VINEYARD
Established in 1983, we are the second oldest vineyard in the McMinnville AVA. The McMinnville AVA is known for having intense, enduring wines. Some of our top soils were brought here over 15,000 years ago in the Missoula floods, which makes this area incredibly unique. We have the perfect climate for growing Pinot grapes because we are located in the rain-shadow of the Coastal Foothills, visited by frequent winds that form from the Van Duzer corridor, and planted on western facing sloped hillsides. All of these come together to result in unique wines of quality and distinction, grown 100% from our Estate.
VINTAGE
No two years are alike, especially in Oregon wine country, this is part of what keeps the winemakers and growers of the Willamette Valley enthralled with the challenge of each unique vintage. The 2016 growing season started early in spring and didn’t slow down, bringing us our earliest start date of harvest on record. The summer was long and dry, which gave us intense beautiful fruit in the vineyard with more texture and intensity than usual; if you enjoy rich, full, fruit forward wines, seek out those made in the Willamette Valley during 2016.
WINEMAKING
Grapes were hand-picked and delivered to the crush pad where they were meticulously hand sorted, de-stemmed and taken into the winery to begin their journey to becoming wine. After a one to five day cold-soak, they were inoculated and then punched down and tasted daily until the tannins and color develop nice balance with the acidity and complex fruit flavors. Next the free run is removed, settled overnight, and put to barrels, where it spent 9 months aging in 10% new oak, picking up more complexity and subtle aromatics that accentuate the plentiful fruit flavors.
