Great Pinot Noir Wines Made By 2nd-Generation Oregon Farmers Turned Wine Producer

Forbes

6 days ago

Leaf of a grape vine
A 12-year-old boy with a deep tan, illustrating how much of his free time he spent outside in his farmland paradise, ran off his school bus with his tuba in tow with such an intense burst of energy one would think that he was racing to start shenanigans with his friends which is a time-honored tradition among adolescent boys. But this young boy was in a unique situation as his father was a vineyard manager at one of the top wineries in picturesque Willamette Valley, Oregon, and so, the school would always drop him off where his father worked and by osmosis he would take in the wisdom at a very young age of how an ultra-premium Willamette Valley winery made great Pinot Noir, sparkling wine and eventually Chardonnay.
Jackson Holstein with one of his kids
Yet his exposure to practical knowledge went deeper as this boy's father owned a prime vineyard in the Dundee Hills AVA, a precious sub-region of Willamette, reaching up to 740 feet in elevation with exposure to plenty of sunlight and cool winds from the Pacific. His father was fortunate enough to buy a top vineyard spot before Willamette became such a hotspot for big wine companies, hence driving up prices. His father was happiest working the vines, growing stellar fruit but not taking the risky investment of making his own wine.
Although that 12-year-old tuba-carrying bright-eyed boy would go on to become a winemaker, it would not be in the conventional sense of how a modern winemaking journey looks, yet his path does harken to a different time.
"It is in his DNA" can often refer to wine producers, especially in Europe, who have been part of several generations of winemakers and wine growers, sometimes going so far back – such as 15 generations – it is dizzying to think about. Immediately, it sounds like an impressive fact. Despite some of those wine families being extraordinary, many others with such a lineage find there are various detriments of such a heritage: lack of innovation by getting held back by centuries of tradition and no sense of autonomy felt by the family member running it will both top the list, as it gets in the way of the direct personal transmission from the living human making the wines to those who are drinking it.
Jackson and Ayla Holstein
Compared to a much older wine-producing area such as Europe, two generations of working with vines may pale in comparison to centuries-old wine growers at just a superficial level. However, looking deeper, there can be fantastic opportunities to discover rising wine stars among the second generation. One such one is Jackson Holstein, who was that 12-year-old boy with the tuba, now making outstanding wines where he grew up, in partnership with his wife, Ayla Holstein, another second-generation farmer, who grew up on the same hill as Jackson.
However, wine can be in one's DNA as a second-generation grower and first-generation winemaker if that person was into all aspects of the wine-growing/making process from a very early age. In recent times, Oregon has gotten tons of attention as a place that some have proclaimed to produce Pinot Noir wines on the level of stellar Burgundy wines, and it was a thrilling place to grow up, as one could see in real-time that Oregon was carving out a prestigious reputation in just a matter of a couple of generations. When one examines much older wine families that go beyond a century, in some cases, it can seem more like an obligation, a heavyweight, which one must bear without the ability to consider any other path in life. It is not always that way, but it is worth considering that being only a couple of generations old as a family business, especially when the kids are given every opportunity to pick another path, can have the main benefit of it being a real choice.
Initially, Jackson worked in cellars locally and in other countries. He imagined settling down as a winemaker for another producer, even taking viticulture and winemaking classes. Yet, he found those less helpful as he felt the textbook answers of how one works to manage grapes in Willamette Valley, Oregon, were erroneous, with no real experience behind those academic lessons. His wife, Ayla, who worked harvests in New Zealand and Australia as well as in Oregon, became a wine buyer for a prominent local restaurant in Willamette. Yet they never envisioned becoming their own wine producer, as they knew firsthand that they didn't have the capital as well as Ayla's experience as a wine buyer showed her how fiercely competitive the wine market could be.
"The currency of a grower" [is soil] -Jackson and Ayla Holstein
One day, Jackson's father decided he could no longer handle his estate vineyard, Holstein Estate. He would have to sell or lease it, with many vineyard leases running at least ten years, if not much longer, and either Jackson and Ayla wanted to take it over, or he would have to consider the other two options. It was a terrifying moment, as they didn't know if they could survive, now surrounded by many big wine companies and famous Burgundy producers who dominated the Oregon wine scene. But it terrified them more to think that Jackson's father would quickly be given a price to sell that he couldn't refuse, as they had seen many of the family vineyards around them do the same, and then they would have lost that opportunity forever.
So, in 2014, they started their own wine company, Granville Wine Co., with the idea of producing a small amount of wine; today, it is only 4,000 cases in total. They are interested in bottling from top vineyards sourced from key sub-regions of the Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills and Eola-Amity Hills AVAs, including their family estate Holstein. Jackson and Ayla know the vineyards like the back of their hands and they have close connections with the growers that were established even before they were born, so sourcing outstanding fruit is not an issue for them.
Their wines have a beautiful purity of fruit, gorgeous texture, and addictive, vibrant juiciness on the palate, yet their single vineyard bottlings are incredibly distinctive with an intense sense of place. This shows how first-time family winemakers, who come from farmers, can make thrilling wines not held back by tradition yet know how to honor and express the sense of place of each vineyard.
Granville Wine Co. vineyard and surrounding landscape
Ayla's farming family never grew wine grapes, yet the vineyards surrounding her where she grew up were still a part of her daily existence. She has witnessed the amazing wine journey for Willamette Valley wine producers going from obscurity to becoming a huge hotspot for those who want to make gorgeous Pinot Noir. She is thankful that such well-known California and Burgundy producers have invested in her home, bringing attention to the region.
Yet there is the fear that one day, Willamette Valley, Oregon, will no longer have a community of families that even remember the founders, let alone have a personal connection with those who started the Oregon wine dream. As she looks at her and Jackson's two young children, she knows that they have to do everything in their power to keep a healthy balance of internationally recognized producers counterpoised with the second-generation, and hopefully the third - who will keep alive the founders' fierce passion that was able to create wines that rivaled Burgundy against all odds.
2023 Granville, Basalt & Holstein Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir wines
Oregon grows a wide range of grape varieties in small quantities, but Chardonnay has become the latest star, which makes sense as Burgundy makes great Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines, so if one does well in an area, usually the other will thrive too. In the past, Oregon Chardonnay was never that successful as most of the grapes were planted in much cooler vineyards to make Champagne method sparkling wine, so it wasn't ideally suited for still Chardonnay. But in recent years, the Chardonnay still wines have become stars in their own right, as new vines were planted in prime vineyards, and the wine producers have had plenty of time to work with still Chardonnay wine in their cellars to achieve an ideal balance. Also, Oregon has already made a name for itself with its sparkling wines, which go back over 30 years, and the winery where Jackson was dropped off as a kid, where his father worked, is one of the top Oregon sparkling wine producers.
The Granville Pinot Noir wines are a must-try, but for those who like ultra-premium sparkling wine and/or Chardonnay wines with freshness and minerality, these should also be on the list.
2023 Granville, "Basalt" Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon: 100% Pinot Noir sourced from vineyards in Dundee Hills & Eola-Amity Hills. Granville's "Basalt" wines come from organically farmed vineyards with rich volcanic basalt soils. A vivacious wine with lots of juicy, bright fruit of black cherry intermixed with rhubarb crostata with a hint of underbrush with a fine, delicate tannic structure and vibrant acidity. Only 500 cases made.
2023 Granville, Holstein Estate Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon: 100% Pinot Noir sourced from the Holstein estate single vineyard in Dundee Hills, which is rich in both iron and clay with fractured basalt bedrock underneath, and it is organically farmed. An exciting bouquet on the nose with lilacs, raspberry crisp, crushed rocks and dry tree bark with big, rounded tannins and deep concentration of fruit on the palate that has a long, flavorful finish with an aromatic lift. Only 350 cases made.
2023 Granville, Basalt & Koosah Vineyard Chardonnay wines
2023 Granville, "Basalt" Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, Oregon: 100% Chardonnay sourced from Dundee Hills & Eola-Amity Hills vineyards. Granville's "Basalt" wines come from organically farmed vineyards with rich volcanic basalt soils. Pristine notes of pear drop, wet river stones and freshly made brioche with enchanting scents of honeysuckle and orange blossom slowly revealing themselves. Only 400 cases made.
2023 Granville, Koosah Vineyard, Chardonnay, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon: 100% Chardonnay sourced from the Koosah single vineyard in Eola-Amity Hills. Koosah Vineyard was established by the Chambers Family in 2016, who pushed the boundaries with data-driven biodynamic farming, and is one of the highest and steepest vineyards in Willamette Valley. Despite the family selling this vineyard to Louis Jadot in 2022, Jackson and Ayla will still be able to work with this vineyard. A wine that wows just from the aromas with electric notes of lemon confit and quince paste with hints of delectable marzipan with a fierce undertone of saline minerality and a slightly creamy texture perfectly balanced by crisp acidity. Only 225 cases made.
2022 Granville, Basalt Sparkling
2022 Granville, "Basalt" Sparkling, Willamette Valley, Oregon: 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir sourced from vineyards in Dundee Hills & Eola-Amity. Granville's "Basalt" sparkling wines come from organically farmed vineyards with rich volcanic basalt soils. Lemon sorbet and violet petals are irresistibly enticing on the nose, along with freshly baked apple pie, sea spray and torn lemongrass stalks with a creamy mid-palate created by very fine bubbles that has a long persistence. Only 200 cases made.