Boutique Wineries Offer Rare Tasting Opportunites

Like the “Shot Heard Round the World,” Memorial Day triggers the start of the wine tasting season and since many of the smaller boutique wineries are only open two holiday weekends a year, it was also the shot that signaled me to get out and taste as many of them as I could.

Quailhurst Vineyard Estate

Founded by: Dr. Marvin Hausman

Winemaker: Joe Dobbes

Vineyard: 35 acres planted in 1998 on 75-year-old estate

Quailhurst has a stunning location, perched high atop Parrot Mountain in Sherwood and makes exceptional estate wines of high quality and character. The grounds of their unique estate also feature riding arenas, stables and pastures to support their horse breeding and Dressage center located adjacent to the grape vines.

Hawks View Cellars

Founded by: Jack and Willie Kemp

Winemaker: Ryan Harms

Vineyard: 130-acre estate, 45 acres since in 1991

Hawks View Cellars is a relative newcomer on the scene and making a huge splash with their finely crafted wines, comfortable tasting room, stunning five-peak view and their proximity to Portland.

Vercingetorix (VX)

Founded by: the Hall family in1959—owned and operated by the grown children since 2009

Winemaker: Laurant Montelieu and Jason Silva

Vineyard: 11 acres planted on the 210-acre riverfront farm

 

No, it’s not the name of a newly discovered dinosaur but rather a fun and unpretentious winery tucked away in Newberg next to the Willamette River. Vercingetorix is named for a Gallic hero who is recognized for saving Burgundy’s Pinot noir from Roman invasion, VX converted an old apple orchard to vineyards and is producing grapes using a Geneva double curtain trellis (Oregon growers typically use the Scott Henry trellis system).

Durant Vineyards at Red Ridge Farms

Founded by:Ken and Penny Durant in 1973

Winemaker:Partner with different winemakers who their purchase grapes such as Jesse Lange and Dean Fisher.

Vineyard:Over 60 acres of some of the oldest vineyards in the Red Hills of Dundee.1

Durant Vineyards sells their fruit to 73 premium wine producers in the Valley, finally creating their first estate wines in 2003. Their tasting room is located on Red Ridge Farms, which also showcases the family’s herb and specialty plant nursery, a unique gift shop, intimate Bed and Breakfast and Yamhill Valley’s first olive oil pressing facility. Cottonwood Winery and Cancilla Cellars were also pouring wines there for the holiday weekend.

Le Cadeau/Aubichon

Founded by:Tim and Deb Mortimer in 1997

Le Cadeau Winemaker:Different for each bottling

Aubichon Winemaker:Jim Sanders

Vineyard:: 28-acres of rocky soil planed in 1999

Aubichon purchases all their fruit to produce their acid-driven wines while Le Cadeau uses only estate fruit from their Parrot Mountain vineyard located on basalt and volcanic soil. Le Cadeau wines are each made by a different winemaker and each show an honest commonality of vineyard.

Ken Wright Cellars

Founded by:Karen and Ken Wright in 1994

Winemaker:Ken Wright

Vineyard:55 acres located throughout the Willamette Valley

Ken Wright has the distinction as being known for being one of Oregon’s first winemakers to craft single vineyard designates. I have to put this out there too, though they very nicely let me in at closing time, they were also the first tasting room I’ve visited to charge me a fee. And though I at first balked at the $20 charge (I don’t drink, I don’t eat, I don’t linger and I’m going to write about them), but Ken Wright was so damn charming, in the end I nearly forgot I paid them money to blog about them.

Carlton Cellars

Founded by: Dave Grooters and Robin Russell in 2001

Winemaker: Dave Grooters

Vineyard: 22 acres in the Yamhill Carlton AVA planted in 2003

Carlton Cellars opened their modest tasting room in 2007, debuted its first commercial bottling in 2007, and as a tribute to the ocean, which so profoundly influences and defines its wine, they’ve named each of their wines for a special place along the Oregon coast. Saturday, June 19th kicks off their not-to-be-missed Summer Vineyard Lunch Tour where for $35 (or $90 for all three), you’ll enjoy a lunch feast and tour of the vineyard at three integral times of the growing season (bloom, lag and veraison).

Raptor Ridge Winery

Founded by: Scott and Annie Shull in 1995

Winemaker: Scott Shull

Vineyard: 18 acres on the northeast side of the Chehalem Mountains

Raptor Ridge (who placed third in my recent tasting of Oregon Rosés) acquired its name from all the birds of prey that share the winery’s 27-acre estate. Their vineyard is actually named Tuscowallame, which is an indigenous word meaning “place where the owls dwell.” Taking their names seriously, instead of naming the vineyard blocks after family members (like so many wineries do), each block is beautifully named to honor the foreman who planted it (Adalfo, Macario and Dustin).


Tasting so many wineries in a day left little time for detailed tasting notes, so while I haven’t highlighted the standout wines like I typically do, I would like to mention my favorite wines of the day came from Quailhurst (though the horse stable tasting room added to the overall experience, the smell unfortunately didn’t contribute to the bouquet of the wine at all), Durant Vineyards and Ken Wright.

Inspiration for the photo collages comes from fellow blogger Josh, whose blog PDXploration details cool fun and unique things to do in this fair city and always features gorgeous photography. You can find him on Twitter: @PDXploration.

The whirlwind weekend wrap-up unbelievably continues next with Anam Cara, Laura Volkman, Natalies, Estate, Anderson Family Vineyards, Monks Gate, Ghost Hill Cellars, Stag Hollow and Sejourne. Until we sip again…

Cheers!