Vineyards
The Least. The Last. The Lost.
The Least, for the small share of old vines that exist within the Willamette Valley.
The Last, for the few original own-rooted vineyards that still remain today.
The Lost, for the rare blocks we seek to capture in bottle before they are gone and forgotten.
Chehalem Mountain Vineyard
- est. 1968
Dick Erath, one of the Willamette Valley’s most influential pioneers, first planted his original Chehalem Mountain Vineyard in 1968 and our small 0.86 acre block is all that remains from his second planting in 1978. Composed entirely of own-rooted Pommard, this is a rare planting that only produces a handful of barrels each year. What it is limited in quantity it makes up for in quality. Even in warmer vintages these old vines have a special way of slowly ripening, delivering extended hang-time and enhanced flavor development.
Maresh Vineyard
- est. 1970
A chance meeting with Dick Erath in 1969 led Jim Maresh to planting his namesake vineyard in 1970, making it the fifth oldest site in the Willamette Valley. Jim, who at the time was farming cherries, prunes and hazelnuts, was more than willing to try his luck at something new and it didn’t take much convincing for him to take money out of his orchard's diesel budget to start the project. The greenhouse they built together was not only the source of vines for Maresh Vineyard, but also a number of prominent vineyards responsible for establishing the reputation of Oregon Pinot Noir. There is no mistaking the historic significance of this site and one could argue that some of the best wines made from the Willamette Valley have come from this iconic vineyard.
Medici Vineyard
- est. 1976
Planted in 1976 by Hal and Dotty Medici, this deceivingly steep vineyard sits high above the town of Newberg and ranges from 500 - 800 feet in elevation with a perfectly southern exposure. A bit of an outlier for the Chehalem Mountain AVA, its composed entirely of volcanic soils (Jory). Over the past 40 years this has become one of the most respected vineyards planted in the 1970’s and has been in the hands of a few of the region’s top wineries – Patricia Green, Ponzi, Rex Hill, Sineann, Owen Roe, and J Christopher to name a few.
Oracle Vineyard
- est. 1977
Planted in 1977, this 1.63 acre block of Pinot Noir was left for dead and later revitalized to become one of the Willamette Valley’s most revered vineyards. As the story goes, these original old vines were part of a larger 50 acre parcel that was sold in 1997 and heartbreakingly the new owners cut them down to stumps in effort to make room for raising horses. Four years later Westrey Wine Company acquired the property with the intention of planting a vineyard and to their surprise discovered rows of what looked to be bushes emerging from the soil. In true comeback story fashion, the root structure of the vines had survived and after several years of careful farming was eased back into production. The trunks of these resilient plants are a lot thinner than a vineyard this age would typically indicate, but the level of purity and depth in the wines they create could only come from vines this old.