Winderlea Vineyard Pinot noirs are made from the winery's estate vineyard. Winderlea Vineyard is located at the heart of what can be called Oregon's "Gold Coast" of wine, along Worden Hill Road west of the town of Dundee. First planted in 1980, Winderlea Vineyard was formerly known as the Goldschmidt Vineyard. Owned from 1998 through 2007 by former Oregon governor Neil Goldschmidt and other investors, Winderlea was purchased in 2007 by Bill Smart and Donna Morris.
Winderlea Vineyard's new owners hired consulting winemaker Robert Rbittan to oversee their Pinot noir production. Brittan made wine for California's Far Niente and was winemaker and estate manager at Stags Leap Winery in California for 18 years before moving to Oregon in 2001. He owns his own vineyard, Brittan Vineyard, and makes wine under the Brittan label.
Winderlea Vineyard Owners Bill and Donna express a dedication to producing Pinot noirs reflecting the terroir of the vineyard and the unique character of the grape. Management of the Winderlea Vineyard prioritizes ecologically sound agricultural practices.
Sensuous, Feminine, mmmmm - adjectives Bill and Dona use to describe their wines. The Winderlea Pinot style hearkens more to Burgundy than California. These are wines for those who appreciate subtlty and are prepared to drink wine with attention to more than immediate and overwhelming impressiveness.
Like great Burgundy, the Winderlea wines strive for a layered complexity, a large number of varied flavor sensations, and a long finish that continues to exhibit many different qualities in the mouth. Winderlea Pinots are at their best when carefully paired with food. Highly extracted Pinots impress one with immediate hedonistic overwhelm in the mouth, but leave the palate numb and unable to process new sensations as the meal continues.
In contrast, Winderlea Pinots reveal their character over repeated tastes, expanding the list of different flavors present as they are consumed during a meal. One chooses to go back to the wine again and again, finding new, fascinating qualites that refresh the palate and enhance the experience.
Winderlea Vineyard's Ana Vineyard Pinot noir 06 is wonderfully defined, showing a pure Pinot noir varietal character. Delicate and complex, it has a lovely freshness and vitality. The tannins are
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The Winderlea Vineyard' Goldschmidt Pinot noir 06 first greets the taster with a delightful scent of red berries, country hedgerow, rose petals, violets, and a hint of soft toast greet the taster.
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The Winderlea Vineyard Inaugural Reserve Pinot noir 06 is the winery's reserve offering. A combination of fruit from Ana Vineyard and Weber Vineyard, it's a big, rounded Pinot. A blend of the bes
