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Oregon's Willamette Valley is home to more than 200 wineries and has been recognized as one of the premier Pinot Noir producing areas in the world. austinwoman visited with three dynamic women who work in different aspects of the industry in Oregon's leading wine region.
Flanked by the Coast Range on the west and the Cascades on the east, Oregon's Willamette Valley follows the Willamette River from the Columbia River near Portland to just south of Eugene. Grape growing in Oregon began here in 1966, and today the Willamette AVA – American Viticultural Area – has grown to over 3,438,000 acres (5,372 square miles), thanks to its misty, cool climate and rich alluvial soils.
Driving west from Portland, nestled along the Coastal Mountain foothills is Highway 47, a country road lined with wineries, tasting rooms, restaurants, wine shops and farms. Heading south toward Carlton is Montinore Estate, a family owned and operated winery producing Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Mueller Thurgau, all sourced from the estate’s 240 acres of 25-year-old, sustainably farmed vineyards. After establishing and farming vineyards on the East Coast for 20 years, Rudy Marchesi bought Montinore Estate in 2001. He transitioned the property to organic farming methods, and in 2005 the winery obtained a Demeter Biodynamic® Certification (one of only seven in Oregon) and Organic Certification in the summer of 2008.
In January 2006, Marchesi successfully convinced his youngest daughter, Kristin, to come work with him. "I never had an intention of getting into the wine industry as an adult," says
the vivacious soon-to-be-30-year-old. "Quite frankly, I thought if I worked with my dad it would appear that I hadn’t earned my position, and being the independent person I am, I wanted to make my own way." As a child, she spent countless hours working at the winery where she practically grew up, helping with bottling, vineyard work and events. "I also spent a lot of time exploring the vineyards, napping on top of pallets in the warehouse and chatting with guests in the tasting room. I really loved it and felt like what we were doing was truly unique, which of course, it was, as none of my other friends dads’ were winemakers," she adds.
As the director of sales and marketing, she spends months every year traveling all over the world promoting Montinore, meeting many different people. "Finding common ground – which isn’t always easy – is so wonderful. It reminds me how good human nature is. Also, the awesome wine and food I enjoy are pretty great," she adds with a smile, but also admits that travel is a double-edged sword: "On one hand it is fantastic, but on the other, I am away from my life for long periods of time." Her job is made easier thanks to the quality of the wines. Produced exclusively from their small, unique plantings, and lovingly made by Marchesi and winemaker John Lundy, Montinore wines offer great quality at a fair price.
Young Kristin admits she doesn’t think a whole lot about her future, "but I am hopeful that I am on the right path. Right now, my number one goal is to help build a healthy company. Montinore is my dad’s dream come true, and it is not often a child gets to see their parents realize their dreams; I want to help support that as best I can." She sees the winery as a reflection of her family and what they believe in, so she wants to stay on course. "People ask me if I am going to take over one day or what my plan is, but I don’t really think that far ahead. All I want to do it take good care of my dad’s place." For the winery, she has a clear vision full of exciting things: "Our wines continue to be delicious, and using biodynamic farming methods is making the vineyards healthier, producing better fruit and wines with more depth. Both the winery and I are aging and changing."
Further South on Hwy 47 is the Yamhill Carlton AVA. The coarse, ancient marine sediments native to the area are among the oldest soils in the Willamette Valley, and provide excellent drainage. Thus, the vines stop growing shoots and leaves earlier than elsewhere, which allows Pinot Noir grapes to ripen fully and develop deep ruby colors and smooth tannins. In this region we find Elk Cove Vineyards, one of Oregon's oldest and most respected wine producers. Founded in 1974 by Pat and Joe Campbell, the vineyards sit on south-facing slopes with impressive vistas of the mountains that surround them: on a clear day, Mount St. Helen's can be seen from their beautiful tasting room. This family-owned winery produces hand-crafted, estate-grown wines from sustainable and organically-grown, hand-harvested grapes.
Adam Godlee Campbell joined forces with his parents in 1995 as the head winemaker. Working alongside is assistant winemaker Heather Perkin, a 27-year-old native of Melbourne, Australia, who first became interested in the wine world when her father started up a viticulture business. "I enjoyed meeting the people in the industry, everyone seemed friendly and relaxed, plus I heard about flying winemakers who travel the world chasing harvest seasons – I was hooked!" she explains enthusiastically. She made a small amount of wine at the University of Melbourne and in her last year she worked harvest at Domain Chandon in the Yarra Valley. She graduated in 2003, had her first assistant winemaker position in 2004 at Elderton’s Wines, then jumped around the world as a cellar hand. She came to Elk Cove as an intern in 2004, then came back in 2006 to work full-time.
Elk Cove produces an estate Pinot Noir, plus five single vineyard offerings: Roosevelt, La Boheme, Rutherford, Windhill and Five Mountain, and refreshing whites including Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and a deliciously juicy rosé of Pinot Noir. When it comes to working, Perkin is evenly split between the reds and whites. "I enjoy both for their varied winemaking needs," she says. The whites take five months to make, from grape to bottle, using all stainless steel and no oak. Thus, they retain freshness and varietal character. "Once ferment has finished, we work to have them ready for bottling and “bang!”, it’s all done. The ease is mainly due to the awesome vineyard management we have, flavors and structure are already in place," she explains. "Our red fruit is equal in quality, but requires a little more winemaking influence at the beginning," she adds. During fermentation they constantly plunge the skins to add color and tannin structure, and use gravity instead of pumps to protect the delicate fruit. "All our reds go to barrel, and then mid May-June the fun begins, choosing barrels for our single vineyard bottlings," she says. "I’m lucky that I get to focus on each type intensely during harvest, then switch to whites from February through April. After they are all bottled, I turn my attention to the reds for blending and bottling in August … then September is back and the fruit arrives to start it all over again!" The shy redhead is quick to blush upon praise of her winemaking, but there's a gleam of pride in her eyes that belies her true passion. "My favorite part of the job is watching people enjoy a glass of wine from a blend I helped put together," she confides. And although she doesn't enjoy every part of her job – like fixing hoses, for instance– her goal is to continue to learn from Adam, gain more understanding in the vineyard, and eventually become a winemaker "making the big decisions," she says. "Right now I’m enjoying the little decisions and absorbing knowledge from everyone I work with."
Lynn Penner-Ash started Penner-Ash Wine Cellars with husband Ron in 1998, a few miles Southeast of Elk Cove. Her interest in winemaking arose while studying botany at the University of California, Davis, and in her junior year she changed her major to viticulture, but after working at Domaine Chandon during crush, she changed her degree to enology. Upon graduating, she became the enologist at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, and in 1988, the winemaker for Rex Hill Winery in Oregon. Thanks to her hard work and excellence in winemaking, she became the winery's president and chief operating officer in 1993. While working there, she started making small amounts of her own Pinot Noir and Syrah, and thanks to their early success, she developed the Penner-Ash brand in 2001. She left Rex Hill for good in March of 2002, and thus was born one of Willamette's most distinctive, elegant Pinot Noir producers. Her goal: "To craft wines that reflect the place they are grown and complement the great foods from Oregon's bounty," she explains.
The wines are superb, a true reflection of terroir and quality, impeccably balanced and deliciously food-friendly; the single vineyard Pinots vary every year. Lynn is especially enthusiastic about the days following harvest. "You have just spent six weeks working as frantically as you can to get fruit into the winery as optimal as possible," she says. "You're exhausted, the winery is a mess, but the potential is so great. You begin to see the results of what you've just spent ten months working towards as the young wines begin to reveal themselves." She is incredibly active in the industry, serving on the Oregon Pinot Camp Board of Directors, on the board of the International Pinot Noir Celebration from 1996-2002 (acting as President in 1998), is actively involved in the Salud! Barrel Auction and was a member of the steering committee from 1998 to 2001. When asked about the future of wine in Oregon, she is serious: "I don't think it will be as crazy as it has been with fruit and wine pricing. I think we are all going to be working a lot harder for the next 2-3 years, but things will settle down," she says hopefully. "And maybe we'll all realize that winemaking is really about love of what we do and enjoy, not all about scores and points?" We'll drink to that!
MORE INFO
Wine Finder
Montinore:
Vino Vino Wine Cafe, Sun Harvest Anderson, Chris' Liquor #2, Royal Blue Grocery, The Market at Steiner Ranch
Elk Cove:
Central Market, Chris' Liquor #2, Thom's Market, Twin Liquors, Cissi's Market, Wiggy's, Whole Foods, Lake Travis Wine Trader
Penner-Ash:
The Grove, Grape Vine Market