¡SALUD! THE OREGON PINOT NOIR AUCTION

¡Salud! is an Oregon project of Hillsboro Medical Center, an OHSU Health partner, a community non-profit hospital part of the OHSU Health system. The ¡Salud! Services team works to address the hurdles faced by Oregon vineyard stewards and their families in meeting their basic healthcare needs. 

Founded in 1991 by a group of winery owners and healthcare physicians, the project serves approximately 2,500 vineyard stewards and family members each year, providing health screenings and services, and support in navigating the complex healthcare system. 

¡Salud! The Oregon Pinot Noir Auction raises important funds to support ¡Salud! Services. The E-Auction every July and the two-day Pinot Party and Gala in November bring winemakers and wine lovers together around unique wines created by the Vintners Circle.

Artist Block

Artist Block Wines is a new winery in the Dundee Hills owned by contemporary artist Anna Sweet. A Manhattan School of Visual Arts dropout success story, her art has been represented in renowned collections across the globe and coveted by collectors worldwide. Originally from North Carolina, where she grew up in the apartment above her mother's art studio, Anna's journey as an artist herself began at age 12 when she picked up her first camera and began photographing the women in her life. Over the next twenty-plus years, Anna's penchant for groundbreaking, unconventional work would lead her to shoot underwater nudes in Hawai'i, to open her own independent art gallery in Key West, Florida, to explore the value of art and the way we consume it through her sculptural "Yummy Bears" and "DotNut" series, and finally, to start Artist Block winery in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Her aim is to introduce a new generation to the world of fine wine by creating a brand that championed young creative talent and the symbiotic relationship between art and wine. She's created exciting educational tools like SNOOT, a wine club that makes wine education easy and fun, and is the driving force behind Artist Block's unmistakable style.

Photos courtesy of Artist Block

ALLORO VINEYARD

Founded in the Chehalem Mountains in 1999, Alloro Vineyard is a 110-acre wine farm producing small quantities of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, and sparkling wines. In addition to 34 acres of planted vines, the holistic farm just 30 minutes from Portland raises pigs, registered Hereford cattle and heritage breeds of sheep, and grows fig, chestnut, walnut, hazelnut, and olive trees, along with vegetables and hay for livestock.

Located just 30 minutes from Portland, Alloro Vineyard’s new tasting house, a warm and open stone structure completed in late 2020, offers tastings seven days a week from 11 am to 4 pm.

Overlooking Alloro’s estate vineyard plantings, guests can opt to taste either inside the stylish, yet classic living room featuring large windows, soft furnishings, and elegant fireplace, or on the sleek, wrap-around patio to enjoy the view of surrounding forest and vineyards.

More information: allorovineyard.com

Photos by Cheryl Juetten.

Auction of Washington Wines

Auction of Washington Wines is the state’s premier wine auction and one of the nation’s top five charitable wine auctions. Raising more than $59 million since 1988, the auction grows awareness and acclaim for the Washington wine industry and benefits Seattle Children’s, among the leading children’s hospitals in the country, funds world-class research through Washington State University’s Viticulture and Enology department, and supports the mission of Vital Wines.

Mark your calendars for these 2024 events:

• Private Barrel Auction: March 15

• Wine Country Vintner Dinners: May 15, 16, 18

• TOAST! Industry Awards: August 8

• Winemaker Picnic: August 9

• Gala: August 10

For more information, please visit auctionofwawines.org.

BRYN MAWR VINEYARDS

Welsh for “high hill,” the Bryn Mawr vineyard is nestled atop one of the steepest slopes in the Willamette Valley amid a pristine forest of Douglas Firs, and with the influence of strong, maritime winds flowing in from the Van Duzer Corridor. 

Owners Jon and Kathy Lauer knew the site had enormous potential and purchased the Bryn Mawr Estate Vineyard in 2009, hiring winemaker Rachel Rose shortly thereafter to lead the growth and development of both the vineyard and their wine program. 

The winery’s first commercial vintage was in 2010, a particularly challenging year in the Willamette Valley—commonly referred to as “the year of the birds”—and was followed by one of the coldest vintages on record in 2011. 

Under the leadership of Rachel Rose, Bryn Mawr crafts wines of great complexity and tension including legacy varietals like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as well as burgeoning varietals like Tempranillo, Dolcetto and several aromatic white grapes.

Bryn Mawr has continually elevated its production, creating refined, ageable wines for almost a decade. A common adage among the team is “high hill, high risk, high reward,” and that tenacious spirit is reflected in all that they do.

More information: brynmawrvineyards.com

GC WINES

John Grochau was first exposed to wine and the winemaking landscape in his twenties, while living in France and racing bikes for a team based in the Loire Valley. 

When he returned to his hometown of Portland, Oregon, he started working in the restaurant business, where he gained an even greater appreciation for wine. He was the assistant winemaker at the Biodynamic Brick House for four years before starting Grochau Cellars in 2002.

Based in the cooler Eola-Amity Hills AVA, Grochau makes balanced, expressive and textured wines from organic and sustainably-grown fruit. Wines are fermented slowly with natural yeasts and lightly filtered before bottling. John works with some of the Willamette Valley's legacy grapes--Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc--and with up-and-coming varieties like Gamay and Melon de Bourgogne. 

Photos by Josh Chang / Foundry503

More information: grochaucellars.com 

NICOLAS-JAY

Nicolas-Jay is the Willamette Valley partnership between Burgundy winemaker Jean-Nicolas Méo and former music executive Jay Boberg. Jay and Jean-Nicolas bought the famed Bishop Creek Vineyard in Yamhill-Carlton AVA in 2014 and officially launched their project in 2016 with the release of their 2014 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. 

Jean-Nicolas is the winemaker and owner of Domaine Méo-Camuzet, a winery that has been in the Méo family for more than four centuries. Mentored by Henri Jayer, Jean-Nicolas is largely considered one of the finest pinot noir producers in the world. He was first exposed to Oregon's terroir at the 1991 IPNC, where he met many of the Willamette Valley's pioneers. With Nicolas-Jay, Jean-Nicolas saw an exciting and inspiring opportunity to take a lifetime of experience in Burgundy and apply it to a unique place with a vibrant wine community. 

Jay founded I.R.S. Records and went on to become the president of MCA/Universal Records, which he directed for more than 10 years. Throughout his life, Jay has made his avocation his vocation. During his remarkable music career, he launched and fostered some of the most influential artists in the past three decades. He also developed a passion for wine that would lead him to approach his longtime friend Jean-Nicolas in 2012 about making wine in Oregon. "Nicolas-Jay is about making the very best pinot noir we can possibly make," Jay explains. "It is also about building something together that one day we hope our kids will be a part of. When you look at the great domaines of the world, these two ideas go hand in hand."

As an integral to the team, Associate Winemaker Tracy Kendall utilizes winemaking experience gained in New Zealand, Australia, Washington, and Oregon to help guide winemaking and viticulture at Nicolas-Jay. Working alongside some of the top winemakers around the world, Tracy is one of the rising stars in the Willamette Valley. Combining a gifted palate with an exceptional understanding of viticulture and fermentation science, Tracy works with Jean-Nicolas and Jay to orchestrate day-to-day winemaking at Nicolas-Jay, while also contributing her insights and acumen to the overall direction of the winery. 

More information: nicolas-jay.com

Photo right by Easton Richmond.

Feature photo by Matthew Luczy

RED MOUNTAIN AVA

Red Mountain is a small but mighty winemaking region in Washington’s Yakima Valley. It is a premier winegrowing region with a storied reputation for world-class Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends.

A combination of elements contribute to the premium fruit grown in this region, from its sandy, loess soils to its singular climate. Red Mountain is characterized by intensely sunny days and dramatically cooler nights—which help build complex flavors while retaining all-important acidity—and a swift wind that courses through the valley helps build powerful tannic structure.

Vineyards are the primary focus in this tiny AVA on the western edge of the Yakima Valley, which has the most dense concentration of top vineyards in the state. The region cultivates the most sought-after fruit in the state for wineries in Walla Walla, Woodinville and beyond.

Photos by Robert Holmes and Andrea Johnson for Red Mountain AVA Alliance.

For more information, please visit redmountainava.com

REMY WINES

Founded in 2006 by lifelong Oregonian and queer winemaker Remy Drabkin, Remy Wines is a Willamette Valley winery honoring Old World-style wines with a progressive voice and undeniable flair.

Remy makes an impressive portfolio of wines with Oregon-grown Italian varieties, which can be enjoyed at her humble and welcoming farmhouse tasting room in Dayton, Oregon.

In 2020, Remy co-founded Wine Country Pride, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, bringing LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations to rural Oregon and creating a space to uplift and support a diverse community of queer people who call wine country home.

Over the years, Remy Wines has evolved to encompass the vision of its founder as she herself has become a fixture within her local community. After more than 12 years of public service, Remy was appointed interim mayor of her hometown of McMinnville, Oregon in the spring of 2022.

Remy is the first woman and the first queer-identified person to hold the office of mayor in McMinnville.

#MadameMayor

Photos by Zachary Goff.

For more information, please visit Remy Wines on Instagram.

Wine Country Mayor Remy Drabkin. Photo by Zachary Goff.

TASTE NEWBERG

In partnership with Lila Martin from Talk Story PR, Play Nice represents the DMO for the city of Newberg. As the gateway to the Willamette Valley, Newberg is a destination for friendly, world-class hospitality in Oregon’s wine country. Taste Newberg, the regional marketing agency and a 501(c)(6) non-profit, was formed in 2019 to promote the destination.

For more information, please visit tastenewberg.com

Photos courtesy of Taste Newberg.

YAMHILL-CARLTON AVA

Yamhill-Carlton is a nesting AVA in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. This horseshoe-shaped winegrowing region is distinguished by its ancient sedimentary soils, creating wines of character with an unmistakable sense of place. Wineries in Yamhill-Carlton are predominantly family owned and operated, producing wines that emphasize quality over quantity. Named for the two hamlets of Yamhill and Carlton, the region has become a destination for wine lovers, collectors, and culinary travelers alike. With its picture-perfect patchwork of higher-elevation vineyards, Yamhill-Carlton produces some of the finest Pinot Noir in the world.