Harvest 2017 prepares to usher in the next generation of great wines from the Pacific Northwest
Carlton, OR (August 23, 2017) — Over the past fifteen vintages, The Carlton Winemakers Studio in Carlton, Oregon, has been the winery of choice for an array of pioneering winemakers and new talent. The highly collaborative facility will continue its legacy this fall for the 2017 harvest as “The Studio” welcomes new winemaking projects 00 Wines, Native and Wildaire to the cellar.
Owned by Portland attorney Chris Hermann, 00 Wines is one of the most exciting and ambitious projects in Oregon. Working with consultant Pierre Millemann of Burgundy, 00 will bring a host of new techniques to the cellar, including removal of berries from clusters by hand and use of traditional fermentation vessels like amphora. While their attention is centered on making powerful, age worthy Chardonnay, 00 will continue to produce their iconic, small production Pinot Noirs from Shea, Highland, and Stardance Vineyards.
Alex Marchesini, one of the masterminds behind the Portland bar and wine shop Thelonious Wines, is proprietor and managing director of the new brand Native. Native will feature a selection of wine varieties and styles with one common factor – native yeast fermentation. “I strongly believe that by making wines without commercial yeast additions allows them to develop their own characteristics and unique personalities within their natural environment,” says Marchesini. Derek Einberger is executive winemaker for Native and among the wines to be made this vintage are Müller-Thurgau Pet Nat, Auxerrois Blanc from Confluence Vineyards, Dolcetto Nuovo from Eola-Amity and an un-oaked Pinot Noir from Patton Valley Vineyard.
Finally, also crafting wine at the studio for the first time is Matt Driscoll. Driscoll and his wife, Jean, founded WildAire in 2005 after moving 3,000 miles to Oregon from Richmond, VA. Driscoll has 16 vintages of winemaking experience in Oregon, most recently sharing the cellar at Beacon Hill with a variety of boutique producers. Their vision for WildAire is to create elegant wines with love and passion that are acid driven and food friendly. WildAire wines are fermented spontaneously and never inoculated with cultured yeast to encourage complexity. They source their Pinot Noir from two outstanding Yamhill-Carlton locations: Yates Conwill Vineyard and Fairsing Vineyard. Their barrel fermented Chardonnay comes from an organically farmed site near Dallas, Oregon, called Open Claim Vineyard.
“The cellar will be alive with innovation this year,” said Studio General Manager Anthony King. “Reducing the number of tons in the cellar has allowed us to be more open to accommodating a variety of vessels and techniques that would be too disruptive in our previous model.” Ehren Jordan, the proprietor and acclaimed winemaker for Failla Vineyards, will be in his second year at the Studio this year. He and his team have brought in three wooden fermenters, a concrete egg, and a variety of larger barrels for aging. With prior winemaking experience in the Rhone Valley of France and at wineries such as Neyers Vineyard and Turley Wine Cellars, he founded Failla Wines in 1998. In total, 15 wineries are crafting wines at The Carlton Winemakers Studio for vintage 2017.
About The Carlton Winemakers Studio
Founded in 2002 by winemakers Eric Hamacher and Luisa Ponzi and Ned and Kristen Lumpkin, The Carlton Winemakers Studio is an elite Oregon winemaking facility with history as a home and launch pad for some of the most groundbreaking wines from the Pacific Northwest. The Northwest’s first alternating proprietorship and first winery built to LEED standards, the studio provides top of the line winemaking equipment and a full-time staff that allows artisan winemakers to focus solely on their craft.
