Winemaker Notes
Pinot Noir grapes were hand picked from Durant, Andersen, Temperance Hill, Aurora and Ponzi Estate Vineyards. Yields were 1-2T/acre. All of the fruit was hand sorted and lightly crushed - leaving 70-80% whole berries. Fermented in 1.5 ton or 6 ton open-top fermenters, peak temperatures reached 90 degrees. The fermenters were either treaded or manually punched down twice a day (for 12-20 days) before lightly pressing. This wine was aged in French oak barrels (30% new), for 11 months without racking. It was bottled by gravity without filtration or fining and was aged in bottle for four months before its release.
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.