Dec. 20, 2020 – Pascal Brooks, owner of Brooks Winery located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and Janie Brooks Heuck, Brooks Winery managing director, Pascal’s aunt and member of the Chaîne Monterey Bailliage, are featured prominently in American Wine Story, a 2014 documentary film. Pascal and Janie are carrying on the legacy of Jimi Brooks, Pascal’s father and Janie’s brother. A larger than life personality, Jimi founded Brooks Winery in 1998 with a deep commitment to ancient farming practices he learned in France and old vine Riesling grapes he grew in Oregon for his annual vintage that was beginning to attract attention in 2003.
When Jimi passed away suddenly in 2004 just as the year’s vintage was ready to harvest, Janie stepped in to help with business operations. To her amazement, local growers and wineries willingly pitched in at no cost to make sure Brooks had a 2004 vintage. Janie stayed involved and became Brooks’ managing director.
Today she is the driving force behind the winery’s steady growth from producing 3,000 cases of wine in 2005 to 20,000 cases in 2019 while holding steadfast to Jimi’s ideals and philosophy. Janie works each day to make sure she manages Brooks so it is thriving if Pascal, 24, decides he wants to take it over, Janie said to Chaîne during a Dec. 1 phone interview.
Following in his dad’s footsteps, Pascal went to France to work harvest after he graduated from college and did so at the same vineyard where Jimi worked. Pascal is named after Jimi’s mentor in France. Janie wrote a story about the two – When Pascal Met Pascal – that is a touching tribute to and window into Jimi’s legacy.
Janie herself has cultivated deep roots in the wine industry. She is the President of the Board of Directors of the International Riesling Foundation; Chair of the Board of Wine America; and on the media committee for the International Pinot Noir Celebration.
Willamette Valley
In a sense, the 150-mile long Willamette Valley is Oregon. Cradled on three sides by mountains, Oregon’s largest cities dot the valley in succession with Portland near the Washington border to the north, then Salem and Eugene to the south. To the east are the Cascade Mountains. To the west over the mountains is the Pacific Ocean. To the south is Chehalem Mountain, the valley’s tallest mountain.
In American Wine Story, viewers meet Dick Erath, an early viticulturist who came to Oregon in the 1960s after studying its climate. His research told him the Willamette Valley terroir was similar to some of the best wine growing regions in France.
In 1968, Dick planted his first vines, including Pinot Noir varieties, on Chehalem Mountain. The rest is history. Award winning Pinot Noir, pioneered by Dick at Erath Winery, and award winning Rieslings, pioneered by Jimi at Brooks Winery, are just two of more than 500 wineries in the region today.
USA Today named Brooks a “Top 5 Must Visit Oregon Winery.” Wine & Spirits Magazine named Brooks a “Top 100 Winery of 2019.” There are other awards but Janie is most proud to be the first winery in the world that has been certified as: 1) a B Corp for commitment to community and sustainability, 2) a 1% For the Planet company giving 1 percent if its revenues to an approved environmentally-based nonprofit, and 3) a certified Demeter Biodynamic company that Jimi so passionately researched and implemented.
The mark of an exceptional company is not only handling accolades but also handling adversity. Approaching both the same way takes courage of convictions. 2020 has thrown adversity at everyone but think of getting ready to harvest your season when events outside of your control force a decision to entirely shut down both harvest and production.
2020
Nothing could have prepared Janie, her dedicated team and her more than 20 growers for 2020. First it was COVID-19. Brooks adapted with curbside pickup for food and wine when their Tasting Room, with a full menu developed by Executive Chef Norma Buchholz, closed in March.
Their existing online Wine Club continued and remained their most stable revenue source through spring and summer. They were able to reopen their Tasting Room in June. With fall approaching, they were excited for harvest with a forecast for a smaller yield but excellent vintage, Janie said.
Then a second nightmare in an already difficult year struck. What the virus couldn’t do, Mother Nature did.
A rare weather event on Labor Day, with 50 to 75 mile per hour winds, oddly blowing from east to west, fueled new wildfires and blew smoke from existing wildfires burning to the east. A stubborn curtain of smoke hung over grapevines in the Willamette Valley, including Brooks in Amity. Janie heard the area had not experienced a similar weather event, called an inversion, since 1933. In 1933, the nation was in the middle of the Great Depression. In 2020, it’s a viral pandemic.
After consulting experts at Oregon State University, Janie made her decision in a matter of days, not weeks. Brooks Winery would not have a 2020 vintage of their famous Riesling and Pinot Noir varieties. Because smoke had lingered in the valley for days, the risks were too high that the grapes had suffered lasting damage even if initial tastings indicated otherwise, she said.
“The investment in resources to get to an output of potentially okay wines; it just didn’t make sense for us,” Janie said.
Her first priority was caring for her employees and 28 growers. She launched a Growers Relief Fund to honor as much of her existing contracts as she could. She called her growers early to tell them. Many were unaware of the pending disaster from the smoke. “I wanted everyone to feel taken care of but I also wanted to keep my contracts for next year,” Janie said.
She decided 5 dollars from every bottle of white and 10 dollars of every red they sold online or at their Tasting Room from Oct. 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021 would be directed to the fund. For her efforts in support of her growers, Janie was recently nominated for the Wine Industry Advisor: Wine’s Most Inspiring People recognition.
“It feels good. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I didn’t take care of my growers,” she said.
In February 2020 before COVID-19 or the smoke, Brooks launched a new website with a foundation in eCommerce so they were able to mitigate both disasters through a strong virtual presence.
“Lucky for us, I have a team who is gigantically creative and energetic and of course, all want to keep their jobs and so we implemented a lot of different things between the middle of March and when we were able to reopen in June,” Janie said.
Janie started a weekly online newsletter to connect personally with her customers. In the fall, she started monthly Beyond Brooks virtual events through which she partners with a company producing a companion product. In October, Brooks teamed up with Durant Olive Mill, also based in Oregon, for an interesting seminar on how flavored olive oils change the taste of wines. “It’s a little geeky,” Janie said but then quickly points out that people appreciate its entertaining and educational value.
On Jan. 16, 2021, Beyond Brooks will feature another virtual event – Brew Dr. Kombucha and Teahouses of Portland, Oregon. Registration is now open.
Janie is hosting a plethora of virtual tastings and in October, she partnered with Sheri Allen for a Chaîne pairing event that was very popular. Janie said she and Sheri are looking forward to doing more events together for bailliages.
“It was a great pleasure to have the opportunity to work with Janie for the National Chaîne Wine and Cheese presentation. The passion that Janie brings to directing Brooks Winery brought an energy to the event. As we prepared for the pairings, Janie sent me the wines she selected which I then could better choose the right cheeses that made the wines spark and compliment the cheese. I was inspired by the story of Brooks winery and the certifications they have achieved with being a B Corp. Knowing several cheesemakers that are a B Corp it made the synergies even more special. The wines are exceptional. I joined their club membership to get more varieties shipped regularly and participated in their Beyond Brooks monthly pairing webinars, a fun, educational format that Janie has developed. I look forward to working with Janie on future pairing projects,” Sheri said to Chaîne in a Dec. 4 email.
COVID-19 wreaks havoc again
To add more than an insult to injury, COVID-19 reared its ugly spikes again resulting in another state shutdown to stop the spread of the virus. With just one day notice, Brooks had to close their Tasting Room for two weeks in November. “It’s exhausting,” Janie said.
Janie definitely has a wine glass half full though. “We’re hoping we’re going to crush it with our little holiday market. Our Chef is making items from her regular menu that can be shipped,” she said.
Outdoor seating for their Tasting Room opened on Dec. 3 prompting Janie to again think creatively to accommodate her customers. They installed a fire pit but she advises people to bring a blanket!
With beautiful views and great food and wine, Janie is sure the experience will be an excellent one.
“When you come to Brooks, you feel our story,” she said. And the wine glasses are always full.
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