Winderlea Wine Company, LLC Purchases Famed Goldschmidt Vineyard

04/12/06 Winderlea Wine Company, LLC, a boutique winery specializing in the limited production of Pinot Noir from Oregon, announced the purchase of the renowned Goldschmidt Vineyard in the heart of the Red Hills of Dundee. The purchase includes 20 acres on the Red Hills Bench, the area in which Oregon's international recognition for great Pinot Noir began.

The vineyard, located on the south side of Worden Hill Road, was planted in 1974 and boasts some of the oldest vines in the Willamette Valley. With ideal elevations of 480 to 570 feet, the property's original plantings include Pommard, Wadenswil and the so-called Coury Clone. More recently complemented by the addition of densely planted Dijon clones, today the site is composed of 13 blocks entirely devoted to Pinot Noir.

According to Winderlea Wine Company co-founders Donna Morris and Bill Sweat, the Goldschmidt Vineyard is the ideal property from which to launch their winery. "Early on we were drawn to the volcanic, clay loam Jory soils of the Red Hills of Dundee for the wines they produced," said Ms. Morris. "We're excited about the possibilities our vineyard holds for luxury wines." Co-founder Bill Sweat added, "We have spent the past 14 months walking thousands of acres of vineyards and tasting hundreds of wines from those vineyards to find the site we believe will produce the elegant, sensuous and balanced wines we want to create."

Most recently, the fruit from Goldschmidt has been sold to an exclusive group of winemakers in Oregon. Penner-Ash Wine Cellars, Patricia Green Cellars, Adelsheim Vineyard and R. Stuart & Co. have reserved the fruit to create single-vineyard designates for which each has earned critical recognition.