Vineyard FAQ's

Who planted all those grapes?

The founders, Trudy and Keith Kramer started planting in 1984.  The main part of the vineyard was planted over several years, but we’re slowly expanding.  We make every effort to plant new clones of Pinot Noir when they become available.

How many acres of grapes do you have?

There are 20 acres of vines, 7 acres of Pinot Noir (5 clones,) 4 acres of Dijon Chardonnay, 3 acres of Müller-Thurgau, 4 acres of Pinot Gris, 1 acre of Carmine, .5 acre of Muscat, and a few Tempranillo vines.  We are planting Pinot Meunier and Grüner-Veltliner in October, 2010.

Do you farm anything other than grapes?

We just planted some olive trees and we manage our forest around the vineyard.

What is LIVE?

Low Input Viticulture and Enology.  They inspect vineyards and wineries certifying them as sustainable.  Kramer Vineyards has been certified since 2005 in the vineyard.  The winery certification is more complex so it will take some time to complete.

What is phylloxera?

Phylloxera is a root louse native to America.  It eats the feeder roots on susceptible vines.  All vinifera (wine grapes) is susceptible.  Affected vines will die over 3 to 5 year time span.  The insect is not visible to the naked eye but is visible with a 15x lens.   Phylloxera was officially discovered in all wine regions of Oregon in 1990.  Most of the vines planted before that time were own-rooted, including those in our vineyard.  After the discovery of phylloxera, we planted vines that were grafted on to Native American rootstocks, which are naturally resistant to phylloxera.