Willamette Valley Vineyards
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Willamette Valley Vineyards is an American
winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...
located in
Turner, Oregon Turner is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,854 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The community was incorporated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on February 10, 1905. ...
. Named after Oregon's
Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...
, the winery is the leading producer of Willamette
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 Oregon, and also produces
Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...
and Pinot Gris. In 2016, the winery was the largest producer of Riesling wine in the Willamette Valley.


History

Willamette Valley Vineyards was founded by Jim Bernau and Don Voorhies. In 1997, Willamette Valley Vineyards merged with Tualatin Estate Vineyards, which was established by Bill Fuller in 1973. The winery was established via an early crowdfunding campaign. In 1989, around 1,200 shareholders invested an average of $1,700 each in an Unlisted public company, unlisted stock offering approved by Oregon regulators. By 1993, the number of shareholders had grown to 4,500 and many shareholders were directly involved with operations, collectively donating 6,000 to 7,000 hours of labor per month. Over 300 shareholders passed an Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, OLCC class to be certified to pour wine in the tasting room. The winery is now listed on the Nasdaq, NASDAQ under the symbol WVVI. In 2021, the winery hosted the season 18 finale of Bravo's Top Chef: Portland.


Subsidiaries

In 2015, founder Jim Bernau and winery director Christine Clair founded the Oregon Estate Vineyards division to manage subsidiary vineyards. Since 2007, Willamette Valley Vineyards has managed Elton Vineyards in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. Elton Vineyards is primarily planted with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In 2017, Willamette Valley Vineyards began selling a boutique wine label under the "Elton" name. In 2015, the company purchased new vineyard sites in the Walla Walla Valley AVA for a new subsidiary, "Pambrun Vineyard", named after Bernau's ancestor, Pierre Pambrun, a Walla Walla pioneer. Pambrun produces Cabernet Sauvignon along with other Bordeaux varieties. In 2018, Willamette Valley Vineyards acquired nearby Maison Bleue Winery, previously owned by Jon Meuret, who was also the consulting winemaker for Pambrun Vineyard.


Press coverage

In 2015, Wine Enthusiast named Willamette Valley Vineyards' Whole Cluster Pinot Noir as one of "America's Best Value Pinot Noirs". The The Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal included Willamette Valley Vineyards' Pinot Gris in the article, "Why Wine Remains a Great Connector".


References


Further reading

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External links


Official website
{{Oregon wine Wineries in Oregon Turner, Oregon Companies established in 1983 Companies listed on the Nasdaq Companies based in Marion County, Oregon 1983 establishments in Oregon