Iris
Hill Winery
Iris Hill is the name of the Estate
wines of Chalice Vineyard, whose owners have focused
on producing the very best fruit possible through careful vineyard
management. The wine is made for them by a local winery, Territorial
Winery in Eugene. Not surprisingly, Territorial is another of our "Avalon
Wineries to Watch".
Iris Hill's first vintage was
in 2001. It was immediately well received by local winelovers, and
has become a favorite at Avalon's Corvallis store.
Wine Press NW's Prestigious Platinum
Awards named the Iris Hill Pinot gris 2002 their "Wine
of the Year", with Platinum ratings from every judge
at the competition.
Territorial
Winery
As with Iris Hill, this is a winery that started as a vineyard. Alan
and Jeff planted their vineyards in 1993 and 1999, and produced their
first vintage in 2000.
Their Rosé of Pinot noir
is already achieving National fame, and was selected from over 50
dry Rosés by Gourmet Magazine as one of their top ten selections.
Reminiscent of the Rosés of Domaine Tempier in Bandol, France,
their Rosé is a super clean, feel-good wine for summer. It
has always sold out before cooler weather comes, but would be super
with pork roast or cassoulet.
The winery owners describe themselves
as being full of "viticultural grooviness and oencological prowess"-
this is a winery we've grown to respect for their tenacity and sense
of style. Their range of Pinot noirs are of outstanding quality and
very reasonable price.
Lumos
Winery
Dai Crisp is owner and winemaker of
Lumos Winery. He is best known as vineyard manager for Temperance
Hill Vineyard, which he has re-vitalized with superior management.
Previously, he was vineyard manager for the highly rated Croft
Vineyard.
The wines of Lumos are made from
a 10 acre Estate vineyard in Wren, Oregon, on his parents' farm.
Pinot gris grapes come from another family-owned vineyard.
Avalon has featured Lumos' best
Pinot noir, the Lumos "Guam" Pinot noir 02, as a selection
in our Reserve Pinot noir Club, and the Pinot gris and Chardonnay
are favorites with our customers. While the winery is low profile,
the wines are way up in our estimation. This is a winery to watch.
Cherry
Hill Winery
The 55 acre Estate Cherry Hill Vineyard is the source for this winery's
Pinot noir grapes. The first vintage is the 2003, and three excellent
Pinot noirs have been produced. A small amount of Pinot gris is also
made.
The owners of Cherry Hill Winery
are longtime Burgundy enthusiasts, and the wines reflect their interest
in creating classic Pinot noirs. Winemaker Chris Luby has taken grapes
from relatively young vines in a tough vintage (too much heat), and
created well balanced, lovely wines with particularly nicely integrated
French oak.
In the future, this winery's control
of their own vineyard and the owners' understanding of fine Pinot
noir bode well for exceptional future releases. We'll let you know!
Belle
Vallee Cellars
Belle Vallee Cellars is an "urban winery", based in a warehouse
in Corvallis, Oregon. Unlike Territorial, Lumos, and Iris Hill, Belle
Vallee purchases all of its fruit from 13 different vineyards, including
Temperance Hill, the vineyard that Dai Crisp (Lumos) manages. Winemaker
Joe Wright is co-owner of the winery, with Steve Allen and Mike Magee.
From its first vintage, in 2000,
Belle Vallee has produced exceptionally high quality wine. The Belle
Vallee Whole Cluster Pinot noir 02 has swept the State of Oregon,
where restaurants have happily adopted the wine as a "house
pour" of high quality and very reasonable price. This wine is
a "house pour" for many of our local customers, whose pantries
are filled with Belle Valle wines.
Belle Vallee makes a range of
higher end Pinot noirs that are quite good, and a Port that, while
pricey, is excellent and quite fast selling.
