Red Winemaking

Our first vintage was 1989. Since that time our winemaking has evolved with each vintage. We have total control over the entire winemaking process--vineyard management, harvesting, winemaking, and bottling. Our average production is 2000 cases annually, which is tiny even by Oregon standards. Our farm totals 20 acres of vines in production, most of which were planted before 1990.

Truly great wines are made in the vineyard first. Our winemaking philosophy is that we should preserve the unique flavor profiles born in the vineyard. Due to our production size, we do not use big, expensive machinery to assist us--although we do rent a fork lift for harvest. We are always learning, always growing in our depth of knowledge.

Sorting starts in the field. Our fruit is picked by hand, and we sort the fruit as the pickers empty their buckets, removing leaves, sticks, etc. to one quarter ton harvest totes. Then, the fruit is more closely examined on the sorting table. Our sorting table is long and narrow, and the grapes are loaded onto the conveyer belt slowly, in a single layer. This allows our sorting crew to examine each cluster thoroughly before going into the fermenter. Only the best quality fruit makes it to the fermenter. The fruit then is de-stemmed into the fermenting bins to which we add dry ice. Most of the berries are whole and not crushed. The bins are 3/4 ton, 1 ton, and 1 1/2 ton in size. They are then rolled into our fermenting room. After a few days of cold soaking, we add commercial yeast, and yeast nutrients, if required. We record all fermentation data, including aroma and flavor observations, temperatures, sugar levels, and additions. The fruit is gently punched down by hand (pushing the fruit into the wine to allow exposure of all fruit to the fermenting juice and to mix in some oxygen) twice a day. When fermentation is complete and the temperature declines, the cap begins to fall, and we press the must. We hand-bucket the fruit into a small basket press (no pumping). After pressing, the wine is settled overnight in a tank and racked into barrels the next day. 

Our barrel program largely depends on the characteristics of the vintage, and the history of each block. In general, our Pinot Noirs are aged in 25%-40% new French oak barrels for 10-18 months.  The wines are racked and blended in the spring, when we taste and select the barrels for our single block bottlings. After the blending is complete, the wine is returned to the barrel for additional aging.

Making the Pinot Noir Port

We select one ton of Pinot Noir that we believe has the biggest fruit flavors for the port. We sort, destem, and initiate fermentation just like with the other wines. However, after 2/3 sugar depletion, we add 15 gallons of brandy. Adding the brandy directly to the fermenter increases the level of extraction and kills the yeast, stopping fermentation. The wine is pressed, settled, and racked into three barrels for 18-22 months of aging. 

Each year we wonder what we will learn as we approach a new vintage. There is always some major lesson, technique, or experiment that increases our understanding of the complex process of winemaking. Our entire staff is encouraged to contribute to the pursuit of making better wine.  Teamwork is an essential element in our approach to winemaking. Making wine is a complex, fascinating task and a lot of hard work. The more we do it, the more we marvel at it.