We met Meg on the ‘gram as we stumbled upon her wine education posts. Going by the name @Barreldork Meg sets out to make complex wine topics easier to understand.
Sharing the passion of wine education as well, we quickly hit it off. Recently, Meg shared a fantastic tasting of her private label, Flipturn Cellars. Check out our full interview with her below!new
Interview with Startup Winemaker, Meg Rulli
Wine Scribes: Walk us through the beginning; how did you get started in wine?
Meg Rulli: My love of wine started (and developed) through my passion for travel. I firmly believe that wine & food is one of the best ways to discover a culture and connect with others.
I was first introduced to wine when I studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain and got to enjoy exceptional table wines that were both so delicious and affordable. And then several years after college, my husband and I took a year off to travel abroad where we got to explore incredible wine regions around the globe.
After moving to Portland in 2015, my passion for wine only intensified. Oregon felt like a major hub for wine and I was constantly surrounded by excellent wine and local wine enthusiasts that inspired me beyond belief.
I wanted to take my growing passion for wine and see what I could do with turning it into a second career (I also co-own a digital advertising & marketing agency, Intentional Spark). In 2019, I dove into The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) curriculum and made it through Level 3. During this time, I also started taking any part-time job I could find in the industry to gain experience and discover what I wanted to do in the space.
I immediately got the “winemaking bug” when I signed up to be a Harvest volunteer for several local Oregon wineries in the fall of 2019. I was transfixed with the grape-to-glass process and loved working with my hands. In 2020, I was able to find a spot at a local custom crush facility and purchased one ton of Syrah fruit to learn how to make wine on my own.
Through a lot of trial and error — and against the advice of my peers in the industry — I launched my wine label, Flipturn Cellars, in the summer of 2022 (when I released my 2020 Syrah) and have been making wine ever since.
I am also the Owner of the online wine brand, Barrel Dork — the online community of zero snobbery wine education. I aim to make wine approachable, fun, and unpretentious to wine enthusiasts of all levels through my weekly newsletter, online workshops, wine guides, and online courses.
Did you pursue a degree in Oenology or Viticulture?
Nope. Everything I have done in the world of winemaking thus far has been learning by doing in cellars and working alongside esteemed winemakers who have shown me the ropes of how to make wine.
I was a WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) student, obtaining a Certification in Levels 2 & 3, and took the Chemeketa University Science of Winemaking online course.
What made you want to start your own label?
The idea to start my label was a happy accident. When I got the opportunity to purchase one ton of grapes and make wine in 2020, I immediately said yes without thinking about how much wine that would make — I didn’t realize when making that snap decision that I would be making 600 bottles worth of wine!
My husband and I love wine, but we only have a bottle or two at home each week, so I knew this was an amount I would never be able to consume on my own (even by giving away my wine to friends and family). So, with that, I decided to take a giant leap of faith and get my commercial license to launch a wine label.
I’m honestly glad I took this path in my first year of winemaking. Knowing that my wine would be sold publicly forced me to hyper-focus on my product and create the best wine that I could. The pressure was on!
What does your dream for the business look like in ten years?
When it comes to winemaking, I am still undecided on whether or not I want to expand Flipturn Cellars to a larger production winery or keep my production intentionally small. For now, I continue to learn and get more experience under my belt.
Aside from winemaking, I want to build my wine education business, Barrel Dork, into a thriving online community to help wine enthusiasts grow their knowledge of wine in an approachable environment.
However I grow my businesses in ten years, I want to ensure that I am just as passionate about wine as the day I entered this industry.
Tell us a bit about your wines.
Travel is one of my biggest passions, so I try and always work with varietals that I have fallen in love with during my travels:
- Syrah: When traveling with my husband to Australia in 2012, we visited Hunter Valley and I got to explore some delicious Shiraz from this region. This bold, spicy, and fruity grape varietal inspired me to someday work with Syrah for my production.
- Cabernet Sauvignon: I have tried so many bottles of Cabernet from all corners of the world — And I have seen Cabernet made both extremely well and extremely bad. So I wanted to see what I could do with this grape on a craft production level. I sourced my grapes from the iconic Red Mountain AVA (Kiona Vineyards), picking the fruit early in the Harvest season to create a lighter-bodied, food-friendly, elegant Cabernet.
- Cabernet Franc: I was first introduced to Cab Franc when touring Bordeaux in 2018. In Bordeaux, Cab Franc was seen as this workhorse grape, always being utilized in a small amount in Bordeaux blends. When I returned to Oregon, I tasted a single varietal Cab Franc from Leah Jørgensen Cellars and was immediately impressed. After that experience, it became one of my favorite varietals… it’s so unique!
Flipturn Cellars, Washington and Oregon
Vintages: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 (in production)
Cases produced: 50 (2020), 165 (2021), 95 (2022), 175 estimated (2023)
Varietals: Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Riesling
- Chardonnay: In 2022, I wanted to expand my winemaking knowledge and discover how to make white wine. I had the opportunity to work with my previous vineyard team from where I sourced my 2021 Cab Franc grapes, so I decided to create a Chardonnay that isn’t your “Grandma’s Chardonnay”. My 2022 Chardonnay has a six-day pre-fermentation skin contact followed by fermentation and aging done entirely in stainless steel tanks. It’s a Chardonnay for the Chardonnay haters!
- Riesling: I tried Riesling really for the first time in my WSET classes and was hypnotized by its racing acidity, complex petrol notes, and varying levels of sweetness (that you pair with so many spicy dishes). I knew this would one day be a grape I would play with!
- Sangiovese: When studying abroad in Spain, I was able to travel extensively through Italy and I always adored the table wines here, predominantly utilizing the Sangiovese grape. This grape just reminds me of summer in Tuscany — and a Brunello di Montalcino is my absolute favorite wine. It was a no-brainer to work with this varietal for my Flipturn Cellars production.
Where do you produce the wine?
I currently make my wine at the custom crush facility, AVP Collective, here in Portland, OR. This is a brand-new wine collective that opened this past August (right before Harvest 2023). I work here with about 10 other small urban producers.
One of my industry friends since day 1, Corey Schuster of Jackalope Cellars, was hired as AVP’s Winery Director and he invited me to come work in the space for their inaugural year.
I cannot speak highly enough of the team at AVP, the collective’s facility, and the winemakers that I get to work with here.
Who has had the biggest impact/influence on your personal winemaking style?
Honestly, so many individuals in the wine industry have served as mentors and helped lift me up as I entered the community. 2019 and 2020 was the first time I ever stepped foot in the production side of a winery, and I made an effort to volunteer and work with as many winemakers from my network as possible. Through these experiences, I took little nuggets of winemaking influence that resonated with me from each winemaker and transferred that into my unique style.
When it comes to winemaking, I have learned that there’s no one-size-fits-all methodology, so it’s been a real privilege to pull insights from so many different experts.
How can people get in contact with, taste, or purchase bottles?
Head to flipturncellars.com/shop to see what I have available for purchase! I offer free pickups and local deliveries in the Portland Metro Region and ship to most states.
My wine is also sold in various restaurants, bars, and bottle shops here in Portland and the Willamette Valley.
Instagram: @barreldork, @flipturncellars
Email: meg@flipturncellars.com
Thanks – now for some rapid fire Q&A:
Best bottle you’ve ever tasted: A white blend from the producer Envínate out of the Canary Islands, Spain
Favorite unique wine pairing? Lambrusco and Cheetos. It just works.
When not drinking wine, what’s your go-to beverage? An Old Fashioned or Manhattan!
Besides where you are now, what is your favorite wine region and why?
Douro Valley, Portugal. I didn’t think I was a fan of fortified wine before visiting Portugal, but that quickly changed when I visited the city of Porto with my husband in 2019 and toured the Douro Valley, tasting so many rich and layered Port wines. Popping into various port houses along the Douro River in Porto allowed us to take in the spectacular views of the city with tastings that always included cheese and chocolate pairings… it was pure heaven!
What I especially enjoyed was the beauty of the Douro Valley, with steep-sloped, terraced vineyards running alongside the Douro River. It was stunning and didn’t look like any other wine region I have ever visited.
