It’s spooky season, and we’re heading to Oregon’s Willamette Valley for a ghost story with a sparkling twist. Argyle Winery isn’t just known for its world-class Pinot Noir... it’s also home to one of the region’s most famous hauntings.

0:00 Intro

1:00 Argyle Winery

1:55 Winery History

2:39 Nuthouse Pinot Noir Tasting

4:22 The Ghost Story

6:07 Argyle Sparkling Wine Tasting

In this episode, I uncork the story of Lena Immis, the spirit said to roam Argyle’s historic “Spirit House,” and explore how this modern Oregon winery connects its history, architecture, and eerie legends to the wines it makes today.

Along the way, we taste Argyle’s 2018 Vintage Brut and Nuthouse Pinot Noir, talk about why sparkling wine deserves a bigger spotlight in Willamette Valley, and dig into how American wine regions can get pigeonholed into one grape, but don’t have to stay there!

It’s part ghost story, part wine education, and all about discovering how American wineries keep rewriting their own histories, sometimes with a few spirits still hanging around.

Pour a glass, press play, and lnd watch out for the ghosts! Cheers!

Agoston Haraszthy’s story is the wild foundation of California wine history.

00:00 Intro

00:31 Who was Agoston Haraszthy

02:16 From Hungary to California: Gold Rush beginnings

04:25 Founding Buena Vista and pioneering California wine practices

08:00 Importing European grape varieties and the Zinfandel debate

11:00 Champagne disaster and financial downfall

12:54 Legacy, mystery in Nicaragua, and the alligator incident

15:00 Tasting Little Trouble’s Heritage Red Blend

Together we’ll dig into the real story of the man often called the Father of California Wine, from Hungary to Wisconsin, the California Gold Rush, his time as sheriff in San Diego, and his mysterious disappearance in Nicaragua.

At his Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma, Haraszthy pioneered planting vineyards on slopes, built some of the first wine caves in California, and pushed the state toward European grape varieties at a time when the Mission grape still dominated the landscape. He’s tied to the rise of Zinfandel in California, and his influence still shapes the state’s vineyards today.

We’ll also taste the Little Trouble Wine Co. Heritage Red Blend from the Stampede Vineyard in Lodi, California: a low-intervention wine made with Zinfandel, Mission, Alicante, Syrah, Grenache and Tokay. These grapes tie directly back to Haraszthy’s influence and the era when California was defining its wine identity.

If you’re curious about the roots of Sonoma wine, the legacy of Zinfandel in Lodi, or how California’s earliest vineyards transitioned from the Mission grape to a broader range of European varieties, this episode uncorks it all! Cheers!