Winemaking, Life and Choices

An unexpected gift of our current “sheltering in place” is the time for introspection.  For the fortunate, schedules and routines have slowed to the point that we have the mental space to think about the choices that filled up those busy calendars in the first place.  At the same time, those left unemployed or underemployed in the wake of the economic shut down have been forced into a moment of serious reflection and even anxiety.  The Black Lives Matter discussion is calling us as a nation and as individuals to examine and re-examine lifelong assumptions.

Signs of self-examination can be seen on the corporate landscape.  Much has been written about the recent first-year anniversary of the Business Roundtable’s latest Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, notable in that it acknowledged the need to make business choices that benefit a wider circle of stakeholders – not just the shareholders.  Among the Fortune 500 it remains to be seen how much meaningful action will follow the making of statements.  But two Oregon wineries are embracing ways of making wine and managing their businesses that reveal considered choices and deep commitments that reach far beyond the bottom line.

Located in the Applegate Valley, near Oregon’s border with California, Troon Vineyards is some distance from the state’s well-known wine country further north.  This is a warm growing region with granite and sedimentary soils that differ from the volcanic Jory found in the north.  Troon’s winemaker and 30-year wine industry veteran, Craig Camp, arrived a few years ago with the property’s new owners.  “I came here (from Napa) because I really wanted to pursue Rhône varieties, which are ideal for this growing climate,” he said, “and that’s what we’re developing here.”  First planted by Dick Troon in 1972, the vineyard had suffered a long period of aggressive commercial farming after its founder sold the property.  “When I came it looked like concrete - totally compacted, hard as a rock,” Craig said. “There were a lot of vine diseases.  I felt that biodynamics was the only route to rejuvenate the site.”  In 2019 they completed the three-year process of becoming certified Demeter Biodynamic and are beginning to re-plant the vineyard with Rhône varieties.  “The differences we’ve been able to achieve are really stunning in soil health and plant health,” said Craig.  In this new direction is a commitment to not only restore but improve this historic site.

At a tasting sponsored by the Oregon Wine Board, Troon shared their 2019 Kubli Bench Amber, an orange wine.  An unusual blend of three white varieties - Riesling, Vermentino and Viognier - the wine is left in long contact with the grape skins during fermentation which lends the finished wine a beautiful golden color.  It is darker than most white wines, and is not as pink as a rosé.  A bit of haze is visible through the clear bottle and it has the clean aroma of petrol that is often associated with Riesling.  The wine is dry, with flavors of crisp green apple and pear. Savory light tannins are accompanied by refreshing acidity.  It was a compliment to fish tacos and a salad niçoise.  “That’s the great thing about orange wine,” said Craig, “you can serve it with anything – literally!”

Harvest at Winderlea Vineyards in Oregon’s Dundee Hills [photo: Andrea Johnson]

Winderlea Vineyard and Winery is located at the north end of the Willamette Valley in the Dundee Hills – home to the Pinot Noir that has made Oregon famous among wine lovers.  Like the Troon property, this vineyard was developed in the 1970s.  Since 2006 it has been operated by Bill Sweat and Donna Morris, Boston transplants whose passion for Pinot Noir has led them to winemaking as their second careers.  While Pinot Noir is common in this part of Oregon, the decisions to farm biodynamically and to seek certification as a B-corporation set Winderlea apart from many of their neighbors.  Certified B-corporations seek to meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.  

The 2017 Winderlea “Imprint” is one of nearly ten different Pinot noirs among the winery’s current releases.  Baking spices and a hint of floral aromas introduce umami and red fruit on the palate, along with good acidity and a long, clean finish.  The wine was made using whole clusters and a portion was made using carbonic fermentation.  This delicious medium-body wine displays all the hallmarks that define Oregon Pinot noir.  

Both Troon Vineyards and Winderlea chose biodynamic farming as a way of improving their wines – but it is also as a means of improving the soil of their sites and the general health of their vineyards.  This is winemaking with an eye to not only the bottom line and the bottom of the glass, but also to the future and sustainability.  These intentional decisions cut into profits but serve higher purposes.  It is winemaking with responsibility.

Our lives are shaped by the many choices we make.  Living through a pandemic invites us to consider how those choices affect our health, our community and the businesses we support.  “I think often biodynamics is sometimes seen as some kind of ‘super version’ of organic,”  Troon’s Craig Camp said.  “I think because of COVID, too, people are more aware of healthy things.”  

2019 Troon Vineyards Kubli Bench Amber
Applegate Valley, Oregon
74% Riesling / 16% Vermentino / 10% Viognier. $30 13.3% ABV

 2017 Winderlea “Imprint” Pinot Noir
Dundee Hills,  Oregon  $53 13% ABV