it at all? My husband's an mechanical engineer. So we have a machine shop. Fab shop. His specialty is designing turnkey machines. So if you need a machine to pick this up, a robot, he can get the robot to pick this up. Turn it, move it. That's right. Anything like that. Yeah. What about like, when you do harvest and stuff? Time to figure out a machine that will pick the grapes. You don't have to do it by hand. We talked about that at notion a little of that time chat. That's the problem I mean with our heels. So when the grapes are delicate I've talked about this at some other winemakers like it's not like some of the harvest where you can use a machine to scoop it up and stuff because that'll damage the grapes. So you really have to like, you know, is, a princess. She's so delicate. Princess piano. That. But, yeah. Really delicate. They bruises. If you lose a lot of the flavor and everything, if they get damaged. How many times you guys do about a year. This year we brought in just over 20. Okay. And how many cases does that make? Normally. Oh, golly. I'm sorry. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I think it's about 140 cases a ton. Okay. So, and then we sell some bulk or, or Shiners Club to consumer, I mean, all the things. Yeah. And you have the tasting room, obviously, if you're watching or sitting in the tasting room today, talk a little bit about the tasting room vibe and like what your goal was, what the tasting room. It's been really fun. It's been really fun to have this evolve. And so we have you kind of can't tell from where we're sitting, but we have art from four different artists on the walls right now and around actually. So that's kind of fun. And we, we love art and life music. And so, we do paint and sips once a month, and there's all kinds of different classes throughout the course of the season. And then, music this year we're going to take you back to having music just monthly or bi monthly, which is also kind of nice. And then we have seating outside for about 60. Yeah. And the grounds to walk, we have over $500 going in. Oh my goodness, I have a thousand 1200 plants starts coming next week. Oh my gosh. So so yeah, the my boys are just like yay. For the flowers. Oh beautiful. Yeah they're in the summer. And I feel like to how do you stand out. How do you how do you get to be the one place or one of the chosen places that somebody wants to visit? And especially here because there's so many, there's so many. So social media. So you kind of have to be Instagrammable. Absolutely. And so again, I feel like art and flowers are a way to do that. Absolutely. And so flowers, vines and bubbles. Yeah. That's. Yeah, that's how I love it. I'm all about it. Yeah. Talk a little bit about the Wine Club and like what your wine club is and what you offer. We have three tiers. We do four shipments a month a year. Sorry. Yeah. I was like, hey, I'm in. Those are some drinkers. Yeah. Four shipments a year. And how many bottles are in each? But we do two, 4 or 6 per shipment and then let anybody choose. You know, I but we're it's, it's really kind of nice to be small enough where I can just call you up and say, Michelle, this is what we're offering, or. Yeah, it'll be on the website. Of course, this is what we're offering. Or you can change it to be whatever you want. So I appreciate being able to do that as well. Yeah. And then when people come to pick up their wines, do you do like any clean events or is it just come that quarter both ends. Yeah. Both ends. Sometimes we do like with the pickup party, with the music and the whole fun thing. And then other times, it's just, come pick it up and have a quiet tasting or little chat often, if there's an event or, just that special tastings. Yeah. Often I'll bake. I always have food or something to go with it. And then a lot of times I bake something that I wanted to smell nice and fresh and warm, and we'll just, like, welcoming. Yeah. Like very hostess and love that. What is something that people would be surprised about with owning a winery or a tasting room? I know I was like, give me the juice. I want all the dirty details. It's it's so fun. And it it is, it's my joy to get to have this business. And it's a joy to get to do tastings and all that. And it's I just really love that. When I did, I did my job right. When people are able to sit outside in the summer and they're like, oh, I just like your life. Yeah, you're like, okay. And behind the scenes in my life. I just want the dishes done. Oh for sure. Yeah. The little stuff just hired. Did I send out that email I never push send. Did I do this. I need to be out in production and yeah. So it's I mean there's so many so many hats to juggle. To get to the point of that bottle right out the door. Absolutely. Yeah. Can people order your wine online. Like do you ship out of state. We do, we do. And we are currently swapping swapping the website over so it'll be more efficient. Okay. And so I'm really happy about that. So that's probably going to take a couple of weeks. But still yes that's awesome. Yeah. And some people have I know some of the wineries have like restrictions and shipping up to certain states. Do you have any restrictions or can you ship everywhere? Ship everywhere. Okay, I like that. That's great. What what is something you wish you knew before you got into the wine business? The same thing. You're like the same damn hats. Or shall I just told you about my 22 hats? It's the same thing, right? I'm just tired. Yeah, I'm not saying what I think, but I keep learning more and more. Is that wine is magic. I love that. But this year I have the same crew, the same schedule for, for the vineyard by same team will be here to help me with production. And yet the weather you know is will totally change the bottle that we put out for 25 is vintage and it's just magic. And then how wine will change with those two cheeses. And how it makes you feel. And suddenly over the course of a tasting I love over the course of the tasting when we chat just enough that like when you leave people often will hug me and they're like oh thank you so much. Yeah. And it's like because you like have them because wine is magic. Yeah. Wine is just magic. And I love learning more and more about that. I believe that too, that I was telling you, part of the reason I wanted to do this podcast with wine is I just feel like it's like building community and like, sharing a glass of wine is like sharing that piece of community and that camaraderie. And then of course, if you don't drink wine, that's okay too. You're welcome. There's a spot at the table for you too, but it's just a nice way. It's like breaking bread almost, you know, it's just. But it really is. Yeah. Just a little bit changes things and it it provides a different bond. And man, I just love it. I do just love it so much. Well, and the more bubbles you drink, the more secrets come out. That's the best part to say. Bubbles are a way of life. What have you learned from the farming side of it? Because did you have any kind of farming background besides the trees at all? We did. Both of us actually grew up on farm. Okay, well that's helpful. That's obvious. Yeah. Right. Yeah. The helpful part of that is you think we would have known better, but at least it's not livestock because. Oh, well, I actually really have like I am actively campaigning to get some sheep and chickens. Well, sheep and chickens are great because they can also do a little bit self-contained, like they can eat a little bit on their own. Like you can still go on vacation and have sheep and chickens, but if you run like a dairy farm or something says how? What are you going to do? How are they going to feed him like I got? Please? Yeah, yeah, I've got a thing. Yeah. But I so I, I miss my livestock so much. Yeah. But I ran anybody by summer. You'll see that my farmer's heart is with it. How many flower. And. Oh for sure. Gardens are just silly. Yeah. But then farming is we are at the mercy of the Almighty and the weather and so. Right. You know, as the buds come out on the vines, you start praying that there will be no thunderstorm storms to damage those baby like, yeah. So I've, I've learned to pay attention to that kind of thing. And, I've started journaling to keep track of what the weather looks like so that I can compare from year to year. Yeah. It's so much. Yeah I love it, but it's so much for sure. One, I don't think a lot of people think about that, that you would be paying attention to that. But it really does impact the grapes a ton which impacts the wine completely. Yeah. It could totally change the flavor. Everything about it. And sometimes I have heard and correct me if I'm wrong, like sometimes you'll harvest early or harvest late, depending on the size of the grapes. Like if you're like, oh, they kind of need someone's like cooking. Like they just need a little bit longer. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. The magic of if I wait, they're ready on Tuesday. But if I wait until Friday. Yeah, that just that little bit can actually change it. Yeah I started watching we farm almost seven acres behind us as well. And so man I started walking. I just well fit with that by the end of the season last year because that hill is serious. Yeah. But yeah. So I, I started watching it regularly to watch them as they developed and to check the sugars and. Yeah. And then they're like just now that you've been doing it for a while, can you tell with your eye like oh we should harvest or is there like a science behind it. So it's yeah, yeah. Can you like I know I check the sugars in the assets and. Yeah. And make sure the levels are all where you want them to be. And then do you do all of your bottling and everything here too, or do you do that offsite. We are. Yeah. We're doing it all. All here in-house. Oh my goodness. Add that hat to the hat rack. Up. It's ridiculous. I have I've had some conversations lately about using corks and not using corks. What is your thoughts and feelings behind that. Like some people are telling me that it's not cost prohibitive to Cork, but then others are like. Like the romance of opening a bottle that's called a cork. I can't help it. I like a last year we actually corked our rosé. Oh really. And I mean it's a just gifts a little. Oh controversial might be a big word for that. Yeah. But it's like you want to be able to take your rosé at a picnic. Right. But still just throw the bottle opener in. Yeah, I have a wine key. And like, every purse, my work backpack, my backpack. I know I found, you know, my purse. I've been taken from me at the airport. I still have my TSA PreCheck. Please don't take me to TSA. I always say TSA. TSA, please don't take it. Yeah, you're right and I but I just the sound of the cork leaves the bottle and I, I always leave the cork for my people because I feel like it matters. Yeah. And with a name like mayor Video. So I, I need people to have it. Yeah. You need the cork, right? I love that. What, do you have any advance or anything coming up this summer that anybody should know about? We have lots of patents, apps, on the calendar, music regularly. And we actually just got we've been out of town for a few weeks, and so we just got back and I'm way behind in publicizing everything. But Newburgh winery.com. Is a much easier way to find us than it is or.com albeit both will get you there. But music arts we're going to do a one full day art event. Oh, fun. So I have a friend who, her stuff is on the walls and she's going to come to a more intensive painting class rather than just a painting set. So we'll do a little, breakfast. And I love that. Yeah, I'm super excited. I wish I was more artistically talented every time I do a painting. So mine looks like a first grader did it. Like everyone, this looks like so good. And they're like, it's really easy. You just do this. And I'm like, yeah, mine looks like a five year old was here. I don't know what just happened. It's one of my very favorite things. I love paintings because everybody comes in and they're like, yeah, a glass of wine. Yeah. Looking around two glasses and it's like, girl, that looks so good. Yeah, don't look at mine. But yours is beautiful. So I have like five paintings or painting tips that are like in my closet because I'm just like, I hope no one ever see this one when we are just stating the very first ones that we did are in our bedroom in the master bath. So if you know me well enough to get to that point in this house, you are forced to see those. I love that trend. I don't know if you've seen this on Instagram or TikTok where like a significant others are, families are painting themselves and then revealing it. I cry laugh every time because it makes me feel better about my artistic ability. Absolutely. Because I'm like, that would be me. I'd be the one that would be like, sorry, I chose you. Like this looks nothing like you like, Eye to eye. Totally what to do with my husband? Yes. He is so very talented. He is very, very artistically talented. So he right to do that, like, date thing? Yeah. He 30 minutes later would put something up that looked like me. Yeah. And I'd be like, here's a stick figure. Yeah. Here's, Yeah. So what color are your eyes again? Here. That's him. I've never been like, I could do a monologue for you like that. You want a little razzle dazzle? I got you all day. But, like, painting or drawing is something. Nope. Not my skill set at all. Thank you so much for having me in the tasting room today. It has been such a joy talking to you and getting to share some photos with everyone. I will you say the Newberg, website one more time. Newburgh wines.com Newburgh winery.com winery.com Newburgh winery.com will also pay at all of your websites and that on the YouTube channel and then all of the podcast information so people can find you. But thank you so much for having me I appreciate it. Yeah. Cheers and thank you to everyone listening today. See you next time. Cheers.