Located on a southeast-facing slope of the Chehalem Mountains AVA on the outskirts of Newberg, Oregon, the Nicholas Estate Vineyard was first planted in 2001. The elevation varies from 350ft-650ft and the vineyard rows are planted in a north-south direction, benefitting from cool, drying winds through the 99W corridor which keep mildew and frost pressure at bay.

The soils are primarily Loess (wind-blown ice age sediment) with some outcrops of volcanic Jory soils and deposits from the Missoula floods.

Of the original 27 acres, five  5-acre blocks are different clones of Pinot Noir, and there is an additional acre each of Riesling and Gewurztraminer.

A further six acres were planted according to the biodynamic calendar in 2008 and saw their first harvest in 2011.

The original vineyard is planted to Pommard as well as Dijon Clones 114, 115, 667 and 777 on varying rootstocks. The new vineyard is planted in 2-acre blocks to Riesling, Chardonnay and Wadensvill Pinot Noir.

Before the property was planted, it was a walnut, filbert (hazelnut) and plum orchard. Many of the old fruit trees from the original farmstead still grace the property and produce apples, cherries, quinces and pears.

We are certified both L.I.V.E. (Low Input Viticulture and Enology) and Salmon Safe. With ethe 2010 vintage, our winemaking facility joined the L.I.V.E. program allowing our wines to qualify for OCSW status.

Vineyard Updates

Harvest 2011 started on November 1 with small amounts of the Reserve Blocks and was completed two weeks later. Minimal signs of mould and mildew pressure which we attribute to meticulous farming, judicious leaf removal to expose the grapes to sunshine and air, and our location in the wind funnel at 500ft between Parrett and Chehalem Mountains. Cluster size was large, but we thinned twice to even the crop, removing the underipe and overripe grapes on each vine. Ultimately we dropped 50 tons of fruit to allow the vines to focus their energies on the few remaining grapes. Brix degree levels at Harvest averaged between 20-22 which will translate to lower alcohols. In the barrel, the 2011's are already exceptional, giving credence to the fact that Oregon's best vintages are created from later Harvests.