Remy Wines: Flavor, Distinction, and Queer Visibility

Ahh the great Pacific Northwest! Clean ocean air, lush greenery as far as the eye can see. 

This gorgeous maritime portion of our country—where salmon bakes, orcas, and Frasier all hail from—has so much more to offer than just all that. 

In the heart of the extraordinary state of Oregon lies a truly special winemaking community at the center of which is the city of McMinnville, seat of Yamhill County. Amidst the picturesque setting of this scenic area are many alluring attractions including the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, Robert Hugh’s Spruce Goose, a food scene that will knock your socks off, and some truly world-class, wine-making operations. Sharing a climate not unlike that of the world-famous Burgundy region of France, this area is home to some of the best wine producers nationwide, and Remy Drabkin is right up there. 

This young woman is certainly one who is a leader and someone we should all strive to be more like. Remy grew up in McMinnville, where she and her family still reside. It was during a time when the anti-LGBTQ legislation was coming through Oregon. She told me that when she was in middle school, and her brother had already come out as gay, that she, too, came out, and that their parents, who were always involved in civil rights, taught them at young ages the importance of civil responsibility. 

Her love affair with wine started when she was just about 8 years old. 

“I loved getting to make big messes with all my friends and all the good food we got to eat,” she says. “And I loved the transformative process of taking something so very raw and turning it into something beautiful, and all these people gathered around such a beautiful thing.”

“Anytime we’re all in the cellar when everybody erupts into uproarious laughter, that’s always a good thing,” Remy adds, recounting a time on the sorting line when “Bohemian Rhapsody” came on, and the whole staff started singing perfectly self-assigned parts, in sync.

“Our cellar master even knew that the word [in “Bohemian Rhapsody”] is ‘Bismillah,’ and it was amazing to see this group of people fall in sync and collaborate to have fun while making wine,” she says.

Having a predilection for old-world style Italian wines, Remy is known for her unique selection of varietals. Some of this year’s releases will include Black Heart (traditional methode blanc de noirs) Gold Star, (Remy’s take on the Super Tuscan) Chardonnay (under the black heart series like the above, new to Remy and coming soon), as well as her Italian classics like Lagrien, Nebbiolo, and Sangiovese.

When this multi-talented vintner is not in the cellar or out amongst her vines, she is very much involved in her community, from attending town meetings to being on the town council. She is the director of the Oregon Wine Board, where she serves on the Education Committee, and co-founder of Wine Country Pride, which brings Pride celebrations to rural Oregon and creates scholarships and learning opportunities for her community at large. 

Remy continually invests in building a diverse, equitable, and all-inclusive community. Fundraisers, festivals, salmon bakes, music, art, and more are all around this cherished community as a place for all to live, work, and play. 

I asked Remy what her favorite wine of all time was and what she loved most about it. Her answer, as honest and clever as she, “Champagne. And, drinking it.”

There is a hotel in downtown McMenamin’s that is three stories high. On the walls of this establishment, there are written wine tasting notes from patrons long gone by. Some are silly, and some are like a beautiful little poem. Remy tells me that there is one written on the wall of the Remy Winery that goes something like this: 

“We are what we repeatedly do. 

Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” 

-Aristotle 

Until next time I am in McMinnville, I would like to raise a glass to Remy and all of her team for being such an important part of not just the wine making community but the community of humankind and for setting such a great example of what we are all capable of if we set our minds to bettering the world around us. Cheers to you, Remy!

Photos by Zachary Goff