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Patton Valley Vineyards |
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The Patton Valley Vineyard was founded by Monte Pitt and Dave Chen in 1995. In every vintage since their first - 1997 - their Pinot noirs have gained followers, ratings and the respect of their fellow Oregon winemakers. 
Patton Valley's philosophy of winemaking is to allow the characteristics of the site, or "terrior," to show through, and to put only the best possible fruit in the wine. The process begins with fastidious vineyard practices. Monte learned these firsthand while working at Beaux Freres, one of Oregon's premier Pinot Noir producers. The blessing and curse of Pinot Noir is its extreme sensitivity to growing conditions and handling. For Patton Valley, this means letting the fruit achieve its highest potential on the vine, and then handling it as little as possible during the winemaking process. Only through such careful practices can the essence of the vineyard site, or "terrior," be expressed in the wine. To bring fickle Pinot Noir grapes to their full potential, Patton Valley uses painstaking vineyard practices that emphasize flavor over production volume. These practices -- such as high density planting, shoot thinning and canopy thinning -- increase cultivation costs and reduce the amount of fruit that can be harvested. For Pinot lovers, however, such a tradeoff is well worth the expense. The result is wine with a silky, sensuous texture, a solid backbone of acidity, long flavors dominated by fruit, and complex aromas. Achieving such a well-made Pinot Noir is the focus of all their efforts. Patton Valley Pinot noirs
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