Winemaker Notes
At Cooper Mountain Vineyards, we are dedicated to the concept of 100% estate grown and produced wines. We began growing grapes in our vineyards in 1978 on a south facing slope of Cooper Mountain, an extinct volcano site overlooking the Tualatin Valley and notable for its unique and shallow soils. All of the decisions relating to the final quality of the wine are under our control. We determine pruning technique and crop level, when to begin harvest, and how to process, ferment and age our wines. Over the years we have been able to develop an intimacy with the different sections of our vineyards and an understanding of how our wines develop in the cellar and in the bottle. This understanding comes from working exclusively with our estate grown grapes and helps us to capture the essence of this very special terroir.
Home of some of the planet’s most amazingly elegant and expressive Pinot noir, the Willamette Valley is a pastoral, mixed landscape of green, bucolic rolling hills, dramatic forestlands and small, independent, friendly wine growers. As a leader in environmental stewardship, the valley has some of the nation’s most protective land use policies, with two-thirds of its vineyards farmed sustainably and over half, organically. While the valley claims a cool, continental climate, and is heavily influenced by the cold, moist winds of the Pacific Ocean, its warm and dry summers allow for the steady, even ripening of Pinot noir.
The potential of Willamette Valley Pinot noir continues to attract the investment of serious growers and winemakers both locally and from abroad, as naturally the finished wines bring accolades from professionals and enthusiasts. With a range of styles from delicate dried cherry, raspberry and hibiscus to stronger notes of truffle, mocha, plum and spice, a fine Willamette Valley Pinot noir is a perfect expression of both character and grace.