Winderlea Journal
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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...
Winderlea Grafts Block 5
A lot has happened in the vineyard over the last week. We replanted one of our Legacy blocks at the top of the vineyard, replacing the 45 year old own rooted Pommard with like Pommard on root stock. We hope to start to harvest those new plantings in the 2024...
Worden Hill Vineyard Gets Sheep
When Winderlea started farming Biodynamic® in 2009, it was always our hope that one day we would be able to bring animals onto the vineyard (our labradoodles Monty and Celie did not count!) We did bring honey bees on in 2010 and chickens in 2014 and they have been...
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...
Watermelon Salad with Mint & Pancetta | 2020 Rosé of Pinot noir
By way of our friends and neighbors at Red Hills Market we've put together a recipe to create the perfect pairing for this year's lush and layered Rosé that's bursting with juicy watermelon and strawberry. Buy a bottle of Rosé here! Ingredients 8 lb. whole seedless...
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...
We’re Putting it in Neutral | 2021 Solar Panels
We've been having some very nice sunny days lately and the forecast is for several more ahead of us. After months of grey and drizzly weather, it's hard to convey how much the sunshine is welcome. The daffodils are in bloom, fruit trees are flowering, and in the...