The Eyrie Vineyards is an American winery in
Oregon that consists of in five different vineyards in the
Dundee Hills AVA of the
Willamette Valley. In 1965, against the advice of his viticultural professors at the
University of California, Davis,
David Lett moved to Oregon to plant
Pinot noir
Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...
in the Willamette Valley. David and Diana Lett produced the first Pinot noir in the Willamette Valley, and the first
Pinot gris in the United States. Their first vintage in 1970.
The 1975 Eyrie Vineyards Reserve Pinot Noir placed in top ten among Pinot noirs in blind tasting at the
Wine Olympics in 1979.
Burgundy winemaker Robert Drouhin organized a re-match at
Maison Joseph Drouhin in France. The 1975 Eyrie Vineyards Reserve came in second, losing to Drouhin's 1959
Chambolle-Musigny
Chambolle-Musigny () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or ''département'' in eastern France.
It is one of the wine villages situated on the Côte-d'Or escarpment, and is one of the twelve Côte d'Or communes of France which added or adopted the name ...
by only two-tenths of a point. Drouhin later purchased land in Oregon and built
Domaine Drouhin Oregon
Maison Joseph Drouhin is a French wine producer based in Burgundy that was founded in 1880. The estate owns vineyards in Chablis, the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise, as well as in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Drouhin i ...
.
Over the years, David Lett (known locally as "Papa Pinot") maintained a light-handed style of Pinot noir that did not follow the trend toward greater flavor, tannin, and color extraction, believing color not to be an indicator of quality in Pinot noir. This put him at odds with some of the wine critics.
David Lett died on October 9, 2008.
David and Diana's son Jason Lett is now president and winemaker for the winery.
The Eyrie Vineyards estate vineyards are part of the sub-
American Viticultural Area
An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...
(AVA) of
Willamette Valley AVA known as the
Dundee Hills
The Dundee Hills AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Yamhill County, Oregon. It is entirely contained within the Willamette Valley AVA, and is approximately southwest of Portland, near the towns of Dundee and Dayton. The area is i ...
. The winery itself is in
McMinnville, which annually hosts the
International Pinot Noir Celebration
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
on the last weekend in July on the campus of
Linfield College.
See also
*
List of Oregon wineries and vineyards
References
*
*
;Footnotes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyrie Vineyards, The
Buildings and structures in Yamhill County, Oregon
Wineries in Oregon
Willamette Valley
1965 establishments in Oregon
American companies established in 1965
Food and drink companies established in 1965