2023 Illahe Vineyards Gruner Veltliner, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA

ABOUT THIS WINE

We have a 1.5 acre parcel of Grüner Veltliner on our Estate vineyard. These cuttings came from an original planting Lowell Ford planted in the 80's on our family farm in West Salem. Those original cuttings came over in a friends suitcase from Austria. In 2023 we destemmed the fruit and soaked on the skins for 24 hours before pressing. After a gentle pressing we then ferment 50% of the juice in acacia barrels and stirred the lees in the barrels to increase texture and mouthfeel and the remainder in stainless.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

At Illahe, our goal is to make wine as naturally as possible from soil to bottle. We work by hand on small lots with age-old techniques and materials. Our focus is to grow and make quality Pinot Noir and white wines that express the vintage and their varietal characteristics. We don't use enzymes or additives. Some of our wines are made entirely by hand, with no electricity or modern mechanization. We use a gentle wooden basket press and age our Pinot Noir in French and Oregon oak.

Quality wine starts with quality fruit in the vineyard. Our 80-acre, south-facing vineyard lives in shallow clay soils. Like our friends in the Deep Roots Coalition, which is committed to dry agriculture and responsible water practices, we do not irrigate mature plants. As one of Oregon’s few horse-powered vineyards we utilize a team of Percheron draft horses to mow and deliver grapes to the winery at harvest.