Welcome to Season 3 of Wine Crush Podcast! Where we exact the color from behind the vine of the Willamette Valley's Wine Country wineries. Hosted by Heidi Moore, wine lover and winery insurance agent at Country Financial. Enjoy, and don't forget to share, rate, and subscribe!

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In this episode, we uncork two unique wine stories. The first comes from a daughter and mother operation rooted in tradition, adventure and good dirt. The other centers on a family-owned producer of small-lot, handcrafted, estate wines, with a special emphasis on world-class Pinot Noir.

Guests

Kate Taylor, Operations and Vineyard Manager, One Love Cellars

Dan Warnshuis, Owner/Winemaker, Utopia Vineyard

Winery Biographies

One Love Cellars

https://onelovecellars.com/ (https://onelovecellars.com/)

This adventure started in 2006, in an unfinished basement with a bumper crop of raspberries in Michigan. The fermentation obsession brought the Taylor family from Michigan and Montana to Oregon in 2010. After education, clearing land and getting to know their industry neighbors, they planted our first vineyard block in 2012. At the heart of their farming practices are sustainability, stewardship and premium quality fruit.

The 16 acres of estate vines thrive at One Heart Vineyards, in the volcanic soils of the South Salem hills. One Love Cellars’ Pinot Noir, Albariño, limited production Bubbles and some other wonderful whites and red blends are luscious, lively and vibrant. Delicate barrel notes on the reds lend to an appealing, lingering finish that continue to tell their distinct story.

These mostly estate-grown, Northwest wines are an incredible value in a bottle and a treat for any palate. They show well solo, accent a great meal, company or stand out for a special occasion. The attention to detail in the craft and care of their wines can be tasted in each pour.

Utopia Vineyard

https://www.utopiawine.com/ (https://www.utopiawine.com/)

Utopia Vineyard is the embodiment of a dream that began in the mind of its owner, Dan Warnshuis. He and his family live on the property, in that big house you’ll see as you turn off of Ribbon Ridge Road.

After college, Dan returned to his home in California and began a successful career in Silicon Valley. Along the way, he opened a retail store in Napa and began spending time with Napa Valley growers and winemakers. Utopia Estate Vineyard was born in 2002 after talks with Oregon growers at the International Pinot Noir Celebration led Dan on a search for a vineyard site. He found a parcel located just above the old Bergstrom farm on Ribbon Ridge that seemed ideal, and subsequent soil tests proved it to be so. The Utopia Estate Vineyard is perfectly situated at an elevation of five hundred feet in the heart of the Ribbon Ridge Appellation in the Northern Willamette Valley in Yamhill County, Oregon. It consists of a total of 16.8 acres of sloping contiguous south-facing hillsides of Willakenzie soils.

Dan’s first commercial vintage produced just 413 cases in 2006. It was a good start, but the 2007 was even better, winning the Grand Award of Excellence, the Gold Medal in the 2010 Oregon Wine Awards for Pinot Noir over $35. Subsequent vintages have continued to improve and the first private reserve release, Paradise, was produced as part of the 2009 vintage. In addition to world-class Pinot Noir, Utopia also produces Pinot Blanc, made exclusively from certified grapes grown in the Willamette Valley and Pinot Noir Rose. New Chardonnay plantings were added in 2010 and a well-appointed tasting room with outdoor seating was built that same year.

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