During our October trip we woke early and met Rudy Marchesi at Montinore Estate in the Tualatin Hills AVA in the Willamette Valley.
This AVA is in the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley, and the Montinore Vineyard is located in Forest Hill. We visited back in 2019, and our conversation with Rudy had been a Masterclass in biodynamics and the impact of the Missoula Floods on this region. We were anxious to have another opportunity to speak with him.
This vineyard was planted in 1982. The owners at the time named it, a combination of Montana and Oregon “Montinore.” Rudy was working with the vineyard owners, the Grahams, and they had some issues with phylloxera. They converted to Organic and biodynamic farming to try to heal the property and extend the life of the vines. The vineyard continues to get smaller and smaller, but the longevity of these vines has far surpassed what had been expected.
In 2005, Rudy took over as proprietor at Montinore. In 2016, Ackley Brands purchased Montinore Estate. Since then, they have expanded their portfolio. Adding the Landlines label and the Tidalstar vineyard and the new Laughlin Road Ranch vineyard, both in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. These wines are made by the same winemaking team as Montinore Estate.
In addition, they have added Mac & Jacks, Cataclysm, and Borealis to their portfolio. They have plans to break ground in early October for a new winemaking facility in Hillsboro that will be both organic and biodynamic certified.
Rudy guided us out into the vineyard to see a mechanical pick and a hand harvest of two different blocks of Pinot Noir. I can see the look on your face. “Mechanical pick?” Yes. This is a large vineyard, and as we have mentioned before, people are part of the plan with biodynamic and regenerative vineyards. Harvesting can be back-breaking work, so much of this property has been designed to accommodate mechanical harvesters. Is it as romantic as hand harvesting for those of us enjoying a bottle? Maybe not, but the backs of the people harvesting are grateful. They have plenty of work to keep the vineyard team busy.
When we headed to the lower block and watched the hand harvest, we watched the picking team racing to get the fruit in. Michael told them he was amazed by their energy.
While Michael was busily shooting harvest, I chatted with Rudy, conversing on topics that interest us both, and learning from his immense knowledge made for a memorable morning.
We headed back to the winery to catch the action of the day, with punch-downs, pressing, and lots of cleaning (always lots of cleaning). Michael passed along some hellos (one staff member here had spent the last harvest at Syncline, and they had sent their regards to her!)
Rudy packed us in his truck and took us to their Tidalstar Vineyard. This property is in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Located on the western edge of the AVA, It was planted in 1999. It is planted primarily to Pinot Noir in a variety of clones, but there is also a bit of Chardonnay planted here also. When Rudy bought it, not many people were buying in this area. Since then, Maison Louis Jadot has come in and now has Résonance Vineyards across the way, and Jackson Family has their Gran Moraine Vineyards, so he is in good company.
This is their jewel right now, the vineyard producing fantastic fruit bottled under the Landlines label. As we walked the vineyard, we had to pause periodically as the PA system screamed with distressed bird calls to keep the birds away during harvest. Rudy told me that there were fewer starlings this year, due he had heard, to an avian flu outbreak. Still, there were plenty that were eager to help themselves to the ripening Pinot.
Before leaving, we met Clay Wesson, the Montinore head of Viticulture. He was dropping off cover crop seed to be spread in the blocks that had been harvested. He had a bit yet to do and would meet us later at their Laughlin Road vineyard.
After lunch, we followed Rudy to the Laughlin Road Ranch.
Sitting on the other east side of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, this is their newest vineyard. The Ranch is 177 acres. They expect to plant about 120 acres of that. The vines are young here. The cover crop they had recently seeded, was just coming up. We walked the vineyard while Clay met with the nursery company to discuss what they would plant next.
Then Clay introduced us to Jared, who had come to look at the site where they would be grazing sheep. They checked the area for a suitable spot to unload the sheep, which would not be muddy once the rains started. As we talked, he picked bits of the native plants covering the ground, of which there was a variety. Checking the plants and grasses that the sheep would be grazing on.
Jared had to head out, but we stayed and spoke a bit with Clay about biodynamic farming and the future of this site. The Laughlin Road Ranch allows them to start from the ground up, choosing soil practices, vineyard density, and all the infrastructure. Clay is busy. It’s a lot to keep up with. The project is challenging but rewarding.
We look forward to watching it progress.
When Clay found out we were heading to Beckham, he told us to ask about the Gewurztraminer (he had just sold them some!)
It had been a wonderful day, seeing the workings of the vineyard and winery team. For a change, we were not hurrying off to our next location. We drove back to Hillsboro for a second night at our hotel (the only time we stayed more than one night in a place on this trip!). Tomorrow, we would be off to visit Beckham and ask about that Gewurz!
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