Other People’s Pinot was born out of crisis. During the economic crash of 2008 a neighboring winery went out of business and Andre had the opportunity to scoop up eight barrels of finished Pinot Noir at a bargain price. Looking to expand his label, Andre jumped at the opportunity. The wine was set of in a corner until bottling day when he realized he needed a label for the wine. It had always been referred to as the ‘Other People’s Pinot’ so Mack went with the moniker OPP (with a tip of the hat to the Naughty by Nature song). Today, OPP is the core of the Maison Noir lineup. It is sourced from three outstanding vineyards in Eola-Amity, Yamhill-Carlton and McMinnville AVAs. The wine is blended to show a consistent terroir of the Willamette Valley.

About the Winery

If the path from sommelier to winemaker is becoming more common, André Hueston Mack is still in a class of his own. A former sommelier of The French Laundry and Per Se, André earned the right to make wine for the 1% but found his calling in creating excellent wines that everyone can enjoy. Add to that his urban African American vibe, tongue-in-cheek humor and formidable graphic design talent, and you have the makings of his brilliantly conceived, crafted and packaged Maison Noir wines, “serious wines that don’t take themselves too seriously.” André has developed a cult following with his t- shirts de-rigeur at any sommelier gathering and wines on the trendy lists from coast to coast.

André became interested in wine from watching Fraiser. After college, he won the prestigious Chaine des Rotisseurs Best Young Sommelier in 2003 and landed a
Somm position at The French Laundry, followed by Wine Director at Per Se in New York in 2004. At Per Se, André built the core of the 1800 label Grand Award-winning list and hosted many high-end collector dinners.

Launched in 2007, Maison Noir is considered a micro-negociant (“Garage d’Or”) with a stable lineup of vineyards in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and Washington along with the ability to nimbly acquire premium fruit. The wines have risen to national acclaim. In 2020, André was nominated for James Beard Winemaker of the Year.