Last year, when we were the MCs at the International Pinot Noir Celebration on the campus of Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon, we heard that the university was starting a wine bar that would be run by students. The administrator who told us this added that Linfield was a dry campus, so we wondered how that would work.
Well, the 14-month-old Acorn to Oak Wine Experience is working out well. And it is not on campus but downtown, on McMinnville’s historic Third Street, amid restaurants and hotels and other wine bars, though those are primarily offering the wines of a single producer. That means to get an idea of the broad and deep range of some of Oregon’s more than 900 wineries, pioneering and newer ones, you should check out the Acorn to Oak Wine Experience, we learned when we called Paul Johnson, its hospitality, tasting room and wine club manager. He’s been with it from Day One.
(Linfield University's Acorn to Oak Wine Experience wine bar and learning laboratory in downtown McMinnville, Oregon)
Johnson, who moved from Connecticut to Oregon a decade ago, has worked for Oregon wineries Domaine Roy & fils, recently purchased by Frescobaldi; Alit Wines/Rose & Arrow Estate; and Duck Pond Cellars, sometimes in executive-level sales positions and other times in the cellars. Since 2019, Johnson has made his own wine, Satyr Fire Wines. It was Tim Matz, then director of the University’s Center for Wine Education, who told us about the wine bar, which was suggested by students as a way to get hands-on experience in wine hospitality skills, managing inventory, pricing, conceiving marketing plans and cultivating business-to-business relationships, practical stuff. Matz, who was known for his innovations, left Linfield not long after we met him. Anna Maria Ponzi, of groundbreaking Ponzi Winery, which was purchased in 2021 by the Bollinger family, owners of Bollinger Champagne, is now the current center’s head.
Linfield, in the Willamette Valley where most of the state’s wineries are located, was founded in 1858. It’s a private, not-for-profit institution. Almost 40% of its students are people of color. More than 90% of all students receive some financial aid. According to the university’s website, “The Linfield Center for Wine Education offers both a major and a minor in wine studies. The department is an interdisciplinary venture between the College of Arts & Sciences and the School of Business. Students study the science of winemaking as well as marketing, logistics and operations.” The Acorn to Oak Wine Experience is open every day except Wednesday.
This conversation with Johnson has been edited.
Grape Collective: Are all of your employees students?
Paul Johnson: Only students. At this point, I have had 11 different student employees working here in the past 14 months since we opened, as well as two internships. Most work two or three days a week. My assistant manager, she’s a graduating senior, works four days a week currently.
(Paul Johnson, Acorn to Oak Wine Experience hospitality, tasting room and wine club manager)
GC: And they get paid in money and also course credit?
Johnson: Yes. They are absolutely compensated for their time. So they earn hourly wages, gratuities, and have the commissions. They’re making a good amount of money here for a first job, getting $25-$30 an hour on average.
GC: And course credits?
Johnson: I don’t come from academia. I know it’s work study. I don’t exactly know how it contributes to credits, but I do know that they’re earning credits as well.
CG: We read somewhere that they come from different majors, that a while ago you were looking for an accounting student to do the books.
Johnson: Yes, yes, absolutely. About half of them currently are wine studies majors, but it’s not exclusive to wine study. It’s not just part of the curriculum or anything. They must apply and I must hire them like any real-world position. It’s about bringing people in who are a good fit.
GC: Do they have to have permits and licenses to work there?
Johnson: They have OLCC server’s permits. OLCC is the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. Anyone who serves alcohol in the state is required to carry an OLCC server’s permit. So they have obtained those. And they do have food handler’s permits as well. And they must be at least 21. We do our team meeting where we sit down and taste to decide what we’re serving. I’m here to offer guidance, but I try to empower them to make decisions. Flights on average cost about $20 to $25 for between three and five wines. The Acorn to Oak Wine Experience also has charcuterie plates available for purchase as well as sodas and water and beers but only those beers that are made in McMinnville. Bottles of wine also can be purchased to take home. [There are deals on tastings if customers buy a certain number of bottles or join the wine club.]
GC: How are the wines selected?
Johnson: We have a society of wineries list that I’ve grown. It’s the Oak and Vine Society that has been in existence at Linfield University since 2015. It was originally kind of a loosely kept list of contributors and subscribers, and when I came in, there were 14 wineries who were contributing annually to Linfield student scholarships to be a part of this list. And I now have, as of yesterday, actually, 33 wineries. Basically, if somebody wants to be a part of this, they must make an annual contribution to Linfield. That’ll go 100% towards student support and scholarships. And once they do, they join the list and it gives us the opportunity to buy wines from them at wholesale pricing to then sell and pour in here. We host a myriad of different events and that enables them to take part in those. And it also gives all the members of our wine club and subscription list access to perks with those wineries.
(Some current offerings at Acorn to Oak Wine Experience)
So it’s really kind of a cyclical community that we’re building. For me, it really fulfills my desires for stewardship for the region. I’m passionate about this region. This fulfills my goals of stewardship, both from the perspective of bringing together community wineries, strengthening this network of camaraderie and neighborliness, and bringing more guests to these wineries. But also, the entire program is motivated to generate profits that will be used for student support for wine studies. I feel like we are training the next generation of other people that will be wine managers, executives, CEOs in the wine industry.
GC: Is it true that students are making wine?
Johnson: Yes. Linfield University has its own winery. We have a winery permit, and a bonded winery that agrees to host us. We’re making small batches of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and we’ll sell it when it’s ready. It’s very good.
GC: We’ve read that you hope to get a diverse group of students working here, possibly the offspring of people who have actually worked with their hands in the ground, who will be able to study here and benefit. And your wine list also seems to represent that idea.
Johnson: Absolutely. I want a huge diverse list. As much as the entire region loves Pinot Noir, we need more than just one variety on the list. When customers come in, we want to have Oregon Mourvèdre, we want to have Oregon Gamay Noir, we want to have Chenin Blanc, we want to have white blends, red blends, all sorts of different things. Sparklings.
I want our wine list to be representative of the current narrative of the Oregon wine industry. So wines both from legacy producers that are still family-owned after 50 years, as well as up-and-coming wineries that have just sprung into existence in the past five or 10 years. I want it to be the classic styles of wine and varieties that people expect from our region, as well as the experimental that is happening right now in the third generation in wine production, where we are trying different styles, planting new varieties, exploring what our climate and our terroir can truly offer.
And so I want someone who comes in here to get a glimpse at what is currently happening, as well as having access to the specific things that they may have come in to taste.
Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher conceived and wrote The Wall Street Journal's wine column, "Tastings," from 1998 to 2010. Dorothy and John have been tasting and studying wine since 1973. In 2020, the University of California at Davis added their papers to the Warren Winiarski Wine Writers Collection in its library, which also includes the work of Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson. Dottie has had a distinguished career in journalism as a reporter, editor, columnist and editorial writer at The Miami Herald, The New York Times, and at The Journal. John was Page One Editor of The Journal, City Editor of The Miami Herald and a senior editor at Bloomberg News. They are well-known from their books and many television appearances, especially on Martha Stewart's show, and as the creators of the annual, international "Open That Bottle Night" celebration of wine and friendship. The first bottle they shared was André Cold Duck. They have two daughters.
