Flipturn Cellars dives headfirst into the winemaking pool

Winery spotlight: Flipturn Cellars Meg Rulli shows her 2020 Flipturn Cellars Oasis Vineyards Syrah at the 2023 Indie Wine Mixer in McMinnville. (Photo by Michael Alberty/Photo by Michael Alberty)

I first met Meg Rulli while working on an article about an all-female winery cooperative. Based on her energy and sheer determination to make wine, I had no doubt I’d be writing this article one day.

Flipturn Cellars is best known for: minimal intervention, food-friendly wines with elevated acidity.

Innovation: Most winemakers wait until someone enters their tasting room before the education process begins. Much like Mr. Hand in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," Rulli is willing to take the lesson into people's homes.

Rulli, who holds a level three certification from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, created an online wine education program called Barrel Dork. The program is designed to demystify wine for people interested in learning more about their favorite beverage, from becoming comfortable ordering wine in restaurants to starting a collection. "There's definitely an intimidation factor to wine that I hope to overcome in a fun way," Rulli said.

The Barrel Dork Academy offers 47 online lessons for $300. The Barrel Dork website also offers free content about wine basics, food pairings, grape varieties and wine travel.

"Must try" current release: 2022 Flipturn Cellars Skin Contact Chardonnay ($34 – 12.2% ABV). For her first ever white wine, Rulli set out to create an unoaked chardonnay with brisk acidity. Mission accomplished.

The chardonnay grapes from the Horse Heaven Hills American Viticulture Area in Washington were picked early to keep sugar levels down. They then spent six days soaking on their skins before the whole clusters were loaded into the press to undergo native fermentation in a stainless steel tank.

The resulting wine has all the hoped-for briskness and, thanks to the skin contact, nice texture with what Rulli described as "scratchy tannins." The wine is also filled with fresh, clean aromas and flavors of lemon basil, tangerines, guava, saline and rose petals.

The wine's label art is a bonus, reminding me of the poster for the classic surf film "The Endless Summer." This is fitting, given that this refreshing chardonnay triggers a daydream filled with ocean breezes, sandy beach blankets and an old paperback.

History: Rulli's interest in wine started in college while studying overseas in Barcelona. "I grew up in a beer household, and in Spain I was suddenly exposed to all these good, inexpensive table wines," Rulli said.

That interest intensified as Rulli and her husband visited wine regions in Argentina, Australia and Italy during their travels. When the couple settled in Oregon to launch a digital advertising agency, Rulli immediately noticed the region's thriving wine scene.

When not working on advertising, Rulli took any wine industry job she could find, from working in tasting rooms to conducting in-store wine presentations. In 2019 she decided to learn more about the production side by volunteering to work harvest for four different wineries.

In 2020 Rulli dove headfirst into winemaking by buying one ton of Eastern Washington syrah to make her first wine at Helioterra Wines in Portland, then home to an all-female winery cooperative. Flipturn Cellars was born.

The winery's name is a tip of the swim cap to Rulli's competitive collegiate swimming career. The flip turn is a quick, precise move that reverses a swimmer's course. In other words, a perfect name for Rulli's winery.

What we don't know: In 2019, Rulli joined her husband and a small group of friends in summiting Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain.

Also, Rulli once ran a lucrative bagel-toasting operation.

When administrators at Rulli's high school didn't promptly replace a broken cafeteria toaster, she took action. "The kids panicked because in Upstate New York, toasted bagels for breakfast are a staple," Rulli said. Rulli brought her family's toaster to school and charged students 25 cents per bagel for toaster time.

Advice for anyone thinking about making wine: "You don't have to have all the answers when you start out. I wish I had known that. Just get started and take it one step at a time. And never be afraid to ask questions, because the Oregon wine community is great about answering pleas for help," Rulli said.

Last book read: "The Vanishing Half: A Novel" by Brit Bennett.

Where to buy: To locate Flipturn Cellars wines in Portland, head to Dogwood Wine & Flowers, P's & Q's Market and Division Wines. Non-Portland options include Market of Choice in West Linn and The Portland Wine Cellar in, oddly enough, Beaverton.

To enjoy Flipturn Cellars wines by the glass, visit Abigail Hall, Alouette or Muse Winebar in Portland.

By appointment, flipturncellars.com or [email protected].

-- Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. He can be reached at [email protected]. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine