Original story and updates on Canadian businessman Steve de Jaray's attempt to open a winery in Jacksonville, Oregon

Serious Jive Talkin'

By Janet Eastman

THE story Steve de Jaray likes to tell is that he will open a new tasting room unlike anything else in Oregon. It will be part distillery, part wine bar and all theater.

If all goes his way, he'll vault to the top tier of the state's wine producers by selling 100,000 cases of wine a year made from Southern Oregon grapes. In addition, he'll overcome criticism by worried residents of his plans and his past, and his serious legal troubles in Canada will disappear.

Whew. That's some story.

Undaunted by several unplanned plot twists created by what he calls a "very, very small minority that doesn't like me, the winery world and people drinking," de Jaray insisted he will launch Footstone Jive Winery soon.

Just not in Jacksonville, where he leased a historic building on the main street, taped an "Opening Soon!!!" banner in front and invited hundreds of passersby for a pre-remodel preview on June 11. On June 15, the city council voted not to endorse his Oregon liquor license application.

Council members didn't like the stories they were reading in the Medford Mail Tribune and the Vancouver Sun newspapers about de Jaray being charged in May for shipping electronic chips from the Vancouver International Airport to Hong Kong in defiance of export rules. Stories also surfaced that in 2004, de Jaray, who still lives in West Vancouver, B.C., admitted to insider trading reporting violations as a CEO of AimGlobal Technologies Co., a high-tech firm. He was fined $100,000 by the British Columbia Securities Commission and cannot be involved in a publicly traded company in B.C. until 2013.

De Jaray has explanations for all of this, but the council's mind was set: endorsement denied. So de Jaray's well-crafted story of Footstone Jive will have to be rewritten.

Footstone Jive. The name is as unexpected as everything else about the company. The aspiring wine producer explains it this way: The idea of "footstone" came to him while walking around the Jacksonville cemetery and reading some of the grave markers. And "jive," well, he says, "a 'jive' is a story. The names of the wines celebrate the stories of people who lived here in the past."

His Syrah Rosé is called "the Farm Girl" and the '40s-style pinup label depicts a busty brunette in short overalls and roller skates. His Pinot Gris is "the Librarian," who's shown with plumeria in her blonde hair, plunging cleavage and a garter high on her thigh while splashing around in a wine barrel. An aromatic blend of Pinot Gris, Viognier, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc is "the Débutante," seen on the label as a Marilyn Monroe-ish seductress with a white gown and hose, and red lips, gloves and heels.

De Jaray still plans to release the white wines first, followed by a Meritage, named after a fabled aviator who ran a dance hall in Jacksonville's Redmen's Hall, the brick landmark on the corner of California and Third Street that de Jaray hoped to occupy.

Now he's moving his idea, his custom order for two towering Bavarian copper stills and the rest of his promised $1 million in equipment to another location. "We have a Plan B," said a member of his entourage outside City Hall minutes after the "no" vote. "Stay tuned," chimed in de Jaray. Will there be an appeal to the Jacksonville City Council? "The question you should be asking is 'Would I want to appeal?'" he said.

As of now, the 2009 white wines are in a holding tank at a custom-crush facility in Medford, waiting to fill thousands of custom-made bottles even though there is no "dance hall" winery in which to showcase or sell it.

The wine has a story, too. It has been specifically crafted, he says, to appeal to millennials - young adults, wandering the Applegate Valley wine region, dining in Chicago and New York, and drinking for fun in places as far away as Asia.

The wine is fruit forward, approachable, "yummy," he said. "Not your dad's wine." He predicts it will appeal to people interested in "nostalgic frugality." He has priced the wine around $25 a bottle.

Following the philosophy that the client is always right, noted winemaker Linda Donovan of Pallet Wine Co. in Medford created "less earthy" wines for de Jaray. They're not oaky, buttery, bitter or high in alcohol.

Getting customer attention first, he hopes, will be his "specially sculptured art collector bottles featuring commissioned-Ludvigsen original glamour pinup artwork," as stated in a premature press release announcing the opening of Footstone Jive in Jacksonville.

If not the glitz and glamour, then maybe the spirits will lure them in.

In his dream of a demonstration distillery, people will be drawn in by the intoxicating scent of fresh fruit - pears, peaches, cherries, blackberries, plums - as if they've entered their grandma's kitchen while she was canning jam. De Jaray envisions a setting in which a sound system pumps out songs by the Barenaked Ladies and black-clad staffers ask if customers want a tour of the distillery or to jump right into tasting Footstone Jive's spirits or wine. If they like, they can buy a glass or bottle of wine to drink there, or take away a bottle of the spirits.

De Jaray likes the idea of taking the barrel tasting and distilling process out of caves and cellars and into the open.

Still in the shadows - according to local critics, a Vancouver Sun journalist, a Southern Oregon wine blogger and a writer posting on www.stockhouse.com, who refers to de Jaray as "a smooth ... raconteur  ... suing his own brother" - is de Jaray's intended business modus operandi.

On June 15, the same day the Jacksonville City Council decided not to endorse his liquor license, de Jaray was scheduled to appear in another Canadian court to explain why he shipped 5,100 electronic chips that might have military applications to Hong Kong without a permit. The declared value was $1,375, while Canadian officials assessed the contents worth at $200,000.

That morning, however, he called from Southern Oregon's 541 area code and calmly reassured this reporter that he was on track for all his approvals. He felt welcomed in Jacksonville because of the comments he heard from people wandering into Redmen's Hall during the opening night of the Britt Festival a few days earlier. He says he hosted 300 people, serving them only snacks, "because I couldn't serve them wine yet."

The setbacks he's experienced are "inconsequential," he says. "We have the wind at our back. One step at a time and the debutante will be born."

But that's another story. 

Janet Eastman writes about Southern Oregon wine for national publications and websites. Her work can be seen at www.janeteastman.com.

UPDATE #1

September 01, 2010

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Footstone Jive Update

By Janet Eastman

Minutes after Canadian businessman Steven de Jaray was refused an endorsement of his liquor license application by the Jacksonville City Council on June 15, he walked out of City Hall and into his Plan B: Erecting his Footstone Jive winery and distillery on farmland just outside city limits.

The next day, a partner in Southeast Jacksonville LLC took a step toward joining forces with de Jaray by going into the basement of the Jackson County Courthouse, meeting with a county planner in the Planning Commission office and inquiring about obtaining a land use permit for a winery/distillery/farm crop processing facility on 50 acres of former pear orchards.

The land on South Stage Road was bought for $5 million in 2006 by a group of investors that includes Alan DeBoer, a board member of the Southern Oregon Historical Society, former Ashland mayor and owner of Town & Country Chevrolet in Ashland, and Airport Chevrolet Cadillac and Dollar Buick GMC in Medford.

DeBoer confirmed he was finalizing a lease with de Jaray and said, “We are moving as fast as we can to get regulatory approval.” Groundwork has started and two salvaged buildings, which are 60-by-48 feet and 60-by-110 feet, are to be erected on the roadside site, according to DeBoer. The buildings were once part of the gym at Ashland High School.

The winery “will make a great entrance to Jacksonville,” said DeBoer when reached at his home on July 30. “I’m enthralled with the whole idea.”

But he has yet to apply for a land use or building permit. Jackson County senior planner Tracie Nickel said that as of Aug. 16 she had not had any further contact with anyone representing Southeast Jacksonville LLC after the initial inquiry. Application approval typically takes 45 days, she said.

To be considered a winery, DeBoer would have to have 15 acres of vineyards on the property. A 10-acre vineyard was planted on the land last year by Quail Run Vineyards, which has an agreement with DeBoer to plant 10 more acres next year. Quail Run has contracted to supply the grapes to Dobbes Family Estate Winery in Dundee.

Nickel said DeBoer would need 15 additional acres of grapes “in the ground” or lease vineyards from an adjacent neighbor to quality for a winery permit. She said it is possible for DeBoer’s land to be approved as a farm crop processing facility and farmstand, allowing for wine tastings and wine sales on the property.

She was unsure of farmstand approval if the only wine to be sold was Footstone Jive’s, which so far has been produced only in a Medford custom-crush facility from fruit that did not grow on that property.

De Jaray said during a phone conversation on Aug. 12 that he would be making an announcement soon, but didn’t want to give any details. “We look forward to providing an announcement when the time is right,” he said.

Before de Jaray was reached, an employee answering the Footstone Jive phone spoke hesitantly about the new site. “It’s a beautiful location and we’re excited about the prospects of it,” said employee Dana Keller. “But we want to lay low until it’s 100 percent finalized.”

Keller said de Jaray does not want to be sidelined by critics, as he was the last time he attempted to open a winery and distillery. “He was really shocked by the way he was treated,” she said.

On June 15, Jacksonville city council members and residents voiced concern over de Jaray’s past and present legal issues in Vancouver, B.C.

That same day, de Jaray was scheduled to appear in a Canadian court to explain why he shipped 5,100 electronic chips that might have military applications to Hong Kong without a permit. The declared value was $1,375, while Canadian officials assessed the contents worth $200,000.

De Jaray and his daughter, Perienne, have been charged with one count of illegally attempting to export goods without a permit and two counts of failure to report goods. Their appearance in the Richmond Provincial Court has been postponed again until Sept. 9.

When asked about it recently, de Jaray dismissed the gravity of the charges. “No one has taken the time to understand the insignificance of the charges,” he said on his cell phone while walking his dog.

He criticized reporters for focusing on “people and not the wine,” He went on to explain that in addition to his unbottled “Farm Girl” Syrah Rosé, “Librarian” Pinot Gris and “Débutante” white blend, he’s looking forward to releasing a Pinot Noir he’s calling “Nurse Noir.” He referred to the wine as “a wonderful young lady.” All of his ’40s-style pinup labels will be printed “imminently,” he said.

One Southern Oregon winery owner, who asked not to be named in this article, says de Jaray has quickly left a “trail of burned bridges.” Another winery owner, who also asked to be unnamed, refers to the company as “Footstone Crime.” But landowner DeBoer said he’s had “intriguing conversations” with de Jaray and believes Footstone Jive, with its promised annual production of 100,000 cases of wine made from Southern Oregon grapes, will benefit the county.

“What he’s attempting to do will make a huge impact on Southern Oregon wine and be very profitable for the region,” DeBoer said. “He is a dreamer and visionary. I’m amazed when I walk through a vineyard with him. He is very knowledgeable.”

In the meantime, there is a Plan C: De Jaray withdrew his winery/distillery application with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission in August and applied for a wholesale license to distribute wine to licensed retailers. He has listed a business address on Fir Street in Medford, a few blocks from the custom-crush facility that produced his wine.

Janet Ouellette of the OLCC says she is waiting to hear from the City of Medford if it will endorse de Jaray’s wholesale license. “A negative endorsement [from a city] slows down the process,” she said. Then it will be determined if the applicant meets her agency’s criteria. If approved, the wholesale license could pave the way for a winery/distillery one.

Still, as of now, the 2009 Footstone Jive white wines are in a holding tank in Medford, waiting to fill thousands of custom-made bottles even though there is no “dancehall” winery in which to showcase or sell them.

There’s little to doubt that there will be more to come on the Footstone Jive story.

As for Redmen’s Hall, the brick landmark on the corner of California and Third Street in Jacksonville that de Jaray hoped to occupy, there will be a tenant after all. Bobbi Ferguson, who owns the Sea Star Bar & Grill in Gold Beach, is behind LodeStar, a bar offering local wines, craft beers, coffee, espresso, small food plates and a lending library with books, games and newspapers. 

Janet Eastman writes about Southern Oregon wine for national publications and websites. Her work can be seen at www.janeteastman.com.

UPDATE #2

Steven de Jaray’s 21 minutes of claims

By Janet Eastman

Steven de Jaray spent 21 minutes on the phone August 12 saying that he didn’t want to talk about his plans to open his Footstone Jive “dance hall” winery and distillery outside of Jacksonville.

The beleaguered wine producer, who was shot down June 15 by city council members over his pending Oregon liquor license, is still optimistic about tapping the J’ville tourist stream and then the world. But he’s not ready to say how he will do it. “You’ll write about it to my detriment,” he said, almost breathless as he talked on his cell phone and walked his dog.

De Jaray didn’t want to discuss how he has yet to receive a liquor license even though he has produced thousands of gallons of Footstone Jive wine.

In early August, he withdrew an application for a winery/distillery license and applied to be a distributor to sell to licensed retailers. As of late August, he had not received an endorsement of his liquor license application from the City of Medford, where he has established a business on Fir Street.

He also didn’t want to disclose any plans about building a winery on 50 acres off South Stage Road owned by Southeast Jacksonville LLC, in which Alan DeBoer is a partner. De Jaray did refer to DeBoer as a “great ambassador to the Rogue Valley.” No application for a land use permit or building permit has been filed with the Jackson County Planning Commission, according to senior planner Tracie Nickel.

De Jaray did want to explain in great detail that restaurateurs are “reacting positively” about serving his yet-to-be-bottled wines and that he still sees potential in selling 100,000 cases a year in Oregon, New York, Chicago and Dallas, where he has received “strong interest.” He has also set his sights on the Asian market.

He believes his wine will help the Rogue Valley receive the recognition it deserves. “The real tragedy and it screams out loud every single day is that people away from here say, ‘the Rogue what?’” he said. “When we present it to them, we say, ‘Here’s 10 reasons why the Rogue Valley is more than the ‘Rogue what?’ and then they get it.”

He added: “Less wine is made here than a Constellation makes in a month,” referring to the New York-headquartered Constellation Brands, an international wine, beer and spirits mega producer and marketer with annual sales of $3.65 billion.

No specifics were given on how he plans to enter Constellation’s orbit or even vault to the top tier of Oregon wine producers selling 100,000 cases or more. Or how he’s resolving his legal issues in British Columbia.

A June court appearance in Richmond Provincial Court to address his involvement in shipping military-grade electronic chips from the Vancouver International Airport to Hong Kong in defiance of export rules was postponed until August and now again until Sept 9.

He said he’s offended that journalists use the word “serious” when referring to the charges he and his daughter Perienne face on illegally attempting to export goods without a permit and two counts of failure to report goods.

“No one has taken the time to understand the insignificance of the charges,” he said. “It seems as if you’re more interested in people than the wine.”

It has been reported that in 2004, de Jaray, who still lives in West Vancouver, B.C., admitted to insider trading reporting violations as a CEO of AimGlobal Technologies Co., a high-tech firm. He was fined $100,000 by the British Columbia Securities Commission and cannot be involved in a publicly traded company in B.C. until 2013.

He acknowledged “raised eyebrows” over his “less than conservative approach” but then returned to his favorite subject: his wine.

“Most winemakers here wave the flag of highly structured wine for a sophisticated palate,” he said. “Our wines are made for young adults. We use a specific engineered fermentation to emphasize the fruit.”

He calls his white blend “approachable, yummy, refreshing, delightful, soft on the palate, not your dad's wine.”

The Footstone Jive labels, he said, will be printed “imminently,” using glamour pinup artwork. His Syrah Rosé “Farm Girl” will be depicted on the label as a busty brunette in short overalls and roller skates. His Pinot Gris “Librarian” will be shown with plumeria in her blonde hair, plunging cleavage and a garter high on her thigh while splashing around in a wine barrel. “The Débutante,” a blend of Pinot Gris, Viognier, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, will be seen on the label as a Marilyn Monroe-ish seductress with a white gown and hose, and red lips, gloves and heels.

He said he hopes to buy Pinot Noir grapes from a local grower and make a wine he’ll call “Pinot Nurse.”

He wants to continue his ‘40s theme because he said, “Focus groups find it touching and romantic, and people have forgotten their history, … about Roosevelt and Hitler. They don’t understand what WWII did to this community.”

He says he has admiration for the local winemaking community and respect for the people of Jacksonville. He shrugs off criticism of his plans and his personal history with “People are most inclined to complain than praise.” And he says that as a businessman he has “made a ton of profit for shareholders” in the past, but “it’s not possible to build an enterprise without some issues that always get resolved.”

He said he’s “not happy with what’s been written” about him so far and he says “gossip writers” don’t realize how their words “reflect on the entire, hardworking Footstone Jive team.”

He said they are excited about the plans and “we look forward to providing an announcement when the time is right.”

As of now, his Footstone Jive wine remains on hold in tanks at a Medford custom-crush facility.

He ended the 21-minute conversation with “God Bless.”

Jacksonville denies, Medford endorses Footstone Jive Winery's liquor license

A forlorn, shadow-gray building on Medford’s industrial Fir Street is now the home to the much ballyhooed Footstone Jive wine operation. It’s a far cry from Canadian businessman Steve de Jaray’s original vision of opening a high-volume winery with an intoxicatingly entertaining wine bar and steamy distillery on Jacksonville’s tourist-luring main street.

Instead of a hotspot where de Jaray could push his dream of selling 1.2 million bottles of wine a year, no one is wandering outside this building.

Instead of a tip-happy wait staff bouncing around with tastes of Footstone Jive’s “Librarian” Pinot Gris and “Débutante” white blend, there’s not one employee here to open the locked front door on a Tuesday afternoon in September.

The only indication that this is not a vacant building is a color Xerox of the company’s leggy-blonde logo taped to the glass door. A peek inside at the dusty reception room reveals mismatched chairs so worn that the foam stuffing is popping out of splits in the naugahyde vinyl.

Chalk it up to high hopes but low civic acceptance. In May, de Jaray registered the name Footstone Jive with the state. He then applied to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission for a winery/distillery license and waited for the Jacksonville city council to endorse the application. The council tabled the issue for weeks, but de Jaray felt assured it would all be approved. He even sent out a news release announcing the opening on California Street.

But because of concerns over his past and present legal troubles in British Columbia, de Jaray was denied an endorsement by the Jacksonville city council in June. De Jaray pulled down the “Opening Soon” banners in the windows of the city’s historic Redmen’s Hall and groused about “a very, very small minority that doesn’t like me, the winery world and people drinking.”

In early August, he withdrew his winery/distillery license application and applied to be a distributor to sell to licensed retailers. He got a business license in Medford and waited to hear if city officials would endorse him.

On Aug. 19, they did.

More than a month later, the application remains in “limbo,” says Janet Ouellette of the OLCC, while the agency evaluates de Jaray’s legal issues. Any concerns about an applicant’s “ability to be a good licensee,” she adds, could delay the process for two or three months.

Hanging over de Jaray’s future are charges in British Columbia that he and his daughter Perienne attempted to export military-grade electronic chips from the Vancouver International Airport to Hong Kong without a permit. He’s also charged with two counts of failure to report goods. The declared value of the 5,100 chips was $1,375, while Canadian officials assessed the contents worth $200,000.

In phone conversations, de Jaray has dismissed these charges as “insignificant.”

A June 2010 court appearance in Richmond Provincial Court was postponed several times. Now his pre-trial conference is booked for June 14, 2011 and trial confirmation hearing for Sept. 8, 2011. Trail dates are set for October 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31 and Nov. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of next year.

“This is a big deal and certainly not quite the little inconvenience Steve would like all to believe,” a person monitoring the court dates wrote in an email. “Now you can see why he is trying so desperately to establish U.S. residency as soon as possible. This is going to be interesting.”

Entrepreneurs who invest $500,000 in a commercial enterprise in a high-unemployment or rural area in the U.S. and who plan to create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs are eligible to apply for a permanent residence.

And so the story continues.

The beleaguered but unstoppable wine producer has not only found a new business address, but he has hired a new winemaker and plans to produce his 2010 wine at a facility other than the Medford custom-crush facility that still holds thousands of gallons of his unbottled 2009 white wine.

Stay tuned.

April 1, 2011

Footstone Jive’s next step

Beleaguered wine producer Steve de Jaray disappeared from public view last year.

He was no longer hosting pre-opening parties for the Footstone Jive “dancehall” tasting room and distillery that never opened downtown. He was no longer pleading with the Jacksonville City Council to ignore his legal problems and endorse his liquor license. And he was no longer appearing at private parties to promote his venture in which he claimed he could sell 100,000 cases of wine a year made from local grapes.

But disappearing from public view doesn’t mean that Steven de Jaray has gone away.

A massive structure on South Stage Road outside of Jacksonville is being built to de Jaray’s specifications and could serve as a tasting room, custom crush facility and equipment storage, according to Alan DeBoer, a partner in  Southeast Jacksonville LLC, which owns the land.

The roadside tasting room could be the gateway to a vineyard-themed housing development on the 50 acres of farmland.

“It’s not a secret that we want to develop and put some homes in there, but not do a maximum density thing,” said Alan’s son, Derek DeBoer, who added that the company has applied to the city to build four custom homes on an acre inside city limits. “We want to put up something that will be an asset to the community. I see a very attractive vineyard community. These are the first steps.”

A permit to build an agricultural building on the property was taken out in 2009. According to Jackson County Planning Commission regulations, the building must be used solely for farming. A tasting room or other public-invited entity would require new approval.

The tenant would also have to be granted a license to sell alcohol to consumers from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. No one has yet to apply at this address, according to Janet Ouellette of the OLCC. If that happens, there will be a public notice and people would have 14 days to comment.

Material salvaged from the old Ashland High School gym is being used for the building’s exterior walls. Derek DeBoer says he will not install the remaining two walls or the roof until he knows what the tenant wants.

The city will have some say in the final look of the building, said Derek DeBoer, as will de Jaray, if he signs the lease he was given months ago.

“It would depend on de Jaray getting his stuff together and I hope that he does,” said Derek DeBoer during a phone interview on March 17. “I think he has something to bring to the table to the wine industry, a unique vision to put Southern Oregon on the map.”

Although de Jaray has spoken to this reporter in the past,  phone calls made on March 14 to his Medford office, in which he has a month-to-month lease, and his cell phone were not returned as of the March 23 deadline.

Where is Steven de Jaray? His 6,500-square-foot house in Eagle Harbor in West Vancouver, B.C., sold for $6.2 million late last year. He then moved out.

People working with de Jaray say he is in Asia starting a bulk wine business. Andrew Powley, a winemaker hired by de Jaray in 2010, recently returned from Hong Kong. De Jaray may also be launching a new label called Portrait.

Despite de Jaray’s original plans, only 5,000 cases of Footstone Jive were produced, all made by an independent winemaker from the 2009 harvest.

Although de Jaray still has a color-copy of Footstone Jive’s pinup-girl logo taped to his Medford office front door, the bottles have been shipped to China without a label. 

The DeBoers say they haven’t seen de Jaray in awhile. Still, de Jaray is their first choice as a tenant. During phone interviews on July 30 and again on March 18, Alan DeBoer, a board member of the Southern Oregon Historical Society, praised de Jaray and his business ideas.

“I do like his concept and direction,” said Alan DeBoer. “He would be good for the wine industry. He’s colorful, kind of like Donald Trump.”