frequently asked questions
The vast majority of our wines are from small producers, the solid majority of whom use organic or biodynamic practices. While our wines cost a bit more than what you find in grocery stores, that’s because small producers put a lot more labor into their juices! In other words, our producers' prices are driven by the intensity of their labor that goes into growing grapes and making wine from them.
What’s OeL’s approach to the curation of wines?
Indeed we are, though we prefer the term “low intervention,” because for some folks “natural” wine means funk. Sometimes funky natural wines are intentionally funky, but sometimes they’re the result of microbial life taking the reins in a bottle, causing weird things to happen. Either way, our approach and palates prefer cleanness and elegance on the natty wine spectrum. In a world in which agriculture is heavily mechanized and crops are safeguarded from disease by chemicals, and industrialized wines are heavily modified to churn out vast quantities of the same product year after year, we favor producers who do it the old-fashioned way: crushing grapes, fermenting them, and refusing to alter or add to the fermenting/fermented juice (except for maybe a miniscule amount of sulfur to make sure microbial life doesn’t wreak havoc). If any of this is confusing, ask someone at the shop!
So wait. Are y’all doing natural wine?
In short, “sustainable” practices involve using chemical pesticides and herbicides only when absolutely necessary; conventional farming uses chemical products regularly, and even indiscriminately. Producers dedicated to sustainable practices often do their best to minimize environmental impact throughout their vineyard management and wine production, and will go above and beyond to regenerate and safeguard the natural environment.
“Organic” farming refuses to use chemicals, and relies upon naturally-occurring resources to ward off disease and animals from vines. There are various organizations that certify vineyards and producers as “organic,” so know that the term can mean a variety of things.
“Biodynamic” viticulture is quite odd, and is based upon the work of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher and occultist, whose theories railed against a mechanistic view of agriculture. According to Steiner, an agricultural area needs to be approached as an entire living organism, with the different plants and creatures who inhabit it providing meaningful contributions to the system’s well-being. Biodynamic producers go above and beyond organic farming, and implement certain “preparations” for their vineyards: on the extreme end, some will bury an animal’s horn filled with fecal matter in the vineyard and respond to the movement of stars, and on the more usual end, winemakers will plant cover crops or intentionally use animals (like furry cows!) to naturally fertilize their vineyard.
What do “organic,” “sustainable,” and “biodynamic” mean?
Do you have a club?
Indeed, we have three, at different price points for different interests! Along with your membership come a variety of perks, so check out the club page.
How do I inquire about hosting an event at Ora et Labora?
Feel free to email us at info@oraetlabora.wine about hosting an event in our event space, the Vinum Lounge. We designed our shop around the idea of making it a lovely, welcoming space for smallish gatherings at an approachable rate.
Yes! Minors are welcome during our normal business hours because we’re a bottle shop that happens to offer flights and glass pours, rather than a bar. They just can’t sit at our counter.
Do you allow minors?
Because we geekily named our shop as an homage to the monastic vinicultural tradition, the only beer we carry is made by monks, primarily of the Trappist order, and primarily in Belgium. We also carry fancy mineral water, a variety of cold brew iced teas, and some non-alcoholic wine.
Do you have things other than wine, or non-alcoholic beverages?
We lack a full kitchen, but we do have cheese boards from Cowbell (they’re awesome, go there if you haven’t), bread and butter, and some other goodies.
What about food?
Yes, within the Portland metro area, with a minimum purchase of a case. Please contact us to arrange a drop-off time!
Do you deliver?
Well, to make a long story short, enjoying wine is such an intensely subjective thing that high scores from critics don’t necessarily guarantee that one will enjoy a particular wine. Moreover, ever since the advent of scoring wine in literature, producers have tended toward a more heavy-handed approach in making their wines, especially with regard to the use of new oak and extraction of tannins and color. While these are not inherently bad, they aren’t inherently good either. There are so many amazing wines that aren’t from Bordeaux or made in a Bordelaise fashion that certain critics and their audiences adore.
As such, we don’t want to bias your selection; we want to tell the stories behind these wines, foregrounding the people who made them and the places they come from. As such, we eschew super-detailed tasting notes—which can be absurd—in favor of providing broader tasting profiles, to better inform your selection based on your needs.
Do you provide notes and scores about your wines?
Most of what we carry falls under $45, but we do carry some wines that are rare, very limited production, and as such, are a fair bit higher in value. Here’s how we look at it: we adore cocktails, and cocktails in wonderful bars easily cost upwards of $10. A quality bottle of wine, which provides five full glasses, is of a comparable cost to five cocktails, be they from your friendly neighborhood restaurant or a bespoke speakeasy. We’re also fans of bringing our own bottles when we go out to eat, and paying a small corkage fee (provided the restaurant doesn’t carry the same wine, of course!) to drink something we know we’ll enjoy.
Why would I want to spend more than $20 or $30 on a bottle of wine?!
For sure! There’s a $25 corkage fee, which is waived if you’re a club member, or if you purchase more than $75 in bottles.
Can we drink a bottle in the shop?
As a brick and mortar shop, we don’t depend on selling vast quantities of wine to remain viable. As such, our prices are comparable to any other small wine shop you might visit; you’ll never have to pay shipping, and we’ve spent many months making our space as hospitable as possible for your enjoyment. Online retailers ain’t got that, nor do they have the best cheeses in the world to accompany your enjoyment of a glass or two in the shop!
How come when I Google your wines, they’re available at cheaper prices in other places?
We totally understand, and one of our goals is to make the world of wine as accessible as possible. If we’re not sold out the week before a class, we make two tickets available free of charge. Email dave@oraetlabora.wine to inquire and reserve seats. No questions asked.
I’d like to take a class, but I’m on a tight budget.
Once a bottle leaves our shop, we are unable to guarantee proper storage (i.e. out of sunlight and heat and temperature fluctuations), so our policy is to not accept returns for purchased bottles; please know that this is standard practice among bottle shops such as OEL. Of course, if a bottle is flawed (i.e. corked), we are more than happy to accept the return, but please do not dump it out, as our distributors appreciate checking out the exact fault. In the world of buying wine from smaller brick-and-mortars such as ourselves, you are inevitably going to discover wines that you might not like, but think of this as part of the learning process, rather than cause for returning something that is perfectly sound!
What’s your return policy?
Sarah of Braevin Design and Photo did our branding and website design. She’s the best. Oliver Longwell helped us map and plan our inventory, and provide advice based on his career as a somm and wine merchant, so get excited for the classes he’ll be teaching. Nicolas Garrison Poundstone helped us do a ton of research on each wine so that we could provide you, our dear patrons, with interesting notes on the producers we represent, the vineyards they steward, and the wines they craft. Finally, the Allen family provided valuable assistance in giving us feedback on the design of our physical space, website, and all of our literature. If you ask nicely, they might be willing to freelance.
Who’s helped you put all this together?