About
the Vineyard
Anne Amie wines come from diverse sites. Our estate vineyards at the
winery include a 16 acre Pinot Noir vineyard and an 11 acre Riesling
that was planted in 1979. The intitial 5.5 acres of Pinot Noir were
planted in 2000 with the first harvest in 2003. The first fruit from
the additional acreage is expected in 2006.
Along with these vineyards, Dr. Pamplin also commissioned Scott
Huffman to oversee the planting of two separate Pinot Noir sites
on his property west of Newberg, Oregon. The first site, at a 500-foot
elevation, faces southeast. The second site, which rests on a south-facing
slope at a higher elevation of 650 feet, boasts breathtaking views
of the valley below and Mount Hood to the northeast. The sites are
planted densely to yield several different clones of Pinot Noir,
including 777, 115 & Pommard, as well as Pinot Gris. Both vineyard
sites are composed of Jory soil and promise to make great contributions
to the Anne Amie Vineyard Designate Pinot Noirs in years to come
as well as our Winemaker Selection wines.
Early in Anne Amie’s evolution, winemaker Scott Huffman searched
for additional sites that met his specific requirements for producing
world-class Pinot Noir. His intention was to start a Vineyard Designate
program and reflect the terroir of each site from vintage to vintage.
Initially Scott settled on four primary vineyards: Doe Ridge, Hawk’s
View, Yamhill Springs, and Laurel. We have since added La Colina
and Deux Vert Vineyards.With optimal aspect, exposure, soil type
and plant density, Scott knew that there was potential for truly
intense fruit from these sites if the yields were kept low.
Doe Ridge Vineyard was planted in 1991 on Willakenzie soil with
both Pommard and Wadenswil clones. Situated just three miles northwest
of the winery, Doe Ridge is known for producing wines with intense
cherry and black cherry flavors and a distinct forest floor-like
earthiness. The 2002 marks the last vintage that Doe Ridge will
be part of our Vineyard Designate program. The vineyard was cleared
in 2004 due to phylloxera.
Hawk’s View Vineyard is an organically farmed 12-year-old
vineyard composed of Laurel Series soils and is located on the west
slope of the Chehalem Ridge. Hawk’s View Vineyard is a working
study of organic viticulture. Sustainable viticulture is important
to us and we are committed to researching the best farming practices
for obtaining exceptional fruit naturally. Hawk’s View has
earned a reputation for producing wines capable of long-term aging
with great fruit, structure, and mouthwatering intensity.
Yamhill Springs Vineyard sits at a 550-foot elevation at the base
of the foothills in the coast range. Its unusual Peavine soil is
densely planted with over 2000 plants per acre. The vineyard has
produced remarkably elegant, fruit-driven wines.
Sitting at nearly 1000 feet, Laurel Vineyard utilizes a unique
high elevation and cool climate trellising system called the Geneva
Double Curtain trellis. The trellis system exposes the fruit to
direct sunlight, but, because of the vineyard’s high elevation,
the grapes may not ripen enough some years to produce a wine worthy
of a vineyard designation, even with extremely low yields. This
extreme site will only be designated in outstanding years. However,
extreme sites often produce the world’s best wines; the Pinot
Noir produced from this site is exotic and fruit-driven with a distinct
personality.
La Colina is our only site on Jory soil and has produced wines
with great varietal character; “fruit bomb” is an appropriate
description for wines produced from this site. The Pinot Noir from
La Colina has a strong floral quality reminiscent of violets.
Deux Vert is a warm site on Willakenzie soil near the town of Yamhill.
This site produces rich, intense wines redolent of black fruit with
an underlying mineral and spice components. We expect the Pinot
Noir produced from Deux Vert to be a great wine for the cellar.
Small lots of distinct wines other than Pinot Noir, Pint Gris and
Riesling are also produced and sold exclusively at the winery. Look
for a 2003 Syrah, 2004 Pinot Blanc, 2004 Viogner and a Cabernet
based blend called “Belle Rouge” to be released at the
winery in the spring of 2005.
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