Instagram story viewer> @thewinescribes> Posts

Wine Scribes

@thewinescribes

28.1K

followers

2461

following

Highlighting small boutique wineries and winemakers around the world, travel guides, sharing wine & viti knowledge.
Winemakers @vesperacellars

POSTS STORIES REELS

Hi there! We're Jesse and Cassie. Jesse's a winemaker (UC Davis trained) who's made wine in Burgundy, Australia, California, and Portugal. Cassie holds her WSET Level 2 with Distinction and assists Jesse in the cellar and biz ops.

Together we run Wine Scribes — a wine and travel guide focused on the small producers and overlooked regions that deserve way more attention than they get.

We also make our own wine under Vespera Cellars in the Columbia River Gorge and Douro Valley.

We've visited 50+ wine regions. We write honest travel guides, publish the most-used free WSET practice exams on the internet, and we're probably drinking something right now that we'll tell you about later.

New here? Start with our wine guides or WSET quizzes — link in bio.

Pictured: Our 2025 harvest of dry-farmed organic Pinot Noir. The pristine clusters were brought into @hawkinscellars for processing, utilizing their commercial-grade equipment and infrastructure. Shout out to some great folks who made this all possible with their hard work! @caskades @hbrause7 @ken.says

Looking forward to making this the best vintage yet! by @thewinescribes

Vineyard Laser Defense ⚡🚨 They may be cute, but feathered fiends can wreak havoc on a vineyard! Birds love feasting on juicy grapes, leading to lost profits and heartache for winemakers. Here's how this vineyard owner thinks differently about bird defense👇

@bellingarestates takes an unconventional approach by implementing laser beams to scare off hungry birds. The result? Highly effective against Starlings in particular (one of the most common flying culprits to vineyard destruction). They also saved 80% on netting costs.

Here are a few more conventional options for bird defense in the vineyard:

*Nets: The most standard option is to wrap netting around the vine's fruit zone so that the grapes are unharmed but birds can't get in. Still, this is expensive, time intensive and is typically not 100% effective.

*Nature's pest control: Encouraging owls and other birds of prey to nest in your vineyard can be a natural and effective way to deter pesky grape-gobblers. Plus, these predators are pretty cool to have around!

*Noise scare: Auditory hazing devices are loud, repetitive sounds that are meant to scare birds. The downside is that these shotgun sounds are so loud, they'll scare your vineyard crew too; we speak from experience.

Which option would you pick to defend your grapes from hungry birds?

#winemaking #wineeducation #winelovers #winetime #wine #vineyard #birds #lazer #laser #nature #defense #animals #technology #biodynamic #winery #howto #willamettevalley #oregon by @thewinescribes

Genesis of our barrel fermenter.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
You can ferment wine in a variety of vessels: concrete vats, steel tanks, even trash cans. We are using a deconstructed open-top neutral french oak barrel.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Thanks to @domainepouillon for providing the materials and expertise!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#columbiagorge #gorgewine #winescribes #winetravel #winestagram #winemaker #winemaking #wineroutes #winedestinations #winecountry #wineknowledge #sommlife #travel #pictureperfect #studywine #somm #lifeofadventure #wsetglobal #wset #wineblog #youcansipwithus #wine #winetime #winelover #vin #vino #vinho #winery #vineyard by @thewinescribes

Notes of Endor forest floor..

#halloween2026 #starwars #wine #cosplay #washington by @thewinescribes

It's not just you. White wine is winning. Global red wine production is down 25% from its peak. We broke it all down — what’s driving the shift, what it means for prices, and why it might actually be great news if you still love red. Full breakdown on the blog 🔗

#wineindustry #wine #winetok #whitewine #redwine by @thewinescribes

Our 5-year-old on pigeage duty -- the traditional à pied method for gentle extraction.

Feet washed, cap gently punched and ferment is happy.

Team pigeage or team remontage? 👇🏼

#harvest2026 #pigeage #winemaking #wa_state_wine #columbiagorgewine by @thewinescribes

We're not the only ones harvesting over here. Check out how they do it in Cinque Terra 😍🇮🇹

@arbaspaacinqueterre thank you for this awesome vid. Check them out for tours of the area if you are in town!

#winemaking #italytravel #cinqueterre #wine #travel by @thewinescribes

Meet the Teinturier grape.

Almost every red wine gets its color from skin contact during fermentation — the juice inside is clear. Whole berry, whole cluster, extended maceration are all ways winemakers coax pigment out of grape skins.

Teinturier grapes skip all that. Their pulp is pigmented. Their juice runs red from the moment you cut them open.

The word comes from the French teindre — "to dye." Because that's what these grapes do.

Fewer than 20 varieties in the world qualify. Saperavi (Georgia). Others include Alicante Bouschet (France), Sousão (Portugal), and Maréchal Foch (which we also work with).

We just brought in our first commercial haul Saperavi grapes from Bright Lights Vineyard in the Dalles @vesperacellars

#winemaking #wine #winetime #harvest2026 #washington by @thewinescribes

🎵 No colors anymore, I want it *pale straw-yellow with a white-silver meniscus*🥂

First white wine in barrel! We'll have a full write up sent out to our @vesperacellars mailing list soon, so make sure you're subscribed to get the full harvest updates 🍇

#harvest2026 #wa_state_wine #gorgewine #winemaking by @thewinescribes

by @thewinescribes

How many did you get right? We just launched free Certified Sommelier practice exams on the site. Theory, blind tasting scenarios, spirits, service. Written by a UC Davis winemaker and WSET graduate with Distinction. Drop your score in the comments.

Not affiliated with CMS. Just here to help you study.

Full practice exams at thewinescribes.com (link in bio)

#SommelierExam #CertifiedSommelier #WineEducation #SommelierLife #WineQuiz WSET CourtOfMasterSommeliers WineStudy by @thewinescribes

Our talented winemaker friend and neighbor to the south in the Dão region of Portugal, @vizinhovinhateiro explains his unique vineyard practices of tying vines instead of cutting.

Fascinating stuff that we'll be looking to implement. New site post coming soon with full details.

#vineyard #winemaking #wineeducation #portugal #portugalwine by @thewinescribes