WildAire Cellars: The Vineyards

"Live in the Sunshine,

Swim in the seas,
Drink the wild air."

-by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Clay Court Vineyard

Clay Court Vineyard (formerly Eastburn Vineyard) is owned by Elk Cove Vineyards in Gaston and is located on the eastern side of Parrett Mountain in the newly approved Chehalem Mountains Appellation. Planted in 2001, the vineyard sits on a gently sloping outcrop at about 600’ in elevation and has a panoramic view of the cascades to the north, east, and the south. The vineyard sits in the rain shadow of Parrett Mountain, which helps shelter the vineyard from western blowing winds and rain. The fifteen acres of Pinot Noir is planted to Dijon Clones 114, 115, and 777. All of these clones are grafted onto rootstocks 3309, Riparia Gloire, and 101-14, depending on the soil makeup and Pinot Noir clone characteristics. The soil in the vineyard is a mix of different types of soils, with the upper layer consisting of Laurelwood while the deeper parts of the soil are made of Jory. The vines are irrigated and spaced at 7’ x 4’ which makes for a planting density of about 1500 vines per acre. This site ripens very early and it's usually one of the first vineyards that we pick every year. The new Appellation that the vineyard is located in has several distinct qualities that make it different than the rest of the Willamette Valley Appellation. The Chehalem Mountains is a single uplifted landmass southwest of Portland in the northern Willamette Valley, extending 20 miles in length and 5 miles in breadth, stretching from southeast to northwest. They include several discrete spurs, mountains and ridges, such as Ribbon Ridge and Parrott Mountain. The highest point within the Willamette Valley is the Chehalem Mountains’ Bald Peak, at 1633 feet, which affects weather for the AVA (American Viticultural Area) and for adjoining grape growing hillsides. It is the geography and climate that differentiate this AVA from others. All three important hillside soil types are represented, basaltic, ocean sedimentary and loess (blown lake bed sediment), the predominant soil on the northern face of the Chehalem Mountains. Within the almost 70,000 acres of this AVA are over 1600 acres of grapes, grown in over 100 vineyards, and 31 wineries.

Illahe Vineyard

Illahe Vineyard is owned and managed by Lowell and Patricia Ford of Salem, Oregon and is located in the foothills of the Coast Range near Dallas, Oregon. Illahe Vineyard was first planted in 2001 with 22 acres of pinot noir. Today it is a 50-acre vineyard with seven varieties and about 40 acres of Pinot Noir that’s spaced at 7’ X 5’ vine rows. When it’s completely planted, they will have about 65 acres under vine. We currently get an acre of Dijon Clone 115 and Pommard from Illahe Vineyards. Illahe was planted on a south-facing slope that ranges from about a 4% grade near the bottom to over 20% near the top. The top of the vineyard is at 480 feet elevation, and the bottom 250. This is a warm site that experiences slightly earlier bud-break and flowering than many other vineyards in the Willamette Valley. The grapes achieve maturity even in cooler vintages. Two obvious reasons for this are the southerly aspect of the vineyard and the moderate elevation. The vineyard also has excellent drainage during cold snaps, and it’s just to the south of the Van Duzer winds which begin in the late summer that cool other vineyards in the evening, slowing maturity. The varieties of soils on the property give the wines from this site complexity and structure. The overall character of the soil is that of Willakenzie-type sedimentary clay. The specific types include bellpine, wellsdale, dupee, and patches of jory. These types depend on soil depth and composition, which is mostly clay, silt, and loam. There are wide variations in coloring, with purple and grey clay-stone, orange and red clay, veins of iron, and lighter,organic taupe and yellow clay at different depths. Illahe is a LIVE-certified, Salmon Safe vineyard. This includes a program of minimal or no irrigation, leaf pulling to decrease shade, and dropping all green clusters after veraison.

Shea Vineyard

SheaVineyard is owned by Dick and Deirdre Shea of Portland, Oregon and is managed by Jesus Marin. It’s located in the in the northern region of the Willamette Valley inside of Yamhill-Carlton District AVA near Carlton, Oregon. Shea Vineyard was first planted in 1989 and now has grown to over 140 acres of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay. WildAire's blocks for 2009 are planted to Dijon Clone 114 (block 14) on the East Hill and Dijon Clone 777 (block 30) on the West Hill. In 2010 we'll have the 777 from block 33 as well as some Pommard from block 32. The elevations of the vineyard range from 400 feet to 600 feet and the Marine Sedimentary soils are mostly made up of the Goodin, Melbourne, and Willakenzie soil series. The row spacing is 8’ x 4’ and is non-irrigated. Shea Vineyard farms its land using L.I.V.E. and Salmon Safe management techniques to steward the land for future generations. The wines that come from this site generally have supple tannins with a mixture of red and black fruits from Blackberry to Cherry that weave with hints of earth and spice. I find it easy to pick out a Shea wine at a blind tasting due to the strong floral aromas of Violets and Red Roses that seem to erupt from the top of the glass. This vineyard is known by many as Oregon’s “Grand Cru” vineyard and its wines have garnered some of the highest scores ever recorded for an Oregon Pinot Noir.

The 1400 acres of vines planted in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA are located approximately 35 miles, or about a 70-minute drive,southwest of Portland, Oregon. The wines that come from this AVA tend to have plummy, black-fruits,with notes of blackberry and black cherries, framed by minerality reminiscent of pipe tobacco, espresso, clove and dark chocolate, and accented by scents of rose, violet, lavender and forest floor. A Yamhill-Carlton Pinot is typically lower in acidity, deeper in color, and higher in tannin than that of a Dundee Hills or a Ribbon Ridge wine. The wines have some of the darkest color of all Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs. The hillsides here are comprised of siltstone, sandstone, and sand, and their parent material is 35-45 million-year old seabed from the Eocene and Oligocene epochs. The shallow marine sediments of the AVA encourage early ripening of wine grapes. Significant shifts in temperature between summer days and nights encourage thick, flavorful skins and ripeness with sufficient balancing acidity.

Zenith Vineyard

Zenith Vineyard is owned by Tim and Kari Ramey of Salem, Oregon and is managed by Pedro Martinez. It’s located in the in the northern region of the Willamette Valley inside of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA near Salem, Oregon. Zenith Vineyard was originally owned by Pat O’Conner and was first known as O’Conner Vineyards. The Ramey’s purchased the vineyard in 2002 and have replanted and added several blocks of varying clones of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Auxerrois, and Tempranillo, and it now boasts 70 acres of vines on multiple trellis spacings. The vineyard is LIVE certified and the wines that come from this site typically have higher acidity with bright red fruits and classic aromas of bramble and rose petals.

The Eola-Amity Hills are a 38,000 acre chain of hills nestled in the heart of the Oregon's Willamette Valley. These hills were formed about 12 million years ago when a wrinkle formed in the basaltic lava flows that covered the valley. The soils of the Eola-Amity AVA are generally shallower than those of some other AVAs. In the upper hills, these are predominantly basaltic clay/loams called Jory, Nekia, and Gelderman, among others, while lower elevations contain sedimentary Steiwer, Chehulpum, and Helmick types. The steady, predictable afternoon marine breezes that come into the Willamette Valley from the Pacific Ocean through the Van Duzer Pass, a low point in Oregon's Coast Range, flow directly toward the AVA, cooling the fruit quickly from the day's heat. This results in preservation of the grape's natural acidity and produces a brighter, fresher wine.

Folin Vineyard

Folin Vineyard is owned by Scott and Lorraine Folin and is located in Southern Oregon near Gold Hill in the Rogue Valley AVA. With an average of 2500 degree days per growing season, they specialize in warm climate grapes with an emphasis on Syrah, Tempranillo, and Viognier. The elevation of 1300 to 1450 feet for this 25 acre irrigated vineyard has vines spaced on a VSP trellis at 8’ X 4’ for a vine density of 1360 vines per acre. The soils are made up of silty clay loams and sandy clay loams that are mixed with gravel. The massive clusters that come from this vineyard are just bursting with incredibly dark fruit flavors and abundant structure.

The Rogue Valley AVA is the southernmost winegrowing region in Oregon. It's made up of three adjacent river valleys(Bear Creek, Applegate and Illinois valleys) that extend from the foothills of the Siskiyou Mountains along the California border north to the Rogue River. It is 70 miles wide by 60 miles long and encompasses the Applegate Valley sub-appellation. The AVA is home to 16 wineries, 130 vineyards, and 2200 vineyard acres.

The Rogue Valley is made up of three distinct valleys with progressively warmer microclimates, which enables the region to successfully grow both cool and warm-climate grape varieties. To the west, the region is affected by mountain and ocean influences, making it suitable for some cool-weather varieties, including Pinot noir. Farther east, Rogue Valley has the highest elevations (nearly 2,000 feet) of Oregon's winegrowing regions, but it is also the warmest and the driest, making it well suited for warm-weather varieties including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. Rogue Valley soil types are many and varied, including mixes of metamorphic, sedimentary and volcanic derived soils ranging from sandy loam to hard clay.

photos courtesy of Folin Vineyard.