Jackson Rohrbaugh: Capturing The Essence Of Seattle in A Wine Glass

shopping is overwhelming.

When you walk into a grocery store or wine shop you’re confronted with hundreds of options. How do you pick a decent bottle? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was someone there with you to suggest a few?

Crunchy Red Fruit is based in Seattle and acts as your own personal Master Sommelier .  They curate and send you wines you love to drink. Wines that tell a story. Wines that are different from what’s offered at big box stores. 

Most of the wine bought and drank in the US today is made in bulk quantities, using machine-harvested grapes and utilizing heavy chemical intervention in both the vineyard and winery. These wines are full of ingredients that we can’t pronounce, and look more at home on a shampoo bottle than on something that you’re going to drink.

Jackson Rohrbaugh, founder and president of Crunchy Red Fruit wants to show you a better way. 

Jackson has a passion for sharing wine from small grape producers who work organically in their vineyards and don’t obscure the natural taste of their grapes with chemical intervention in the winery. His company works with wineries that are transparent in their process, and are honest about what they create. They believe that this honesty makes for more interesting wines in the end.

Jackson is additionally the former Master Sommelier for Seattle’s most famous gourmet restaurant Canlis, and was born and raised in surrounding area in Gig Harbor.

JACKSON'S STORY

In this episode Tyler and Jackson start the conversation by cracking open a bottle of vino.

"I'm always tasting," Rohrbaugh said, "part of this business is trying to figure out what are the wines that make sense for my business, what's going to go in the box...there's a lot of things I am on the hunt for in a bottle of wine that other people aren't on the hunt for, I have my own specific criteria." 

"This is a wine that someone is an importer sent me samples of. It's pretty cool having wine coming to your door all the time," Jackson continued.

They two men are sipping on a Pinotage from South Africa...it's made by Painted Wolf.

"Pinotage is interesting because it is not the favorite grape of Sommeliers. It's usually relegated to garbage bin status, " Jackson said. 

It is then revealed that Pinotage is even equated to a "rubber band, band-aid" taste.

Fortunately for Tyler, Jackson assures him as is not the case with the Painted Wolf Pinotage.

Tyler takes a sip and the two agree the wine meets both their criteria. Tyler then goes into Jackson's personal story, starting with the German roots of that hard to pronounce last name. 

The discussion then goes into German wine and a Sommelier favorite German Riesling. Jackson calls German Riesling "undervalued" and says that you can get amazing bottle of German Riesling for $15 to $20. 

"Riesling was once the most expensive wine available," Jackson said. He blames this on a sweeter pallet of people living centuries ago. 

Jackson may have German roots but was born and raised in Gig Harbor and went to college at the University of Washington. He now resides in Seattle with his family. 

Jackson was introduced to the world of gourmet food and wine while living abroad for a year in Italy. During the conversation, Jackson speaks a bit of Italian to illustrate his time in the place internationally known for incredible food and wine.

Jackson said he returned to Seattle for the natural beauty and the exceptional produce.

"We have the greatest oysters in the world, some of the greatest salmon...it's pretty cool to live here with the quality of our natural products and fresh air..." Jackson said. 

Where did this love for quality food come from? Tyler asked.

"My mom was a great cook, we didn't grow up with a ton, my parents cleaned houses to make ends meet and that was after their day jobs and so she knew how to do a lot with a little and she had great recipes that we came to know and love," Jackson said. 

JACKSON'S CAREER

Tyler dives deeper into what it was like working for the Seattle-famous Canlis family and the stigma surrounding gourmet food. 

"It is expensive to dine there and wealth and equality is a thing in our society and I would never want to gloss over that,” Jackson said.

“But the point is the people behind it have huge hearts and are super generous and have taught so many other people who have worked there or been guests there or vendors who have sold there and you learn how to treat everyone with generosity and hospitality when you are in that system, it's not about exclusion or making someone feel bad. It's about welcoming them in and that's formed my life in a huge way, and my business in a huge way and who I am...and that's the biggest take away from working there,” he continued.

"It's face to face, I am here for you, I embrace you," Jackson continued. 

THE SOMMELIER CERTIFICATION PROCESS

So, what does it actually take to become a Master Sommelier? 

Noteworthy questions

• Why was it so hard? 

• Which part of the test was the most difficult? 

• What advice would you give someone wanting to do something hard that requires failure?

• What interested you about wine that inspired you to do it as a profession?

JACKSON'S COMPANY

A Bite into the Crunchy Red Fruit

Noteworthy questions

• Why start the company?

• How does it work? 

• What’s it cost? 

• What wines do you have in the current box? 

• Why did you choose them? 

SEATTLE'S WINE ECOSYSTEM

Noteworthy questions

• What do you think of the culture here in Seattle? 

• Are there cities that are bigger wine cities? 

• How has tech played a role in wine? 

• Where do you see Seattle in the next 10 years? 

• Where do you see the wine world in the next 10 years? 

• What’s your biggest hope for Seattle? 

Jackson also let's us know his two favorite places to grab wine and dinner in the city.

"If you want a really fun french bistro vibe...go to Le Caviste...killer little champagne and wine bar," Jackson said. 

La Caviste is located at 1919 7th Ave.

"If you want your pallet stretched and want to taste something funky, a little off the beaten path go to Bar Ferdinand in Capitol Hill," he said. 

"They are going to pour you things that will stretch your imagination a little bit," Jackson said. 

FIND JACKSON

Jackson Rohrbaugh: Instagram, Facebook, Website