Our final stop In Oregon for our Harvest shoot was at Beckham Estate Vineyard. The Estate is farmed biodynamically and organically. They have a flock of sheep that graze in the vineyard, and there are riparian zones for biodiversity. They are raising their family here. They want the place to be safe and to thrive.
Beyond regenerative and biodynamic farming, owner Andrew Beckham plays a very special role in wine in the US. You see, Andrew is a potter, a ceramics artist. When we visited a few years ago, his wife Annedria told us the story of reading an Industry magazine featuring Elisabetta Foradori, the renowned winemaker in Trentino-Alto Adige in Northern Italy. She was using amphorae to ferment and age her wine. Annedria knew what Andrew’s first thought would be. Should she show it to him? She did, and she was right. “I could make those!” of course came out of his mouth, and he set about doing just that.
When we last visited, we watched, cameras off, as he created one of these massive amphorae. We had seen the finished product already. Rudy at Montinore was using one. Andrew was making wine in some, as well as using barrels. Imagine that, being both the winemaker and the potter, able to tweak the design to better suit your needs.
With NOVUM Ceramics Amphorae he is the US’s first and only commercial producer of Terracotta Amphorae. Almost all his wines are now made in amphorae.
Think about this vessel. These amphorae will last a very long time and are a neutral vessel, not imparting flavors to the wine. Beyond that, they are beautiful. Andrew is an artist and melds the practical and the beautiful. He has recently designed new stands for the amphorae that are stunning pedestals and are also forklift friendly.
We spent a lovely morning speaking to Eva, their harvest intern, and Taylor, the Assistant Winemaker. That Gewurztraminer that Clay said to ask about yesterday? They were shoveling buckets of it from a micro bin into the press. No hopper here; all the work was done by hand, and they were getting a workout!
Andrew joined us, showed us some of the new designs for the amphorae, and talked to us about the vintage. When we were last here, they had just planted some sauvignon blanc and trousseau. The trousseau had already been harvested this year, and the sheep were grazing in the block’s lower part. They had also planted Aligoté and Gamay.
We discussed biodynamics and then the growing interest in Amphorae. It’s a fascinating conversation that we will share with you later!
The vineyard views are stunning, can you imagine waking up to that view? Well, actually, you can. The Beckham Estate Guest house on the property is available to rent on AirBnB through Destination Willamette. The home sleeps 6, is airy and gives you those views.
We strolled and took in some more of the vineyard, and Michael caught Andrew doing some punch-downs before we had to be on our way back to Southern Oregon.
We look forward to watching as this vineyard and the NOVUM amphorae evolve. Andrew exudes enthusiasm for his work. This man works very hard, but he loves what he does and it’s a joy to watch.
Keep following us for more details on Beckham and all of the wineries we are following!
Next up will be an early morning Counoise harvest with Tablas Creek in Paso Robles.
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