Winderlea Journal
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From Challenge Comes Change
The theme of International Women's Day (and therefore the month as far as I'm concerned), is Choose to Challenge. The website tagline reads "A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change". The second part of this sentence has always rang true to...
Finding My Place in Wine by Allison Fields
When I first started studying wine in my early 20’s, I searched to find a mentor I could not only learn from but also connect with. But my Sommelier courses were dominated by stuffy men in suits that I definitely didn’t connect with, and I struggled to fit in with...
Sparkling: harvest through tirage bottling
When Bill and Donna made the exciting decision to launch the Winderlea sparkling wine program in the spring of 2016, the cellar was buzzing with activity. Rosés were being bottled, Pinots were being racked, Chardonnays were being tasted. And now, the challenge of...
Simple & Delicous Holiday Duck Confit
This recipe is for 6 duck legs. But honestly, if you’re going to take the time to do it, go for a dozen legs and just double this recipe. For the perfect wine pairings for this dish SHOP HOLIDAY GIFT SETS HERE! Ingredients for 6 whole duck legs 6 whole...
Thanksgiving Gougères Recipe
Indulge in this simple and foolproof gougère recipe paired alongside our latest release of the 2017 Vintage Sparkling Brut. INGREDIENTS 5/8 C water 4 T butter 1/2 C unbleached white flour 2 eggs 1/2 coarsely grated Gruyere cheese...
A Need For Connection
I want to start by thanking all of you who are part of our lives. You may not think it means much to us but every interaction keeps us connected to a world outside of our vineyard in Dundee. We are all doing our best to figure out the intersection between staying...
Saying Goodbye to Block 3 | Our Farming Ethos Continues
Many of you know that we first learned about Biodynamic farming because we were searching for ways to extend the life of our original vines which were being attacked by phylloxera. That effort has been largely successful as we were able to extend the productive life...
The Sounds of Harvest | The Winderlea 2020 Harvest Playlist
As we toil away in the winery we are being taken back to harvest 2020 with our very own Harvest playlist! Give it a listen here. Be sure to check out Bill's Harvest Update here.
A Few Surprises Along the Way | 2020 Harvest
On Wednesday October 7th we officially concluded harvest for 2020 by picking Chardonnay from the Meredith Mitchell Vineyard. In general, 2020 has been a year that has required a lot of adaptation and the Oregon grape harvest has been no different. We've decided to...
Cheers to Number 15!
And just like that, it's harvest. Really, I thought I had another week. Or more. Perhaps it's like that every year, we think there's time to prepare and then harvest sneaks up on us. But I feel more unprepared than usual this year. We had a little bit of heat and...
In Patience and Humility We Find The Greatest Reward
Donna and I don't usually take a pre-harvest vacation, but this year we went to Montana for an early celebration of a milestone birthday of my brother's. Prior to moving to Oregon we used to fly fish a bit, but we haven't picked up a rod since winegrowing took over...
Salad of Figs, Minted Yogurt, Arugula, Crushed Walnuts and Feta
How are you surviving these "dog days" of summer? It's been a hot one and cooler days and nights are over a month away. Summer salads are still the order of the evening and what better wines to pair with our Fig Salad than our Rosé of Pinot noir. In a pinch, I've...