Local man’s book on Oregon wines wins publishers award
'Oregon: The Taste of Wine' takes top honors at the Ben Franklin Awards in New York City
Janis Miglavs / For Times Newspapers
A historic farmhouse, built in 1883 near Forest Grove, is seen from a hillside of chardonnay vines at David Hill Vineyard and Winery.
Sherwood resident Janis Miglavs’ book, “Oregon: The Taste of Wine,” won top honors at the Independent Book Publishers Association’s Ben Franklin Awards in New York City last month.
The gold medal was in the Regional category, competing against all books nationwide with a regional slant. This is Miglavs’ second vineyard/winery book.
“As a former National Geographic photographer, I felt very confident about the photography,” said Miglavs. “But I wanted the text to be just as compelling. To me, it seems the copy in most photography books is thin, lightweight. I wanted the copy for this Oregon book to be just as strong as the photography.
“I also wanted the copy to be very personal,” he said. “Rather than a book on Oregon wine, I wanted it to be about the people. My goal was to get very personal stories. I knew I was on the right track when about three-quarters of the way through my very first interview, Dick Ponzi looked at me and said, ‘I’m telling you things I’ve never told anyone before.’ During my interview with David Lett and his son Jason, they had father-son conversations they had never had before, right on my digital recorder.”
Stories told in their own, colorful words, “Oregon: The Taste of Wine” is about the extraordinary group of individuals who followed their hearts to create something that is world-class – Oregon wine. It’s about their individual and collective energy, their values, their passion, their vision and their humanness and is accompanied by storytelling photographs of the region and its vineyards and wineries.
The reviewers are buzzing about the book.
“It’s the stories of the people, punctuated with Jánis’ photography, that makes ‘Oregon: The Taste of Wine’ a great read,” said Tom Hubbard of The Portland Metro Photographic News.
“Miglavs captured the spirit of Oregon viticulture and winemaking in this volume, which should be added to any serious wine lover’s collection of books,” said Andy Perdue, Wine Press Northwest.
“It is a spectacular work of art, both visually and in the literary sense,” said Brian Bushlach, host of the “Vine Time” radio show. “You captured the soul of the Oregon wine industry like I’ve never seen it, nor experienced it. I’ve never been so in love with a book about wine.”
Next: a book on Chinese wine
Meanwhile, Miglavs ventured to China in May to do a book about Chinese vineyards and wineries. He came back not only with ample material for his next book but also an assignment from a consortium of the Chinese government, China’s most upscale winery and Penglai, the wine region that wants to become the Napa of Chinese wine.
He was told that this was the first time that the government- controlled, Chinese wine industry had hired a foreign photographer.
Miglavs now specializes in photographing and writing about architecture, travel and vineyards and wineries of the world. He has completed two books, including the latest, “Oregon: The Taste of Wine.”
After spending six months researching Chinese wineries and vineyards, Miglavs selected five to visit during the monthlong trip. Chateau Junding, in Shandong Province, was the third stop. As a gift, Janis had given their marketing director one of his books, and that proved to be exactly what the marketing director was looking for, someone who knew the vineyard and could write and photograph.
But, sealing deals in China is not a straight line. First, Janis had to be approved by the Penglai Winery Association director at a dinner where wine flowed like water. The next night, he had to be approved by the local mayor and the regional Communist Party chief during a karaoke party. Just being invited signaled that the Sherwood resident was in with the right people.
Even though Janis “can’t sing worth beans” – that according to the photographer himself – the dignitaries were impressed that he was the only person sober enough to help them out to their black limos.
For more info, visit Miglavs’ China Journal/blog at http://janismiglavs.blogspot.com.