ORWA Wine Brokerage
Who we are...and why
What is this all about? When I moved to Oregon, I knew very little about Oregon wines. I remember sitting in a place called Oregon Wines on Broadway, which had about 16 wines on “tap.” I was blown away by the depth and breadth of them, and how very good they were. Then I discovered that I was only about 35 minutes from wine country. I spent many weekends exploring. Imagine Napa at a kinder, gentler time in its history. You’re on a country road, and then there are several blue signs at an intersection. Along with easel signs: “Tasting Today”. Heaven.
Pinot Noir is the signature grape in Oregon, and what it is NOT is California Pinot. The highest expression of Pinot Noir in Oregon is an elegant, silky wine with a balanced alcohol content. The wine may be bigger or smaller, lean to black fruits or red berries, be lighter or heavier, but the best ones are silky and elegant. Burgundian, if you will.
I came to have a real yen for the smaller, family owned wineries, and Kim shares that perspective. In fact, for our business model, if we visit a tasting room a couple of times and haven’t met the owner or the winemaker, we’re not likely to include it in our portfolio. Nothing against the larger producers, but we love the folks who are turning sunshine into wine as a part-time endeavor, or who are genuine multi-generation farmers. One of my favorite winemakers (whose wines I don’t have yet, unfortunately) is an 85-year old retired aerospace engineer. He’s the farmer, the winemaker, and until recently the sole tasting room employee. It doesn’t get any better than that.
We’ve gone the traditional business folks one better. We not only have mission and vision statements, we have a passion statement.
Our passion is the work of small, family owned wineries.
Our mission is to bring you wines that you would otherwise never taste unless you visited the wineries as we do.
Our vision is to be the most authentic purveyor of Oregon and Washington wines that reflect the passions of the owners and winemakers, the terroir, and the unique viticultural region that is Oregon and Washington.
Our name is the abbreviations for Oregon and Washington, which when put together have a Native American sound. The symbol is a raven (my personal totem) in the style of the Haida indians of the Northwest Coast.
For us, this isn’t about making money. If we can bring some great wines to Maine, help some great winemakers in Oregon and Washington, cover our expenses, and maybe pay for a couple of trips to Maine each year, we’ll be happy. We’re starting very small, and hope to never get really big.
Wayne Clark, Broker
Kim Laramy, Marketing Director
ORWA Wine Brokerage
7225 SW Ventura Drive
Tigard, OR 97223
orwa@fastmail.fm
Pinot Noir is the signature grape in Oregon, and what it is NOT is California Pinot. The highest expression of Pinot Noir in Oregon is an elegant, silky wine with a balanced alcohol content. The wine may be bigger or smaller, lean to black fruits or red berries, be lighter or heavier, but the best ones are silky and elegant. Burgundian, if you will.
I came to have a real yen for the smaller, family owned wineries, and Kim shares that perspective. In fact, for our business model, if we visit a tasting room a couple of times and haven’t met the owner or the winemaker, we’re not likely to include it in our portfolio. Nothing against the larger producers, but we love the folks who are turning sunshine into wine as a part-time endeavor, or who are genuine multi-generation farmers. One of my favorite winemakers (whose wines I don’t have yet, unfortunately) is an 85-year old retired aerospace engineer. He’s the farmer, the winemaker, and until recently the sole tasting room employee. It doesn’t get any better than that.
We’ve gone the traditional business folks one better. We not only have mission and vision statements, we have a passion statement.
Our passion is the work of small, family owned wineries.
Our mission is to bring you wines that you would otherwise never taste unless you visited the wineries as we do.
Our vision is to be the most authentic purveyor of Oregon and Washington wines that reflect the passions of the owners and winemakers, the terroir, and the unique viticultural region that is Oregon and Washington.
Our name is the abbreviations for Oregon and Washington, which when put together have a Native American sound. The symbol is a raven (my personal totem) in the style of the Haida indians of the Northwest Coast.
For us, this isn’t about making money. If we can bring some great wines to Maine, help some great winemakers in Oregon and Washington, cover our expenses, and maybe pay for a couple of trips to Maine each year, we’ll be happy. We’re starting very small, and hope to never get really big.
Wayne Clark, Broker
Kim Laramy, Marketing Director
ORWA Wine Brokerage
7225 SW Ventura Drive
Tigard, OR 97223
orwa@fastmail.fm
