Winemaker Notes
For 47 years – even before there was an Oregon wine industry – the Sokol Blosser family has been perfecting Pinot Noir. Since founders Susan Sokol Blosser and Bill Blosser planted their first vines in 1971, the family has pursued winemaking excellence through environmentally friendly techniques. Today, situated on a certified organic 85-acre property in the Dundee Hills appellation, and farming another 43 acres of vineyards in Dundee Hills and Eola-Amity Hills, B Corp-certified Sokol Blosser remains committed to a sustainable approach. This respect for nature has consistently captured the terroir of the region, showcasing its essence through the brilliance of its estate fruit.
Now with the second generation of Sokol Blossers at the helm, the winery is poised to enter a new millennium of winemaking and sustainability under the guidance of CEO and Co-President Alison Sokol Blosser, along with winemaker and Co-President Alex Sokol Blosser. As the new generation continues the legacy of Sokol Blosser’s founders, the focus remains on crafting exemplary wines through sustainable methods. It’s no mere coincidence that such practices have had the happy consequence of enhancing the excellence of Sokol Blosser’s Pinot Noir. In addition to the official recognition received for its environmental practices, Sokol Blosser has consistently won recognition for its quality wines. Being good to the earth – farming, buying and building through the lens of sustainability – is really about paying attention to and respecting the details. There is no other way to make great Pinot.
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.