Austin Beeman visits the Original Vines of Eyrie Vineyards with Owner and Winemaker Jason Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards.

In this long video, shot amongst the Original Vines, Jason Lett discusses the terroir of the vineyard, the effect of a variety of soil types, the benefits and challenges of own-rooted grapevines, and a little of the history of the Lett family.

Special Thanks to Amy McCandlish

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Austin Beeman Visits the Original Vines of The Eyrie Vineyards

01:08 Meet Owner & Winemaker Jason Lett and Talking Geography

02:53 Soil and Elevation in the Dundee Hills

05:20 Wind, Temperature, and Elevation in the Dundee Hills

07:12 Veraison Explained

09:13 Own-Rooted Vines Explained

10:33 The Eyrie Vineyard. The Original Vines of the Willamette Valley

11:28 What is an Eyrie?

12:47 Organic Viticulture, Phylloxera, and a Bottle of Bleach

14:52 Between the Rows of Vines

15:32 The Traditional Practices

17:59 Jason Lett's Journey Back to His Family's Vineyard.

Filmed on location at The Eyrie Vineyards in the Dundee Hills AVA of Oregon.

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THIS IS EPISODE #82 OF UNDERSTANDING WINE WITH AUSTIN BEEMAN

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Austin Beeman is a 20 year veteran of the wine business with extensive experience in Marketing and Sales (wholesale, retail, & DTC.)

Currently Vice President of Marketing for Cutting Edge Selections - one of the leading fine wine distributors of the Midwest, Austin has a deep knowledge of the global wine business.

While Director of Marketing for Bonny Doon Vineyard, he managed one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns in the wine industry.

His video podcast “Understanding Wine with Austin Beeman” has been praised in USA Today and his photography has appeared in The Wall Street Journal.

Austin holds an MBA in Wine & Spirits Management from Kedge Business School in Bordeaux.

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About The Eyrie Vineyards https://eyrievineyards.com

“David Lett pioneered both Pinot noir and its white wine cousin, Pinot gris, the two grapes that define Oregon wine today. But just as important, he established the very tone of Oregon winegrowing: artisanal, individualistic, even idiosyncratic… You can look at Oregon’s 300-plus wineries and 17,400 acres of vines and trace it to Lett. But he left more than that. He bequeathed a uniquely Oregon ‘wine genome,’ one that others now seek to copy.”

Matt Kramer | The Wine Spectator | The Oregonian

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“Three months after meeting David Lett in 1966, I was Diana Lett, standing out in the middle of a field of grape vines in Oregon, with a shovel and a brand new yellow rain-suit. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, but I was thrilled to be in on the opening chapter of a great adventure. It seemed like a long time at the time, but in a few years several other families joined us. As we got to know each other, we realized that we shared ideals. We also realized that we had an absolutely unique opportunity – to build a wine region from scratch, and build it right. 50 years and a thriving community later, it does look like we did it right. I am so proud of what has been accomplished in these five decades, and I am very grateful that I got to be a part of it. I am immensely glad that I have been able to spend my life in this beautiful state of Oregon, helping to build The Eyrie Vineyards.” Diana Lett 2015

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“In 2005 I came back to Eyrie as winemaker. I was often asked, “What are you going to change?” My answer was, ‘Fundamentally? Nothing.’ Since then, we have planted new vines and introduced new varieties to the Willamette Valley. We moved to wild yeast fermentations. We developed a 21-step process to guarantee the quality of our library releases. We released single vineyard Pinots from each of our estates for the first time in our history. In spite of the changes, nothing has changed. Exploration and innovation has been a part of the Eyrie adventure since Dad planted the first vines in 1965. I’m honored to have a part in carrying the journey forward.”

Jason Lett 2016