Vitis Ridge Winery
990 N First, Silverton
Mid-September, Vitis Ridge will be bottling 2011 Malbec, Tempranillo, Syrah, Red Blend-Fab Four and 2012 Marechal Foch. Once bottled, these reds will continue to age until the previous vintages are gone. We’re expecting an early harvest with the Marechal Foch being the first of many varietals to be processed. The tasting room will remain open during crush, Wednesday – Sunday, 12-5 p.m. We welcome you, during this busy time, and encourage you to walk back and watch this process, while enjoying a complimentary taste of one of our many varietals of wine.
– Sharon Deckelmann
Hanson Vineyards
34948 S Barlow Road, Monitor
Our crush began on Sept. 1 this year, the earliest ever, when we picked our Madeline Angevine. This varietal is known for ripening early and making a slightly sweet, honey and apricot flavored wine. We’re looking forward to bottling this inaugural vintage late next spring.
The local robins continue to be a constant source of irritation. Our vineyards in Monitor our surrounded on two sides by Butte Creek, so the birds are plentiful. Once the grapes begin to ripen and become a target of the robins, we hang nets as fast as we can, hoping to thwart our winged friends.
In Indiana, our 2009 Pinot Noir racked up another award, picking up a medal at Purdue University’s “Indy International Wine Competition.”
In addition to having our tasting room open each weekend, we’ll be taking the show on the road in September, pouring in Corvallis on the 21st at Rhapsody in the Vineyard; Silverton on the 25th at Oregon Garden’s Sunsets in the Garden; and on Oct. 5 in West Linn at the Willamette Falls Festival.
– Jason Hanson
King’s Raven Vineyard & Winery
11603 S New Era Road, Oregon City
King’s Raven Vineyard is tucked away on the Oregon City hillside, up a quaint country road, overlooking the lush valley below. You can sip local wines, guided by the farmer and expert hand, replete with tales from the vine and root.
Earlier in the month at the Field & Vine Dinner we previewed the ‘12 Pre-Release Estate Pinot Noir. This wine is not filtered and from single barrel lots. Full release will be in fall 2014. Late September we plan to release our first ever semi-sweet wine made from all estate grapes. It is a blend of Phoenix, Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Chardonnay from the ‘12 vintage. We also plan to release our ‘12 Chardonnay (only 10 cases, only available through the tasting room), our ‘12 Riesling (20 cases, also only in the tasting room), and our ‘12 Table Red Wine (this is a blend of Pinot Noir, Leon Millot and Maréchal Foch).
– Darin Ingram
Forest Edge
15640 S. Spangler Road, Oregon City
With the great weather, harvest is just around the corner. We’re busy with preharvest activity and preparation: making room in the winery, bottling wine to free up barrels, keeping up on vineyard sprays and bird protection. We’ve released three new wines: 2011 Leon Millot, Hard Apple Cider, and Sparkling Hard Cider. Our summer releases were Forest Mist, a white wine blend of chardonnay & pinot noir and Forest Blend II, a red blend of pinot noir and Leon Millot. These additions provide our line a range of tastes from dry to sweet, still to sparkling. We will be at Corvallis’ Rhapsody in the Vineyard Sept 21 in and Willamette Falls Festival Oct. 5 in Oregon City. We are participating in Alaska Airlines’ Oregon Wines Fly Free Sept. 10 – Nov. 20 you can check a case of wine free as baggage.
– Jan Wallinder
Piluso Vineyard and Winery
Aumsville
We grow a small block of Gruner Veltliner, a variety of grape primarily grown in Austria. This grape produces pale, crisp, light to medium-bodied, slightly spicey wines of good quality. Chefs love this wine for its seafood-pairing characteristics due to its slight salinity and soft “salt-sea-air” profile. We bottle less than 50 cases annually.
– Sandee Piluso
Mt. Angel Cellars & Vineyards
215 N. Main St., Mount Angel
Mt. Angel Cellars & Vineyards is now serving local wines by the glass, and free samples of frozen wine cooler “slushy” beverages. Try Carlovanna Vineyards’ premium dessert style fruit wines with no added sulfites, as well as local varietals. We will be open longer in mid September.
– Lisa Scrimenti
