Loop de Loop's "regular" Four Winds Pinot was one of our favorite wines of the year. Now comes the reserve, amplifying all the aspects we found so deeply invigorating. Additional barrel aging allowed for even greater complexity and aromatic splendor. Fresh red fruit essence sprinkled with orange zest, dried rose, savory-sweet herbs -- a heavenly melange of Pinot perfume. At first sleek and lithe, it blossoms to show a surprising density, the kind that will allow this to age for at least a decade. We spent a week with the bottle, savoring sips each day and remarking at the persistent freshness and energy that just wouldn't quit. A mere two barrels were held over to create this exquisite reserve. - Marcus
Loop de Loop is the tiny (tiny) wine label of Julia Bailey. By day, she represents one of the best Burgundy books in the state (Beaune Imports) and we recently sat down over a glass to learn more about her background. Much like the twists and turns of our own life paths, Julia had amazing experiences from which to draw and a circuitous route that led her to wine...and back again.
It was the mid 1990s and Julia was working at Portland restaurant Oritalia, through which she met the likes of Matt Berson (Love & Squalor) and Marcus Goodfellow (Matello, Goodfellow Family). Her first wine industry gig was at Argyle, where she picked up increasing responsibility, including managing the tasting room, yet she yearned to work in the cellar.
She was the first (the first!) employee at Patricia Green Cellars (except for Patty and Jim, of course). She left after two years, eventually settling back in Iowa where she grew up, pursuing a Master’s in international relations while selling wine on the side. There, she met a Palestinian man and, following her field of study and her heart, moved to Palestine for five years. A marriage, opening a restaurant, making wine and Arak -- there’s much more to the story including a year in Thailand studying permaculture -- but Julia landed back in Oregon in 2011.
She worked a harvest for Love & Squalor and thought perhaps she’d enroll at UC Davis to study winemaking. Two of her friends and mentors dissuaded her, with PGC’s Jim Anderson telling her something very similar to “no one you respect will hire you if you have a degree from Davis” and Marcus Goodfellow encouraging her instead to learn how he learned: make wine, screw it up, and learn how to fix it.
So she did, and Loop de Loop was born in 2012. We so enjoyed learning more about Julia and we are convinced you’ll enjoy her wines. They are as genuine as she.