Vineyard Philosophy

Viticulture is a complex art and science. We do everything possible in the vineyard to produce outstanding fruit. The winemaking starts in the vineyard; great wines start with great fruit.  Everything goes back to that fact.

 

Basic Premises: We must plant varietals/clones best suited for our climate in the Willamette Valley. We must manage our vineyard in a manner that results in balanced vines. Properly stressing the vine promotes balance and creates higher quality fruit. The fruit must be thinned to appropriate levels for quality. Responsible pest control--especially having an effective spray program to prevent mildew is vital. We must maintain an environment that is diverse with many species of plants to preserve and promote ecological balance in the vineyard. Soil structure and composition is a major component of a healthy vineyard. For several years we have been a Salmon Safe vineyard. Our vineyard has been certified sustainable by LIVE since 2005.

* = reserve vineyard   s = self-rooted       g = grafted to rootstock   m = mix of grafted and rootstock       Dry farmed except where indicated

*	s	1	108 Chardonnay planted 84 – 86, field grafted to Dijon clones of Chardonnay 76 & 96 in 2000
*	s	2	Riesling planted 84 – 86, field grafted to Müller-Thurgau in 1999
*	s	3	Heritage Pinot Noir – Pommard clone planted 1984, Dijon 115 planted between rows in 1999
	s	4	Main Pinot Noir planted 1985 – 88 Pommard, Wadenswil, Gamay Beauj
*	g	5	Rebecca Pinot Noir (Older)  planted in 1992 Pommard & Dijon 115
	m	6	Pinot Gris “side hill” 1988
	s	7	Carmine “Lower” planted 1989
*	g	8	Cardiac Hill pinot noir – Planted 1995 – 1998 Pommard & Dij on 115
	s	9	Müller-Thurgau planted in 1997
			All rootstock is either 3309 or 101-14
*	M	10	Rebecca’s Pinot Noir New: Planted 1999 – 2007 Dijon 115, Dijon 667, & Dijon 777 clones upper half is irrigated
	G	11	Dijon Chardonnay planted 1994 – 1997, Dijon 96 & 76
	S	12	Müller-Thurgau planted 1998, good deer fodder.
*	G	13	Pinot Noir 777 planted 2001, irrigation installed. Not used.
	S	14	Müller-Thurgau planted 1986 - 88
	S	15	Pinot Gris planted 1986 - 88
	S	16	Pinot Noir – Gamay Beaujolais upright clone planted 1986 – 1988
	S	17	Muscat planted 1987- 2004
	S	18	Carmine planted 1991
		19	Cleared in 2009, planting scheduled 9/2010

 

Varietals, Clone Selection, and Vine Density

Currently the vineyard is 18 acres with 7 acres of Pinot Noir, 3 acres of Dijon Chardonnay, 3 acres of Müller-Thurgau, 3 acres of Pinot Gris, and 1 acre of Carmine. Pinot Noir clones include Pommard, Dijon 115, Wadenswil, Gamay Beaujolais, 667 and 777.  We are continually upgrading the vineyard.  No other grapes are purchased except varieties that do not grow well here, i.e. Barbera and Merlot.

Rebecca's Reserve Block

Most of our vineyard was planted on 5’ x 10’ spacing. However, in the late 1980s, some growers began to believe that Oregon Pinot Noir should be spaced similar to the vineyards in Burgundy, 1 meter x 1 meter. This would require a huge investment in a new tractor when our existing model was relatively new. However, we decided that we could plant Pinot Noir four rows 4’ x 4’ spacing and then create a ten foot break for the tractor between the blocks for application of necessary fungicide spray. The spray from our powerblast sprayer was strong enough to reach the two inner rows because the closeness of the vines devigorated the plants, making them smaller. This block is cropped to one cluster per shoot. The original Rebecca’s vineyard was quite small since it was experimental. Between 2000 and 2007 we planted another block we call New Rebecca's (see vineyard map.) The philosophy behind the closer spacing is to stress the vines, increasing the intensity of the flavors. We believe the unique flavor profile and tannin structure of our Rebecca’s Reserve Pinot Noirs is due to this higher density planting strategy.

Heritage Block

After attending a winemakers' meeting a few years ago, we noticed that the wines that were most interesting, were from the older vines. Our oldest vines were planted in 1984, only ten rows of Pinot Noir own rooted and all Pommard clone. We decided to create a separate bottling from this block.  After the Rebecca's Reserve block experiment, we added an additional row of Pinot Noir every other row to control vigor. Our original spacing was 10 ft apart, 5 ft between vines.  By adding another row, we now have 3 rows 5 x 5. The wines from this block are structured and densely layered, with excellent cellar potential.

Changing the Chardonnay Clone

The first Chardonnay clones planted in Oregon came from California, primarily 108 and Draper clones.  While these clones are excellent for the warm growing regions in California, they struggled to ripen (often in November) in the cooler climate of the Willamette Valley. In the late 1980s, Oregon growers discovered the Dijon clones from France that always ripened in October, a significant difference. Our growing conditions are more similar to Burgundy than California, so it made sense for us to use the Dijon clones. In 1994, we started planting a second block of Chardonnay with the grafted Dijon Chardonnay clones. For several years we had the older block of the 108 clone and the younger block of Dijon clone. The difference in the wine was striking. The Dijon clone Chardonnay block ripened one month earlier than the 108 block, and the flavors were much more developed. In 2000, the old 108 clone of Chardonnay was field grafted to Chardonnay Dijon 96 and 76 using cuttings from the Dijon block.  We spent many hours tediously tying, pruning, and training the vines. The first Chardonnay wine from this block was made in 2001 and was of excellent quality--something about those old roots, perhaps.

Phylloxera, Irrigation, and Appellation

Phylloxera

When phylloxera was discovered in Oregon around 1990, we began to acquire phylloxera-resistant rootstock. The original vineyard was planted from 1984 - 1990 is on its own roots. At this time, we have no phylloxera in our vineyard. Due to our remoteness and lack of adjacent vineyards, we hope it will be years before we are affected.

Irrigation

Our vineyard is dry farmed. However, some younger vines may require irrigation until they are established. Our vines look green all summer. Their growth is so balanced even in hot summers, irrigation is unneccessary. With silty clay loam soils, the winter rains soak down into the soil and make the moisture available to the vines throughout the growing season.

Appellation

The Yamhill-Carlton District is a sub-appellation of the Willamette Valley, consisting of 8,500 acres between 200’ and 1000’ in elevation. This AVA contains over 60 vineyards and 20 wineries. The boundaries of our AVA were determined by the combination of our sedimentary soils and protection from the coast range, producing wines with distinctive flavor profiles.