Things to do while waiting for the sun to come out. I’ve written a couple of times about how little sun we’ve gotten this year. In terms of accumulated heat units, we are tracking behind the coolest vintage this century. And it’s been grey and rainy - 50.9" of...
48 Inches of Rain
The weather this year has been so strange. It’s been wet, very wet and cool. Usually we get 30 - 35 inches of rain annually. Since October 1st, our weather stations are showing we’ve already received almost 49 inches. Typically by now we would have somewhere in...
White Wines Anytime
Growing up in New England, you didn’t dare wear white pants or white shoes until after Memorial Day. I find I had a similar switch that went off right about now that led me to white wines, and a good deal of Rosé until the Fall. However, Bill and I were struck over...
About Our Wines
In the early 90s we fell in love with Pinot noir. Its elegance and sensuality – and the beautiful way it paired with a range of foods delighted us. As we tasted through wines from across the country we found the characteristics we most loved in Oregon Pinot noir. We...
Our Roots
When we made the decision to refocus and relocate our lives to Oregon, our driving ambition was to grow and make Pinot noir. We’ve told our story thousands of times. Our favorite grape was Pinot noir and our favorite American Pinot noirs came from the Willamette...
Budbreak Arrives at Winderlea
"Budbreak”: the glorious time of the year when the vines wake up from their winter dormancy. For those more curious about what causes budbreak, it is stimulated as soil temperatures rise, osmosis causes water to be drawn upward into the plant through the xylem. This...
Winderlea Celebrates B Corp Month
As I write this, most of us at Winderlea are engaged in finalizing our application to be re-certified as a B Corp. It seems fitting then that March is B Corp Month, when the B Corp community comes together to celebrate, “People using business as a force for good.”...
Spring is coming!
On Tuesday, Donna and I experienced one of the first signs of Spring; the blessing of the final blends of Rosé. We’ll have two very distinct wines again this year, one from the Winderlea Estate Vineyard and the other, the Clos Vernier from Worden Hill Vineyard. Both...
Leaving Space for Beauty and Discovery
I've been trying to compose this in my mind in the weeks before Father's Day but had trouble getting it to a final form. I've been thinking about the idea of leaving space. This takes many forms; leaving space for others, leaving space for beliefs that are...
Supporting our Pollinators in a Laissez-Faire Hive
There are so many stories to tell right now. May is Oregon Wine Month, so we are especially attuned to sharing the unique characteristics of the Oregon terroir, and especially of the specific vineyards farmed by Winderlea and our grower friends. Bud break...