Haden Fig Pinot Gris 2022
Origin: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Retail: $26.95 | Sale: $24.26
Founder and Winemaker, Erin Nuccio has worked in nearly every aspect of the business. He began his journey as a wine retailer in Washington D.C. and it was here that Erin found his love for Oregon pinot. After years on the retail side of the business, he began distribution in Massachusetts until he and his wife finally headed to Northern California where Erin went to school for enology and viticulture. After graduating, Erin worked with Russ Raney at Evesham Wood and found the two shared a similar philosophy to winemaking. Haden Fig is the result of Willamette Valley’s unique climate, the vineyards in its clutch and the personalities who serve as their stewards. They are guided by an uncompromising commitment to crafting non-irrigated Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Rosé. The 2022 Pinot Gris is sourced from Mahonia and the recently purchased Torres Bros. Vineyard. It is barrel fermented and aged in neutral French oak. It is akin to the pinot gris imported from Alsace. This is a spiced, textured, and aromatically-driven wine. 100% Pinot Gris
Hundred Suns ‘Old Eight Cut’ Chardonnay 2022
Origin: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Retail: $44.95 | Sale: $40.46
Grant Coulter and Renée Saint-Amour had a goal to build a life that felt like an adventure. They left California for Oregon’s Willamette Valley, where Grant first worked as assistant winemaker at Hamacher wines and then spent most of the next 10 years as assistant winemaker and then winemaker at Beaux Freres while Renée continued to teach high school. In 2015, the couple sold their house in Portland, scraped together every penny, and moved to a fixer-upper in the valley so that they could build Hundred Suns. Eventually, Grant moved on from being winemaker at Beaux Freres to overseeing the vineyards and making the wines for Flaneur Wines, and Renée swapped the classroom for the cellar and started running the day-to-day business. From winemaking, to label design, website building, and even wax dipping bottles by hand, every aspect of this process was run by the two of them. In 2018 Grant and Renée bought a 4.5 acre property in the Eola-Amity hills where the 50 year-old vineyard was their children’s backyard. Great fruit and a mouthwatering freshness. 100% Chardonnay
Evesham Wood Pinot Noir 2022
Origin: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Retail: $32.95 | Sale: $29.66
Founded by Russ and Mary Raney in 1986, Evesham Wood is based on the idea that small is beautiful. After a comprehensive search throughout the Willamette Valley, they chose a site for the estate vineyard, “Le Puits Sec” (French for “the dry well” which they have in the vineyard). There they planted eight acres, three of Pinot Noir (Pommard clone), two each of Chardonnay (108 clone) and Pinot Gris (Colmar clones), and one of Gewurztraminer. Since then, 4.5 acres have gradually been added. After twenty plus years, Russ and Mary began working closely with Erin Nuccio, who is the owner of Haden Fig. Not only did the founders see an opportunity to retire early, but also someone who would continue the Evesham Wood’s legacy and make wine using the same philosophies. In August 2010, Erin and his wife, Jordan, became the owners of Evesham Wood Winery & Le Puits Sec Vineyard. To maintain a high level of quality, they rely on two basic principles: obtaining optimally ripe low-yield fruit from the best possible sites in the Willamette Valley, and using minimal intervention in the winemaking process. Showing a bright nose with cherry, red apple, fresh flowers, and a touch of loam along with a textural creamy/silkiness component that’s balanced by juicy acid. 100% Pinot Noir
Hundred Suns ‘Old Eight Cut’ Pinot Noir 2022
Origin: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Retail: $44.95 | Sale: $40.46
The ‘Old Eight Cut’ refers to a diamond cut dating back to the 1400s using simple tools and few cuts to enhance the natural brilliance of the stone without disguising its true nature. This vintage was a year of contrasts. A cool, wet spring punctuated with frost set back the harvest. Warm summer days and a beautiful fall enabled our dry farmed vineyards to reach maturity. Brimming with red fruits, succulent acidity and a backbone of fine grain tannins. Drink now through the next ten years. 100% Pinot Noir