Hooray for You Wine Co. The 2020 Hooray for You Wine Co. Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a "must try" current release. (Photo by Michael Alberty/Photo by Michael Alberty)

Gregory Cantu and Christopher Sky make beautiful wines at Hooray for You Wine Co. And “hooray for you” to anyone smart enough to buy a bottle.

Hooray for You Wine Co. is best known for: making affordable, higher acid, lower alcohol wines devoid of new oak influence. Their alcohol by volume target is 12-13%, and most of their wines sell for $20-$22.

Cantu said that in terms of a specific wine, Hooray for You was best known for its “clean and lean” chardonnay made in 500-liter neutral French oak puncheons.

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Innovation: Chardonnay is where Cantu and Sky like to experiment.

First, they save lees from the previous chardonnay vintage to mix with the current wine. Lees are dead yeast cells left behind by the fermentation process. Cantu credits the technique with adding texture to the wine.

Then they use an unusual technique that prevents premature oxidation by forcing their clear-colored chardonnay to turn dark brown or black.

As Cantu and Sky pump the must from the press pan into a holding vessel, they “bruise” it by holding the pump hose high to agitate the juice and incorporate as much oxygen as possible. They repeat the process into a second vessel, where the juice settles for a day before racking off into barrels for fermentation.

The process turns the chardonnay a color somewhere between a pair of brown corduroy Levi’s and the cover of Metallica’s fifth studio album.

“The hope is you’re giving it oxygen now, so the fear of future oxidation goes away. All I can say is our chardonnay tastes better since we started doing this,” Cantu said.

Cantu said he was always relieved when the wine returned to its original color.

“Must try” current release: 2020 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($26).

This fantastic cab is made with fruit from the Weets Family Vineyard near Yakima, Washington. The wine has a lean mouthfeel, with Bordeaux-like aromas and flavors of blackberry, leather, sweat, cedar and iodine. The tannins are silky, the acidity electric.

History: Cantu and Sky became friends while working as maitre d’s at the International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) in McMinnville. The prominent Portland restaurant sommeliers, Sky at St. Jack and Cantu at Grüner, found common ground in wine and witty retorts.

In the summer of 2017, Cantu and Sky enjoyed a bottle of Charles Joguet rosé in Sky’s backyard. At some point, near the end of the bottle, Cantu said, “this is delicious. Why don’t we do this?”

The next day Cantu located a ton of cabernet franc grapes and the winery space needed to make their first wine. As it states on Hooray for You’s website, “one day we were drinkin’ some rosé and we were like, let’s make some rosé, and then we did. Everybody’s a winemaker now.”

Cantu is also the managing partner of a wine distribution company named Rhone St. Wine Co. Sky works at Le Pigeon and owns Jacques Strappe, the queer bar dance party that pops up monthly at Bar Dune.

Biggest success so far: Blue Star Doughnut using Hooray for You’s sparkling wine to create a dessert course at the 2022 IPNC. “Chris rolled his eyes hard when I first said this, but I think it is an honor to be a doughnut at IPNC,” Cantu said.

Last book read: “My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry,” by Fredrik Backman.

Key insight: Cantu said you could make great wine, but you needed a label that “pops” to get someone’s attention. Artist Anne Connell nailed that notion with the vibrating electric font she created for Hooray for You’s labels.

Biggest inspiration: Dorian Corey, a drag performer and fashion designer. Corey ends “Paris is Burning,” a documentary on New York City’s 1980s ballroom culture, by saying,” You don’t have to bend the whole world. I think it’s better to just enjoy it. Pay your dues, and just enjoy it. If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high, hooray for you.”

“Her ‘hooray for you’ was cheeky, but it inspires us to do the best with what we’ve got and to not rest on our laurels when something good happens,” Cantu said.

Where to buy: Portland area retail shops carrying Hooray for You wines include New Seasons Market, Division Wines and the John’s Marketplace Multnomah and Powell locations.

Check out Bar Diane, Doug Fir Lounge, Quaintrelle and Zags Restaurant and Patio to enjoy Hooray for You wines with appetizers or a meal.

You may also shop for Cantu and Sky’s wines at Sundance Wine Cellars in Eugene and Astoria’s Brut Wine Bar and Peter Pan Market & Deli.

hoorayforyouwineco.com or info@hoorayforyouwineco.com.

-- Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive. He can be reached at malberty0@gmail.com. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine.

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