What began as my burning passion to make a little Pinot Noir in 1999 has grown over these 11 vintages to become something beyond my wildest imagination. Scott Paul was started with some borrowed money and a lot of desire – but with no firm business plan, I must say. In retrospect that was probably a good thing, because I’ve learned that in this business one generally throws the business plan out the window every year anyway!

We’re now a well-respected producer of Oregon Pinot Noir, known for a particular and consistent style of wine, as well as a national import company representing a portfolio of Burgundy’s best and brightest young producers. We have thousands of loyal fans across the country, a website that gets tens of thousands of hits, and we get more than our fair share of national press and recognition.

So how did this all happen? Staying true to our vision and passion throughout, for one. Tremendous support from my wife Martha & our partner Cameron Healy for two. But in many ways whatever we’ve achieved is hugely due to the talents, efforts, and dedication of our two team captains – Winemaker Kelley Fox and Marketing Director Kelly Karr.

The Kelly(ey)s are two remarkable women who deserve full-on recognition for their ongoing contributions to all things Scott Paul. I just wanted to take this moment to publicly thank them and let them know how much they are appreciated. We are blessed to have such quality human beings on our side.

Kelley Fox (2 or 3 hair-colors/styles ago!)

Kelley Fox has just finished putting crush 2009 to bed, with meticulous care and dedication, and we already know that we have an excellent vintage to unveil in 18 months or so from now. Kelly Karr has just finished orchestrating our fall Burgundy Express Club shipment – the details and logistics of which simply make one’s head spin. And all has gone without a hitch.

Kelly Karr

We’ve got a massively busy few months ahead, with our annual La Paulée event & dinner, the Salud auction, the release of the 2007 La Paulée, Futures offerings of the 2008 Audrey, our Champagne & Chambolle tasting, Thanksgiving Weekend Open House, not to mention regular daily operations and a quick 10-day trip to Burgundy in the middle of all that for me – none of which would work were it not for Kelley & Kelly and their ability to nail it all down. I may be the public face of Scott Paul Wines – but know that these two top professionals are the ones who keep it all together.

Thank-you, ladies! If only my beloved Arsenal were as consistent and on top of it as you two…

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 1:51 pm and is filed under Scott's Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.