NV Illahe "Cap Fizz", Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA

ABOUT THIS WINE

Cap Fizz from Illahe Vineyards, is a dry, pink bubbly bottle of refreshment for workers, picnickers, fishers, makers, singers, and watchers of the western sunset. Picked early at harvest, it has lively acid and a pretty aroma enhanced by its sparkle and joined together with the feeling of seeing a rainbow behind a waterfall.

Our family is 3rd generation farmers in the Willamette Valley still residing on the original farm in West Salem that was established by Pauline’s father, Grandpa Brad in 1943 . All of the foliage on the label represents native Oregon wildflowers used in our cover crop to create more biodiversity, as well as local crops that represent the bounty of the valley. The daffodil and the fig represent our family farm. Pauline has a few fig trees and is known for her fig jam, as well as her daffodil stand that she has along the road every Spring for the past 25 years, where she sells flowers for her grand children’s college fund.

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.