St. Dolores Estate Vineyard
Chehalem Mountains AVA
Personally farmed by Jim and his crew at the winery, this virgin 40-acre southeast-facing flank of Parrett Mountain lies just east of Newberg, Oregon. Established in 2009, the vineyard is non-irrigated, no-till, USDA certified organic, biologically intensively farmed and relatively high, sitting at an elevation of 500-700 feet. It’s comprised of twenty blocks covering eight variants of Jory (volcanic) soil with five clones of Pinot Noir and four clones of Chardonnay. Planted to 1660 vines per acre and VSP trellised, the fruit ripens early-to-mid harvest, delivering concentrated Bing cherry, good acid, substantial structure and a slight note of tarragon in glass.
Dedicated to sustainable farming
It’s not hyperbole to say that soils are fascinating, a world unto themselves, life giving and deeply threatened across the globe. A scary percentage of the world’s once-productive acres are now dead, and the causes range from lack of understanding to pernicious industrial farming. We’d like a more deeply thoughtful, whole-world regard for this life-limiting resource, but it turns out we don’t have to wait on our farm.
St. Dolores Estate was virgin dirt. So, ours to not screw up. There’s no chance we’ll be perfect, with mis-steps already, but we are committed to leaving our soils, our corner of the planet, better. To that end, intensifying over the last decade, we’ve kept going deeper in holistic, natural, organic, biological, regenerative — you pick the moniker — farming. We employ biologically intensive, certified organic (USDA), no till, pollinator-friendly cycles, native cover crops, carbon sequestration, bio-char, onsite-at-scale composting, compost tea, mycorrhizal fungi, grazing sheep, and bolstering water holding capacity to further our non-irrigated, dry-land farming. Plus, we support peers, organic grower groups and organizations (eg, board of the Deep Roots Coalition) advocating for the same.
While our St. Dolores Estate remains our passionate focus, we also source fruit from several esteemed Willamette Valley vineyards
Over the last couple of decades, we’ve been privileged to work with nearly a dozen amazing vineyards and make wine covering every nearby AVA. At this juncture, we are an 80% estate program, with a couple of crazy great vineyards continuing to hold us rapt for their age, elevation, acid, quality, people and principled farming tenacity.
Gemini Vineyards
Chehalem Mountains AVA / Laurelwood AVA
Owned by Luke and Emily DeHayr, this twenty-acre south-facing vineyard is in the hills west of Sherwood, Oregon. Established in 1995 on Laurelwood soils at an elevation of 500 ft., the vineyard is non-irrigated and sustainably farmed. The red, sometimes tropical, fruits are early ripening with higher acidity and medium tannin. Our fruit — Pommard clone Pinot Noir grafted onto Chardonnay roots and utilizing a Scott Henry trellis system — is from the south block front, planted in 1995.
Temperance Hill Vineyard
Eola-Amity Hills AVA
Managed by Dai Crisp, this venerable 100-acre, cool, south-facing vineyard is at the top of the Eola Hills, west of Salem, Oregon. Established in 1981, the vineyard is non-irrigated, USDA Certified Organic, and sitting at an elevation of 650-870 ft on volcanic soils. The red fruit is late ripening, with higher acidity and medium tannin. Our fruit comes from several blocks including the oldest, the Front Block-East planted in 1981 (Pommard, head pruned, hanging cane) and Back Block Chardonnay (Dijon clone 76, cane pruned, VSP).
Legacy vineyards
We are proud to have worked with these vineyards in the past:
Anderson Family Vineyards (Dundee Hills)
Barron Wahl Vineyards (Chehalem Mountains)
Black Walnut Vineyard (Dundee Hills)
Brooks Vineyard (Eola Amity Hills)
Louis Vineyards (Chehalem Mountains)
Momtazi Vineyard (McMinnville AVA)
Shea Vineyard (Yamhill-Carlton, Pictured)
Stony Mountain Vineyard (McMinnville AVA)
