Notes from the producer:

"Jim Bernau founded Willamette Valley Vineyards in 1983, planting Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay in the heart of the Willamette Valley in Turner, Oregon. He cleared the blackberry vines and remnants of a plum orchard himself and remembers watering the fledgling vines with a garden hose by hand. Initially, he sold his grapes to Dick Erath. The winery quickly grew into Oregon’s leading producer of wines selling at $15 and above only three years after its first release of Pinot Noir.

Today, Willamette Valley Vineyards is the third-largest Oregon Winery by brand and production releasing an estimated 160,000 cases of wine each year. The winery now has over 19,000 owners, a result of the nation’s first successful self-underwritten public offering (1989, Nasdaq WVVI) and subsequent preferred stock offerings (Nasdaq WVVIP). Jim Bernau was named Purveyor of the Year in 2007 by the Oregon Restaurant Association for his tireless lobbying for the Oregon hospitality industry.

The Estate Vineyard consists of 67 acres planted to Dijon, Pommard, and Wädenswil clones of Pinot Noir. The winery and underground cellar are carved into the top of an ancient volcanic flow. In 1997, Willamette Valley Vineyards acquired Tualatin Estate, near Forest Grove and plantings there have been increased using new rootstocks and Dijon clones of Pinot Noir. Both the Estate and Tualatin Vineyards are certified LIVE and Salmon Safe."