Winderlea® Vineyard & Winery – a luxury boutique winery specializing in limited production Oregon Pinot noir announced today the opening of its new tasting room on Worden Hill Road in Dundee. Owners Donna Morris and Bill Sweat are also releasing Winderlea’s inaugural vintage built around the legendary Goldschmidt Vineyard in the heart of the Dundee Hills, which they purchased in 2006. The purchase included 20 acres on the Red Hills Bench, the area in which Oregon’s international recognition for great Pinot noir began.
Boasting some of the oldest vines in the Willamette Valley – the vineyard was planted in 1974 — the property sits on the south side of Worden Hill Road with ideal elevations of 480 to 570 feet. The original plantings include Pommard, Wadenswil, Dijon and the so-called Coury clones of Pinot noir. Today the site is composed of 13 blocks entirely devoted to Pinot noir.
Winderlea’s new sustainably-built 4000 square foot tasting room, which includes a commercial kitchen, offices and equipment storage, was designed by Ernie Munch and Travis Butler of Ernest R. Munch, Architect & Urban Planner, LLC of Portland, Oregon. The firm was chosen for its reputation as a leader in sustainable architecture and experience with winery related projects. Winderlea’s new building was designed and built to take advantage of its site and minimize the use of electricity. The building is designed to conserve energy and shift its source of energy to that which can be harvested on-site, principally sunlight. Winderlea® has installed solar hot water heaters and Day4 Energy photovoltaic modules to meet its energy needs. The building also relies on passive solar heating, natural ventilation and daylight harvesting for lighting. And, with an eye toward the future, the parking lot will feature a station for electric vehicles to recharge.
The modern structure was designed to perform its function as a gatherer of solar energy and to highlight the expansive views of Winderlea® and neighboring vineyards. Many of the materials used for construction contain recycled components, are sustainable and produce a healthy interior environment. The east and south sides of the building are made up entirely of glass and aluminum providing dramatic views. An elevated patio off of the south side of the building further blurs the line between indoors and outdoors. The tasting room was built by R&H Construction of Portland, Oregon..
With the opening of Winderlea’s tasting room, Morris and Sweat are releasing their inaugural 2006 vintage made up of 3 bottlings: the 2006 Winderlea® Goldschmidt Pinot noir – a single vineyard designate from their estate vineyard, the 2006 Winderlea® ANA Pinot noir – a single vineyard designate from the highly regarded ANA vineyard which abuts Winderlea®, and the 2006 Winderlea® Inaugural Reserve Pinot noir made up of fruit sourced from the neighboring ANA and Weber vineyards. Acclaimed winemaker Robert Brittan formerly of Stags Leap Winery makes Winderlea® wines.
Winderlea’s Tasting Room, located at 8905 NE Worden Hill Road in Dundee, will be open Memorial Day through Thanksgiving on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11AM to 4PM. On Fridays during July and August, Winderlea® will offer a 3-course lunch paired with wines for up to 12 guests. These menus will be created and prepared by some of the most popular chefs in the area. Advance reservations will be required.
All proceeds from the winery’s $10 tasting fee will be donated to ¡Salud! – a unique alliance between Oregon winemakers, Tuality Healthcare and medical professionals to provide education and access to healthcare services for Oregon’s seasonal vineyard workers and their families.
Winderlea® Wine Company, LLC was founded in 2005 by Donna Morris and Bill Sweat, as an outgrowth of their passion for great Pinot noir. Winderlea® wines will also be available through a limited number of fine wine stores and restaurants as well as online at www.winderlea.com.