Wine Soundtrack - USA

At Soter Vineyards we farm our wine. These wines are a reflection of the intention to convey place as an essential character in everything we make. The combination of respectful farming and craftsmanship as well as our ancient soils and temperate climate result in wines that are layered, nuanced and seductively captivating while remaining modest in alcohol and tannin, a happy consequence of the interaction of both the hand and the land.

Our estate Pinot Noirs are sourced entirely from the Mineral Springs Ranch Vineyard, located east of the town of Carlton. Fruit for our North Valley wines are procured from some of the state’s best vineyards in the Northern Willamette Valley. For Planet Oregon, we cast a wider net with the intent to make wines truly representative of Oregon utilizing fruit primarily from the Willamette Valley but also from Southern Oregon. All of our wines are made with fruit that comes exclusively from certified sustainable vineyards.

Our winery is partially housed in a refurbished barn, originally built in 1943. In the hillside next to the barn we dug two caves and lined them in cement for our barrel rooms, creating a space that is naturally cool year-round. Additionally, most days modified skylights illuminate the space. This, along with the temperature controlling elements, makes the building not only a perfect environment to raise world-class wines but also an essential factors in helping us to conserve energy and limit carbon expenditure, part of our goal to become a more sustainable business.

We seek to express the incredible character of Oregon through impeccable raw materials and minimal intervention in the winery.
Founded by winemaker and owner Brianne Day in the 2012 vintage, Day Wines is a producer of boutique, artisanal bottlings from Applegate Valley in the south to Yamhill-Carlton in the north and numerous other AVAs in between. We source from outstanding organic and biodynamic vineyards to create distinct expressions of our corner of the world.

John Grochau was first introduced to wine and the winemaking landscape in his early 20’s, while racing bicycles for a French team in the Loire Valley. For several years, he raced through some of France’s most revered winemaking regions including Champagne, Burgundy and the across the Loire Valley. When he returned to his hometown of Portland, Oregon, he went to work in the restaurant business and quickly discovered an even greater appreciation for wine.

After more than decade selling wine in some of Portland’s finest restaurants, including a 14-year stint at Higgins, Grochau plunged into winemaking. He spent a year in Sonoma before returning to Oregon to work at Erath Winery, and then worked alongside winemaker Doug Tunnel at Brick House Vineyards for four years. His first vintage as owner and winemaker at Grochau Cellars was 2002.

We believe that 90% of winemaking takes place in the vineyard. Because of this, we have held ourselves to a strict form of land use acting as stewards of the land in order to nurture and reap the rewards naturally. Our alternative approach to chemical use is growing a variety of medicinal and dynamic flowers and herbs that we make into compost teas. By steeping into teas, we’re able to harness the beneficial properties of each flower and herb and embody a “from nature to nature” philosophy. As such, our multiple compost piles and Biodynamic preparations are extremely important for our vineyards because the resulting humus is worked into our vineyard in order to achieve long-term soil and vine health.

Our unique niche in the foothills of Oregon’s Coast Range separates us from valley weather influences providing warmer days and cooler nights with less precipitation during the harvest season. The property has highly diversified soil types consisting primarily of Nekia and Yamhill series, laced with veins of Peavine and Jory. By training our vines to produce between 1.75-2.25 tons per acre, we believe we are getting the best fruit possible from our unique terroir.

Founded in 1998 by Lisa and Scott Neal in what is now the McMinnville. Utilizing strictly organic practices from our inception, we work with our ecosystem to craft wines that reflect the time and place from where they come. We utilize latest technology such as drone imaging and gps guided farming to grow great fruit, then use minimalist handling in winery to allow it to be the star.
In the winery, we have a fully carbon neutral footprint by utilizing biofuels in the vineyard and solar panel for electric generation. Our vineyard has both sedimentary and volcanic origin soils, multiple slopes and steep elevations that allow a diverse palate of wines that come from our vineyard.

Nestled in the Southern Willamette Valley, twenty minutes southwest of Eugene, Oregon, Iris Vineyards produces world-class, award-winning Oregon wine from grapes grown at our Chalice Vineyard. The cool climate in the foothills of the Oregon Coast Range allows the grapes to mature slowly while maintaining the proper acid balance that is essential for producing the finest Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay.

When King Estate Winery was established in 1991, it staked its future on three pillars: Stewardship. Family. Tradition. Those pillars have proved a solid and true foundation for the winery that today produces some of Oregon’s most recognizable and best-loved wines. Co-founders Ed King III and his father, the late Ed King, Jr., had a vision for the 600-acre parcel of land they discovered in the southern Willamette Valley that was used to grow hay and pasture cattle. Over the years that parcel has evolved into one of Oregon’s most recognizable and iconic vineyards with 1,033 acres on the certified Biodynamic® estate. Three generations of the King family are involved in the family business, continuing the old-world traditions of sustainable agriculture and artisan winemaking. Meticulous fruit selection and impeccable practices are hallmarks of winemaking at King Estate. Part of Oregon’s renowned Willamette Valley region, King Estate is best known for its superb Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. The pure taste of Oregon can be found in every bottle.

Angeleno Wine Company is wine grown in Los Angeles, and made in Los Angeles. It is a little known fact that California winemaking began in Los Angeles, not in Napa or Sonoma. The state's first original winemakers made and grew their wines where our winery sits today. At its height of production in the mid-1800's, Angelenos were making 2 million bottles of wine, several years before Napa even had their first commercial winery. It used to be that when San Franciscans and New Yorkers saw 'California Wine' on a label, they knew it came from L.A..

Our pride and joy is a small vineyard about an hour north of Los Angeles outside a little town called Agua Dulce. It is farmed by Juan Alonso, a visionary who planted an array of lesser known Spanish grape varietals from his native Galicia. Tannat, Graciano, Godello, Loureiro, and Treixadura are some of the unique varietals that Angeleno makes into wine every year.

For us, Juan is the heart and soul of Angeleno. As "natural" winemakers, we use all native yeasts and don't add chemicals, proteins, colors or flavors to our wine. We harvest early to preserve natural acidity in the fruit. We strive to make wines that truly showcase Los Angeles fruit with our wines. For this reason, we consider Juan Alonso the true winemaker of Angeleno, as it is the character of his vineyard that shines through in our wines.

With a focus on red Bordeaux and Rhone varietals, each one of our handcrafted wines is meticulously guided from flower to fruit, harvest to crush, and barrel to bottle. Along the way we make each careful decision with the fruit’s identity and individual character in mind.

Founded by Sarah and Chris Pittenger in 2009, Gros Ventre Cellars is a small, family-owned winery operating out of Healdsburg, CA. We produce about 2,000 cases of wine, including vineyard-designated Pinot noir from the West Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley, and several wines from the El Dorado region.