Winderlea Journal
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Waiting For The Sun
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.”...
Story of St. Vincent and History of Pruning
There are at least 30 saints who are honored for an association with wine, but of all St. Vincent is at the top of the list. St. Vincent was born toward the end of the third century and is the protomartyr of Spain (first one martyred for Christian beliefs). He was a...
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...
Fig and Pork Salad With Willamette Valley Pinot noir
By Chef Tony Parker | Serves 4 Ingredients1 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed1 oz garlic pepper rub1 oz olive oil10 oz spring mix greens2 oz balsamic vinaigrette2 tbsp butter1 for each salad- sweet onion 2 for each salad- seasonal pear, peeled and sliced thin8 for each...
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...
Pinot Blanc and Summertime Peach Salad
Seasonal and delicious, this salad only takes a few minutes to whip up and pairs perfectly with our Alsatian style Pinot blanc. The 2019 Pinot blanc shows notes of grapefruit and papaya, with an underlying briny character that compliments those juicy stone fruits...