Leonardo Da Vinci once wrote, “People of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” David Lett, founder of Eyrie Vineyards in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, embodied this philosophy. Referred to by many as ‘pioneer’, ‘trailblazer’, or simply ‘Papa Pinot’, he arrived in Oregon in 1965—at a time when there was no wine commerce to speak of—with some vine cuttings and a firm belief that Pinot Noir and Chardonnay would find their New World home on the cool slopes of the Willamette Valley.

That same year, he planted the first Pinot Noir vines in Oregon on what would become the Eyrie Vineyard in the area now known as the Dundee Hills AVA. He also planted Chardonnay and the first Pinot Gris vines in the USA. Though his decision was met with derision by considered experts who thought the climate too marginal to ripen grapes effectively, his detractors were soon silenced when, in Paris in 1979, the Eyrie Pinot Noir ’75 came third in a blind tasting with some illustrious Burgundian competition—Oregon’s very own Judgement of Paris. The effects were immediate, placing Oregon, the Willamette Valley, and Eyrie in the gaze of the wine elite. Demand for the wines increased, along with domestic and foreign investment in the area. The Willamette Valley was placed well and truly on the map.

Though decades have passed, time at Eyrie has stood relatively still. After David Lett passed away in 2008, scion Jason, who’d returned to work full-time at the estate in 2005, assumed the mantle. Farming now considered cutting edge is, in fact, as it was 50 years ago: organic; no irrigation, insecticides, herbicides, systemic sprays or fertilisers; composting; cover crops; and a fifty-year history of no-till agriculture—a boast few, if any, can make. Jason explains: “The reason we do all these don’ts is to allow the vines to establish their own ecosystem rather than us being intrusive.” Their soils are ancient but agriculturally youthful and teeming with vitality and life.

"From the ‘grape-growing’ through the elevage, this is an artisanal, noninterventionist, unique operation that continues to turn out some of the most fascinating wines on the planet.” Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

Eyrie Vineyards spans 26 hectares across five sites in the Dundee Hills AVA, which is nestled between the Coastal Range and the Chehalem Mountains, providing protection from the cool breezes of the Pacific and, consequently, slightly warmer conditions than elsewhere in the valley. The AVA is prized for its Jory soils, deposited as volcanic flow millions of years ago, which over time decomposed to red soil overlying a deep layer of basalt. These unique soils—Jory is the official soil of Oregon—are rich in iron and have excellent drainage and water retention, making them ideal for dry farming.

The five sites—The Eyrie, Daphne, Outcrop, Roland Green and Sisters—range from 67 metres (Sisters) to 260 metres (Daphne) above sea level. They are certified organic, and most of the vines are on their own roots. The vineyard work is done by hand, and the small crew of seven—with a combined experience of 180 years with the estate—visit each of the 50,000 vines 12 to 15 times throughout the year. As you go higher, it gets windier and colder and the soils get more volcanic, giving different expressions. In general, you can expect perfumed, elegant Pinot Noirs with savoury complexity and finesse to the fore.

The wines are produced in the original winery and, as in Jason’s father’s time, there’s little separation from the vineyard. He tries to do as little as possible to facilitate the fruit’s expression. Reds and whites are mostly destemmed, plunging is by hand and ferments are slow and natural—save for Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc, for which he uses the same pre-GMO yeasts his dad used. Fermentation vessels are small, all wines go through full malolactic conversion and extended time on lees, and the use of new wood is negligible. A portion of all the Eyrie wines is pressed in a 60-year-old Willmes basket press, and there are 250 barrels in the winery, over 40% of which are 20 years or older and less than 5% are new. In fact, Jason still has some barrels in use from the original 1970 vintage.

While acknowledging the significance of Eyrie’s history, Jason has one eye on the future. In recent years, he has taken steps to future-proof the estate. All future plantings will oriented east to west, now unequivocally the best solution for ripening in the AVA. The more recently planted Roland Green and Sisters vineyards serve a dual function as sites with experimental, phylloxera-resistant rootstocks and varietal diversity. He has also modernised the Eyrie Cellar program, developing a 21-step process to ensure each bottle in the Eyrie Museum stocks arrives to the consumer in the best possible condition. We encourage you to read more about this and other fascinating matters on their excellent website.

Eyrie’s importance cannot be overstated, and it’s fair to say its future is in very good hands.